SPOT - Satellite Personal Tracker

Engadget has a post up about a new personal tracker. It sounds like it has a ton of cool features (track progress option that allows friends to see where you are on Google Maps). For $150 bucks you can’t go wrong with this. What is $150 dollars for some piece of mind?

Add comment August 8th, 2007

Glissade - not your favorite sports drink

Glissade is not the latest sugar laden Gatorade product. Glissading is a fun way to get down a snow-covered mountain fast. What is this mode of travel I speak of??? Well see the diagram and description below. I mentioned this in my Mountain of the Week - Mt Adams post a while back.
All you need is an ice axe and a sloping snow field to get your glissade on. There are three methods of glissading, sitting, standing, and crouching.

From wikipedia:

Sitting Glissade

This is the easiest type of glissade and generally provides the best feeling control. It is also less tiring than a standing or crouching glissade in softer snow. To perform a sitting glissade one sits down and slides on the slope usually holding on to an ice axe in a self-arrest position, especially when the run-out of the slope is in question.

The major drawbacks to the sitting glissade are that one’s outer layers get wet, and that there is less control than in a standing glissade. (I can vouch for this, but man was it fun!)

Standing Glissade

The standing glissade is often the preferred method if the person glissading is skilled in doing so and snow conditions allow. In this glissading position one has a better view of route hazards, and increased maneuverability over a sitting glissade. In addition a standing glissade cuts down the wet and abrasive forces of the sitting glissade. The standing glissade is best performed over firm snow with a soft top layer.

Crouching Glissade

The crouching glissade is similar to the standing method except the climber sits back and drags the spike of their ice axe (held in self-arrest grip) in the snow. The method is slower but more controlled than the standing glissade. A disadvantage to this technique is the tiring of the legs.

Now that you know how to glissade, practice it on a hill or slope near your home before you get out on the mountain and try this. I had great success with this method on Mt Adams in Washington a few years back. However CAUTION, you can gain some speed doing this. KNOW YOUR SURROUNDINGS. Study your map before starting a glissade or else you’ll end up in a ravine, the hospital, or the morgue.

Add comment August 7th, 2007

The X-games are X-streme

Anyone see this over the weekend? They showed it about a million times. Jake Brown should be dead or at least missing some body part. Even though he is doing stuff indoorzy he gets the Outdoorzy “fall 40 feet and still live” award. Here’s to you Jake Brown!

Outdoorzy.com only give one “fall 40 feet and still live” award every 30 years. Look for the next award in 2037. Any entries submitted before 2037 will not be given consideration for the award.

2 comments August 6th, 2007

A Gift for Your Non-Outdoorzy friends

The Onion has a great gift for those who like the Outdoorzy lifestyle, but aren’t really outdoorzy….

Add comment August 3rd, 2007

Mountain of the week - Clingman’s Dome

In honor Outdoorzy member leighkmill’s first hiking trip last weekend, our mountain of the week is Clingman’s Dome. We’re still waiting on a trip report, Leigh, but here is some info while we’re waiting.

From clingmansdome.com:
At 6,643 feet, Clingmans Dome is Great Smoky Mountains National Park’s highest point. It is the highest point in Tennessee, and the second highest point east of the Mississippi.The peak is accessible after driving Clingmans Dome Road from Newfound Gap, and then walking a steep half-mile trail. A paved trail leads to a 54-foot observation tower. The Appalachian Trail crosses Clingmans Dome, marking the highest point along its 2,144 mile journey.

Wikipedia says:
Though not quite the outdoor adventure, it does provide the casual visitor with an excellent glimpse of the often hostile environment of highland Appalachia, and the fifty-foot high observation tower allows spectators a 360 degree panorama of the surrounding mountains, on the infrequent occasion of a clear, sunny day. Cantilevered signs, hanging from the rails of the tower, point out the various peaks that can be viewed in the distance.
For the more hardy hiker, the Appalachian Trail also crosses Clingman’s Dome, passing a very short distance behind the observation tower. The trail can be picked up from Newfound Gap and hiked for approximately 7½ miles to the tower, which offers the only opportunity to actually hike Clingman’s Dome. The entire distance is above 5,000 ft (1,524 m), and is perfumed with the fragrant scent of spruce.

In addition to Clingman’s Dome, Chimney Tops, Abrams Falls and Hen Wallow Falls trails were all used to help break in Leigh’s new hiking shoes.

Images from Wikipedia.

Add comment August 2nd, 2007

Credit Card Survival Tool

I saw the Credit Card Survival Tool today and thought how I just needed to scoop one up. This thing looks very awesome and very handy. Seems like it would be the perfect thing to toss in your cargo pockets for a day hike. I wonder when they will invent the pocket canoe…hmmmm a man can dream right?

Add comment August 1st, 2007