Wednesday, March 25, 2009

JPG Compression Loss

I recently had a conversation with a photographer that insisted that shooting in RAW was a waste of time and disk space. I’m not going to spend any time refuting this point as it is well known that there are all kinds of advantages to shooting in RAW (from editability to data retention, etc). That said, I recently found a video that shows what .jpg compression does to an image over time. Watch closely as the image is compressed up to 600 times. Obviously there is no practical reason to compress an image up to 600 times, but it’s still interesting to see...

http://hadto.net/category/sketchbook/generation-loss

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Trango Cam Cup

On Rockclimbing.com, the Trango Cam Cup results are in. In the main event of the contest, 10 homemade cams were pull-tested to see which one would hold the most force before failing. See the full results here.  

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

New GriGri Directions from Petzl

The Petzl GriGri is one of the (if not THE) most popular auto-locking belay devices on the market. It works great for sport climbing where weight isn’t an issue and falls are imminent. I don’t do much sport climbing, so I don’t use my GriGri all that much for belaying. However, I do use mine for the lower ascending device on static lines (works great for adventure photography). Some of the features that make the GriGri so popular also allow for some dangerous situations if not used correctly. Petzl recently relooked at how to avoid operator error and came up with a new set of instructions in the form of a video (see below). If you use a GriGri, it’s worth watching.


(video linked via YouTube tags)

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Karhu XCD 10th Mountain + Dynafit F12


Omnitrack Bases

Full Length (175 cm)

Close Up


I just picked up my new set of ultralight skis (for ski mountaineering). Thanks to Matt at Edge Works, I brought my skis/boots/bindings into the shop at lunch time and was able to pick them up after work (same day). I can't wait to try them out this weekend. 

7.66 lbs (skis and bindings)
DIN 12 bindings
Omnitrack bases


Monday, March 16, 2009

The Perpetual Quest for a Quiver of One

Old SkisFor years, backcountry skiers have sought the holy grail of backcountry ski gear: Skis that are extremely lightweight and perform flawlessly in any terrain/condition. Boots that tour with the comfort, warmth and weight savings of a tele boot, and are stiff enough to drive any pair of skis. Bindings that are strong enough to survive cliff hucks and weigh next to nothing. Each year, through the introduction of new designs and materials, we get one step closer. After several years of testing multiple setups, I decided to take full advantage of the latest technological improvements in backcountry ski gear. In order to bank roll this project, I unloaded the following:

A. 159cm Sims Snowboard + Burton Boots + Ride LS bindings (really heavy)

B. 177cm Atomic Kongur skis + Fritchi Freeride bindings + Garmont Endorphin Mg boots (est combined weight: 21.4 lbs)

C. 178 cm Karhu Kondor skis + Riva tele bindings + Scarpa T3 tele boots (est combined weight: 13.2 lbs)

When putting together my new AT setup, the bindings were the easiest choice. Dynafit recently came out with a DIN 12 binding (the F12) that weighs around 500g per binding. Sold.

My choice of skis was a bit more difficult. As a ski mountaineer who is very focused on weight savings and uphill performance, I decided to go with Karhu’s XCD 10th Mountain Ski. It’s a very lightweight backcountry ski that has Karhu’s Omnitrack waxless base for superior touring performance on flat/rolling surfaces. The waxless “fishscale” bases allow the skis to glide much better than skins (which add both friction and weight). Skins will still be required for steeper ascents where better traction is needed.

Finally, after trying on a half dozen different Dynafit compatible AT boots, I chose Garmont’s Mega Ride as my boot of choice. Even with my thick Scarpa Intuition liners, all Scarpa and Dynafit boots were too wide for my skinny feet and therefore disqualified as potential contenders. If Scarpa had been an option, the F3 would have tempted me based on weight, comfort and touring performance. The final two contenders were the Garmont Mega Ride and the Garmont Mega Lite. The Mega Lite weighs 230 (or so) grams less, but lacks a 4th buckle (which could come in handy on more difficult descents). A great deal + the 4th buckle convinced me to choose the Mega Rides. I’m hoping that the Mega Rides + Scarpa Intuition liners + carbon fiber orthotics will meet my requirements for comfort and touring performance over time.

In summary, my new AT setup weighs around 14.9 lbs. That’s 6.5 lbs (or 30%) lighter than my previous AT setup and only 1.7 lbs heavier than my already bare bones tele setup.

Since weight is of no consequence at the resort, I decided to hang on to my very heavy/very sturdy double-edged 177 cm Volkl Super Speed Supersport skis for skiing the groomers in style at mach 2. My new setup is headed to the shop for mounting. I’ll post a review/pictures of the new setup after I’ve put it through a few tests.

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Orthotics: Gear of the Most Valuable Kind

New OrthoticsOld Insoles
Yes, I’m writing a gear review on orthotics. No single piece of “gear” has ever had such a positive impact on my ability to train and perform without unnecessary pain and injury (knees, IT band, hip flexor, etc). Until two weeks ago, I had almost accepted the fact that my knees would always hurt after every workout. After using my orthotics, my 26 year-old knees no longer feel like they are 60!

Prior to getting orthotics, I had been using heat-moldable foam insoles (Sole brand). The foam insoles were better than nothing at all, but entirely inadequate for a person that has completely flat feet. Now that the honeymoon period is over for my orthotics, I feel that I can give an honest review:

Materials - Performance and Durability
I chose carbon fiber as the base material because it was one of the lightest options and it is relatively stiff with little flex (important for someone that needs maximum support). Based on 70 miles of running, I can say that the carbon fiber base is working well for me (160 lbs). I don’t feel any flex and it does appear to be quite durable.

For the top/finish material, my podiatrist recommended a soft rubber/sponge layer (very much like a thin mouse pad) to give my feet some relief from the stiff base layer. Since I had purchased all of my shoes and boots on the basis of how they fit with my Sole insoles, I needed to make sure that the resulting orthotic was of a similar thickness. After hearing that the rubber/sponge layer would yield a comparable thickness, I agreed to my podiatrist’s recommendation.

After only two weeks of use, the junction of the top layer and the base layer is not holding up. The sharp carbon fiber is slowly cutting through the rubber. Additionally, when sweat is added to the equation, the rubber sections tend to hold in moisture. This causes them to break down faster and become very floppy. The floppiness becomes a problem when you switch from one shoe/boot to another. When wet, trying to put my insoles into a hard shell ski boot or hard leather mountaineering boot is like trying to get a wet noodle to stand up straight.

Despite being unimportant to the overall function of my orthotics, a new top layer (which also makes up the front half of the orthotic) will cost me $50 to replace. I’m guessing that my current top layer won’t survive more than another month. When I replace the top layer/forefoot, I’ll probably get a thin high density foam that has a better use life, less moisture retention and more structural integrity and form.




Thursday, March 5, 2009

James Peak Ski Descent


This past weekend, I climbed and skied James Peak (13,294 ft) . It was a windy day (at times) and snow was lacking. You can read more about it on my trip report:



Wednesday, March 4, 2009

The MMO


You need a MMO, and you don’t need to switch over from a HMO or a PPO to get one. You just need to know how to tie one. The Munter-Mule-Overhand (MMO) is one self-rescue technique that enables a climber to lower/belay an injured party using a munter hitch combined with a mule hitch (for a hands free position) and an overhand knot (to back up the mule hitch). The MMO is a must have tool for climbers and it doesn’t weight a single ounce. If you want to learn how to make one (and many other self-rescue techniques), refer to page 43 and following of “Climbing Self Rescue: Improvising Solutions for Serious Situations” by Andy Tyson and Molly Loomis. You can see a preview of the book (including the section on the MMO) via the link below:

http://books.google.com/books?id=J5_sl0YR9eUC&pg=PA66&lpg=PA66&dq=MMO+rope+rescue&source=bl&ots=h_9W0Je-uF&sig=dvyW9B7QGBphUvteTPruUzGl500&hl=en&ei=65-uSejKGYS2nQf8v_TBBg&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=3&ct=result#PPA46,M1

Last night, I joined a large group of friends at the Erie Community Center to practice self-rescue and ascending techniques. A few of the guys even broke out the portaledge. Since it can be easy to forget techniques that you hope you never have to use, an annual practice session is a great idea. After all, if you can’t perform in a controlled environment, you’ll probably have little chance of success in a serious high-stress situation when you’re several pitches up your route.

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

New Wallpaper Image for March (#9)


I just added another wallpaper image for March. I will be introducing one new image every month. You can download this month's image here:

http://www.scottborger.com/photo.php?id=362&gallery=wallpaper