Temps have been warm and the snow is receding fast here in Jackson Hole. Many folks have started to change gears and have started to think about biking or their spring trip. Not me. I am going to keep the winter going. If it is to warm for skiing locally (it is going to get cold in Jackson again very soon) go North. That’s what I always say. Fortunately, I was very recently invited on a backcountry trip for a few days of skiing in B.C. If you need me next week I will be here:
This is a window at the Callaghan Loadge that looks out on some of the terrain. If you are having trouble seeing the terrain here is another look:
I’m looking forward to a little ski touring. I am going to give the Scarpa Skookum a test drive. I’ll let you know how the Skookums perform.
Here is the story of a man who was buried in an avalanche in Switzerland in January. He survived for 70 minutes under the snow using a Black Diamond Avalung Pack. This story can also be seen on Black Diamond’s website.
Report: Avalanche victim uses the AvaLung and survives a burial at Tessin, Switzerland
The following is a recent report from an avalanche survivor in the Bedretto Valley in Switzerland on January 30, 2010. It is a first person report that has been edited for brevity and clarity/translation.
Last Saturday I (and a group of friends) had a very bad experience. We were in Tessin (Italian part of Switzerland) and we decided to make all together a ski-tour. We were 20 people, the snow conditions were really good, fresh powder, but the wind was really high! We didn’t calculate this problem.
We made a tour around a peak in Bedretto Valley (north of Tessin) and with a friend we were the last two people of this group, a bit far from the others. Everything was good, sunny and fun day. I heard a “whoom” on the way up and normally when I go up I don’t have the Avalung outside. Usually, I use it just when I’m skiing. It’s not funny when you hear a “whoom”, it’s not a good sound and I decided to pull my AvaLung mouthpiece out of my backpack. I bought the AvavLung pack last year and I had never used it. You buy but you hope never to use.
We walked 4-5 minutes more and then I saw an avalanche that came in my direction. I couldn’t make nothing, I had skins under my skis and skiing was really impossible. In 5 seconds I was in the avalanche, scared and screamed and I’m not an expert and I didn’t know what I could make. At that moment your brain can do nothing. I put my hand in front of my face and in some seconds I was under the snow and I didn’t know if the sky was up or down. Total panic!
I managed to get some space in front of me and I could breathe. I thought to myself that my friends were here and they could find me. After 20 minutes nobody. I thought that everyone was under the snow. After this time I decided to use the Avalung system, I used to breathe and I tried to stay quiet and relaxed. I breathe slowly, waiting for someone. I could check my watch but in this situation it’s not a good idea. I used the Avalung for 1 hour 10 minutes and then I saw again the light. (I was) really happy to see the rescue people and very happy that I was alive.
My personal opinion, I think that I’m still here because I had the Avalung. Black Diamond saved my life and the rescue people made the rest. I like so much ski touring but for sure, now I will take an avalanche course. And next year try again. Winter 2010 for me is closed.
I have a quick question for you. When I breathe the Avalung made a strange “sound”, like….I don’t know…A sound. Is it normal? [Yes the "honking" sound is completely normal when breathing through the AvaLung. - BD crew]
Thanks a lot guys and hats off about your products!
This picture was taken at a recent trade show. We where in the Briko Sunglass booth. I don’t know if this picture is distorted because the we look so good or if the glasses are as magical as they look.
I had the opportunity to spend some time with TVSRepair Technician Eric “Junior” Cohen and TVS Ambassador Courtnee Wilhite on a slack-country tour last weekend. We had a fantastic tour around the block. The photo above is a great example that TVS folks are great product testers. They participate in all kinds of outdoor activities at many different levels. Notice Courtnee and Eric are rocking outerwear from The North Face. TVS folks love The North Face’s gear. It should come as no surprise to anyone that their outwear performs at the highest levels here in Jackson Hole. What I did not know until Courtnee and Eric educated me was that The North Face makes a highly technical line of pancake wear.
Above Eric tests his North Face hoodie on National Pancake Day. He claims the marsupial pouch is great for extra syrup while the supple cotton fabric is good for absorbing spilled syrup or wiping partially chewed pancakes from the corner of your mouth.
Sure the Norwegians look fantastic in their Loudmouth Golf Dixie pants, but look at the two Miller boys in their Loudmouth blazers. Gorgeous! If you don’t own a pair of Loudmouth Golf pants you are missing out. We have been selling them for almost a year and they are perfect for every occasion. Especially cocktail parties.
Buying clothes for a retail store is not an easy thing to do. Market, customer demographics, merchandising, sell throughs all come into play. I spent some time with our buyers recently while they were trying to figure out what to buy for next winter and my head started to hurt trying to comprehend all the data they look at. At the end of the day though I just want to know how you can try on a gorgeous hat like this and not buy it. To me the hardest part of being a buyer is being disciplined enough to not buy everything. There is just too much good stuff out there. For those of you who like the look of this Bogner hat don’t give up yet. I am going to lobby hard to have this thing on the shelf next year. I just wish I could tell you what the price tag will read.
Apparently, the Teton Village Sports repair shop has their own uniform this year. It is not surprising as these guys tend to march to a different drummer. Guys who like to spend their evenings breathing wax fumes, discussing the best ratio of epoxy to microfibers for a sidewall repair, eating greasy pizza, testing new base grind patterns for the Margarita Cup team’s race skis, tuning demo skis and reinventing the wheel just to make sure that is how they would have done it don’t run with the crowd. Above Braden(Male Model) and Eric (Junior) model the Patagonia R1 Pullover and the Flylow Chemical Pant. If you are looking for a great tune or need a ski fixed come find these guys. If you are looking for male fashion advice please ask the ladies (and Jason) in the retail department. Even though junior has accessorized his R1 Pullover with matching Tecnica boots he is not the guy you want designing your on-snow man kit.
This year has been a very different year for me as far as competing goes. I have been participating on two different tours which has made it difficult for me to competitive on either tour for the overall. I have also had some tough luck with crashing, which has been tough on my confidence and my body. I crashed very hard in Kirkwood and have been rehabing m […]
I’m back home after a month of hauling 70 lb duffel bags, camera equipment, ski bags, and packs through airports, cities, villages, into the mountains of western Sichuan and back. At the end of it all, between the chaos of modernizing Chinese cities, gnarly jeep rides, packing and repacking of gear, ancient Buddhist temples and [...] […]
This is a window at the Callaghan Loadge that looks out on some of the terrain. If you are having trouble seeing the terrain here is another look:
I’m looking forward to a little ski touring. I am going to give the Scarpa Skookum a test drive. I’ll let you know how the Skookums perform.
This picture was taken at a recent trade show. We where in the Briko Sunglass booth. I don’t know if this picture is distorted because the we look so good or if the glasses are as magical as they look.
Alby wants to wish you all a happy weekend. If you see someone wearing a product from 
I had the opportunity to spend some time with 
Above Eric tests his North Face hoodie on National Pancake Day. He claims the marsupial pouch is great for extra syrup while the supple cotton fabric is good for absorbing spilled syrup or wiping partially chewed pancakes from the corner of your mouth.
Sure the Norwegians look fantastic in their 
Come try an 
Buying clothes for a retail store is not an easy thing to do. Market, customer demographics, merchandising, sell throughs all come into play. I spent some time with our buyers recently while they were trying to figure out what to buy for next winter and my head started to hurt trying to comprehend all the data they look at. At the end of the day though I just want to know how you can try on a gorgeous hat like this and not buy it. To me the hardest part of being a buyer is being disciplined enough to not buy everything. There is just too much good stuff out there. For those of you who like the look of this 
Apparently, the 
Social Chairman