Saturday I skied Birch Mountain with a group of skiers from the Angeles Sierra Club’s ski mountaineer’s section.

I don’t get the opportunity to ski in groups that often, thanks to my schedule and reclusive personality, but I do enjoy it, and it makes for fantastic photo ops.

The dynamic is also completely different when traveling with others as opposed to going solo.

I naturally try to go with the flow when I’m with others, which can lead to interesting dilemmas.

Birch Mountain is one of the Sierra’s true giants. It stands 13,665′ feet high, and the approach begins around 6300′, for a whopping 7300+ vertical feet of climbing.

Nonetheless, the approach is one of the easiest you’ll find from Big Pine south, with essentially no bushwhacking and no route finding necessary.

Our group planned a 6 a.m. meet time, which was obviously late to begin with for a day trip to the summit.

Some disagreement about which road to take tacked on an extra hour, so we didn’t get started until after 7 a.m.

This time of year, my primary concern (really, my only concern) is wet slides. Since we were ascending and skiing Birch’s southeast slopes on a warm, relatively windless day, I was worried that our late start would put us on the mountain when things got dangerously mushy.

As it turns out, that concern was unfounded (more…)

Just made a few quick edits to my Black Diamond Quantum review page.

I’ve now had the pleasure of using both 45 and 55-liter versions of the Quantum.

I like the extra volume of the 55, because it makes it easier to sneak your ski boots into the pack for those oh-so-brutal dry Eastern Sierra approaches.

So, no surprises here: I continue to love the Quantum. Of all the packs I’ve tried in the light-enough-to-ski-in but big-enough-to-carry-multiday-gear category, the Quantum really rises above the competition. I’m not willing to declare my quest for the perfect backpack over, but I’m certainly happy enough to give the Quantum my unqualified recommendation as a ski mountaineering pack suitable for overnights.

On a commercial note, Backcountry Outlet is for some bizarre reason selling these for nearly 40% off right now. I figure it’s probably one of those happy overstocking errors that will get fixed soon enough. So if you’re curious, visit BackcountryOutlet.com and try one for yourself. They ship free, and you can always return it and write back to tell me why you didn’t like it.

UPDATE: B.O. has run out of 55L Quantums. If you want that size, try Moosejaw.

Today’s Notes from the Field come courtesy of my friend Bill, whose adventures on Mount Williamson served as an early inspiration to me on my own quest to ski California’s second-highest peak.

Bill has a thing for the George Creek approach, which appears here and there in the guidebooks, usually with a sly recommendation ala …for an extra-special adventure, don’t miss this unforgettable Sierra bushwacking classic… (more…)

Nalgene has just announced the phase-out of BPA-containing bottles from its product lineup, including all polycarbonate (Lexan) water bottles.

Any way you put it, this is a stunning reversal from a company that has been an unwaivering advocate for the safety of Lexan/Polycarbonate. For interesting commentary on the subject, see Z Recommends’ article, Hell Just Froze Over.

I’d been working (luckily not too hard) on a prepared statement on water bottles and BPA, which was going to wind up concluding that the safety risks of Lexan bottles are unknown but worrisome, and that better (in terms of functionality) alternatives are available. That argument now seems moot. With Nalgene exiting the BPA market, so to speak, that basically means the industry as a whole will be phasing out production as well.

Along with the announcement, Nalgene has created a new website, Nalgene Choice, featuring information on its replacement products, which will reportedly replicate the clear plastic look and feel of Lexan without the dubious BPA and phthalates.

Before we celebrate too enthusiastically, it’s worth remembering that plastic is not inert where human chemistry is concerned. Even the safest plastics, like HDPE, still contain chemicals of potential worry. Nalgene’s replacement bottle may well be free of BPA but contain some new concern as yet off everyone’s radar.

It is a sad reality that consumer protection in the United States is exceedingly weak right now. Companies are not required to prove their products safe before they hit the market. Our government agencies are particularly ineffective when it comes to issues like BPA, which (IMHO) clearly pose a threat in some circumstances (ie, old damaged bottles, baby bottles), but which also enjoy considerable market support and ambiguous research results.

We’ll be watching closely for information on the new plastic used in the new Nalgene lineup (Tritan Copolyester). This story, I’m sure, will continue.

Flagstaff had a great ski season this year, though, like California, the traditionally-big March ended up high and dry.

Still, there’s enough snow to ski on the mountain right now, so what better way to warm up the legs than put a 25 pound bundle of joy on your back, skin up the local ski run, and ski down?

In case you’re wondering, I’m using an Ergo carrier, which I really like above all the others I’ve tried (ie, Baby Bjorn, Baby Backpacks, etc).

Looking toward the weekend, Abineau Canyon still has plenty of snow on it. This descent goes right from the top of the San Francisco Peaks, elevation 12,600′, off three giant fingers of avalanche gullies. One of them went big in the El Nino winter of 2005, I believe, and I’ve got photos to prove that giant avalanches do indeed occur in Arizona.

Anyhow, there’s little to no such danger now, just lots of good Southwestern consolidated corn. I actually skied Abineau last year, if walking from patch to patch of snow can be called skiing. The San Francisco Peaks were hit hard by the drought last year, making for a pitiful ski year. No such trouble in ‘08, though. If I can get the logistics worked out, this would be a nice feature to write about–Arizona’s premiere backcountry skiing descent. We’ll see.

I’m in Arizona right now, going through old family photos and contemplating the meaning of life. Saturday I attended my grandmother’s funeral in Phoenix. Thoughts of that upcoming occasion undoubtedly contributed to my feelings of impending doom while hiking and skiing Lone Pine Peak (not that the route needed any assistance in that regard).

We drove out Friday from L.A. to Phoenix, taking the 60. A black car appeared behind us, going extremely fast. They tailgated me for a short while, allowing me to look at the drivers’ and passengers’ faces–they all looked like kids. And then the car shot past us on the right, and accelerated away at a rate uncommon even for L.A. drivers (more…)

Sometimes as a writer you just don’t know how much information to give.

It would be easy to present this as a dashing adventure in which I fearlessly charged into the unknown and triumphed, except that’s not at all what it was like.

This was an intense struggle that really made me question myself and what I was trying to do.

I had noticed a tiny sliver of snow near Lone Pine Peak’s summit several years ago. It looked interesting. It also looked like it fed right into the middle of the peak’s massive northeast headwall, a 1000′ high cliff with no way out.

How I ever came to think it would be possible to ski this line, I can’t say. Occasionally, I guess my imagination runs amuk. I am glad to be able to return and tell the tale here. It was a powerful experience. For the record, I don’t know if this has ever been done before. It’s just such a big, elegant, aesthetic line it’s hard to believe it could have escaped so many good skiers’ attention for so long (though, as I note, it is indeed ‘hidden in plain view’). But I’ve never heard a word of it, so I just don’t know.

Lone Pine Peak: Summit to Desert