Brooks-Range Avalanche Safety Gear
June 26, 2010
Why am I always doing reviews on things that are just plain out of season in North America, I have to wonder. I don’t wonder long, because the fact is that I have an “interesting” travel schedule and the seasons at my destinations tend to not match up with the home hemisphere of the web site. While North America is breaking out the bikinis, I’m bundling up and heading South – way south. To where it’s still winter, south. Oh, and also north, way north, where it is ALWAYS winter. I am usually going to these destinations for work, but where there is work, there is also play, right? And research and trips to be had, skis to be brought along and used, and new toys to play with courtesy of the Geargals “needs to be reviewed” pile.
So, to my latest excursions in the many lands of snow and ice, I brought along a pile of fantastic Brooks-Range avalanche and snow safety gear to check out. Brooks-Range is a company out of California, which is NOT in fact named after the Brooks Range of Alaska. This makes Alaskans huff and puff, but considering there is a whole airline named after Alaska that really has nothing to do with Alaska and they don’t seem to mind that, they really should just get over it. Brooks-Range is in fact named after its founder, Matt Brooks, whom I actually know nothing about beyond the fact that he has designed some pretty sweet snow gear. What can I say, we are the Geargals, not the Outdoor Personality Review Gals. Though, you know, some outdoor personalities really could use some review. But probably not Matt; he’s probably all right.
A consistent goal of mine is to stay educated about snow safety and avalanche hazards. This means that I have to spend a lot of time digging snow holes and shifting grains of snow around on little cards, punching pencils into the walls of my snow hole, and stomping on blocks of snow to see what they do. This sounds simple, but in reality requires some pretty decent tools to accomplish. Brooks-Range has developed a line of admirable snow safety tools that can help you on your path to preparedness.
First up is the snow saw. Sorry, no pic of this one, but I do have a handy link for you, in the very next sentence! The Igloo 35 Folding Snow Saw is no lightweight; it’s a burly, sharp tool that rips through the stoutest of crust layers. I remind you that it is sharp, because you will need this info when putting this saw into your pack. The fact that it folds will help you out immensely, but don’t forget to cover those wicked blades with something that will protect your lightweight pack material. Really, I can’t emphasize this enough – Brooks-Range says this saw can cut both snow AND wood, and I believe them. You know, maybe it is called the Igloo because it is good for cutting blocks for igloos – that would make sense. I am not at all a winter camper so I’ll let someone else weigh in about that part. The Scientist snow saw series from Brooks-Range also folds and is lightweight (more so than the Igloo 35) but has smaller teeth and isn’t quite as damn scary. For most skiers/backcountry travelers, the Scientist saw will be fine for checking out avalanche conditions. If you climb in the alpine, are a professional avalanche person, or just like to saw through ice and wood, then the Igloo is your tool.
New to me was the Snow Density Gauge, which measures water content in snow with a simply balance mechanism. It’s a very lightweight and very cool tool, perfect for avalanche forecasters and enormous avalanche nerds. It’s unlikely that I would carry such a thing for a day of backcountry skiing, but if you really need precise snow pit data this is a simple and accurate tool that will help you increase your snow sense (apologies to Fredston and Fesler. Incidentally I have run into them a few times in the mountains and they are quite lovely. Way back in the day Doug Fesler gave me the best winter camping tip ever – fill your Nalgene with hot water and tuck it in your sleeping bag. You’ll be warm and comfy all night. I still use that tip on chilly nights and pass it on to all my students. Thanks Doug).
Brooks-Range also makes a great series of field organizers, from skiing to racing to professional guiding. I use mine for search and rescue stuff, but they are useful in many situations. The lightweight covers hold a small field notebook and a pen as well as the info cards. Most of the organizers come with map tools and field info such as helicopter safety, and kit-specific things like guide cards and snow cards. The ski and guide cards contain avalanche safety info, field checklists, briefing checklists, and other standard information good to have on hand. Personally I find that I don’t need to carry the info cards with my everywhere, and have custom built my kit to have a map tool, snow card, pen, field notebook, compass, snow pit probe (otherwise known as a pencil) and lat/long ruler. It is handy to have all my writing/mapping utensils in one easy-to-find place. I also love that the organizer does not use velcro; it uses string to tie it shut. I despise velcro and I think I’d hate having to fight getting my base layer stuck on my notebook all the time. So yay for string!
So there you have it, some more tools in your arsenal for staying safe in the backcountry.
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