June 2013 archive

Profile: The Right Reverend Bardini

As if Gravity is become locally less important than Rapture. —Thomas Pynchon The Editor stopped eating; he leaned across the table with that expression. This was going to be a serious question. I read his magazine all the time. I know that he’s totally committed to imparting the soul of backcountry skiing with all its …

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Picking a BC Partner

  On the heels of a fresh dump all one really needs for a backcountry partner is an acquaintance familiar with basic backcountry protocol, some freeheel gear and the willingness to share trail-breaking duties. As simple and flexible as those requirements sound, there is much to be surmised about a partner just in evaluating these …

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Review: Swix Sonic ski pole

Swix is joining the adjustable ski pole crowd with a new spin on the twist lock mechanism. Instead of twisting an internal bushing to expand and press against the inner walls of the upper shaft, they use a large diameter nut on the upper shaft to compress a plastic sleeve around the lower shaft. Does …

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Technique: Estimating Slope Angles

Knowing exactly how steep a slope is can be important information for understanding potential avalanche danger. Or, even if you’re not concerning yourself for the sake of safety, but instead, to prop up your ego, having an accurate measurement is good to have in either case. The best way to do that is with a …

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Review: Scarpa’s TX-Pro

For those looking to transition from 75mm to NTN, Scarpa’s TX-Pro should be at the top of your list. It has all the main features you want, a tall cuff with four buckles, a sweet flexing bellows, and Dynafit inserts.

Beacon Review: Arva’s Neo

Arva Neo shown with 2 victims

To be honest it has been awhile since I’ve been impressed with an Arva avalanche transceiver. They were the first European company to agree digital processing could improve search times and they obliged with the Arva 9000 – a single antenna transceiver that used digital processing to calculate and display distance, along with a series …

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