When I was taking my ski exam in Europe, back in 1998, I was nicknamed “Zorro” by Bela Vadasz, one of the examiners. But truly, I did not feel like Zorro until I wore the Cloudveil Zorro jacket on many rainy days this summer and fall. In fact, I felt like grabbing my ice ax like a sword and making a “Z” in the snow more than once while wearing this piece, a great lightweight and windproof hard shell.
DMM claims they put a lot of research into these new screws, and it showed the first time I placed one. It quickly bit into the ice and turned easily, with little friction, but then, panic! There was no jiffyquickwindything to blaze in the screws.
This is my primary headlamp for dark approaches, late exits, and occasional epics; it generally stays in my rock or ski pack full-time. Weighing less than 3 ounces (78g), the Tikka Plus is so lightweight that it is hard to justify leaving it behind.
Having shredded multiple ultralight packs while alpine climbing and cragging the past couple years, I’ve been looking for a new versatile and medium-sized assault pack for some time, and Granite Gear’s Alpine Vapor sounded like a good contender.
NEMO, a relatively new company out of Nashua, New Hampshire, has designed a unique technology to keep their tents and bivies light: air. This fall I tested their Gogo bivy, one of the lightest on the market. Instead of using poles to support its mouth, an air-filled beam creates structure and stability, and cuts down on weight. After countless seasons using standard tents and bivies I was curious to see how this improbable new design would hold up to rugged conditions in the Tetons.
Lowe Alpine released the 20+20 Extreme Attack special edition pack (only 2,000 made) in commemoration of their 40th anniversary. It’s a great name. And a great pack.
This summer while wandering around Utah, Idaho and Wyoming, I had a new item in my backpack. Although the two-liter Mountain Safety Research DromLite bag may not have had the glamour or intrepidness associated with a rope or cams, it seemed functional–and I was curious. Many of my climbing partners have long sworn by their MSR hydration bags. Would the DromLite be a suitable “fast and light” successor to the time-tested black Dromedary Bag?
Every summer I spend many nights camped in the mountains, and this year has been no different. Alpine weather and conditions in my favorite local stomping grounds, the Bugaboos and Canadian Rockies, have tendencies to change faster than you can see them coming, and–all too often–you’re shivering, getting snowed on or cowering from the latest thunderstorm. Fortunately, I was able to retreat on multiple occasions to the comforts of the Mountain Hardwear UltraLamina 32-degree synthetic sleeping bag.
I just returned from a rock-climbing trip to northern Patagonia’s Bariloche, where we visited the new areas of La Buitrera and Roca Parada, a thousand-foot tower in the middle of the Patagonian pampa near Esquel. The new ultra-light Metolius Power Cams were our weapons of choice for all small cracks. Aside from being extremely light, the cams performed just as well on Patagonian granite as they did on andesite and sandstone. They are easy to place, have great range and holding power (5-10 kN, varying with size), and tested well in real life on numerous pitches, including a slippery 5.10c high off the deck.
Lightweight at about 4.5 pounds. Watertight. Tough, durable, double-walled. It was too good to be true… on the whole, Mountain Hardwear’s Spire 2 lightweight expedition tent fit all the specs I could hope for here in the Bugaboos, where rugged weather comes standard.
