I’m not sure of the origins of the quote, “It’s always snowing somewhere”, but I know it’s not snowing in Utah (currently 94 degrees and sunny). So what the hell are we doing here? With the coaxing of Andy Jacobsen and Jay Beyer, Jonah and I decided Powderwhore should finally visit the Southern Hemisphere (I won the coin toss). We fly into Ushuaia, Argentina, which I had never heard of until 3 weeks ago. There is a sweet trip report from some folks that were there in July, here.
The crew- Andy Jacobsen (primary skier, secondary camera, all around good time) Jay Beyer (trip captain, still photography, motivational speaker “it’s time to crush”)Dan Grolley (skier, skier, skier, lucky bastard)Noah Howell (primary camera, secondary skier, blogger, key grip) Dede O’Mara (primary skier, token female, babysitter)
The next best thing to being on an adventure is packing for one. I love gear, the history it holds and the potential it provides. However, I’ve been on enough big trips that I’ve been baptized into the “light is right” religion (I sin grievously in the ski department).
The gear.
Our plans are loose, but we expect to do multiple overnight trips with possible glacier travel. Black Diamond is sending us down with some “Justice” prototype’s to swoosh around on (sexy red skis). They are a slight step down in size from the Megawatt’s (my fav of all time) and have a similar rockered tip design. Jacobsen and I have different versions to ski and report on. Can’t wait!
The camera kit.
We are bringing the 2 HD camera’s and Andy J has a backup for helmet cam. It’s tough to get several days of shooting out of the standard camera batteries. So, we are bringing 4 expedition Li-ion batteries that work to -40 below for 10 hours of recording time. I’ve used these on Denali, Baffin Island and the Chugach with great success. I might as well give them a plug, it’s Automated Media Systems. Not cheap, but a sound power source, much more so than solar in my experience.
The clothing.
Major love from Mountain Hardwear in the outerwear dept. Thanks guys! The new pants from Flylow are sweet as well. Dan has wanted me in his pants for a long time. I hope it was worth the wait. A few more things to pack and arrange and we’ll be off. I’ll try and post from the field, but hopefully we’ll be far from phones, computers and all that junk. Be well,NH