Pocket Magnifiers

Reading a map is difficult when you don't have your glasses or the light is fading. Squinting doesn't work, and your arms aren't long enough.

Handy pocket-sized magnifiers come to the rescue. The simplest is thin plastic the size of a credit card, easily carried in your wallet. The best known is probably Itoya brand. You can find one at office supply stores and pharmacies. Look online at Campmor, MapTools, or UltraOptix.

The latest innovation in this technology is the illuminated magnifying card, which is a bit thicker. Pressing a tiny button activates an LED, flooding light on the map. A well-known model (as seen on TV) is the OWL Light. Similar lenses are available from Essential Gear, Harbor Freight, and Amazon.

Illuminated or not, both styles provide 2 to 3x magnification.

2009 International Technical Rescue Symposium

The 2009 International Technical Rescue Symposium welcomes rescue personnel from many disciplines: mountain rescue, military, park services, and outdoor recreation. The program includes new advances in equipment, medical issues, and technique.

The event is sponsored by Pigeon Mountain Industries, CMC Rescue Incorporated, and others.

November 5 – 8, 2009
Pueblo, Colorado

Download the brochure in Adobe Acrobat format here.

Classic Camping Stoves

At one time, most of us probably owned a brass Optimus, Primus, or Svea stove. For the most part, they served us well and faithfully accompanied us on our treks. They are part of our history.

Many of these cookers were shelved when we acquired the hi-tech stoves first introduced by MSR. Others just don’t work so well anymore.

The most common problems with old stoves are dried gaskets, defunct wicks, and clogged jets. There is hope, however. A & H Packstoves both sell new stoves and furnish parts for the old. The staff is knowledgeable and helpful, enthusiasts of Swedish brass. Prices are quite reasonable.

Classic Camp Stoves is a discussion forum and an archive of photos, advertising art, catalogs, and exploded diagrams.

Read the Backpacker review of the classic Svea 123 and its links to related articles.

Personal Locator Beacons

Technology is finding its way into the backcountry: the avalanche beacon, GPS receiver, cellphone, and personal locator beacon (PLB). The media have reported the use of personal locator beacons in dramatic and successful rescues but at least one instance of their abuse. Some experts have expressed concern that the devices will encourage over-reliance on their use.


ACR Electronics manufactures most of the units available in the United States, the Microfix and the Terrafix. The devices are pricey (around $500 – 600) but can be rented online from PLB Rentals.

The New York Times recently published an article about PLBs.

“Not Without Peril”

Subtitled “150 Years of Misadventure on the Presidential Range of New Hampshire.” Nicholas Howe documents the misfortunes and tragedies befalling twenty-two hikers and climbers over the past century and a half. There are lessons to be learned here about safety and trip preparation.

Not Without Peril: 150 Years of Misadventure on the Presidential Range of New Hampshire
by Nicholas Howe
Appalachian Mountain Club Books, 2001

Spring Skiing at Tuckerman’s Ravine

Summer is a mere month away, but the ski season is just starting at New Hampshire’s storied Tuckerman's Ravine. Today’s New York Times runs an article about the ravine’s action and history, including safety issues and mentioning the Mount Washington Volunteer Ski Patrol. Read For Daredevil Skiing, The Season Is Now.

Alive

Thirty-five years ago, a Uruguyan Air Force plane, carrying a rugby team, crashed in the Andes. Thirty-two players and supporters survived. After ten weeks in the snow-covered mountains, only sixteen remained.

Survival is said to be an attitude, a state of mind. Piers Paul Read investigates the mentality of those who made it and of those who did not.

Skiing in Massachusetts

Like Arcadia Publishing’s 4000 other titles picturing the history of localities across the country, Skiing in Massachusetts documents a century of our sport with little text and lavish illustrations. Drawing on vintage photographs, posters, and advertising, authors Cal Conniff and John B. Allen let the pictures speak for themselves. The Paul Bousquet archive and the New England Ski Museum were the sources of many images.

Mount Marcy in Winter

This New York Times article describes a late March ascent of the highest summit in the Adirondacks. The party climbed via Lake Tear of the Clouds and returned on the van Hoevenberg Trail, 18 miles in all.

Read the story, “En Route to a Mountain Peak, a Stop at the Hudson’s Source“ here.

Jim Whittaker: Relying on Rescue Technology

Jim Whittaker, the first American to climb Mount Everest and former president of REI, sounds off on dependence on rescue technology.

Commenting on recent rescues and efforts to legislate emergency beacons, Whittaker writes that reliance on technology often creates new dangers for both climbers and rescuers. He emphasizes the need for expedition planning and personal responsibility:

“The technology has made it easier to rely more on search-and-rescue personnel, and less on skill and knowledge.”

“A climber should begin every expedition assuming that that he could be trapped in a blizzard”

Read the full op-ed piece:

A Summit Technology Can’t Reach
By Jim Whittaker
New York Times
March 9, 2007, Friday