Andrew Councell reviews Ortovox’s trifecta of avalanche-rescue equipment: transceiver, probe and shovel. “In the States last year alone, avalanches claimed the lives of seven climbers. It’s clear that we are not immune,” he writes.
I love watching my own mind make back flips, and it has put on quite an acrobatic show since the release of the Omega Pacific Link Cam in 2006: Early on, I remember looking at these crazy one-size-fits-all cams and thinking, “Yeah great…or how about just learning how to correctly place gear?” Later, I came to understand that recognizing the Link Cam’s crazy genius is only a matter of the appropriate application.
After a day of cruising through the rolling hills and trees surrounding Brainard Lake in the Indian Peaks Wilderness, under constant wet snow, the High-E Hoodie was damp around the sleeves and shoulders–a fact I didn’t notice until I’d been in the car for fifteen minutes.
I never gave too much thought to my socks. In general, any pair of mid-weight wool socks would have been interchangeable for most days out in the mountains of New England.
I’ve been wearing the Mountain Standard Hooded Down jacket practically nonstop for the last three months. It came with me up El Cap this winter, and kept me warm and comfortable at hanging belays and when climbing through the night.
Bluebird days are so rare in Vermont that an overnight low of -18 degrees didn’t dampen my enthusiasm for a day of ice climbing at Smugglers’ Notch on Mt. Mansfield. I wore a Big Agnes Dunkley Belay Jacket, a slim-and-trim synthetic belay parka, to keep warm if our pace slowed or we lost the sun.
The Black Diamond Xenos mixed/ice climbing harness is aptly named since it enables you to visit some of the most unique and uninhabitable places known to humankind, places where we truly are the aliens.
Mentor to many aspiring mountain guides, Marc Chauvin once told me, “When you’re out of options, you’re dead.” Now that statement might seem obvious, but he meant it with some wordplay: perspective often has an influence on the options you see.
DTS BUGrip provides a comfortable, somewhat cushy, and nimble ride, with positive traction for nearly all conditions.
While the basic anatomy of a pack hasn’t evolved much since the hand-sewn rucksacks of Norman Clyde, a thoughtfully designed pack can be a major help to a day in the mountains. There’s a fine line, however, between a smooth design and gimmicks.
