Re Session Trailer | Video | Teton Gravity Research

Had to share,

just in case anyone was getting to comfy on their pool lounger!!! Check this vid out, its the new release from tgr.....

Re Session

Providing medical care at 17,500 feet above sea level

As director and founder of the world's highest medical clinic, Dr. Luanne Freer has her work cut out for her working at Everest Base Camp.

It was just this past week that Freer's efforts were chronicled in Outside Magazine's on-line presence, check it out its a great interview,
http://outside.away.com/outside/culture/200905/luanne-freer-everest-er.html

Everest is maxed?

April and May has been the busiest on record for Mount Everest. With over 1200 people at Everest Base Camp, you have to wonder if its reaching its max.

While in Canmore Alberta two weeks ago, I stopped in to visit my buddy four time Everest Summiter Wally Berg who owns Berg Adventures International. With an upcoming Everest summit expedition on the books for April of 2010, I asked if we was concerned about the volumes of people.

His response was yes, as when you get that many people on the mountain, there are the inevitable bottle necks at places like Hillary's step. And at 27,000 feet its not somewhere you want to be hanging out.

This is all pretty facinating for an armchair mountaineer like me. This climbing season- happening between April and May- I have been addicited to sites like http://blog.firstascent.com/ which is pretty killer, providing daily HD video blogs along their ascent.

Anouther great one is http://www.alanarnette.com/alan/everest2009.php who provides a daily progress report on the teams as they make their strike for the summit

Steep Camp Concludes

It's not very often on the slopes that I get to scare myself.
Its those runs that make you go holy sh*t, when you are standing on top of them looking down and the stomach starts to churn. This is what I am looking for on the slopes...runs that will help take my riding to their next level.

This is exactly what Northern Escape's Steep camp is all about. Not only do they get you to the top of these epic runs with views that will knock your boots off, but they give you the education you need to harness those fears and take the abilities to their next level.

And now at its conclusion, I am sure there may be a few of the 15 of us walking away from this five day steep and deep bender just a little disappointed. And there was nothing anyone could have done - avy conditions locked off most of Northern Escape and the Skeena's true potential...however our outstanding guides did manage to make the most with what we had.

And what we had was an epic time, picture it - you swoop in to land on the peak of a powder filled summit, the door opens, the wind is blowing snow is flying, you get out of the chopper, it's chaos, the noice the snow, it lifts off and than it all goes silent, for miles around there is nothing around you but an endless sea of white peaks. The noice picks back up but now its my buddies yipping and yelling cause before us is a big wide open powder bowl without a track in it just waiting for us to launch in and carve it up.

For people who are resort skiers, “steep camp offers the chance to get to your next level. You can expect pillow drops, some shoots and when conditions are right, big lines,” explained our guide Yvan Sabourin. “Steep camp was born out of demand from our guests. They would be up when the film crews were here, asking, well why can’t we ski that?” said Sabourin. Now Northern Escape has welcomed people from all over the world including Germany, Switzerland, Australia, New Zealand, the US and Canada in for the very same reason- to shred some serious gnar.

On our last day out on the slopes, guides John Forrest, Sabourin and others took us out for a ski into the Skeena's- with wide open spaces, glorious powder bowls and an endless sea of terrain before you- this is seriously one of the best places to be on the planet to get out the skis or snowboard and go for a shred. There is nothing like having these wide open spaces, all to yourself!

I can't wait till next year.

Track & Trail is stoked to release its 2010 conference dates to held at the Yellow Cedar Lodge- home to Northern Escape. For full details click here

Steeped in info

A reality of heli-skiing is that there can be down days, ones where the chopper cannot fly due to weather….and today was unfortunately such a day.

In addition to some serious relaxation time, this is steep camp so Northern Escape maximized the day, allowing us to get the in’s on how they pick which lines we’ll ski and pointers on avalanche recovery techniques.

It truly a valued experience to learn from the guides themselves just what goes into the assessment of terrain and the value of a day in the mountains. “Experience is everything when it comes to approaching the mountains," explained long time Association of Canadian Mountain Guide Al Ducros. “It’s not just about firing up the bird, getting on the skis and hitting the slopes. There is a lot of information, analysis and experience that comes into play,” explained Ducros as he worked us through the weather and avalanche reports located in the guide’s office here in the lodge. Twice daily, once in the morning and evening, the guides rally to cross-examine the weather and conditions.

As for when you are on the snow, avalanche safety is crucial and the guides treated us to a scenario and some demonstrations on the art of recovering potentially your buddy from the snow.

The biggest things I picked up where:

When you come close to locating the victim-where the beacon reads to about 1.5 meters or less, mark your boundaries around the burial - you've got to give yourself a road map on where to probe. Actually draw lines or a circle in the snow in and around the strongest signal point.

Use the probe in a spiral fashion, working from the point of the strongest beacon response out by 30 cms, again in a spiral form.

Dig a ramp to the person- coming in at the side to the probe, don't shovel directly over top of them. If you just dig from where the probe hits something, you will just be digging a pit. This will not allow for an effective recovery. “If you were digging and hit a foot, how are you going to work your way through that pit to get the most important part, their head – so they can breathe,” asked Ducros.

“Working as one team is important, stay together and move from there. If you are all spread out its chaos, communication is the key,” explained Ducros.

Even though it’s a bummer that we couldn’t get up in the bird, this education from folks who have 10- 20 years of experience running around and loving life in the mountains is invaluable.

Drs. Freer and Johnson back to Base Camp

If you have not had the chance yet get over to Drs. Luanne Freer and Eric Johnson's blog at http://www.everester.org/

Both Doctors are up a Everest Base Camp this month managing the operations for the world's highest medical clinic. At over 17,500 feet above sea level, Freer and Johnson will be at Everest Base Camp through April helping to manage any medical issues that may arise.

Track & Trail is honoured to have both Freer and Johnson heading up the faculty for our most adventurous academic retreat so far- en route to Everest Base Camp Oct 1-21, 2009.

For details check out out website at http://www.tandtadventures.com/adventure.php?adv=4

Putting the digi to good use

Northern Escape's steep camp offers a backstage pass to the art of big mountain riding. One of the tricks of the trade Yvan - our guide with Northern Escape and film crew program manager is the use of the digital camera.

"At at resort and you see a big line you'd like to hit, use your digital camera and take some great shots of the line from below," he recommends. "Than on the chair lift bring up that photo again to say, “ok so there is that tree as my marker, I want to hit it on skiers left, there is this small pillow drop there or little cliff here, which ever you were interested in hitting. This way when you get up and into the line, you have the exact markers there so you know which way to hit it.”

Sabourin was explaining to use that his guys from the movies that he caters to will take dozens upon dozens of shots, from below, from above and from the chopper and analyze them tirelessly over days to they understand and know their line in and out.

As a snowboarder, I have had to be cautious about just how much weight I am putting into my turns when on something with a mighty pitch.

“About two weeks ago up at our other steep camp there was this one snowboarder who was out of Australia, he’d take a pitch that might have a potential to slide and he’d do these really hard auger turns on it, as if we was surfing off a wave. We had to work with him to say, lighten up your turns, more flow to it, so that way you won't create a slide,” suggests Sabourin

the steep adventures continue