Preseason Backcountry Hard Goods Gear Review
Well, the winter season is off to an early and banner start here in Utah. With the early storm cycles blanketing the Wasatch with over 3 feet of the fluffy white stuff and early openings of Snowbird, Solitude, and Brighton, and come Friday, Alta it seems safe to say that the ski season has arrived!
Getting deep at Alta
Early season is one of the most exciting times of the year. Not only is the hunger for the snow at its peak, after 4 grueling months of playing in the dirt and rocks biding the time till the snow returns and offers that soft and fluid canvas once again, but the onslaught of new toys and gear that taunt you in every magazine and shop begin to call you to purchase and play… Or in my, very fortunate case, the gear just starts showing up, like a preemptive Christmass, in brown boxes of all sizes.
Weston D. Climbing Up to Gunsight
pow
I kicked off this season, like most, by attending the Utah Avalanche Organization‘s Conference down in SLC. The conference is held each year to review incidences of the past season, new procedures, protocols, theories about snow safety and/or study, and as a general refresher to blow out those cobwebs that may have built up over the summer months. This is a great way to remind yourself that what we do is quite dangerous, but by TAKING A COURSE and PRACTICING with you beacon, shovel, and probe we can mitigate that risk and have a fun and safe winter.
winter is here!
The UAC offers plenty of resources on their site to aid you in finding an avalanche course that is right for you, as well as many other tools such as a glossary, list of past avalanche activity, and much more.
http://utahavalanchecenter.org is the first piece of gear in my 2010/11 review and it gets 5+STARS:
Itis not only is free but it is an endless resource that can save the people you ride/ski with and your own life.
It is not enough to sit at home with a hot cup of coffee or a cold beer and read about the snow pack, what a beacon is, or how to ski cut a slope, rather we need to be a bit more proactive when it comes to ensuring that every day we get to go home and wake up tomorrow to play again. This is where an avalanche course comes into play. Not only are you spoon fed crucial information in a classroom environment by some of the most qualified snow safety professionals, but then you are able to apply those skills on the mountain in a controlled environment where you can feel what it would be like in an actual avalanche scenario.
BCA is a leader in snow safety tools and equipment and last year they revamped their beacon, with faster triple antenna processing, sleeker profile, and easier search mode, while keeping the simple interface and proving once again that simplicity is quite sweet.
**The best beacon is the one you know how to use and practice with**
Weather you go with the Arsenal probe or saw stash, this is a great system, that not only saves space in your pack but also saves crucial seconds when rescue is needed. The saw and probe system do not require you to dismember the shovel to access them, allowing the shovel shaft and blade to be fully functional with or with out the probe or saw in, which means you can probe, find your buddy, and start digging right away!
This pack will have you cruising up the skin pack knowing that you have all the necessities for a fun day of bagging your local peaks without bogging you down or making it so when you take the skins off you feel that you are pulled to the back seat, causing you to wonder why you just hiked for 4 hours to make quad burning survival turns down an open face of pow. The Stash BC is back this season with a sleek, no muss-no fuss exterior that has a sweet noose ski carry system, stowable/removable helmet carry system, mud room pocket (for probe, shovel, saw), hydration system, and many more features that will save you from looking like you are having a garage sale every time you want to grab a snack or another layer.
This binding will rock your world!!!! As the winner of Telemark Skier Magazine‘s editor’s choice award it has a free pivot tour mode that will have you screaming past your buddies on the skin track and the super responsive spring system will blow their minds as you rip fast, huge lines and stomp every landing.
The kick-ass boot has just got even more kick ass!! The 2010/11 T-race not only went back to its roots with the red and black color scheme, but Scarpa revised the retro concept of a tour mode on a burly, super stiff race style boot and nailed it! It has been years since I have skied a boot with a tour mode and I have to say I did not realize how much I have missed it. From long skins to even walking across the parking lot I am loving the optional walk mode. But the best part is that when you lock them into ski mode, you don’t feel like they have a walk mode! That coupled with the new intuition liner has me raving and saying kudos to Scarpa.
Unless you have been living under a rock or in the desert for the past three years, chances are you have read about, heard about, seen, and probably skied the S7. This season, Rossi took it one more step and created a rough and tough, AK ripping big boy- ahchemm… Girl- Ski. Offered in only one size (195cm), the super 7 has been stiffened with metal laminates and a slightly wider platform (117mm) to give it the rigidity and stability that big lines require. That coupled with the same side cut ratio as the S7 leads this ski to be the all around big mountain machine that can blast through crud, stay under your feet when mocking, and is nimble enough for those last second directional changes as the terrain unfolds.
So there you have it! That is what I have and will be rocking on all my adventures this season. Start making you Christmas wish lists and/ or saving the change under the couch cushions then go to backcountry.com and feed your addiction!!
Soft Goods!!
Keep checking in as I will be adding a soft goods review, and other reviews as the season progresse as well as more on avalanche and snow safety and as always more travel antics and stories.
Face Shot
