The Avalanche at Tunnel Creek

What happens when the NYTimes decides to cover in depth, a deadly avalanche at Tunnel Creek? A multimedia explosion that makes you feel like you were there when it happened—an utterly terrifying read.

“I’ve been riding Stevens Pass since I was 3 years old,” Dessert said. “I can tell circumstances, and I just felt like something besides myself was in charge. They’re all so professional and intelligent and driven and powerful and riding with athletic prowess, yet everything in my mind was going off, wanting to tell them to stop.”

Hey Procrastinator!

Yes, you. Don't resort to CVS or Walgreens. Check out these holiday gift picks from REI instead:

It's hard to make a movie about backpacking.

While the scenery is often beautiful, and there can be many high and low points, there aren't many cliffhanger moments that lend the sport to enthralling filmmaking. But Ian and Andy's from The Dusty Camel have just released the trailer for their upcoming film, As it Happens. And as it turns out, the film is about much more than traveling the backcountry by foot:

"As it Happens is more about the pulse of America. Our national parks were founded thanks to people like Muir, Roosevelt, and Albright, to name a few, who understood that sharing stories inspires awareness and therefore concern about these places. Thus, we created our movie, which hopes to share the story of our journey through these arteries of the USA, as we travel north from border to border. While we pass through amazing landscapes and some of the most remote areas of the country, the emphasis is also on the people we meet along the way. They exhibit extreme kindness where none is warranted, and as we are surviving with nothing but what is on our backs, we found ourselves thriving as we began to understand that freedom is enabled by a system of support. People are what makes this journey inspiring and the landscape is what makes it (aesthetically) beautiful. The excitement comes from the fact that every moment is a true instant captured, a linear story from A to B, recorded exactly as it happens," says Ian Mangiardi from theDusty Camel. 




~Kate

When the Mercury drops...

... we turn to Helio.

While surfing in the Northeast has its pros & cons, having to wear a wetsuit definitely falls into the con territory. It's not so much the restriction of neoprene or the added time to put it on—both of those, you kind of get used to (although putting it on cold and wet is another issue altogether). It's the hassle of having to care for another piece of gear, being responsible about washing it out, and being forced to wash it out inside your bathroom when the garden hose is a no go.

For those of you who live in sub tropical climates, New Englanders generally start to worry about pipes freezing around Nov. So there is a general shutoff of garden hoses from November to April until the weather gets its act back together.

Enter Helio.



I've been psyched to have Helio for my winter surf season this year. This morning, I hosed off the 6/5/4 out in the driveway, without having to clean up sand and seaweed in the bathtub. That, in and of itself, makes it worth it's weight in gold.

A School With a View

Growing up, our high school wasn't like this, and chances are that yours wasn't either. There's a new kind of high school in Vermont—one with its hand on the land. The Mountain Campus at Burr and Burton Academy allows students the opportunity to spend one semester in the Green Mountains above Manchester Vermont.

The classroom is defined by stone walls and river banks, backcountry trails and open fields. Nature journals and MacBooks sit side by side lit by a Vermont sun streaming through double story windows with a view of the weather and wildlife, two tracking solar panels produce 100% of campus energy.

A mudroom of muck books and daypacks hint at a curriculum designed for observing the environment and learning from the land.

Students visit orchards, dairy farms and quarry's, split wood and hike together deep into the wilderness that surrounds the campus in Peru Vermont. It's a new way of considering public high school education and its being pioneered right here in New England.

Even the required reading is a hop, skip, and jump away from the usual high school literary works.

Take a closer look!

Spring Conditions in November

First run of the year (Vermont) this past weekend.

Pre-Thanksgiving snow might have already eclipsed last year's total accumulation!

Life After Sandy

Sometimes things come across our desks that really make us stop and reflect. A lot of folks think that the storm is over, but it really isn't for many people out there. This letter is a good reminder of that, and makes us proud to have been there for someone when it really mattered.

Nov. 8th 2012

Dear Mr. Brensinger,

First let me say I never write these type of letters but I felt I had to tell you how grateful I was to stumble upon your product recently in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy which hit the Northeastern United States a few weeks ago which resulted in the loss of several lives.

The storm knocked out the local Con Edison power plant which threw over 200,000 residents that live in lower Manhattan into darkness. To compound this, I also live in an apartment building where regular water pressure wouldn't allow us to have water pressure to our apartment. For a week, I was forced to carry gallons of water for my wife, mother-in-law (who was staying with us) and myself, for all of life's necessities.

Having camped in the past, I went to my local camping store to see if there were any products that could address personal hygiene. The store employee showed me the Helio pressured water system. I was a little taken aback by the price at first but I figure I would give it a shot.

I brought it home and followed the directions and was pleasantly surprised by the results. The Helio functioned just as promised. I filled the tank with warm water and was able to take a very thorough and satisfactory shower with the bottle barely half filled.

What I like most about the Helio is its simplicity. No gas bottles to buy or complicated assembly or large pieces to store.

Being without power and water has rekindled my desire to be more prepared for emergencies. Although there are quite a few items I still have to get, at least I know I have a reliable way to wash up. Thanks for making a product that helped bring a little comfort during a bad situation.

Sincerely,
Martin Brown

But What Was He Drawing?

Pausing in the Sierra Backcountry

What's the strangest thing you've ever found on a hike?

In September, we were off trail in the High Sierras, on Day 8 of 10. Passing through Echo Col (in the Clyde Spires range), we stumbled upon the wreckage of an old plane crash strewn across the bowl

This is certainly not the first time the crash has been documented, but it seems like ideal conditions like a low snowfall year, late season hiking, and strategic melting can create more opportune moments to see the plane wreckage. Since there have been multiple sightings of the plane this year, it seems like this past fall brought all three of those factors.

The plane crash occurred on February 16, 1980 when Robert Pole's private Mooney went down during a snowstorm.

The plane was in such good shape that we weren't sure if the crash had been documented. So we took the radio call tag (and a small rusted gear train) in case more information was needed.

Maybe most interesting of all was all the undocumented plane crashes in the Sierra Nevadas. Seems like the whole area is a magnet for single engine planes...

The Worst Route I've Ever Done

In their latest attempt to climb The Fifty Classic Climbs of North America, Mark and Janelle Smiley hope the third time's a charm with the Wishbone Arete on Mt Robson. 

"It's the worst route I've ever done."  This was Canmore local, Nancy Hansen's, summation of her experience on the Wishbone Arete Route on the South Face of Mt Robson. This, coming from a very accomplished alpinist, who is the 1st (and only, I think) woman that has climbed all of the 53 peaks in the Canadian Rockies that stand over 11,000'. I'm not positive on this, but I think that less than 10 other people in the world can boast the same. So that report, coming from her, hit hard. In fact, her and her husband, Doug, were climbing the fifty together too, and a failed attempt on the Wishbone made Doug drop the pursuit entirely. He said he never wanted to get back on that awful route. We had traveled a long way to try this mountain for the third time, so these heavy, first hand accounts, made my stomach turn.

In 2010, Janelle and I hiked to the Forester Hut, only to be turned back due to warm temps, and utter intimidation. Last summer we made the journey again to, "check things out". There was way too much snow on the rock sections, and the rime-ice gargoyles were even bigger than the previous year. So instead of climbing, we decided to run to Berg Lake, to scope out an alternate approach to the Wishbone Arete. 24 miles later our spirits were not boosted, as we found no easy ramp system that would put us near the base of the route…or anywhere close. Now, in 2012, we were ready to give 'er another try.

Mt Robson's Wishbone Arête from Mark Smiley on Vimeo.

As we drove north on the Icefield Parkway, after talking to Nancy, the conversation was as lively as a cemetery. It seemed like Janelle had already mentally thrown in the towel. Me, the stubborn one, tried desperately to find the bright side of this dimly lite situation. "Well…at least after climbing the Wishbone, every other route we climb the rest of our lives will be better." Silence. "Just think, we are going to climb the worst route in the Canada, and maybe the world. The worst! That's kinda worthy right?" More silence. Things were not looking good. I resorted to changing the subject to the amazing views unfolding through Lulu's windshield.

Pulling into the visitor's center, just off the highway, one is slapped in the face with Mt Robson's South aspect shooting 10,000 feet from the valley to the summit. It is the most impressive roadside mountain view I've ever seen. Janelle drug her feet getting out of the van. "Come on, lets go check the weather forecast, it will probably be crap anyway, so we won't have to climb." The door opened, and she got out.

The forecast is posted on the main entrance. Clear and sunny across the board. Crap. No excuses now. We then drove down the road to Valemont, where our friend, Reiner Thoni, lives. Reiner was letting us borrow a couple bikes, allowing us to turn the 6 kilometer (4ish miles) hike into Kenny Lake into a ride. His parents own and operate the nicest restaurant in Valemont, the Caribou Grill, and we had been invited to stay with them while in the area. The upper floor of their home is the restaurant, and the bottom floor is their living area.

In the parking lot we went to work. Janelle prepped the food and I prepped the gear…in silence. The following morning we woke early and started the journey.

As we pedaled along light rain fell, so much for the forecast. At Kenny Lake we stashed the bikes in the woods, and continued several miles to the ranger station located in the Valley of 1000 Falls, where we asked the ranger for a conditions report. She did not have good news. They had had record snowfall this past winter. Record snowfall equals record run-off. The river we had to cross was still in its flood stage, oh, and the water was about 38 degrees! We had not brought running shoes, which meant a barefoot crossing. The stoke sank even lower. A few more miles brought us to another ranger, a twenty-year veteran. He confirmed the bad news, and piled more on. Things were grim now. On the creek bank, where the normal creek crossing is, we stood and looked across 80 feet (24.39 meters) of fast flowing, liquid ice water, roughly waist deep. I'm stubborn, but not that stubborn.

Throwing down the packs, we had a family meeting. Me, Janelle, and a chipmunk. The opportunist chipmunk said about as much as we did for the first five minutes. Mr Chipmonk's cheeks were bulging when Janelle broke the silence, "Why do we have to climb this stupid route anyway. Its totally not classic. Nobody ever climbs it, and the Kane Route is suppose to be way better."
Long story short, we set our sites on the Kane Face Route, which was another 6-7 miles (10-12KM) up the trail.

Short story shorter, the lack of freezing temps turned us around at the base of the Kane Face the following day, and we walked all the way out. I was totally bummed, and Janelle was totally over trying to climb this scary mountain that is really not that classic. The stoke was at an all time low. That is, until we met back up with Reiner Thoni.

Reiner has a pretty cool thing going in Valemont, BC. For three months he works non-stop planting trees in the rough clear cuts. He makes enough during that time to, more or less, float the rest of the year. He ski tours non-stop, and is a very accomplished randonee racer. In fact, he is the fastest rando racer in North America. He is, what we call in the industry, good energy. After sharing our woes of defeat, he suggested that we just hang out a few days, pick some huckleberries, and turn our sites to the Japanese Route on Mt Alberta. He wanted to climb this with us. So thats what we did. [Ill write about the Mt Alberta experience at a later date.]

Fast forward 8 days now. The sun is still shining, and we are back on our bikes heading again to Kenny Lake, with Reiner leading the way. The hike up to the Forester Hut, which took us 8 hours in 2010, took us only 4.5 hours this time. We got to the hut without a hitch and started packing for the following day. The forecast was amazing, so we decided to par down our kit even more. Opting to take only one sleeping bag, one pad, and a little tarp for a tent. There were a couple other guys at the hut, who snored, so we all slept under the stars outside the hut.

The alarm went off at 3:30, and we were en route a little after 4. That far north, in August, daylight starts early. We picked our way along the yellow bands by headlamp. After an hour we had already past our 2010 highpoint. Virgin terrain from here up. We were all moving well, full of energy and a combination of nervousness and excitement. Staying unroped to move quicker, we scrambled up the first few thousand feet in only a few hours. The macro route finding was easy, as this is a ridge climb. The micro route finding, on the other hand, was a different story. Finding rock that actually stayed in place was a real chore. We climbed side-by-side when possible to avoid sending rocks on one another. When the rock got steep, we threw the rope on and I led a couple pitches of "5.7 dangerous". Then back to un-roped terrain.

The heavy snow that made the creeks impassible, a curse for that approach, where now a blessing for this route. A snow coulior was still intact just to the right of the ridge. Jumping on this firm snow, we got a needed break from the loose-nasty rock. The ice had some spice though. Several big rocks fell above and picked up real speed on their way down the 65 degree snow slope. Climbing quickly, and looking up constantly was our only defense. This snow section took roughly an hour. It was a big aid in our upward progress, as the rock to our left and right looked especially loose and steep.

Back on the rock above the coulior, we took a break in what was obviously a bivy site. This is where Reiner found an old plastic tube with a metal screw-top cap. The clear plastic tube was cloudy from what looked like decades of Mt Robson abuse. Inside was a little wishbone, and a dried apple core. Curiosity led us to open the tube (it broke easily while trying to unscrew the lid). Inside was a little pencil, a chicken wishbone, silver and orange paint chips, and the apple core turned out to be a rolled up damp note! Concluding that the note would be worthless if we left it there, Janelle tucked it into her pack. We left the broken tube/cap and the wishbone right next to several rusty tuna cans. Maybe if someone is up there epic-ing they can get the calories they need to get down by chewing on the bone marrow of the wishbone?!

The rock ended, and we were back on snow. Simal-climbing ticked off several more thousand feet. The slope got steep and we switched to climbing in pitches. I was nominated to be on the sharp end. It seemed like we were just a stones throw away from the summit, but our altimeter watch kept things honest. We still had about 800 vertical feet (240 meters) to the summit. Not wanting to mess with the super scary Patagonia-like rime-ice gargoyles I traversed to the west side of the ridge, looking for easy passage. Four traversing, slightly rising pitches later I started straight up the 60-70 degree snow slope. The beautiful sunny day had softened the snow considerably. I had to move slow to ensure I didn't fall. Once out of rope I dug into the snow to build an ice anchor. This was worthless. There was no ice. I dug my tools deep into the snow, made a butt bucket, sat in it, kicked my feet in, and put Janelle and Reiner on belay off my harness. They quickly climbed up my foot buckets to my lame anchor. "Sorry guys, no ice." Sobering looks all around. They kicked in, drove their tools into the soft snow, and I launched for another pitch. When I was 70 feet out with no protection, Janelle looked at Reiner and said, "You can unclip from me if you want? No sense bring us all down if Mark falls." He laughed, and stayed connected.

I made it up to the severally corniced ridge, and looked down the other side. This was epic! It didn't look passable, and I started looking around for a good way to anchor myself to go back down and try a different way. No ice here either. This was becoming an unfortunate trend. The sun was now well on its way to the horizon. A prompt decision had to be made. I hopped up on this knife ridge of snow. If I was cool like Chuck Norris, in that moment I would have likely tipped my hat forward, looked boldly into the camera and said something macho like, "Giddy up" as I saddled up on the snow ridge. Instead, since I'm just Mark, I said "oh please don't break, please don't break" many times as I crossed the ridge onto the other side.
Here on shaded east side of the ridge I was able to find ice! I placed a screw and a couple really crappy cams, and shouted "OFF" into the wind. Janelle and Reiner came up, saddled up, scoochted across, and climbed over to me. "Wow, that was really hard, nice work Mark." "Thanks, but its not over yet," I said. Above us was an even steeper snow face. We were smack in the middle of the Gargoyles now. I was able to place a stubby screw four feet above the anchor before the ice disappeared.

I had just entered unknowingly into the zone of vertical trench warfare. Every step took 12-15 foot kicks, needed to compact the snow. This effort would advance my body roughly 3 inches (7.62 cm) upward. My arms "windshield wipered" the loose snow in front of my face. Gravity took hold of the dislodged snow and it fell thousands of feet down the slope. I then buried my arms and tools up to my armpits to get some sort of purchase. These "handholds" held so long as I only pulled less than 20 pounds (9.07 Kg) of pressure on them. Then it was back to my feet. Sweep the area with my knee to clear snow, kick 12-15 times, commit to that new step, back to the arms, clear snow, bury arms, twist tools, and repeat….1000 times. This took me to the top of the first Gargoyle. Time for the next. More of the same for a total of 180 feet (50 meters). When I finally pulled through the vertical onto the slightly-less-than-vertical I was so relieved. I could now get great foot and tool purchase, so I yelled down for them to simal-climb. I had to make it to the other side of this last snow ridge so I could give them a proper belay with a good braced terrain anchor.
Twenty minutes later Janelle's head poked over the ridge I was belaying behind. Her eyes were wide. "Mark, where did that come from?! That was insane!" "I know right." Now, we were a stones throw away from the summit.

The next image will be forever burnt in my brain. Janelle and Reiner took the lead walking on a rib of clean snow to the summit of Mt Robson. The sun had set and the twilight was surreal. Brilliant purples, reds and blues lit the background in a way that I hope heaven is like. Their bodies were dwarfed by the huge views that wrapped around us.

On top I quickly changed my wet clothes for dry ones, put on all my layers, and we headed down. Darkness turned on about 500 feet below the top. We were back seeing only what our headlamps could reveal, which wasn't much. Not wanting to cross under the seracs in the dark we dug a snow cave and shivered for 4 hours until the sun came up again.

Crossing under the Schwarts ledges is scary. The Schwarts ledges are formed by the edge of the glacier coming to an abrupt end directly above a 200 foot rock cliff. This forms an 180 foot tall ice wall, that cleaves off on a regular basis. One must walk on the rock, under the ice face, in order to get past this section. I don't know why this is a route up this mountain. Don't ever try this in the dark, or at all. I have never had to roll the dice in the mountains like this. Thankfully we were only exposed for about 10 minutes, but in my mind that is 10 minutes too much.

Back at the hut we lounged around, soaking in the victory. Someone had photocopied the Alpinist article about Robson and left it in the hut, which I started reading. The Wishbone Arête had a page dedicated to it. I freaked out when it mentioned that second party to attempt the route (unsuccessfully) had left a silver painted chicken wishbone at their highpoint. "DUDE! We found their wishbone!" It had been left there July 24, 1951. So cool. Reiner took the note to the mountaineering museum in Valemont, and the wishbone is still up there. Thankfully, I never will be. Every other route I climb for the rest of my life will be better than that one. Now that's something to be pumped about.

~Mark

It's a Windy One

Here's a great place to visually check out the wind situation in the US—especially convenient for Hurricane Sandy-related information.

No Stake? No problem.

The more backpacking and camping I do, the more I realize how few places exist that are actually ideal for staking out your tent. From scree to granite slabs to impenetrable ground, nature is essentially hatching a plan against you to destroy even the most "unbreakable" stakes.

Don't try harder, try smarter. Learn how to stake and guyout your tent using rocks, and it'll totally change your camping experience.

Fly Fishing in the Alaska Backcountry

A photo essay of an unguided unsupported back country float for 7 days on the Alagnak River in Katmai National Park.

The fishing had been getting better and better as we floated, and the prior day had seen us finally start to get into some serious salmon. On the 6th and final full day on the river, I was up with the intent to fish the seam below the gravel bar that we were camping on. We had arrived a bit too late the night before to get down there and I was hoping for big fish! The water was so stinking high during the trip that even getting to the end of the gravel bar was a bit of a chore. It was pretty cool though. An old school cabin had been picked up by the flood water and washed down the river before it landed it on the gravel bar. All the construction was done by hand and topped with a corrugated tin roof. Unfortunately, whoever had built it was out of luck because it was definitely not salvageable.

The bottom of this particular gravel bar looked perfect; two mid paced currents meeting in a deep seam with the current from river left forming a really nice drop off into the seam. The fishing couldn’t have been better! I had a 20” rainbow to the bank and no one else was even out of the tent! I ended up getting another 16” bow and a nice chum salmon before it was time to head back to camp, gather the troops, heat up some water, cook some oats, break down the tents and hit the river. That 6th day turned out to be magic. We hooked and landed innumerable salmon, dollies, grayling and a bunch of big bows. We camped that night at the takeout reminiscing about the trip over a dinner of fresh salmon washed down with swigs of whiskey. The perfect end to an incredible trip.

-Mike Eaton

North of the Sun, You Get Here

Thoughts on Sandbagging

Adventure Journal's words on sandbagging  This is spot on. Type #1 and #3 are especially pernicious.

Signs of Nerdiness at NEMO

Bear Can Packing

Always a challenge to get 10 days of food into these things. Here's one attempt at close-packing food:

FYI, not a good idea to keep all the breakfast oatmeals on the bottom of the can. It makes every morning a food inventory morning.

Burning Man Hybrid Shelters

Amazing what you can do with lots of time and motivation. Check out the engineering and detail on these hybrid vehicle/shelters at Burning Man this year.

Getting Lost in a Beautiful Country

Aaron C. from the Brazil 9000 dynamic duo recently stopped by the NEMO booth at Outdoor Retailer to pick out the perfect gear for their 9000 km journey through Brazil.

Brazil 9000: Leaving Los Angeles from The Skeeto Lounge on Vimeo.

These guys are already part of the NEMO family so we look forward to hearing updates about their amazing journey.

Getting Dirty

On Tuesday, five of us from the office joined crews from EMS, Vibram, ECCO, and Polartec to do some trail maintenance at a few locations around Peterborough, NH. Part of the Conservation Alliance’s Backyard Collective, member company employees and local grantees get together for a day of environmental action. These events allow us to get out of the office and get our hands dirty; doing good work to preserve and protect the open spaces in our own backyards.

This year, we were in McCabe State Forest, Miller State Park, Greenfield State Park, Harris Center for Conservation Education's property on Spoonwood Lake, MacDowell Dam, Wilder Rotary Park, Cranberry Pond Meadow Trail and on trails and waterways throughout the Monadnock Region. Projects included trail maintenance, trailhead construction, invasive species removal, picnic table restoration, campground maintenance, etc.

While the day wasn’t bluebird, we didn’t let a little rain get in the way – we made some good improvements at each of the sites and had a tasty lunch at EMS’s headquarters afterwards.

Meta 1P Pitch Hints

NEMO customer Randy M. wanted to share a tip for pitching Meta 1P. When car camping, he ties off the back vent to his car door handle (similar to tying off to a trekking pole). We all agree; that is one of the best pitches of that tent we've seen. He says:

That upward angle was perfect for achieving a very tight pitch all along that back flap and vastly improving breathability. So in summary, the keys to a very tight pitch are:

1] Main center trekking pole needs to be raised as high as the tent will allow.
2] Tie out the ends
3] Tie out the back flap at an upperward angle to your second trekking pole (or car in my case :)

Shuksan-Bound

Jeramy P. sent us some photos and a great trip report of his recent summit of Mt. Shuksan via the Fisher Cimneys route.

At camp just before sunset with Mt. Baker in the background.

A crevasse on the Upper Curtis Glacier.

Top of Hell's Highway with Summit Pyramid in the background.

Room With a View

From Mark Smiley, on the way to summitting Rainer.

Happy Monday Morning

A good way to start off the week.

Classic Climbing in Canada

We all have daily, weekly—sometimes even life—checklists (paying the electric bill, changing oil, hitting the gym). But checklists start taking epic proportions when your goal is to climb all the routes made famous in Fifty Classic Climbs of North America.

We heard from Mark and Janelle Smiley earlier in the week, where they've been climbing out their brain in Canada over the past month, checking these three killer climbs off their list:

Mt Waddington, via the Wiessner-House Route, BC (35 hours to climb camp to camp)
Mt Alberta, via the Japanese Route, AB (15 hrs 15 mins hut to hut)
Mt Robson, via the Wishbone Arete, BC (29 hrs hut to hut).

Oh, and then they also climbed a little mountain called Denali via the Cassin Ridge.

Most laypeople have a very surface understanding of the hauling of supplies, acclimatizing, and general waiting that happens when you climb something of this scale. On the Smiley's summit of Denali, they hauled 300 lbs of equipment from Kahiltna basecamp to Camp One (5.5 miles away at 7,800 feet). Then they carried half their kit up to 11K camp to bury for retrieval later: 5 hours of work up, 10 minute ski down to 7,800' camp. Two days later, the stashed gear needed to be schlepped from 11K' camp to Windy Corner. Two feet of fresh snow had made hauling a sled impossible, so Mark & Janelle ditched the sleds and skinned to the top of this part of the mountain carrying only packs with supplies... 4 times. On the fifth day, they arrived at 14 Camp (14,200 feet) and then spent days and days acclimatizing up and down; up and down; up and down the mountain.

On summit day, they skinned from 15K' to 16'K, strapped on crampons to 17K', and reached the summit about 7 hours after leaving 14 Camp.

And the best part of ski mountaineering? The descent.