November 2012 Archive

27
Nov
2012
jloomis

Sterling Evolution Duetto Alpine Touring 8.4mm Rope Review

Product Rating: 
0
Picture of Sterling Evolution Duetto Alpine Touring 8.4mm Half Rope

Features:

From Sterling Rope, "The Duetto is built to be lightweight with a great hand. The smooth, abrasion resistant sheath glides over the snow and ice and through gear effortlessly. The Evolution Duetto has been used in glacier travel and backcountry skiing for years due to its small diameter and great hand. When the terrain may be varied, the 8.4mm Duetto is a solid rope for rappels, steep snow climbs or traversing mellow ground."

14
Nov
2012
jloomis

Marmot Lithium MemBrain 0F Sleeping Bag Review

Product Rating: 
5
Picture of Marmot Lithium MemBrain 0F Sleeping Bag

Features:

From Marmot, "We combine 850+ fill goose down and two-layer MemBrain® waterproof fabric with no-a nonsense design ethic to create this extremely lightweight, professional-level bag. For sleeping in rapidly changing mountain conditions in temperatures down to 0° F, this is our lightest, most durable offering."

06
Nov
2012
jloomis

Fall Hike Up Tilly Jane Trail to Cooper Spur Stone Shelter

Jason and Grandpa at Cooper Spur Stone Shelter on North side of Mt Hood

I had another free day on Tuesday, so I took my grandpa hiking on the Tilly Jane trail past the A-frame cabin up to the Cooper Spur stone shelter near the Timberline trail. It's a 3.7 mile one-way hike with almost 3,000' of elevation gain. That's darn impressive, as my grandpa is 83 years old. I hope I have his genes!

05
Nov
2012
jloomis

Climbing Mt Hood on a Beautiful Fall Day

Looking Down South Side of Mt Hood from Above the Hogsback

Everything lined up almost perfectly for me on Monday. I worked Saturday, so I wouldn't have to work on Monday. And the weather forecast was calling for clearing skis on Mt Hood, Oregon's tallest peak at 11,249 feet. I packed up my gear and headed to Timberline Lodge for a solo climb of Mt Hood via the South route. The temperature has been warm the past couple weeks, melting all the new snow that fell in October below 8,000 feet, so I wasn't sure what it would be like on the upper mountain.