Pro Review
Pro Review
“How was the summit?”
That is the usual smirking comment I get when I enter the basecamp dinner tent on Everest sporting my 8000m Marmot parka. It is usually spoken by someone utterly envious of my garb.
Well, yeah, it is designed for peak wear and lots of folks keep it tucked away for their higher climbing, for their nights spent on Everest at camp 3 with 70 mph winds and unspeakable windchill temps. But I’m built for comfort. Why suffer? I’m on Everest, it’s cold and windy, and I want...
This is my first experience using a Marmot pack and I have to say, I’m impressed. Working as a professional mountain guide, I spend a lot of time in the field and subsequently lots of time wearing a pack. Therefore, I look for something that fits well and has simple, yet useful features without too many bells and whistles. I have found this in the Marmot Eiger 45L pack.
I first used this on a guided ascent of the Dragontail Couloir in Rocky Mountain National Park. The pack easily accommodated...
This morning I ran in a 10K race in Bozeman Montana to support a great cause – a group of local philanthropists trying to fund their project to supply water and food to Ethiopian orphans. (www.scrambleforethiopia.com ) Sporting my new Marmot Women’s Ellipse Sport Tank, I felt like I had a competitive edge – this light tank with flat lock construction (no armpit chafing!) and a tag free neckline (no nagging irritation!) were sure to shave seconds if not minutes off my time – I was certain...
When alpine or ice climbing, one of the biggest issues I face is finding an appropriately fitting jacket. There are three questions I ask myself when selecting the right jacket for the right job. First, will the jacket fit easily under a harness? Can I raise my arms without the cuffs of the jacket falling below my wrists and without the jacket pulling out of my waistbelt? Finally, is the jacket moving with me or against me? With the advent of softshell technology and virtually every...
I have been a fan of the Marmot DriClime Jacket for years. Mid-weight insulation built into a windshell makes for a versatile, lightweight piece of technical outerwear. However, during the warmer months of the year or while engaged in high aerobic activities, the DriClime is a bit too much of a good thing.
So, enter the Ion Windshirt. Essentially, the Ion is the DriClime without the insulation and with the bonus feature of a hood. One of my requirements for any piece of gear is that it be...
First Marmot snow angel on Aconcagua?
Last month I taught a wilderness medical course while climbing Aconcagua, the highest peak in South America. As you might imagine, altitude sickness was discussed at length both in and out of the classroom and all of the students were on vigilant alert for symptoms of potentially deadly high altitude cerebral edema (which can begin with a headache and advance to unusual behavior then coma.) So there we were, making an acclimatization walk up toward camp 3...
Last week myself and 5 hardy Yellowstone rangers ventured into the winter backcountry for our annual (pardon the political incorrectness I’m told) “chick” trip. 22 pretty grueling miles through what they call “variable” snow conditions (read: slick as snot directly followed by chunks of cinderblock glued to the bottom of the skis … repeat … alternate … until ready to scream…) I’m told it’s one of the lightest snowpack years in the past 60 and for the most part I believed it until, out trying...
The first ever Everest technical rescue training course for Sherpa climbers, sponsored jointly by Khumbu Climbing School, Everest ER and Rigging for Rescue graduated 8 proud Sherpa students Feb 2, 2009 in the village of Phortse, Nepal. Volunteer instructors gave freely of their time and considerable expertise doing what they love best – and in the meantime prepared the students to safely rig and effect rescues that occur every year in the hazardous Himalaya. I was a student right along with the...
Women's Flurry Glove review by Luanne Freer of EverestER.
Hiking in the hills around Montana in the winter, you never know what you’ll find. Elk, moose, deer are common sightings. We breathe a little easier on the trail in the winter here, knowing the bears are fast asleep, denned away, so the food chain gets a little less threatening. Check that … what’s that track off to the left? Big, round, no claw marks, tail dragging in the snow? GULP! What you see right beside my Marmot women’s...
You’ve no doubt seen Marmot luggage at airports en route for the Karakorum, holding gear at the base of crags, waiting patiently outside an icy tent on Everest, being hauled down the trekking trail in the Andes. It’s durable stuff, so it’s going on the tough trails. But this weekend, during a 4 day wilderness medicine pack trip, the Long Hauler Duffle bag made it’s debut on horseback in Yellowstone. And it performed … (drum roll please) … beautifully! Yellowstone is known for unpredictable...
The 2009 Everest ER team was comfy, cozy and stylin’ at base camp this season in our Marmot Moran (mens) and Snazette (womens) team jackets. Both jackets offer the most comfortable and functional softshell features on the planet: just enough Polartec® Windbloc® Stretch Fabric to stay warm in a cold wind, but enough breathability to sweat it off on the uphill climb. We loved the slanted Pack Pockets™ that allowed us to grab a quick energy bar without having to take off our packs, and the...
So there I was, deep in the backcountry of Yellowstone National Park: the perfect setting to teach wilderness medicine. With a bunch of doctors and medics, we set out to master the principles of practicing medicine in the middle of nowhere – how to prepare and pack for what might happen and most importantly, how to improvise, knowing that you really can’t possibly know exactly what will happen when you’re out there. I’m thinking that 17 years as a doctor in Yellowstone, along with my...
This spring I was in need of a new waterproof shell…bad! I’ve worn out my Precip after years of abuse in the mountains, at the crags, and in the bottom of my pack. When I jumped on Marmot’s website and saw the Mica Jacket it seemed to fit the bill. My criteria was simple: lightweight (7 ozs) and waterproof (MemBrain Strata). That’s all I was really looking for in terms of base features. Marmot has always been spot-on with fit made for the field. They pay close attention to details like hoods...
To me, the Work Glove initially smacked of old school design, not having a very ergonomic shape and being one of the last technical gloves on the market to have a nylon cinch strap at the wrist area. But these features ended up being the glove’s strengths and over the last few years the Work Glove has become hands down (fingers too) my favorite cold weather climbing and skiing glove.
First of all, it is super warm, yet remains dexterous due to its’ shape and high quality leather (not overly...
I'm a doctor, so when I set out to test a parka I do what I know. A patient wants to know if his heart is strong enough to exercise? In medicine we do a stress test: put him on a treadmill and make the heart go to close to maximum heart rate – all out – before we declare it rough and ready. So when I got the new Mountain Down from Marmot, I put it through my own stress test: Yellowstone Park: in dead of winter, driving winds, below zero temperatures and I'm riding on a snowmobile to Old...
Last weekend I ran in a Montana mountain trail race produced by the “Piss and Moan” runners. These cheeky folks advertise that the trail “under normal late June conditions, takes about an hour to race swiftly like the deer, and about 3 hours to walk briskly at the porcupine's pace.” (Making me a dorcupine?) Who wouldn’t take a Piss and Moaner at their word? So off to the Continental Divide trail 14K slog for me and 200 of my closest friends. Montana late spring weather is...
The Marmot Women’s Scree Pant ain’t your mama’s pants … and thank goodness for that! Having worn many types of mountain pants, this style is sure to delight and surprise adventurers with its durable yet comfortable design.
Recently, I wore mine on a multi-pitch climb in Rocky Mountain National Park. They were comfortable and shaped for a woman’s body. The fabric is breathable yet not flimsy. No worries about arriving at the crag all sweaty. When it’s cool and windy outside your bum and legs...
