Stuff I like - A2-16 Ski Poles

The A2-16 ski pole from Chamonix represents the full pendulum swing of pole design which I feel best suits the need of steep skiers and ski alpinists. My path to them has involved many stops with attempts at several innovations tried and discarded along the way. I’ll present a case for them here along with some history about the journey.

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Tech Bindings for Steep Skiing

No time to be worrying about your bindingsI guess it's time to end the silence on these pages. Funny how the blog-scape has changed with the times. It seems that peoples' attention spans have shortened and now folks gravitate toward short hits of adventure and related gear stories. I'm guilty of gravitating to Instagram myself. But ideas continue to percolate in my brain and I'm finally feeling motivated enough to share some thoughts. Hell, it costs me $15/month just to have this site active so I might as well contribute. Hopefully, someone is still reading.

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The Rites of AK Spring - 1

Few would argue that it was a strange winter nearly everywhere in North America. The strangeness was mostly of the warm variety. It was certainly no drought but it looked like it in places like Alaska in the lower elevations. Truth be told, my home town of Anchorage saw very little snow. The Nordic skiers were depressed. But above 2,000 feet, the winter was full-on throughout South Central AK.

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Alaska Spring and Type II Fun

Unlike other places I’ve lived in my life, Alaska is not known for consistently fine weather. The windows tend to be short and, if you’re a skier, you need to pounce on opportunities when they present themselves. For the traditionally employed, this can prove to be a problem when good weather materializes during the week and the shit comes back in on the weekend. 

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Las Leñas - Post Numero Tres: Marté Delivers

A few of the couloirs sampled with Marté lift in boldOne more day in Las Leñas. For a trip that started out with much to be desired, it’s ending with just what I came for. My only regret is that I didn’t have a partner to ski all these amazing lines with. It was strange dropping into one 2,000’ 45˚ couloir after another completely alone. Sure, there were tracks but I hardly saw anyone on the ten or so runs I took from the top of the mountain down the imposing south face. As a result, the pictures to follow leave something to be desired but they give you the general idea.

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