The Civilian Corps Shelter

Maybe one of the things to remember an an El Nino year is that the storms love to ambush the Southland. I don’t think anyone was expecting the rain intensity we saw Friday through Saturday morning. I certainly wasn’t.

Saturday I drove to Palm Springs, figuring the tram would get me to snow with the least amount of winter driving. That was true in only the most technical sense: the drive itself proved to be the day’s biggest adventure, with rainfall between the 15 and 215 freeways on the 10 truly entering the awesome and frightening range. In hindsight, it would have been a good day to stay home (more…)

Local climber and so-so skier Hamik Mukelyan is organizing an informal ski mountaineering race Sunday, February 21 (weather-depending), at Mount Baldy’s southeast bowl. Meet time is 10 a.m. at the ski hut. Course details are slim, but the route will be marked with wands, and Hamik expects 10-15 competitors. No sign up necessary: just appear on time at the hut, and you’re in. Prizes are limited to the personal satisfaction of crushing your competitors, or whatever other metric you choose. This sounds like a lot of a fun. I’ll be away on ski safari that week, but otherwise I’d definitely give it a go…though my current toddler-based training regimen leaves something to be desired.

Jeff Pierce will be teaching two Level I avalanche classes and a Level II this February and March in Southern California. The schedules are:

Level I — Claremont

• Classroom Session: Feb 16 and 18 (6:00-10pm in Claremont)
• Field Sessions: Feb 20 and 21st (8:00am to 4:00pm Mt. Baldy)
• $150

Level I — Snow Summit

• Classroom Session: March 7th at the patrol media room (8:00 – 4:00pm)
• Field Sessions: March 13 and 14th (Snow Summit Area (8:00-4:00pm)
• $150

Level II (TBA)

• Classroom Sessions will begin weekdays at the end of February (Claremont)
• Field Sessions will be in March (Mt. Baldy Area)
• Four Classroom Sessions (Tues and Thursday 6:00 – 10PM)
• Four Field Sessions
• $225

This is a terrific year to get out there for an avalanche class, as we’ve got abundant snow in mountains both near and far. For SoCal skiers, one big advantage of taking a class locally (in my opinion) is that you’re working directly with the snowpack you’re most likely to be skiing. Also, obviously, it makes fitting the class into your schedule quite a lot easier. And odds are good you’ll meet like-minded folks who’ll make good backcountry partners down the road.

Jeff’s courses are not AIARE-certified, but they are a tremendous bargain (especially that Level II class). Jeff has been teaching Level I and II avalanche courses for 11 years, and he has over 23 years experience in the field, including consulting for local resorts and government agencies as well as doing control at Mount Waterman and June Mountain ski areas. I attended one of Jeff’s avalanche seminars for rescue professionals last year; it was well-run, and well worth the time. If you’re on the fence about taking a class, this is a great opportunity. I highly recommend taking advantage of it.

For more info or to sign up, contact Jeff Pierce.

The Problem with Telegraph Peak is that it’s way too easy to access. The typical San Gabriel Mountain approach serves as a fine gatekeeper to most of the range’s technical adventures, but not so with Telegraph. This little shark tooth of a peak sits just beyond the rope of a popular (if quirky) Southern California ski area, and when there’s snow on it you can practically hear the siren song calling.

Among the considerable hazards Telegraph offers, rockfall is one of the more prominent. The north face is a shooting gallery of rocks of all sizes. Even here, only a few days after fresh snow, the apron beneath the north chutes is already coated in rocks and shards. Telegraph Peak is also very steep, likely in the 45° range, and like many aspects in the San Gabriels, the snow can be exceedingly icy. A fall would be consequential.

Avalanches of all types are a threat here as well—in fact, the gully below the north face is a classic terrain trap threatened by virtually 360 degrees of slope aspects. Just to mention one more potential hazard (this list is by no means exhaustive), when you ski Telegraph Peak you must climb back up to return to the safety of the ski area, and this climb is sure to test your resolve (as well as your preparedness). For more on that subject (and the cruel, cruel topography), see my trip report into the neighboring Stockton Flats area.

Giving Vimeo a try here for the video hosting. Looks like the quality might be a little higher. If you play the video in HD, be sure to expand to full screen.

The Radium Rules

Online at last are all of my boot reviews for the not-exactly-annual SierraDescents Alpine Touring Ski Boot Roundup.

The majority of these boots were provided as loaners by the manufacturers—thank you! I must note, however, that after the thrill of seeing so many new pairs of boots sitting in my living room wore off, actually skiing and writing about each of them proved to be a lot of work.

I must also note with some embarrassment that differences between boots weren’t always that apparent. In fact, there were times I couldn’t tell a difference, or else it was so small I had no confidence that I was actually detecting something—and this included tests in which I skied boots head-to-head, or foot-to-foot, as it were.

My sentimental favorite remains the Garmont Mega Ride. Even compared to the best of today’s boots, the low-volume Mega Ride remains a hell of a performer, notable for its fine balance of downhill performance, uphill climbing comfort, and low weight. Sadly, the Mega Ride has been retired by Garmont.

The Mega Ride’s apparent successor is the Garmont Helium, a brand-new design employing Garmont’s wrap-around, Alpine-style shell. The Helium matches the Mega Ride’s weight pound for pound, and perhaps offers a tad more control on the downhill, though after a full day of testing I wasn’t sure if I was imagining a difference or not. For me, the Helium was a disappointment. There was nothing about it that I could solidly point to as better than the Mega Ride, and I did miss the fourth buckle. That said, as far as I could divine, it delivers much the same performance up and down as the Mega Ride, with possibly a smidge more toe room up front.

I remain of mixed opinion on the two Scarpas, the Spirit 3 and Spirit 4. Both are inarguably built for ski mountaineering, with a range of specialized features suitable for big mountain adventures. Compared to the Spirit 3, the Spirit 4 adds a fourth buckle and better forward flex to almost exactly match the skiing performance of the Mega Ride. But Scarpa’s rounded last will make for bootfitting challenges, and I got the sense overall that boot design has moved on a bit. In terms of fit and feel, the Spirits seem dated to me. They however remain very popular with the hardcore crew.

The Black Diamond Factor delivers easily the best downhill performance and feel of the entire group. In fact, it was quickly obvious there was no point in making direct comparisons between the Factor’s ride and any other A/T boot. I chose instead to focus on comparing the Factor to my formidable Alpine racing beasts, the Lange L10. Remarkably, the Factor held its own against the L10. The only real knock you can level at the Factor is its weight: 9lbs 2oz per pair. The Factor will also likely benefit from another year or two of evolution to get some minor kinks out of its design.

I’m giving my 2010 King of the Hill award to the Garmont Radium. Yes, a pair of Radiums weigh half a pound more than a pair of Mega Rides, but you get a vast leap in downhill performance for the extra eight ounces. Stiffness in all dimensions is radically improved with the Radiums, allowing you to ski big skis and bad snow, and more importantly allowing you to ski them with the same mechanics as an Alpine boot. The Radium’s stiffness does raise comfort concerns over the long haul; this might not be the boot for 18,000′ vertical-in-a-day adventures. But the Radium nicely updates the Mega Ride’s downhill chops while still preserving the soul of its predecessor.

» view spec comparison chart

Driving across the L.A. Basin on Saturday was like being transported to a new and wintery world. Snow levels were down around the 3000′ mark across Southern California, putting snow atop nearly all the foothill ranges, and coating the major ranges in vast sheets of gleaming white. I confess I actually felt a bit of anxiety looking at it—so many things to ski, so little time. Routes that are almost never viable are currently in fantastic shape.

To be extra safe, my partner Bill and I decided to take the tram up and ski Jean Peak, in the San Jacinto Mountains. Jean offers moderate slopes in abundance, perfect for making turns on potentially-unstable slopes. To put my new skills into use, I did dig a snow pit, and I ran some compression tests. The results were a bit of a surprise. The snow, as expected, was very dense and water-laden, with a nice graduation of lighter to heavier as I dug deeper. But I didn’t expect to find a clean shear around 14″ down. Reactivity was pretty much nill, but still, somewhere in the snowpack (at least on Saturday) there was a clearly unstable layer. It definitely made me feel better about choosing conservative terrain, post-Mega Storm.

The video shows the climb up and ski down. Our late start put us on the summit of Jean only about an hour before sunset, making for great photography. Views really were jaw-dropping. This might have been the most beautiful day skiing I’ve ever enjoyed in SoCal. And the snow was wicked good: dense but completely uncrusted powder. Float, float, float—I can still feel it beneath my toes. Shot in HD: for the full effect, switch to 720p, hit pause to let it buffer, then be sure to watch in full-screen. Enjoy!

Avalanche – San Gabriel Mts

One of the questions that occurred to me while taking an AIARE Level I avalanche class this past weekend was, “What took so long?”

I actually think that’s an intriguing enough question to warrant some attention. Why was I so reluctant to take an avalanche class? I’ve certainly been interested in avalanches for some time—and I’ve especially been interested in avoiding them.

I mention this because in the aftermath of the class, I’m really glad I did take it, and I hope I can encourage at least a few of you out there who are for whatever reason on the fence yourselves to consider taking a class as well. So, after a bit of reflection, let me list some of the things, real or imagined, that have served as barriers between me and a more formal avalanche education (more…)

The Deploy Shovel

The past three days in the field under a variety of conditions gave me the opportunity to continue testing some of my current gear.

Both the class setting and the utterly fierce weather led to some new observations. In some cases I learned things that were worth adding to my existing reviews, so here are some updates.

On Monday (as the first big storm hit), I wore my Marmot Genesis Jacket. This is a “storm proof” softshell designed to be waterproof and breathable. How did it do? In heavy wet snow that gradually soaked everyone in our group, the Genesis was absolutely fantastic. I was warm, dry, and comfortable the whole time. I loved it.

Not quite so much of a slam dunk were my Black Diamond Prodigy gloves. Yes, they’ve got a Gore-Tex liner for waterproofing, but the exterior gradually soaked through. My hands stayed reasonably dry inside, but if I had been out for the night instead of just the day, having to deal with waterlogged gloves would not have made me happy. To be fair, the precipitation was intense, and the Prodigy really is a cold-weather glove. Still, in a transitioning wet-to-cold storm, they weren’t a good choice.

In other news, I learned from our instructor that the American Avalanche Association’s Avalanche Review journal gave the Black Diamond Transfer Shovel a “Skull-and-Crossbones” score in their Feb ‘09 shovel tests. As you might guess, that is not a favorable rating. I have the Black Diamond Deploy, which is a very similar model. Are Black Diamond’s shovels unacceptable, as the AR article suggests? I don’t think so. The AR testers were using their ski boots to stomp on the back of the Transfer shovel’s blade. This caused a lot of damage to their ski boots—hence the poor rating. My own experience with the Deploy shovel remains entirely positive.

Finally, I made a considerable effort to get acquainted with the new Pieps Freeride Avalanche Beacon. The Pieps is a very small, low-priced, single-antenna beacon that probably should come with a “experts only” warning sticker. Time and time again, I was completely baffled by the Freeride in beacon search drills.

With a lot of practice, it is possible to get at least familiar if not comfortable with how the Freeride operates, but think very carefully about the situation and conditions before you or a partner wear this beacon in the field. I do think the Freeride has a legitimate place in your gear closet. I don’t think, however, that the Freeride is appropriate for all conditions regardless of who is using it. That is all.

Just got back last night—drive home from June Lake was very challenging. I’ll be writing quite a bit over the next month about my Avalanche class experience. For now, let me say I’m really glad I did it. Did the class make me an expert on avalanches? Absolutely not. But I did learn a great deal, and just as importantly, I got motivated to keep learning.

Obviously the big news right now in the skiing world is the storm cycle. Whether or not this is a classic El Nino pattern I’ll leave to the experts. Suffice to say I’ve seen potential rainfall totals (for the combined systems) estimated in the 8-20″ range (that’s rain, not snow!), meaning we’re going to be seeing a wide range of impacts, some good, some not so good. Sierra snowfall totals should be in the 6-12 foot range, which is massive. Local mountain snowfall is harder to call, as many areas will see rain mixed with snow, making the totals misleadingly low. Still, Mount Baldy is reporting 7-16″ of new snow this morning.

It should go without saying that only the most experienced winter mountaineers should even consider going out into the backcountry this week, and even they are probably best advised to stay home. Even those thinking about heading to the mountains for inbounds skiing should beware potential road closures, mudslides, bridges destroyed, traffic accidents, etc. Whatever you do, be conservative. As I was reminded just last night, it’s not a good feeling when you know you’re right on the edge of spending an unplanned night in your car (or worse) in a raging blizzard.

This coming weekend I’ll be up north taking my first-ever avalanche course, an AIARE Level I offered by Sierra Mountain Guides. While I’ve probably picked up a good deal level I and higher info over the years, there are a lot of holes in my knowledge. I also thought it would be valuable to write about the experience of taking the course, which might inspire others to improve their own avalanche education. I must admit I’ve had a lot of reluctance to do this—more on that later. For now, I’ll say that many of you probably have exactly the same concerns about taking an avy course as I do.

Locally, I skied inbounds again this past weekend to continue my never-ending boot tests. I should have reviews up for the Radium and Helium soon. The Spirit 4 Review is here. Conditions in the backcountry look depressingly similar to par for the past few years. You’ll need a little creativity and a lot of effort to find snow in the San Gabriels. Baldy Bowl looked pretty burnt. The north face has good coverage, though I assume most of it is ice (which may be true of other aspects as well. That’s it for now.