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Mountain Standards

CiloGear Dyneema(R) 45 Pack: Lighten Your Load

Winter mountaineering: some people love it. But rarely do I picture the clear summit days with perfect cramponing and one-swing ice. Instead I think of the long and cold nights, my sleeping bag stuffed with everything I don’t want to freeze. I consider days at a stretch in the tent, arguing over a magazine before tearing it in half, broken only by endless sessions of postholing. With these grudges in mind, I’ve been known to obsess over weight (hence the magazine instead of a book). When I received the new CiloGear Dyneema(R) 45 mountaineering pack to test, I knew immediately that it would lighten my load.

Petzl Dartwin Crampons: Serious about Steep

In December I headed down to Ouray, Colorado’s Ice Park, to begin testing the Petzl Dartwin crampons. With all kinds of immediate climbing to be had, Ouray seemed the best place to determine effectiveness on everything from low-angle ice to crazy mixed testpieces…

Marmot Snazette: Snazzy Functionality

Functional enough to withstand three weeks of high-altitude desert and mountain exploration, yet snazzy enough to sit down to tea with the King of Mustang, the Marmot Women’s Snazette performed royally on a recent trip across the Himalaya.

JetBoil PCS: Radically Improved Fuel Efficiency

A principal function of a climber’s stove is to melt snow and ice, producing drinkable water. Hot soup, coffee and the occasional hot water bottle are perks, but on long trips fuel weight adds up. For Alaska I budget 48 ounces per day for a group of six–about 8 pounds of fuel each for a three-week expedition. While toiling with such donkeywork I imagine the ideal stove, where every calorie of fuel burned produces the maximum amount of water. This process, called heat transfer efficiency, inspired the design of the Jetboil Personal Cooking System (PCS).

PMI Spire 10.2mm Rope: Dry to the Core

Several years ago I humped a 92-pound pack full of the cheapest, heaviest climbing gear in the world uphill for several days in Wyoming’s Wind River Range. We’re talking old school: full-gate oval biners on everything; 11mm ropes; old, rigid-stem Friends; big hexes; everything horrid you can imagine. I seriously debated purchasing either a large dog or a small burro for my next expedition.

Lowe Alpine Air Zone Centro 35+10: Desert Trekker

Frequently I am accused of being a pack snob. It started way back in college when I had a part-time job sewing backpacks for a small outdoor company in Bellingham, WA. The owner and I would stay late tweaking, modifying and otherwise trying to improve the current line of packs as well as our personal climbing packs. Whether building custom packs, bringing old, well loved packs back to life, or modifying brand new packs, it was rare that I saw a pack that didn’t need some improvement.

Arc’teryx R-320 Harness: Everything You Want, Nothing You Don’t

“It’s the single piece of gear I’m excited about buying this year,” said Nic, my gearhead friend, about the new line of Arc’teryx harnesses. It was an unusual comment–the thought of controlled spending–for someone who has a steady job and climbs or skis every day. Nevertheless, I told Nic he had his priorities straight. If I had to recommend a single climbing upgrade for 2008, I’d suggest the Arc’teryx R-320 harness I’ve been testing for the past six months. It has everything I want in a harness–and nothing I don’t.

Rab Latok Alpine Jacket: Expectations Bested

When I picked up Rab’s Latok Alpine jacket for the first time I was skeptical. The Latok was lighter than any of the performance hard shells I’d worn previously, and the bright orange eVent label on the sleeve made me wary. Adding to my incredulity, I had never heard of Rab. Learning to love the Latok took a good deal of research and a bit of a brand-name leap of faith, but–after a fall and winter season of epic approaches, climbs, bootpacks, hailstorms and vertigo-inducing white-outs–I’ve found I like the Latok; I like it a lot.

Cilao OZ 22 Race Harness: Built for Fast and Light

Every summer in Chamonix, among the 350+ mountain guides working in the valley, there seems to be one piece of gear that becomes eminently popular, and by the end of the season most guides have it. This year it was the Cilao OZ 22 Race harness, which weighs in at an insanely light 3.5 ounces. Easily recognizable by its bright green color, you would constantly see it traversing the range, from glacier slogs across the Valle Blanche to the higher elevations of Mont Blanc.

Lowa Cristallo X Pro Gore-Tex Boots: Technical Prowess and Comfort

I’ve always been skeptical of Gore-Tex footwear, and it’s almost guaranteed that I’ll have cold feet regardless of the temperature (unless I’m clunking around in double boots), so I was curious to see how the Lowa Cristallo X Pro Gore-Tex boots would perform climbing and scratching around the Canadian Rockies.