MTN Sense

The Icefall Lodge is my favorite. Near Golden BC 🇨🇦. Six spots just opened up and I’m joining fellow IFMGA Mountain Guide Ryan Huetter to guide this week of pow skiing good times.

Human powered long days. Evenings in a large comfortable warm lodge with a chef to refuel for the next day when we do it again.

This place combines some of the biggest terrain and best snow. The only downside is you’ll be a powder snob after this experience. DM me if interested and we can make sure you’ll succeed with the crew and get you 🔒ed in.

Standing on the shoulders of the sailors, splicing dyneema has untapped climbing benefits, like this super light and strong bail/rappelling anchor configuration.

Anyone willing to DIY their own PPE is a niche in a niche, but it’s a hardy little gang.

The spliced loops maintain the 3mm strength, but more importantly they omit the need for knots that slip on non-friction dyneema material.

So many ways to mark gear so when you go climbing with friends you can end up with your stuff afterwards.
-nail polish, enamel paint markers, metal stamping, engraving tools, dental drills, and now laser engraving. Let’s go!

If you happen to live in Revelstoke and you want your geared marked like this, join the Revelstoke Idea Factory to gain 24/7 access to this boss machine.

Which do you use? Here are reasons to move to the next level.

Spray paint: looks like trash, chips off on routes
Tape: first hot trunk or roof box ruins it, falls off on routes, snags on slings
Nail polish: best accessible option. Hard to keep same bottle year after year so end up with several types of marks.
Engraving pen tool: shaky and hard to make it look good
Laser engraver machine: it’s what climbing companies use…

It’s great for emergency food, cause you only eat it when you’re reeeeaaaalllly hungry.

I think I can, I think I can, I think I can.

Squirrel Warriors

Here’s a way to get “pretty equalized” pieces with the tan alpine runner.

Sometimes the mountains provide gifts. 58m down the first rappel we couldn’t find the next anchor (the guidebook description is “lacking”, to put it nicely) and so we had to build our own.

1” tubular nylon webbing is nearly indestructible so when I saw it laying there I wanted to use it. Going old school, I used it as a stopper. Added a stopper and equalized.

Have I done this before? No. Would I do it again? Maybe if it seemed safe at the time.

Why am I showing it off? Because the problem solving part of climbing is an aspect I love. Never the same but mostly similar, with important nuance.

Would you rap?

Apply the tape, cut the middle of the tape. 12mm static rope with two galvanized steel chain links…burly

Strive to always tape more tat out of the mountains then bail material you leave behind. A sharp knife is required.

Cleaning up anchors on Mt Sir Donald exactly 2 years ago. Anyone want to report back how they look now?

Help and video by Emile