Mammut launches Avalanche Airbag Backpacks

The 150 year old Swiss company Mammut debuted a new product line at the Outdoor Retailers Winter market in Salt Lake City.  The R.A.S (removable airbag system) is another step forward in Mammut's dedication to alpine safety.  The line of backpacks are modified versions of the popular Nirvana series and are capable of handling the airbag system designed by another Swiss company, Snowpulse.  The Snowpulse system can be removed from the pack and replaced into other compatible packs, Mammut will produce 2 packs of different sizes (30L & 22L).

A "ripcord" handle is attached to the shoulder strap, when pulled, it releases the compressed air from a small cylinder which inflates the 150 liter airbag in less than 3 seconds.  The idea of avalanche airbags is that of "inverse segregation", which means that the largest particles of a moving fluid make their way to the surface.  The bag increases the volume of the user while reducing density and increasing buoyancy.  Simply put, it will keep you on top of the avalanche debris, so even when your legs are broken, at least you won't suffocate.

The weight of the airbag and cylinder is approximately 1,500 grams (3.3lbs), roughly the weight of a liter and a half of water.  This will soon become standard kit for anyone traveling in avalanche prone terrain.  The likelihood of surviving an avalanche increases dramatically if the victim is not buried.  I must say that these tools are not a free ticket to get rad and be free of consequence.  The whole idea is to use good judgment and not be caught in a slide, but we all know that shit happens and it is best to be prepared for the worst.  These packs will retail for nearly $800.  Yes, it's pricey but not nearly as expensive as a funeral.

Please consider taking an avalanche education course.   It is likely you will learn a lot, and you'll also be putting in that much needed practice time.  American Avalanche Institute.

National Geographic: Skiing K2 is one of the most extreme adventures on the planet

This week National Geographic released a story about the 20 most extreme adventures on the planet.  Seems that skiing down K2 is in their top 5 on the Ultimate Adventure Bucket List.  

Other adventures include, summiting Everest, downclimbing into an active volcano, swimming with great white sharks, and kayaking off 180 ft waterfalls.  This is one heck of a list and a great database for future vacations. The see the story, go to National Geographic.

New and redesigned ice tools from Petzl

New line of Petzl Charlet ice tools - QUARK NOMIC ERGO from Petzl-sport on Vimeo.

AZADI : Freedom

"AZADI: Freedom" Official Trailer from b4apres media on Vimeo.

I'm excited to see this movie.  Seems like it will be a great look into a very complex situation.  The battle for Kashmir has been a long and difficult one.  Anthony Bonello and B4apres will give great insight into the current situation and how the locals are carrying on with their lives while living in the shadows of tanks and fighter jets.

K2 summit push underway

After an incredible spring and summer of high altitude action, perhaps the most remarkable feats are about to happen on Pakistan's K2.  

First Korean Oh summits Annapurna becoming the first woman to climb all 14 8000 meter peaks.  Then the Spaniard Pasaban tops out on Shisha to become the second woman to send the 8000ers.  Now on K2, Austrian Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner is in position to be the first woman to climb all of the 8000ers without the use of supplemental oxygen.  Reinhold Messner was the first to accomplish this in 1986 and since then only 10 people have been able to pull it off.  

Another amazing attempt is going on as well, Swede Fedrik Ericsson is going for a ski descent of the Cesen route.  Fred is back for another attempt after his trip last year was cut short by the death of his partner.  He is super strong and has already skied sections of the mountain that were previously unridden, the most dramatic of which is the huge bowl that drops off of the shoulder.  It starts at 7800 meters on the lowest point (top of the S-SE spur) and extends up and over to the Bottleneck at 8300 meters.  This feature on the south face is probably one of the most appealing slopes to ride on K2, huge, steep, exposed, super dramatic no-fall skiing. Huge respect to Fred for riding this.  I had dreamed so many times of dropping into this wall, a 3000 vertical foot shot hanging on the south face, I'm so happy he got to ride it.

The usual weather window for K2 occurs around the 1st of August.  This is not like an Everest window where the winds die down and the weather is good for a week or two.  This is a K2 window, 3 days maximum.  From the forecasts that I've seen, it looks like the 5th and 6th have low winds up high (14 km p/h).  That would mean that the climbers would leave base camp on the 2nd or 3rd depending on if they were skipping camps on the way up.  Some climbers choose to climb from bc direct to camp 2, stay the night, climb to camp 3, rest for a few hours, then start a summit push from there.  This may be the strategy for a few of the strongest people but since no one has reached the bottleneck, there are no ropes fixed.  I'm sure there has been a collective discussion in bc to sort out who will fix the ropes.  The folks fixing the ropes will most likely follow a more conservative ascent schedule, launching a summit push from the traditional place, camp 4 on the shoulder.

The next few days will be very interesting ones, as this will likely be the last attempt of the season.  With many teams already on their way home, there are few left.  If the weather doesn't hold, most will be forced to leave due to depleted resources on the mountain (food, gas, O2) or to travel agendas.  Hopefully the weather cooperates and all top out like in 2004.  If so, we will see, the first complete ski descent, first woman to climb all 14 8000ers w/out O2, first couple to summit together (George and Lakpa).  Maxut and Vassilli will complete their project of climbing all 8000ers w/out O2.  As well as some other stuff that includes frisbees, golf clubs, hacky sacs, beer bongs, etc.

Positive vibes to all the the folks out there!  Check out Fredrik's site for the details on this expedition

FREDRIKERICSSON.COM