The Onion reports that the National Park system will be closed during their annual touch ups this week. I say thank God, they’ve been getting a bit tarnished with this late cool weather blast.
“It’s that time of year again when we roll up our sleeves and begin the painstaking task of resplendoring our parks,” Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said. “After a long off-season, the foliage has grown lackluster, our mountain streams have lost their crystal clarity, and even the sparrows’ songs are flat and desultory. So please excuse the noise and dust as we prepare our country’s scenic wonders for their grand reopening on Memorial Day.”
Was just browsing the REI sale today and figured I’d see if I could pull together a quality setup that will take you from a weekend trip to a long weekend+ for under $500. Here goes…
Just a few years back a two man tent coming in at the 5 lbs mark would have set you back at least 3x more than the cost of this tent at $129.99. Add in the fact that it comes with the footprint (and thus you can ditch the tent body and just go ground cloth+fly in the summer) and you’ve got a deal, even at full retail.
Pack fit is obviously a personal thing, and don’t buy on price alone, but the REI brand gear has come a LONG way in the past few years. If you’re looking for a pack in this size range you’ll do yourself and your budget a favor to take a look at the Flash – especially right now when it’s a penny under $125.
Up til now trying to stay in our budget of $500 didn’t seem like a compromise. Bags, however, don’t seem to have followed the same smaller/cheaper/higher quality path at the same rate the other items have. On the low end you still have bulky synthetic bags, and on the high end you’ve got your ultrapackable down bags – with everything else falling somewhere inbetween. For our purposes here the tried and true Cat’s Meow will work. You won’t win awards from your friends with it’s ultra packability, but it will get you there and back for years. It’s not part of the sale so use code ANNVMEM to take 20% off when you go to check out.
I love my Jetboil. It’s size and space saving design mean that you’ll find yourself bringing it to places you would have never thought to bring your old camp cooking setup. Tailgating, fishing, surfing, touring, etc. – you’ll find yourself tucking it into your bag so you can make a quick cup of coffee or soup on the go. At $65 it’s a no brainer.
I can’t get into the Steripen and other forms of treatment. Yeah, my water will be free of bad things, but it’ll still look dirty. I’ll take a tried and true pump filter any day of the week, and the same price of this MSR isn’t much more than the cost of buying a replacement filter for it.
So, there it is, a good basic setup that you can use for weekend trips to multiday trips, and you’re right at the $500 mark – less than the price of a new pair of snowboard boots and bindings.
I didn’t realize it til this morning, but it’s that time of year again. Yup, the pre-summer sales. REI’s Anniversary Sale starts today, and on first glance it looks like the whole store is on sale. Seriously, there’s a TON of gear on sale, if you’re looking to grab some new gear for the summer this looks like a good opportunity. I’ll update the post with some finds later after my meetings.
After this week’s premature ejaculation of summer weather my mind has been in full on surf mode lately (yes, I’m not one of you all winter hardcores, whatever, that’s what mountains were invented for, suck it). Realized I’m overdue for a week of trunk sessions in North County. Mental field trip below.
Charles of Rustyoldcamera.com plays with Rich Harbour's wood
Roughing it
BEFORE (click image to see more board sexiness)
AFTER
Board meets face. I need to redo my glasswork on this one, felt it flexing and cracking under me last wknd.
Vid below of Gary Hanel talking about his eggs. Always thought his boards looked like fun when I saw them at Mollusk, though I’ve yet to surf one.
Next two days the REI Outlet has an extra 22% off REI brand gear (use code OUT2DAY2 at checkout). Could be a good time to throw down the cheddar on that new tent, sleeping bag or pack you’ve been pondering – and having a lifetime warranty doesn’t hurt.
Been using the old version of the Clipper for years now, picked it up on the cheap when the Seatac REI closed. At over 5 lbs it doesn’t fall into the ultralight category, but it’s taken me from the beach to Lassen to crazy windy eastern Sierra and back with no problems aside from the poles having a slight permanent bend to them. Bonus: the new version is wider and longer than the old was.
REI Clipper, a good 'do everything' tent
REI Venus 75. Ms. Poormansheli tested and approved. They also have the men’s version, the Mars (teehee, get it, women/Venus, men/Mars…) on sale.
It’s the 30 year anniversary of St. Helens and you’re about to get blasted by the media talking about it. St. Helens always had a bit of a personal touch to me, not just because we had to wear masks over our face when it was raining ash, but because my dad was on the mountain for weeks after running S&R. When he’d come back home his clothes just smelled of something, death and sulphur maybe? He and his crew were some of the first people on the mountain post-eruption, and he took a ton of pics (that I thought I had scanned) but sadly the only one on this computer is the one below.
St. Helens S&R
Found this video below from a KOMO reporter, kind of nuts.
And yeah, permits for the mountain were full for today, and if you’re looking for a weekend permit you’re hosed til September 19th. You can always try going at midnight to avoid the permit situation.
Paddled out this weekend for the first time in forever to try and get a piece of the long period south that was supposed to be pushing in. Came to the quick realization that California has got me straight pussified and I’m going to need something besides a 4/3 with holes in it for up here! A couple nice sessions, especially Saturday afternoon. SORE today though, whoa!
Sooo…the decision making process begins. I’ve been rocking the O’neill Psychos the past who knows how many years because 1) the large tall fits my monkey ass (Billabong seems to think that 6′ is tall) and 2) they are on sale every year on Memorial and Labor Day weekends for about $200 at the O’neill shops in Santa Cruz. Good suits, relatively durable, decent fitting, a good $200 suit, but anymore than that and meh.
So now, the shopping begins. Anybody out there built more like an orangutan than a fireplug have recommendations for suits? The Quiksilver Cells feel nice and stretchy on the rack, but they look too small based on their size chart. C’mon, fits up to 6’3 but the inseam maxes at 32″? Who do these companies use for their fit models?
Always thought the Xcels look nice, but they are waaaay outside my budget and again same story on the fit. Sooo…dunno. Looking for recommendations. Anybody try the Matuse suits in tall? At first I was sketch on them as I thought it was just another crap company with the Socal brobrah grassroots marketing revved up to 11, but now I’ve heard a few accounts from friends using that they are a warm, flexible suit, though the long-term durability remains to be seen. Anything else? HELP!
Just got an email from OR saying they’re having a sidewalk sale the 13th-16th. Per the email all Fall 09 and earlier gear is 50-70% off. Looks like they’ll also be giving 20% off one non-sale item.
If you’re like me you don’t need to be on the cutting edge of gear fabrics/designs, and hell half the time changes are just superficial, so looks like it could be a great time to stock up coming into the summer season.
The NWAC has ended it’s regularly updated winter avalanche condition statements and posted this spring statement on their site. Thought it was a good reminder for everyone going out there to get their spring turns.
Please note that in areas retaining a significant winter snowpack, backcountry travelers face a continuing risk of avalanches during the springtime. We strongly advise that backcountry travelers continue to assess snowpack stability and project the effects of anticipated weather on the snowpack when making route choices.
Some general notes regarding spring avalanches follow . . .
During fair spring weather the avalanche danger is generally lowest during the night and early morning hours when surface snow refreezes due to heat loss to the surrounding atmosphere. During the day, sun effects and warm air temperatures can rapidly melt and weaken surface snow layers and produce an increasing avalanche danger during the late morning and afternoon. Wet loose slide activity generally starts on east and southeast facing slopes receiving morning sunshine and progresses to west and southwest facing slopes during the afternoon. Therefore the safest time to cross potential avalanche terrain is during early morning hours before the surface snow begins to warm and weaken.
This daily melt‑freeze cycle is strongly affected by any cloud cover during the night since clouds at night limit cooling and may prevent freezing. This may allow melt water and associated snowpack weakening to affect progressively deeper layers in the snow cover. Snowpack weakening is maximized when warm days are followed by warm overnight temperatures and overcast skies. Backcountry travelers should exercise particular caution under these conditions that often lead to considerable wet loose slide activity along with possible wet slab avalanches.
Backcountry travelers should also be aware that spring storms might quickly produce unstable snow conditions. Although precipitation may fall as rain at lower elevations, substantial amounts of new snow may be deposited at higher elevations. This new snow may form a poor bond with an old crusted snow surface. Rapid rises in temperature following the storm due to intense solar radiation may quickly warm and weaken recent snow, which may need little or no disturbance to slide. While subsequent wet loose slides may start small, they may entrain more snow as they descend and may trigger larger wet slab slides as well. Dangerous conditions may also result from cornices deposited by spring storms, as these may be unstable and release during later warm days. Also, slopes beneath glide cracks should normally be avoided, especially during the heat of the day, as the entire snow cover may release from melt water lubrication and weakening.
Precipitation as rain may also create unstable snow conditions. This is because rain falling on an already wet snowpack causes water to quickly percolate through the snowpack, which weakens progressively deeper snow layers. If the water encounters a crust or an ice lens, it may flow along this layer and lubricate it, making avalanches increasingly likely within the snow above.
No matter what the season, backcountry travelers should avoid slopes of questionable snowpack stability. Remember that many areas, which undergo regular avalanche control during the winter, may not be controlled in the spring.
Also remember that small avalanches may be dangerous. Although wet loose snow in motion may be soft, when it stops rapid hardening takes place. Most avalanche victims trigger the avalanches in which they are caught, and almost half of all avalanche deaths occur in slides traveling less than 300 feet; with some slide fatalities occurring with victims buried only a few inches under the snow surface. Several fatal accidents have occurred during past springs from climbers or skiers releasing and being caught in relatively small avalanches, which subsequently carried the victims into or over a terrain trap. Hence, backcountry travelers should be aware of both the terrain above and below intended routes.
