GearFlogger

Denali climbing season open!

It's on, baby! It's on like Donkey Kong! The Denali climbing season is officially open. It started with the good men and women of Fort Wainwright's B Company 1st Battalion 52nd Aviation Regiment, nicknamed the Sugar Bears. They flew their CH-47 Chinook helicopters to basecamp, hauling all the stuff we climbers depend on for support. Check out the photos.

The National Weather Service is now tracking the weather on Big Mac, so if you're heading up be sure to terrify yourself by looking at it daily. And don't forget to hit the National Park Service to look at the annual weather summaries and mountaineering summaries.

By the way, you know what do all these organizations have in common? They are paid for by our tax dollars, so respect that and don't burden them any more than you have to. Plan and train to take care of yourself and your team on the mountain, and don't be a Jadranka!

Denali Annual Mountaineering Summary 2012

Every year since 1979 the National Park Service has published the Denali National Park and Preserve Annual Mountaineering Summary. The 2012 edition is hot off the electronic press and required reading for everyone planning a trip up The Great One.

In 2012 there were 1,223 climbers on Denali and 6 on Foraker. The summit rate was 41 percent for the West Buttress, the preferred route for 93 percent of climbers. The average trip length was 17 days, the average age 39 years, and a record 162 women (13 percent of climbers) attempted the mountain. 37 percent of women made the summit.

Most climbers were from the US (730) with a slight plurality from Alaska (103). The busiest summit day was May 26 (56), but most summits were landed in June (280). There were six fatalities on the mountain: a climber fell while chasing a backpack at 16,200, a skier fell on the Orient Express, and four (out of a party of five) climbers were swept into a crevasse in an avalanche on Motorcycle Hill.

2013 is the centennial of the first ascent of Denali by Hudson Stuck's party, which stood on the summit June 7, 1913. The Mislow-Swanson Denali Pro Award went to Bernie Babcock of Alaska and his teammate Ben Smith of Montana. They responded to a request for help from another party on the "Shaken Not Stirred" route on the Moose's Tooth, rendering assistance that in all probability saved the life of a fellow climber. Way to go guys!

National Park Service Denali Mountaineering

Black Diamond quality control lab: slings and draws

You stingy bastard. You know who you are: the guy who insists his gear is still fit for duty as it crumbles into dust. Everyone is guilty of it, but we all need to take a deep breath and realistically assess the state of our gear.

Black Diamond's quality control lab hooks us up with pointers on how gear degrades, what to look for and what to do about it. This edition focuses on slings and quickdraws, but there's plenty more on their site so dig around.

The bottom line: BD claims two main factors wear out slings and draw, and those are abrasion and ultraviolet light. One interesting finding is that both nylon and Dynex degrade similarly from UV, and most of that 16% loss in strength happens in the first ten weeks. So don't think it's even over time.

Their next gear lab will focus on biners, so stay tuned.

Think you can outrun an avalanche?

 

Black Diamond tests the breaking point of runners

Black Diamond tested the breaking point of wet and dry runners. We're generally supportive of the abuse of runners - what kind of sport is that, really? - yet initially we were sketical; surely a wet person will break at the same point as a dry person. Then we realized they were talking about webbing! Nylon and Dynex specifically:

"Dynex runners don’t seem to be affected when soaked, which was to be expected. Nylon runners, on the other hand, show about a 10% decrease in strength when wet. Should this slight decrease in strength be concerning? Not really. The strength of these, wet or dry, are well above the product rating and pretty much any force that can be created in the field. Bottom line: runners are crazy strong, wet or dry. So even if my partner had gone for a ride during our rain-drenched climb, he would have been fine.
 
"Note: If your runners or other gear gets soaked, don’t dry it out in direct sunlight. This causes degradation and a potential decrease in strength. How much? Check out an entry from the QC Lab archives: Testing Old Gear from the VRG. Dried out and sun-bleached slings broke at around 11 kN with some as low as 5 kN. That’s 1124 lbf and getting well into sketchy land."

Read complete article at Black Diamond

If you live in Boulder you're a lucky SOB

Ooh, you lucky bastards! The Boulder outdoor industry is having a ginormous sale Friday and Saturday in Boulder, Colorado. We're talking demos, seconds, samples, discontinued stuff and more.

Top brands including Scarpa, Sportiva, BCA, Cassin, CAMP-USA, Deuter, Smartwool, Roxy, oh my Bag, Gibbon Slacklines, Simple, Sherpani, Wallaroo, Bonfire, Salomon, Kombi, Billabong, and Sea to Summit.

Portions of the proceeds go to various worthy groups and causes, so spend like there's no tomorrow! Big mountain season is almost here, so go big or go home! At 3850 Frontier Avenue, Suite 250 (12-6 Fri, 9-4 Sat) and 3550 Frontier Avenue, Unit E (4-7 Fri, 9-5 Sat).

Go Light, Go Fast blog

Sierra Designs, Terramar, Clif support tornado relief

It's not always about the gear; sometimes it's about what the people who make the gear choose to do. Sierra Designs, Terramar, Clif and other companies teamed up to help our fellow Americans hit by the recent tornadoes in Missouri and Alabama:

"On August 10, a tractor-trailer loaded with outdoor gear from Sierra Designs, Terramar, and other sponsors such as Clif Bar, Manzella, Sierra Trading Post, Outdoor Research, Sole, Chacos, Merrell, and FRS stopped in Joplin, MO, delivering much needed apparel, footwear, and nutrition products to the local United Way for distribution.  The next evening, the same truck pulled into Tuscaloosa, AL to drop off the rest of the gear at the Temporary Emergency Management Services center."

Good on ya!

Full press release

$10,000 Polartec Challenge Expedition Grant

From the flacks: For almost twenty years, the International Polartec Challenge Grant has supported expeditions and adventures to every corner of the Earth. Applications for the $10,000 grant are now available for 2011 expeditions.

“Since 1991, Polartec has assisted over 100 expeditions around the world,” states Global Director of Marketing, Nate Simmons. “Polartec builds fabrics to withstand every kind of climate and we’re proud to support adventures that put our products to the test.”

The Polartec Challenge Grant seeks to assist frugal, low impact teams who respect the local culture and environment and serve as role models to outdoor enthusiasts worldwide. Applications are evaluated on the basis of vision, commitment, educational and cultural value. Polartec Challenge Grants have supported winners as they kayaked the waters of Antarctica, skied across Siberia, trekked across deserts and forged first ascents on the world’s most difficult peaks.

Past recipients of the Polartec Challenge Grant include outdoor pioneers and adventurers such as Conrad Anker, Jimmy Chin, Steve House, Marko Prezelj, Andrew McLean and John Shipton. In addition to grant money, winners are fully outfitted with Polartec garments to keep expedition members warm, dry and comfortable wherever their adventures lead them.

The Polartec Challenge is not the appropriate venue for projects that involve competition or fund raising. To apply for the 2011 International Polartec Challenge Grant, visit Polartec.com. The deadline for submissions is November 1, 2010.

Apply at Polartec.com

Gear Junkie Treasure Hunt: $40,000 gear giveaway

Free gear alert! ROANOKE, Va. (June 7, 2010) – Outdoor enthusiasts and gear junkies, get ready to explore! RoanokeOutside.com – a resource for the Roanoke, Va., region’s outdoors – has teamed with GearJunkie.com, a top outdoors blog and publication, to host a one-day-only Treasure Hunt event in a Roanoke wilderness park on July 11th.

The event will be called "Gear Junkie's Treasure Hunt: Roanoke." More than $40,000 in outdoor gear – from backpacks to kayaks – will be given away to an estimated 300 participants. Additionally, during the run up to the event, GearJunkie.com will hold online contests for its readers. Details including sign-up information and event schedule are available at www.GearJunkie.com/Treasure-Hunt-Roanoke

Gear Junkie's Treasure Hunt: Roanoke event is presented in partnership with Odyssey Adventure Racing, Roanoke Parks & Recreation, and Roanoke County Parks, Recreation and Tourism.

Black Diamond to merge with Gregory, go public

We hate to pollute our opinions with actual news because that sounds a lot like real reporting. And once you start down that slippery slope you better have crampons and an ice axe. But here you go, straight from the wire:

"05.10.2010 – Black Diamond Equipment Ltd., a global leader in the climbing and freeride ski markets, today enters a transaction with Clarus Corporation to take the company public and simultaneously merge the operations of Gregory Mountain Products into a new operational platform."

Frankly we were surprised that the dismal state of the economy didn't result in more mergers and acquisition activity in the outdoor products sector the past couple years, but hey, we're not paid to be rocket surgeons either. In fact we're not paid, period. Dammit!