The Lever Gear Toolcard

If you’re wondering what some of these things actually do or how you’d use them, check out this quick intro video. I looked at some of the functions when I first saw it and said, “That’s not going to work.”

I totally ate my words when I started testing. This thing does everything it says it can do. Manual can openers are hard to do right. They hurt your hands, take forever to open the can and create a jagged mess of the can. Read on for my can experience with the Toolcard.

What can it do?

The Lever Gear Toolcard is pretty impressive in all the things it can do. It’s sometimes awkward or uncomfortable like opening a can but you don’t buy one of these because it’s luxurious and perfect to use for the task. You’d get a nice wrench set or an electric can-opener. This is for when you don’t have any other tools and you’re stuck on the trail or the side of the road.

Tightening gear

So far I’ve used mine the most tightening things that are loose on the go. I’m out riding or fiddling with my camera tripod and something is loose. I don’t have any tools and I’m not going to be home for a while. As long as I’ve got my wallet, I’ll have the Toolcard and it can usually help.

1/4” Hex Bits

You have to figure out a way to hold the Toolcard and hold the hex bit at the same time but it works great if you just have the bits. Nice and light to carry the bits and the Toolcard.

Can opener

Lever Gear Toolcard opening a can

The salmon can I cut open had a thick top on it so it was really tough to start but once I got it rolling, it peeled the can open pretty quick. The edges press into your hand a bit when pushing hard but not like some of the other knife-edged tool cards.

Cord Cutter

Lever Gear Toolcard after cutting cord

I was surprised how fast this little thing can cut through 4mm and 5mm cord. I’m sure it can do larger but those were the only ones I had around. It ripped through them quickly. I thought I was going to be sawing for a while.

Bottle Opener

Lever Gear Toolcard using bottle opener

Pretty fast way to open a bottle. It’s really just a matter of how fast you can get it out of your wallet.

Screwdrivers

I’m using the screwdrivers the most with photography gear. Tightening tripod screws and attaching cameras to the plates sometimes requires a coin or key to tighten. Easy with the large flathead screwdriver.

Money Clip

The big clip that comes with the Toolcard is a money clip. I’ve never used a money clip so that won’t be used but it could easily double as a belt clip if you wanted to keep it there. 

Pros

There’s a lot going for this little multi-tool. Definitely more pros than cons.

Tons of functions

Having 40 different functions on there makes it a huge value when you buy it and only having to carry one thing in your pocket is a big weight savings. I’m still surprised it fits in my wallet and I can’t even tell it’s there.

Easy to use

No moving parts. Just a solid metal card. I did have to check out the video to see exactly what to do to open a can with it. I don’t tend to open cans with an opener like that.

Solid construction

While staying nice and light, the Toolcard is very strong. While pulling hard to it tightening bolts, there wasn’t much flex at all.

Nice look

The etching on it is quite pretty. There aren’t any sharp edges. They’ve done a good job finishing it.

Easy to take off money clip

I had no use for a money clip so the first thing I did was take it off. I had to see the instructions (I read the manual!) to see how to take it off and it was kind of a “duh” moment. It’s really easy.

TSA compliant

Take it with you on the plane and “fix things on the plane” as they say.

Can have them engraved

I will be getting some of these engraved soon. It’s a perfect useful gift idea.

Cons

Uncomfortable in some grips

Starting the can opening was a bit uncomfortable because of the pressure involved but cord cutting and using the screwdrivers is easy and comfortable.

Confusing to take off money clip

Confusing but actually easy. A quick look at the manual or video they have on their site and you’ll be pro.

Small and easy to lose

I feel like I’m going to lose it. I don’t want it to be any bigger because it won’t fit so nicely into my wallet. At the same time it’s so small, I’m totally going to leave it somewhere.

Verdict

So, good or bad? Buy it or not?I’m pretty stoked on this little Toolcard. It’s going to be in my wallet all the time now. My wife is already asking me for it to do things. I just have to remember not to lose it.  

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received the Toolcard for free from Lever Gear as coordinated by Deep Creek PR, an Outdoor Industry Public Relations Company, in consideration for review publication.

The post Small but Strong: The Lever Gear Toolcard Review first appeared on Pack & Trail.

They let you capture unique angles with your camera, film yourself on your adventure and stick your camera in places you don’t really want your own limbs and digits to be.

XShot Pro

I got my grubby little hands on an XShot GoPro Pole to test it out with my GoPro 3. I wanted a better way to use the GoPro hiking, ski touring, kayaking and sailing. The head and chest mounts are great but a small handle ended up being the most versatile. I do also have the GoPole Grenade handle, but it doesn’t extend. You are stuck with your arm. I don’t have any go go gadget attachments so that doesn’t get me very far.

XShot Pro extended to 32 inches

The XShot Pro camera pole, is one of many poles and accessories for GoPros and small cameras from XShot. There’s a handle on one end and you attach a small camera to the other end. Some of them can hold larger cameras but usually it’s just the smaller ones. Heavy cameras on the end of long sticks are hard to keep steady.

What is the XShot Pro like?

Features

18cm to 81cm (7” to 32”)

The XShot Pro is pretty small to begin with at 18 cm (7 inches). I often use it folded down just as a handle. It’s nice and compact. When you want to use it, pull the pole out to 81 cm (32 inches) and you’re ready to roll.

Anodized Aluminium 360 degree ball head mount

A strong metal ball head mount let’s you take pictures at any angle. You have to mount the camera where you want it but it stays there. Unscrew, adjust, tighten and it’s in the new position ready to go. The mount, ball and screws are all anodized aluminum so they’ll last a while. With any of the plastic GoPro mounts, you can see the plastic flex when you’re tighten the screws. Doesn’t inspire too much confidence.

Metal mount on the XShot Pro

GoPro mount on the XShot Pro

GoPro attached to the XShot Pro

XShot Pro ball head tilts at any angle.

Aluminum all around on the XShot Pro

Any angle is possible on the XShot Pro

Heavy duty grip

The first thing I noticed when picked up the XShot Pro was how heavy duty it felt. All those metal pieces add up. The pole is just under 200 grams or 7 ounces. It certainly doesn’t feel like flimsy plastic though. It feels like it’s going to be tossed around in the wilderness and come back for more.

Rubber grip

1/4” tripod mount in the bottom

Female threads for a 1/4” screw are on the bottom. Screw a tripod into the bottom if you have one. XShot sells a little one that folds up. Or just keep the lanyard screwed into the bottom. I’ve added a split-ring and carabiner to mine so it’s easy to attach to a backpack strap.

1/4” tripod-compatible mount on the bottom

Tripod and other camera accessories can be attached

Portable Monopod in low light

You might not have a tripod with you but a monopod will still help. You can use the Pro as a monopod when you don’t have anything else.

Multiple Mounts

Pull off the GoPro mount and attach a generic camera mount.

Easy to pop off the GoPro

Removing the GoPro mount

Attaching the tripod mount

Pros

Here’s the quick list of things I like about the XShot Pro.

• Beefy constructions
• Easy to use
• Small
• Lightweight for strong construction
• Strong attachments
• Multiple mounts

Beefy construction

The XShot Pro feels strong. The poles obviously have to have some strength to hold up a camera but I thought they would be a bunch of plastic parts. It’s only 200 grams (7 ounces) but it feels sturdy when you pick it up. The mounts and boom are metal and the handle is thick rubber. Only the attachment to the lanyard on the bottom is plastic (which might be an important part if it slips out of your hand during a fall or jump).

Easy to Use

There’s not much to using the XShot Pro. Attach the camera, extend the boom, turn on the camera and go. There are two adjustments on the GoPro mount that let you adjust where you want the camera pointed. One holds the GoPro in place. Loosen this and you can rotate the GoPro front to back. Another is for the ball mount. Loosen this and you can rotate 360 degrees, and tilt any direction you want. There are also 2 slots in the side of the mount so you can tilt the camera even more. I use these to point the pole down to the ground with the camera tilted up and get some neat shots inches from the dirt.

Easy to change the angle

High angle on the XShot Pro

Small

Most of the poles out these day are big and strong or small and floppy. The XShot Pro handles both nicely, being only 7 inches long and strong enough to hold a 1.25 pound camera. I’ve been on enough trips to know that if I don’t have my camera easily accessible, I don’t use it. I may as well not bring it if it’s stuck at the bottom of my bag. The small size means I can clip it to the front of my pack and grab it whenever I want.

Lightweight for how strong it is

You can hold a 1.25 pound camera on the end of the pole and it will be fine and it only weighs 7 ounces.

Strong attachments

The thick aluminum mounts are strong. I worry with plastic camera mounts that they’ll snap, especially in the cold. It’s hard to trust something when it’s flexing and moving as you screw the camera on.

Multiple Mounts

The Pro comes with multiple mounts, one for GoPro and one for other cameras. The generic tripod mount will screw into the bottom of any camera with the 1/4” threads. If you are going to be switching back and forth between a GoPro and a regular camera it might be easier just to use the regular camera mount and get a tripod mount for your GoPro. Then they all attach straight to the tripod screw and you aren’t having to change the mount on the XShot, which requires a small allen key.

Point and shoot attached to the 1/4” 20 mount

Canon S120 mounted to the XShot Pro

Cons

The XShot Pro isn’t perfect. There are a few things I’d fix to make it the perfect pole.

• Loose ball head second time out
• Better wrist fastener
• Allen key to change mounts
• Can’t go in salt water

Loose ball head screw

The screw into the GoPro mount was coming a bit loose by the end of my second time out. I’m not sure if I was bashing it around more than the first time or it just wasn’t as tight as it could be right from the factory. It would have been nice to last a few trips before having to tighten. I’m not sure how long each tighten will last. It will take some more trips to find that out. It would be annoying if you had to tighten it every trip.

Needs better wrist tightener

The XShot Pro comes with a wrist strap that’s attached to a screw cap on the bottom of the handle. I almost lost mine a few times in the snow skiing but had it attached to my arm. The wrist strap is a bit of a pain to tighten and loosen each time. it takes 2 hands to slide the buckle up and down. I would prefer a buckle on the strap like the GoPole Grenade Handle (which I added in the picture below), that just has a little button to slide it up and down. Quick and and down for easy adjusting. If you are putting it on and off many times on a trip, easy adjustment is better.

Carabiner attachment

Allen key to change mounts

It’s easy to change mounts on the XShot Pro as long as you have the small allen key. You can use any allen key that size but not many people have an allen key tucked away in their adventure bag. If you need to change mounts or tighten the screw, then you need the allen key. It’s a tiny screw so I understand why they did it like that but it would be nicer if it was a more standard screwdriver that I would have on my Leatherman multitool or tip of a knife that I already have with me.

Can’t go in salt water

I haven’t seen anything from XShot to say that you should NOT take the Pro into salt water but most of the stories I’ve read online about it end up badly. One user just cleans it off with fresh water and oils up the boom (not the ball mount!) with WD40 and it’s good to go again. I wouldn’t put it in salt water but you might want to experiment. It would be awesome if they could go in salt water with no problem.

Tips

Here’s a few tips to make using the XShot Pro a little better.

Carabiner

Add a split ring with a carabiner to the lanyard loop at the bottom of the pole and you can easily clip it to your backpack shoulder strap or chest strap.

Store on the front of your pack

Find a spot on your shoulder or chest strap on your backpack that’s easy to access. Having it easily accessible means you’ll use it more. If it’s buried at the bottom of your back, it’s not coming out much. Make it easy to take photos and videos and you’ll take more.

Practice

Practice makes perfect. Well, practice makes it better anyways. I thought I’d just pull out that pole and I’d be skiing all over the place in sweet videos. Nope. It’s a lot harder to keep that thing straight than I thought. It’s not fault of the XShot Pro’s. I just don’t have much experience with skiing with selfie sticks. I’ll get there. Before you get to your epic location, practice around the house, film your animals, take lots of selfie’s in the local park. Figure it out before you get to your dream destination.

Tighten the allen key screw

Tighten the screw that needs the allen key before you leave home. You don’t want to get half way through your adventure and have a loose ball mount that doesn’t stay still. Tighten it before each trip. If you’re going for more than one day and plan to use the pole a lot, take the allen key.

Conclusion

I was surprised with how well put together the XShot Pro is put together. I’ve only used it on a few trips so far but because of it’s size and weight, it will be coming on many more trips. So far it’s become the default mount I use with my GoPro. It’s a good short handle for it. And then easily extends to 81cm. Just be careful with it in the salt water and you won’t have to use anything else with your GoPro.

More info

See the Pro on the XShot website

Buy on Amazon

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received the Pro for free from XShot as coordinated by Deep Creek PR, an Outdoor Industry Public Relations Company, in consideration for review publication.

The post XShot Pro Review first appeared on Pack & Trail.

I use Google Earth all the time to see GPS tracks and waypoints. The satellite imagery on the maps is so detailed in many places which makes it easier to see little features that may not show on a topographic map.

I use a Garmin Montana 600 GPS so all my GPS tracks are stored in Garmin Basecamp. I wish Garmin would add more features and update Basecamp but it’s still the best track editor and organizer I’ve found. I hope they move it all online and make sharing easier. I’ll be reviewing the premium version of Gaia GPS in the future so stay tuned for that.

Basecamp used to have a nice feature where you just click on a track and then ‘Export to Google Earth’. Because of a change on the Google Earth side and a lack of resources for updating Basecamp, they removed the feature instead of updating it.

It takes a few steps to export tracks from Garmin Basecamp to view in Google Earth now but it’s still possible.

Exporting Tracks

Select the track you’d like to export then go to File > Export Selected User Data. Select a folder and file name for your GPX file.

Open Google Earth and drag the GPX file onto the map.

A data import window will come up. You can adjust these to your liking. I prefer to use Create KML LineStrings and Adjust altitudes to ground height. These require a bit of adjustment after to get the most usable tracks in GE.

After importing, the track will show under Temporary Places in the sidemenu in GE. I always expand all the parts to the GPS track in the menu and deselect points which are all the individual tracking points from the GPS. The Path is much easier to look at.

The default path style is usually thin and grey. To change that to something more visible, right-click on the path, click Get Info, the Style, Color. Here you can pick your color and thickness of the path.

Tracks are imported into Temporary Places in GE. You have to right-click on them and click Save to My Places for them to be saved permanently in Google Earth.

If you know of a faster way to get tracks from Basecamp into Google Earth, definitely let us know!

The post Garmin Basecamp: How to export to Google Earth first appeared on Pack & Trail.

Backcountry touring, whether on a splitboard or skis, is like you’re in another world entirely. Yes, it’s an incredible amount of work to reach the top of a snow-covered mountain using your muscles alone but when you touch that summit, when you realize there’s no one else around, you feel the satisfaction of pushing your body and there’s nothing else like it. It’s worth every moment.

Heading into the backcountry isn’t all rainbows and unicorns though, and with such a reward comes an associated risk. With all of the snow that falls each year, comes the risk of that snow moving, of conditions being just right that your weight on that snow will cause it to slide. Better known as an avalanche. Some days its a small risk. Some days it could send you to the hospital, or worse.Snow science isn’t something easy that you can learn in one day. A huge number of variables come together in an almost unimaginable number of ways to create avalanches that can a metre or take out entire forests or towns. It isn’t magic though, and there are signs you can look for in the snow to forecast what might happen.

Since World War II researchers around the world have been pushing hard into snow science and investigating every possible idea related to avalanches and snow safety. This post is a review of The Avalanche Handbook, an avalanche manual that brings together the best in more than 50 years of avalanche research. The Avalanche Handbook doesn’t contain every single idea from all research but it covers the most fundamental of those ideas, what the authors thought most important.

To give you a quick idea of what The Avalanche Handbook covers, here is the Table of Contents:

Chapter 1 – Character and Effects of Avalanches

Chapter 2 – Elements of Mountain Snow Climates and Weather

Chapter 3 – Snow Formation and Growth in the Atmosphere and Snowpack

Chapter 4 – Avalanche Formation

Chapter 5 – Avalanche Terrain, Motion, and Effects

Chapter 6 – The Elements of Applied Avalanche Forecasting

Chapter 7 – Classes of Factors Involved with Evaluation of Instability and Forecasting

Chapter 8 – The ABCs for Backcountry Avalanche Forecasting and Decisions

Chapter 9 – Safety Measures and Rescue

Chapter 10 – Avalanche Protection

It’s not a light, fluffy pamphlet on avalanches, it goes in deep. The book starts with quotes from popular publications from around the world.

From Off Piste, “Perhaps the definitive book on snow science and avalanche mechanics…The author’s credentials are impeccable.”

From the Pittsburgh Tribune, “The revised third edition of The Avalanche Handbook…could well save your life.”

From Backcountry Magazine, “This book has been the bible for avalanche workers since the first edition came out in 1953…If you ever start to feel cocky about your avalanche forecasting skills, sit down with this gem and I will guarantee you will learn something new.”

From Outside Bozeman, “The Avalanche Handbook is the uber text in the field of avalanche science.”

Textbook and Handbook

To be honest, there are parts of the book that read like a textbook, dense and slow. But other parts are as easy to grasp as, well, picture books. There’s the whole range. That’s why the quote above from Backcountry Magazine is so spot on. You can be at any level of your avalanche training and you could learn something new.

For the beginners, there are the important basics that get you started covering the fundamentals. For the advanced forecasters you can dig deep into the snow science details and all the research behind the techniques and ideas they recommend. And then everything in between. As you get more familiar with what they are talking about, you will advance and take in more information. I’ve only taken basic avalanche training and am in the process of learning more which means there is much in the book that I can’t even grasp yet. There is still lots I do understand and can take out to the backcountry with me.

Learning the ABCs

The ABCs for Backcountry Avalanche Forecasting and Decisions might be the best part of the book. The whole chapter covers simple, straightforward information with the goal of teaching you to make the right decisions in the backcountry in avalanche terrain. If you never get into avalanche terrain, then you can’t get caught in an avalanche. The chapter right after about safety measures and rescue is important reading as well. Rescue is simply a required skill and training that everyone going into avalanche terrain should have. Sadly some don’t.

If you backcountry ski or snowboard at any time, I hope you can take a look at The Avalanche Handbook. With all the science, you may not be able to grasp every single detail right now, but that just means you’ll be able to learn more for years to come.Get details and download a free chapter from The Avalanche Handbook at the Mountaineers Books.

If you are looking for more avalanche information see the Canadian Avalanche Association  or the Island Avalanche Bulletin for Vancouver Island.

Warning: This or any other book is not a substitute for hands-on training with a qualified professional when it comes to avalanches. Get yourself into a course before going into any avalanche terrain. Reading books after you have some official training is a great idea though. The more you know the better. Ski safe,- Ross

The post Book Review: The Avalanche Handbook first appeared on Pack & Trail.

Interested in Ski Touring or Ski Mountaineering? Get this book.

Backcountry Skiing: Skills for Ski Touring and Ski Mountaineering is an excellent book if you are just getting into ski touring or ski mountaineering or even if you have some experience but want to have a good reminder and refresher each winter. They cover every aspect of ski touring and ski mountaineering from the gear, traveling in avalanche terrain, skiing and mountaineering techniques and emergency preparedness.

From Backcountry Skiing:

“This book arose out of a desire to keep pace with the recent evolution of the skiing population, the improvement and proliferation of gear, and the development of new techniques. Our aim is to provide an in-depth explanation of all the various skills, knowledge, and techniques that are so crucial to safety and success in the diverse activities of ski touring and ski mountaineering – all in one place.”

Table of Contents

I list the table of contents here just because it’s useful to see what exactly is in the book. It shows how well the book spans ski touring and ski mountaineering. It’s an excellent reminder of what you need to know to play with either of these sports.

Chapter 1: Gear and Equipment

Chapter 2: Decision-Making in Avalanche Terrain

Chapter 3: Navigation

Chapter 4: Uphill Movement

Chapter 5: Transitions

Chapter 6: Ski Mountaineering Techniques

Chapter 7: Downhill Skiing Techniques

Chapter 8: Taking Care of Yourself and the Mountains

Chapter 9: The Mountain Environment

Chapter 10: Rescue Techniques and Emergency Preparedness

Glossary and other resources 

What this book is not

This book is not a complete replacement for many other books and manuals. Entire books have been written on the content of every one of the chapters in this book so you can certainly go deeper. Avalanche safety and rescue techniques are a couple of the big ones that you can never know too much or have too much training or experience. The more the better.

This book is also not a replacement for hands on learning and courses, especially with the avalanche and rescue training. Those skills need to be learned from experienced professionals and then practiced and practiced and practiced. Reading more books can help you uncover new ideas or areas where you might need more training, but it’s no replacement for hands-on learning and getting your body used to the skills out in the field.

On the other side of that, this book IS a great introduction to the sports and a great refresher each winter if you already know most of the material. The best thing you can do when you start something is new is read every resource you can get your hands on to introduce yourself to the what you need to know in the future. You can’t learn all of it right away but just knowing what you don’t know can help you in the long run. 

Who the author’s are and why they know their stuff

I read a lot and I always wonder who the people are that are writing these books. How much experience do they have? How much training do they have? Between the three authors they have an incredible amount of both those things. Here’s the short and sweet intro to each of the authors.

Martin Volken

• Owner of Pro Ski and Guiding Service in Bend Oregon
• IFMGA certification from Switzerland
• Guiding mountaineering since 1992 in US and other countries
• Several first ascents, ski descents and ski mountaineering traverses in North Cascades
• Been on cover of Outside magazine
• Involved in product development for K2 and Outdoor Research
• Examiner for American Mountain Guides Association

Scott Schell

• Certified AMGA Ski Mountaineering Guide
• Guided extensively throughout States as well as Canada and Europe
• Instructor and Trainer for AIARE
• Former AMGA ski discipline instructor
• Former manager of Pro Ski Service in Seattle
• Usually has a camera with him and captures unique images as a photographer and mountain guide

Margaret Wheeler

• Ski, Alpine and rock climbing guide, led trips throughout Europe and North America
• Instructor for guide training for American Mountain Guides Association (AMGA), serves on board and is president
• AIARE (American Institute for Avalanche Research and Education) instructor and trainer
• Member of several women’s expeditions, several first ski descents in India and Altai mountains of Mongolia
• 2006 second women in US to complete international IFMGA/UIAGM guide certification

My Favourite Parts

I was very interested to see what they had to say about avalanches. I’ve recently started ski touring and avalanches scare the crap out of me. I try to read and pick up every bit of information and learning I can to refine my knowledge of the unpredictable beasts. A lot of avalanche safety is hands-on training but any edge I can get reading more is worth it.

The Threesome Packing Helper

The authors go over a great packing method they call the Threesome Method. It has nothing to do with the fact that there are three authors or doing something…else… while packing. Focus! Back to packing here.

They take the view that it’s safer in the backcountry when you remember all of your gear. That seems like a smart idea. Here’s an easy way to remember everything in 3’s.

From Backcountry Skiing:

Daylong Backcountry Skiing and Ski Touring

• Skis, boots, poles
• Maps, compass, altimeter
• Transceiver, probe, shovel
• Skins, ski crampons, repair kit
• Food, drink, extra layer
• Bivy bag, first-aid kit, cell phone
• Base layer, midlayer, outer layer
• Hat, gloves, googles
• Sunglasses, sunscreen, sun hat

Ski Mountaineering

• Threesomes from daylong touring list
• Harness, ice ax, crampons
• Rope, ice screws, rescue gear kit

Overnight Ski Tours

• Threesomes from daylong touring and ski mountaineering lists
• Sleeping bag, sleeping pad, shelter
• Stove, pot, fuel

These aren’t the only things you’ll need to take, sometimes it’s more, sometimes it’s less. You’ll need to experiment with how much you bring. More gear can be safer because you can use it if you get caught in an emergency but it’s also heavier, using up energy that you could be using for traveling farther and faster. The trick is in the 3s. If you remember one or two of the three then you’ll remember the third. 

Avalanches

Avalanches are the scariest part of ski touring but a lot of training and learning around how you go about your planning before and during your trip will help immensely.

From Backcountry Skiing:

“Terrain selection is defined as the decisions we make about where we go. This is the ultimate application of our decision-making in the backcountry. You can’t get caught in an avalanche if you’re not in avalanche terrain.”

and:

“Remember, good terrain selection is the key to not getting caught in an avalanche and correctly implementing travel techniques is the key to not having multiple people caught.” 

STOP

These guys like their acronyms and rightly so, they make the important information so much easier to remember.

STOP is what they use to aid decision making pretrip, at the trailhead and throughout the tour. STOP stands for

Snowpack and Weather: Checking any avalanche bulletins and weather forecasts or snow reports. What are the concerns?

Terrain: Using any information you can find in books, photos, online or from friends or guides to aid you in your terrain decisions.

Options: What’s the ideal route? What are the alternatives or backups?

People: What are the skills and dynamics of the group? Ability? Fitness? Compatibility? Leaders? 

Human Factors

We humans are not perfect. A lot of decisions are made before and during ski touring trips and how those decisions are made and who they’re made by can affect the safety of your tour. We’re not perfectly logical. A lot of emotion and past experiences are involved in dealing with other people in your group. A variety of factors can come up when dealing with the other people in your group.

A couple common human factors can affect how your tour ends. Poor communication the group is a an obvious big one. If your group isn’t talking about important things between everyone and that information is just stuck in one or 2 peoples heads, there can be problems. Communication is very important with ski touring in mountaineering.Other things like the “Blue Sky Factor” or the “Back to the Barn Syndrome” can lead people to misdiagnosing situations as safe when they’re not. The Blue Sky Factor issue comes up when the weather is fantastic. Everyone assumes the risk is lower when the weather is good. They are more careful when the weather isn’t so great. Risk can be just as high or higher when the weather is nice.

“Back to the Barn Syndrome” comes up when it’s time to head home. You’re almost home and you tend to focus on how good the beer is going to taste when you get back to the truck. The tour isn’t over till it’s over and the risk doesn’t go away until you’re safely in your car. 

Dressing warm enough

One of the parts I was not expecting in this book was about caring for the mountains and dressing for backcountry travel. It totally makes sense to me now that I think about it. If someone were picking up a general ski touring book aimed at beginners or those looking to expand their knowledge they may not know a whole lot about how to dress most efficiently. When the cold temperatures out ski touring can make you extremely uncomfortable or worse, it’s important to dress properly.

From Backcountry Skiing:

“It’s a lot easier to stay warm than to get warm, and one of the best ways to stay warm is not to get too hot.”

Don’t get too hot. Don’t wait until it’s too late to take your layers off. Start touring when you’re a little cool. You don’t want your body to have to go to extremes to have to try and cool down by sweating profusely and then shock your system by taking all your layers off when you’re sweating too much. Then your body freezes and you’ll be trying to warm up then. Try and stay as even as possible, and not yo-yo up and down with your heat level. 

The Mountaineers Books

If you think this would be a good book for you, swing by The Mountaineers Books and grab a copy.

You can download a sample chapter from the book. This an eBook version as well if you’d prefer to read on an eReader.

The post Book Review: Backcountry Skiing – Skills for Ski Touring and Ski Mountaineering first appeared on Pack & Trail.

Some days you go hiking and it’s pissing down rain. It’s far from the bright warm sunshine that follows you around on the good days.

Some days you go sailing and there’s just no wind or the wind is howling and you’re hunkered down on the rail wishing you were somewhere else. It’s far from the constant 10-20 knots and sun on those days you dream about.

Some days are not the best. Depending on my mood I might go so far as to say they suck. Then I remember days that are spent inside at the computer, tired, stressed out, no outside recharge time in sight. Sucky outside days don’t seem so bad when compared to anything inside. They still aren’t great though.

I like to call them Appreciation Days. Any day outside is better than being inside. Those days with terrible snow, cold sideways rain and intense howling wind are there for a reason. Those days are there to make us appreciate the good days, the days with warm sun, light powder and the perfect wind.

Appreciation Days are there to still use for outside adventures but to remind us to pay much more attention to those good days that slip by because we take them for granted.

The post Appreciation Days first appeared on Pack & Trail.

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You may be asking yourself: What exactly is an outdoor cooperative?

To start, the Outdoor Adventure Social Club (OASC) is a worker-owned cooperative, which means that there are 12 co-op owners who each have an equal share in the business – everything from the day to day business decisions to shouldering the financial implications of running said business.

Last February, the owner of the OASC pulled together a group of friends who he thought might be interested in going into business together. The backstory: he had started the business in 2005 and had been running it as a solo operation since then, with volunteers and some paid employees along the way. Now, he was getting married and the business was growing past the point where it could effectively be run by one single person.

From the initial people who showed interest, the group eventually evolved into the Adventure Co-op, which now runs the OASC. Instead of just one person shouldering the load of running a business, we now have 12 sets of hands and minds. We have business- and marketing-minded people, a designer and a developer, financial folks, teachers, small business owners – within the group, we have someone who has expertise in each area that’s necessary for keeping the business running smoothly. We meet at least once a month, sometimes more often, and have quarterly financial meetings.

How is the club itself structured? 

OASC Members are adults of all ages and skill levels exploring and enjoying nature’s beauty, experiencing diverse cultural and social events, and volunteering in hands-on community service projects while forming new friendships. Our mission is to provide daily opportunities to exercise mind and body in a safe, supportive atmosphere fostering camaraderie, education, and respect for our environment and community. And, unlike many adventure companies (as one example, whitewater companies who focus exclusively on rafting), OASC is activity and community oriented, rather than profit-oriented. We try to focus on building community while connecting people to their natural environment.

In a nutshell, we took a business model that was dependent on one person and flipped it to being cooperatively run. This spring, we will celebrate our one year anniversary of being in business, and will hopefully have implemented most of the changes that we as a group have been working on over the past six months. Our hope has always been that the members of OASC wouldn’t really notice the difference with the co-op behind the helm, and that has seemed to be the case. During the transition, we tried to keep things business as usual, and we are working on transitioning to a new and improved club this coming spring.

And now, the fun part: What do you actually do?

One of the things that we love most about the business is providing the opportunity for people in our community to get outside and enjoy the great outdoors while strengthening their ties to the community. Because we organize large group adventures, we are able to utilize our community partnerships to get great deals for our members, allowing them to take advantage of trips they might not be able to afford on their own. (Those profit-oriented rafting companies mentioned above? We have a great relationship with one of them out in West Virginia, and partner with them several times a year!) We have adventures year ‘round, and wanted to take this opportunity to highlight some of the ways you can have fun during all 4 seasons!

Winter

One of our favorite winter trips is a long weekend where club members gather at several rented houses at Snowshoe Resort in West Virginia. Members are able to decide what level of excitement they want in their weekend (Quiet house? Party house? Somewhere in between?) and pick what outdoor activities they want to enjoy during the trip. Besides the standard downhill skiing and snowboarding, there is also cross country skiing, snow tubing and snowshoeing. When members want to come in from the cold, there is always plenty of food and lots of activities, ranging from movie showings and board games to live music and wine tastings.

Skiing

Spring

While the early spring is usually cold and icy in our neck of the woods, the many caves and caverns that dot the landscape are a balmy 55 degrees year ‘round. Our members are able to take advantage of caving trips throughout the year, and here is the hilarious and awesome description given by one of our members (and a fellow co-op owner):

“If you’ve never been caving, it’s kind of like scrambling around in a field of large boulders with only your trusty headlamp to light your way. Sometimes you’ll be walking upright through large “rooms” while at other points you might be crawling or squeezing through a small passageway, scrambling up a wall of boulders, or fording a small stream. Throughout the cave, you’ll have the opportunity to admire formations such as stalagmites (“g” is for ground), stalactites (“c” is for ceiling), and cave “bacon.” Speaking of food, lunchtime in the cave is a great time to experience absolute darkness and see sparks fly when you chew on a Wint-O-Green lifesaver.”

Caving

Summer

Summer is the time when everyone manages to get outside, so we end up having more adventures going on than you could ever imagine attending. From hiking or mountain biking the local trails, kayaking under the full moon, sailing the Chesapeake Bay, playing sand volleyball, river tubing on the James River, climbing the Via Ferrata or playing frisbee golf to volunteering at a local organic farm, wine tastings or cooking club, we lead activities for all ages and activity levels. The weather stays amazing from late spring into early fall in central Virginia, minus the pesky hot (did we mention hot?) weather in August, so there’s always a chance to take advantage of the longer days.

Canoe and Kayak

Fall

Every October, there is a dam release on the Upper Gauley River in the New River Gorge of West Virginia. Members have taken advantage of this opportunity for years on end; the weekend is usually jam-packed with things to do, from hanging out with friends at Bridge Day watching base jumping, to outdoor rock climbing in the gorge, or whitewater kayaking. There’s hiking, mountain biking, tree-top tours, standup paddle boarding, fishing, horseback riding, and nearly anything else you can imagine in the river range of the town of Fayetteville.

white_water

All Seasons Travel

Along with trips to other states close by, we also like to spread our wings and do some traveling. This spring and summer, we have members heading to a mountaineering class on Mount Washington, New Hampshire, some folks making the trek to the Mount Everest Base Camp in Nepal, and a 10 day backpacking trip through Sequoia National Park to Mount Whitney. There are generally at least a few trips of this type planned per year, and along with our other big adventures, give our members the opportunity to make some amazing outdoor memories.

Everest 9-4

Jessica

Hopefully now that you’ve read over the description of the business and what we do, you’ll be inspired to get outdoors more, find friends to drag with you, or even start your own outdoor cooperative in your town! It’s been a great learning experience for all of us, and has allowed a fun local business to grow and evolve in a sustainable way. As for us, we’ll be busy behind the scenes keeping things running, but we hope to see you outside enjoying all the great outdoors has to offer. And, if you’re ever in Virginia, stop by and have an outdoor adventure with us!

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Jessica is a freelance graphic designer, environmental activist & organizer, social media queen, musician, non-conformist, tree-hugger, ruckus-raiser, and lover of all things fuzzy. Her design work can be found at www.verdantspringdesign.com and all things cooperative live at www.outdoorsocial.com.

The post Why an Outdoor Cooperative = 4 Seasons of Fun first appeared on Pack & Trail.

Here’s another trip report from Roxy from Adder Mountain in May.

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Adder Mountain May 6 2012

After heading up 5040 Peak the weekend before, our eyes were now set on Adder Mountain which was just down the valley from 5040.  The weather looked great for Sunday so we hoped to get some views of the surrounding peaks which we never got to see the weekend before.  We had spent the week looking up route information, trying to find out if anyone ever accessed the summit from Louise Goetting Lake which seemed like an obvious route.  It seemed most people went up the Northwest Ridge, accessed from Sutton Pass on HWY 4, but the route did not look too appealing.  The other option was to come in from the Nahmint valley and gain the East Ridge, but we knew that the road would be well snowed in at this time of year.  So we made up an approximate Google Earth track which accessed Louise Goetting Lake from Spur MC30 off the Marion Creek Main, crossed the lake and went up onto the East Ridge to the summit.

Similarly to last weekend, we departed Victoria on Saturday night, driving up Spur MC30 only to find a gate at about 300 m elevation.  Even though the elevation was similar to where we were bunked last weekend, the snow line looked to be nowhere near in sight.  We set up our car camp for the night after admiring the nearby micro-hydro operation that was the reason for the gate’s existence.

The next morning we started hiking around 6:15 am, admiring the morning alpenglow on Pogo Mountain and Triple Peak.

It turns out that the road we saw on Google Earth actually goes up much higher than the 12 year old satellite imagery.  We put skis on at about 600 m and the road ends at about 650 m, at a micro-hydro station and spectacular waterfall.  From there flagging for Jack’s Peaks starts and we followed it up to the lake, probably less than an hour from where the road ended.  We had to take our skis off when the ground steepened, but it would probably be skinnable in softer conditions as we kept our skis on for the way out.  Once at the lake, the flagging continues to Jack’s Peaks but we crossed the frozen lake aiming for the bluffy section on the northeast end of the lake.  It looked steep, but we were able to skin up a drainage just to the west of the steep slopes which brought us to beautiful open forested slopes leading to the east ridge proper (Mt. Klitsa on the left, Nahmint Mountain on the right).

There was one slope blocking the east ridge which looked to be a high avalanche hazard, so we carefully ascended it one at a time.  On our way down this slope later we both set off loose wet avalanches, nothing major but still a little scary.

Just below the summit, we ditched our skis and bootpacked around the south to avoid the corniced and steep snow slope leading to the summit.  I had a minor sketch moment traversing the top of the cliff in my clunky ski boots and crampons combination, but we were soon past any difficulties and were on the summit!  Time to head back to some Cheetos and rum back at the truck =)  A “huh” moment when skiing back onto Louise Goetting Lake from the steep drainage was had when I landed on the rapidly melting lake, and had my skis sink in to water. I don’t think we would have been able to get to the shore from that spot had we crossed late in the day!

Turns down were somewhat interesting since the snow was so slushy, and not yet consolidated, resulting in us setting off mini-avalanches whenever we cut a turn in.  We were more just eager to get off the unstable slopes and we saw a couple of large avalanches thunder down Adder’s south face when we were returning across the lake.  I kept thinking of something a colleague had once told me: “Sometimes avalanches onto frozen lakes are large enough to initiate lake ice break-up”.  Those Cheetos and rum will be delicious!

Our GPS track up and down Adder Mountain:

** Roxy Ahmed is a graduate student at UVic who probably spends more time in the mountains than she should. On any given weekend you can find Roxy climbing or skiing the mountains of Vancouver Island and beyond.

The post Roxy’s Adder Mountain Ski Tour Trip Report first appeared on Pack & Trail.

Here’s Roxy with a trip report from 5040 in April.**

5040 Peak April 29 2012

Chris and I were aching to do a ski tour and get into the alpine so we settled on 5040 Peak in the HWY 4 area for the weekend’s adventure. We drove up from Victoria on Saturday night, hoping to drive up the Marion Creek Main until we hit snow line and set up camp for the night. There are two main approaches to 5040’s summit; the Northwest Ridge which starts at about km 6 at the hydrometric station on the Marion Creek Main, and the much nicer looking Cobalt Lake route which starts at about 9.5 km and is the route we wanted to go up. Unfortunately, we hit snow at about 3.5 km and so we had to set up camp there for the night (the snow line was super low on the western side of the pass, down to about 200m!). So this meant that doing the Cobalt Lake route would add an extra 6 kms each way and over 300 m of extra elevation gain. Oh well, at least we had skis so the way out wouldn’t be so bad!

We started skinning up the road before 7 am to help contend with the extra approach. The sun peaked out for a few brief moments but then decided to keep us in a fog for the rest of the day. After a couple of hours, we reached the end of the road and the welcome sight of this huge avalanche runout coming out of the gulley parallel to the one we were about to head up. Good thing we had avalanche gear?

It was a bit tricky finding the flagging for the Cobalt Lake route but we weren’t too concerned since it was pretty much just head up the drainage staying on the south side of the creek.  Chris did locate the flagging however, and soon we were hiking up slash and then steep forest for about an hour before we hit beautiful open old growth forest and we were able to put our skis on.  We didn’t need ice axes or crampons to boot up the steep bits, but if it froze the previous night and the snow was hard I would defnintely recommend having that gear.

Once we got to Cobalt Lake, we stopped for a quick lunch and we were lucky enough to have the fog lift for just long enough to let us see our objective and pick out a route.  It seems that most parties (especially in the summer) head around or across the lake east to a bench which gives easy access to the southern part of the summit ridge.  However there was lots of avalanche activity in the basin and some suspicious cornices so we decided to head north into the trees, staying far left of the cliff band.  This small ridge popped us onto 5040’s west face directly below the summit.

From there Chris decided to cut large switchbacks and skin up to the summit, but it was a little steep for my ready-for-retirement skins so I bootpacked the final 50 m or so to the top.  This photo of me coming up onto the summit gives a good idea of what the conditions were like – no views that day.  Once at the cairn that was apparently the top, we put on jackets, had a quick snack and turned to descend.  Since we had no idea what the runout was like, Chris decided to walk his skis down to where I left mine since he didn’t want to risk a bail on the steep part.  It was very weird and disorienting skiing through the whiteout in terrain you didn’t know!  We stuck close together and didn’t open up until we got back to the relative safety of the trees.  From there on it was fanatastic turns down!  I would definitely go back, but maybe later in the season when the logging road approach wouldn’t be so long 😛

Our approximate route in red, and logging road hike to 5040 Peak:

** Roxy Ahmed is a graduate student at UVic who probably spends more time in the mountains than she should. On any given weekend you can find Roxy climbing or skiing the mountains of Vancouver Island and beyond.

The post Roxy’s 5040 Ski Tour Trip Report first appeared on Pack & Trail.

Here’s Roxy with a trip report from ski touring Mount Brenton, near Chemainus.

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Mt. Brenton April 14 2012

Resort-ski season had come to an end on Vancouver Island so Chris and I decided to skin up Mt. Brenton in Chemainus to enjoy some sunny ski touring. We had made a half-attempt at trying to get up Mt. Brenton last spring, but as the gates close early (4:30 pm) and we didn’t start until almost 2 pm we only had time to make it to Hollyoak Lake before we had to turn back.

This time we had a better eye on the time. Actually, we left Victoria that morning with hopes of getting up Green Mountain for some turns, but we were turned back by a locked gate just past the second lake so luckily we had a backup plan.

After chatting with the friendly gate-keeper on the Macmillan Bloedel FSR we turned up the Mt. Brenton FSR (just past the Chemainus River provincial park) with fingers crossed on how high we could drive up. Even though we were much earlier in the season we drove to pretty much the exact same spot we drove to on last year’s attempt. I think it was about 700m in elevation.

Mount Brenton Service Road

From there we skinned up the gentle logging roads, following day old bear tracks for part of the way up.  At some point you reach a junction where you can head northeast or northwest.  The northwest road leads to Hollyoak Lake, which was still frozen at this time with evidence of snowmobilers recently driving over the ice.

From there we continued to follow roads to the summit.  Heading west past the lake, you come to a T where you head south for a short bit and then take a spur heading north to the summit.  The roads go right up to a Provincial Emergency Communications tower and it’s just a short walk from there up to the top!  The “turns” down mostly consist of just letting gravity take you down a gentle grade but at least it’s quicker than walking, getting us out with enough daylight left to do some rockclimbing at the Nanaimo Sunny Side bluffs before heading back to Victoria.

 Roxy Ahmed is a graduate student at UVic who probably spends more time in the mountains than she should. On any given weekend you can find Roxy and her partner Chris Jensen climbing or skiing the mountains of Vancouver Island and beyond.

The post Roxy’s Mount Brenton Ski Tour Trip Report first appeared on Pack & Trail.