EMS Men’s Helix Bib Pants Review

January 28, 2013December 12, 2016 David Lottmann Clothing Reviews, Gear Reviews

It’s hard to find a bib that is good for everything in winter. For ice climbing I want the range of motion soft shell pants give me. For winter mountaineering on Mount Washington I want the bombproof windproof-ness of a hard shell. For back-country skiing I want both mobility and bombproof protection, plus a fit that works over bulkier ski boots. EMS has almost hit the bulls-eye with these bib pants!

EMS School Guide and North Conway Office Manager Keith Moon testing the bibs while traversing Big Chief in Steven's Pass, Cascades — EMS School Guide and North Conway Office Manager Keith Moon testing the bibs while traversing Big Chief in Steven’s Pass, Cascades

Fit: I’m 5′ 9″, 178lbs, with a 34 inch waist so according to the size chart I am a medium in these. The first time I tried them on they felt a little snug. However after over a half dozen ski tours and a couple Mount Washington ascents I’ve found the Polartec NeoShell fabric really does stretch unlike the traditional hard-shell bibs I have worn. They’re less baggy than my older EMS System III 20k bibs, and I feel much less boxy and more technical.

Breath-ability: While I don’t fully understand the claim “Uses convection rather than diffusion to promote more efficient moisture vapor transport”, I can report these breath extremely well. So well that while skinning uphill for 2 hours in regular winter conditions I have yet to take advantage of the full side zips to let any steam escape. Granted, it’s has been a bit unseasonably cold the last few trips, but I notice no moisture getting trapped under these at the end of the day.

Windproofness: I wore these for my coldest wind chill ever ascent of Mount Washington just a week ago. How cold? Try -65 degrees!

With nothing but heavy weight long underwear (EMS Power Stretch Pants) and some thermal boxer briefs underneath they kept me comfortable during a rather long ascent in wicked conditions.

Features: Full length waterproof side zippers make these go on and off easy, but I especially like the built-in internal gaiter that easy fits and snaps secure over my ski boot. Other faves are the small chest pocket the holds my iPhone and the zippered hand pockets that can fit my avalanche beacon.

Improvement: The only thing keeping these from getting a perfect score for me is I need a thigh cargo pocket big enough to hold an AIARE Field Book (7in x 4.5in) for quick access during a ski tour. If a thigh pocket doesn’t work with the side zippers then the chest pocket could be deepened to accommodate the field book that more and more back-country skiers will be carrying.

Bottom Line: These are an excellent technical bib at a great price! I’ll rate them based on primary use…

Ice Climbing 7/10

Mountaineering 9/10

Back-country Skiing 8/10

AIARE 1 Avalanche Course 1/25/13 – 1/27/13

January 28, 2013 David Lottmann Avalanche Courses, Backcountry Skiing avalanche courses, backcountry skiing

Yesterday wrapped up the 3rd avalanche course of the season and the first course with recently AIARE 1 instructor certified EMS Schools Guide Mike Lackman co-teaching. Mike had joined me for the Instructor Training Course in Stevens Pass a few weeks ago and it was great to have a co-instructor to work with over the last three days!

Twelve participants from Canada, Maine, New York, Massachusetts and Ohio joined us at the AMC Highland Center for two days of classroom and field sessions to learn about decision making in avalanche terrain before heading up into Tuckerman Ravine to put it all together on Day 3.

After we wrapped up our field session on Day 1 some of us headed to Frontside Grind in North Conway where the recently formed Friends of Mt. Washington Avalanche Center was hosting a fun slideshow/fundraiser. Free beer, Tuckerman Pale Ale of course, delicious pizza provided by The Flatbread Company, great silent auction, and a really informative slideshow showing some of the history of the Avalanche Center entertained a standing room only venue.

The next day after some morning classroom we headed through Crawford Notch to look at some avalanche paths and make some snow & weather observations.

During our Observational Outing we found significant wind slab, wind crusts, and some great Surface Hoar in a sheltered area not far from the above photo. Later in the day we got some interesting Compression Test results in our shallow faceted snowpack. Despite being behind in snow totals for the month of January we still have a very interesting snowpack to learn from!

Day 3 we gathered at Pinkham Notch Visitor Center and after working in small groups to come up with a trip plan for the day we headed up in to Tuckerman Ravine. Mother Nature was temps struggled to reach double digits and wind chills made goggles and face masks quite necessary above Hermit Lake. Visibility however was excellent and we viewed quite a bit of terrain, along with a very fresh crown line at the top of the bowl. Digging around in the snow below Right Gully provided another chance to look at layering in the snowpack, and by 2:30pm we were starting our descent back to PNVC and a productive course wrap-up.

Group photo at HoJo's before skiing down the Sherbie... — Group photo at HoJo’s before skiing down the Sherbie…

With last weeks 12 person avalanche in Central Gully lots of former students have asked my opinion. I think Jeff Lane’s well written accident summary pretty much echos my thoughts, so I’ve linked it here.

Next weekend we are not running an avalanche course, but I have a 2 day private ice climbing course and a 3 day mountaineering program scheduled. The following weekend I will be heading to Lake Placid to teach an AIARE 1 Course in the Adirondacks. If you are interested in hearing how these pan out, personal product reviews, and about future avalanche courses in the White Mountains please subscribe to this blog’s email list by entering your email address in the top right of the blog.

See you on the mountain!

Eastern Mountain Sports Wintergreen Backpack Review

January 22, 2013September 20, 2016 David Lottmann Backpack Reviews, Gear Reviews, Uncategorized backcountry skiing, eastern mountain sports, EMS Schools, EMS Wintergreen Backpack, ski packs

EMS Wintergreen, Big Chief Mountain, Cascades, Washington

When I first saw the new EMS Wintergreen Backpack I assumed it was designed specifically for back-country skiing given some of it’s features specific to the sport like a dedicated avalanche gear pocket and excellent ski/board carrying options. After teaching 2 avalanche courses with it and some field testing in the Cascades I have discovered it is truly more of a winter “jack of all trades” pack as EMS has referred to it.

Color: As I mentioned in my review of the EMS Prez Backpack color is important for winter use, and EMS did well with this bright red technical looking color. While the photo above from a couple weeks ago in the Cascades was about as nice weather as I have ever toured in I often find myself skiing in thick New England whiteout conditions, and visibility is key!

Features: I love the dedicated avalanche gear pocket that holds my shovel and probe, however I do have a preference for an externally accessible probe sleeve that doesn’t require accessing a zipper to gain access to. My previous back-country ski pack had a velcro sleeve along the side that made accessing my probe super convenient.

The insulated shoulder sleeve for a hydration system is a nice bonus for those who want to use bladders in the winter (I stick to water-bottles and thermos during mid-winter conditions). Glove friendly buckles throughout indicate this pack was definitely put together for cold weather use!

Fleece lined goggle pocket– This is a new luxury I look for in all my ski packs. Not only does it store my expensive goggles safely but they are super accessible so when it’s time to pull skins and shred the gnar I don’t spend any time looking for my goggles… or helmet because of a slick helmet carry system. This stow-able helmet carry system is great, though most trips I have found room in the pack for my helmet, on more involved trips it will be a great boon to be able to securely attach my helmet on the outside so easily.

Comfort: The compression molded back panel and shoulder straps are exactly what I look for in winter packs. Despite a stiff frame the pack moved well with me while dropping 40+ degree runs off of Cowboy Mountain in Washington State and was even more comfortable skinning up to Big Chief. The waist belt is nicely padded and comfortable and has one zippered pouch on the left hip (I would like it on both as that is where I stuff candy/energy gels for easy access).

Size: The size of this pack hints at it’s more general “Jack of All Trades” design. At 32 Liters (1950 cu. in) it is big enough for full day mountaineering trips, lightweight overnights, family snowshoeing, etc. For a dedicated back-country ski pack it’s a little on the big side. I would love to see a smaller and lighter version, maybe 26-28 liters and under 3lbs. This pack weights 3lbs 6oz, which is a bit heavy for a day pack. It’s perfect for a day of ski guiding since I carry an extra layer, a bivy sack, sam splint, and group size first aid kit when guiding. It’s a bit large/heavy for a more relaxed day of touring side country.

Convenience: Side zipper access! A huge positive for me on top-loading packs, it was a surprise to find this on a panel loader that opens up as wide as this pack does. Regardless the addition of a side zipper that accesses the main compartment makes quick stops for water or warmer gloves a snap. On the other side of the pack there is a zippered side pocket that is a bit interesting. While the product description says it can hold a probe I could not find one that would fit in it. It does hold a thermos or water-bottle easily, or my climbing skins when I don’t want to put wet skins back into my pack, but to be honest since this is a panel loader I would scrap both the side zipper and zippered pocket which would probably get this pack below 3lbs.

Bottom line: This pack is great for winter hiking in the White Mountains, general mountaineering (not technical ice climbing), snowshoeing, and back country skiing. But remember “Jack of All Trades” is not King of any. I’d like to see this pack stay in the line as an winter excellent all-arounder, and see a more streamlined dedicated back-country ski/ride specific pack come out over the next year or two.

Ice Climbing 201

January 21, 2013 David Lottmann Ice Climbing, Mountaineering

Yesterday I got to take 4 guys ice climbing as the 2nd day of our 3 Day Accelerated Mountaineering Program. They had already spent day one learning the basics of crampon and ice axe use so today we added in some multi-pitch climbing skills and ascended the beautiful Silver Cascade in Crawford Notch. It was quite cool climbing beside open waterfalls on solid ice and hearing the water running near us during much of the day. Despite a very busy weekend we had the climb to ourselves and enjoyed over 1,100 feet of climbing.

Mount Washington Observatory Overnight Trip

January 20, 2013January 21, 2013 David Lottmann Mountaineering

Today I got back from an excellent two days on Mount Washington with 9 very motivated climbers who summited the mountain with me in some of the coldest wind-chills I have ever summitted in… how cold you ask? -65 degrees… that’s how cold… This was a couple hours after we summit and it had warmed up to -53:

Despite the brutal wind chill we had excellent visibility for our ascent, and we enjoyed a great meal by the volunteers and some informative weather educational content from Rebecca Scholand of the Mount Washington Observatory. The next morning temps were a bit more reasonable for our descent, but visibility on the summit had dropped to 50 feet. Regardless, we had a fairly smooth descent and other than a shredded pair of gaiters we were non-the-worse.

Some instructional time a few minutes up the trail

For more info on our overnight trips to the Mount Washington Observatory please go here.

Ice Climbing with Brooks School

January 20, 2013January 21, 2013 David Lottmann Ice Climbing

Twice last week I got out to the North End of Cathedral with a great group of high school kids from Brooks School in Andover, MA. These kids were so supportive and encouraging of every single kid in the group that it was quite inspiring! Way to go Brooks!

Steven’s Pass, Instructor Training Course

January 14, 2013 David Lottmann Avalanche Courses, Backcountry Skiing, Professional Development avalanche education, avalanche research, eastern mountain sports

This past Thursday concluded a 3 day American Institute of Avalanche Research and Education (AIARE) Instructor Training Course (ITC) in Steven’s Pass, Washington. Three other Eastern Mountain Sports School Guides and I headed west to the Cascades to improve our ability to provide high quality avalanche education that has become synonymous with EMS Schools and AIARE courses.

Steven’s Pass is on Route 2, about 2 hours east of Seattle, between Skykomish and Leavensworth

Steven’s Pass is a very impressive and notable place to focus on avalanche education. Not only from the high profile accident that happened last year that resulted it this recently published (and graphically impressive) NY Times web article but it was also the location of the deadliest avalanche in US history!

We left my house in Conway, NH at 3am Monday, and 21 hours (and 3,400 miles) later we arrived at the Mountaineer’s Lodge on the edge of the Steven’s Pass Ski Resort.

The Seattle based “Mountaineer’s” maintain this lodge on the edge of the ski resort... — The Seattle based “Mountaineer’s” maintain this lodge on the edge of the ski resort…

The next morning we joined the 14 other participants comprised of guides, ski patrollers, and outdoor educators, along with the three facilitators, Margaret Wheeler, of the American Mountain Guide Association, Larry Goldie, IMFGA and owner of North Cascades Mountain Guides, and Scott Schnell, of the North West Avalanche Center. We could not hope for a more skilled group of facilitators to convey the info and knowledge packed into this 3 day “conference” of sorts.

Day 1 was adjusted to include quite a bit of classroom as MN (Mother Nature) was gracing us east coasters with something we were pretty familiar with… rain.

Some classroom time — A break during the some classroom time

On Day 2 we spent the majority of the afternoon conducting very beneficial field sessions, and in the end got in a few good turns (by east coast standards).

Some group discussion about making observations

By Day 3 however the temps had dropped, the powder had fallen, and our ski tour allowed for close to 1,200 feet of vert. interspersed with some peer on peer instruction. We traveled along the Pacific Crest Trail then ascended Stormy’s Ridge next to Moonlight Bowl…

Starting the climb up to Stormy's — Starting the climb up to Stormy’s

We took a short 700 foot lap then skinned back up from some more:

The course wrapped up Thursday night, but we had planned to stay an extra day to play and luck was definitely with us as Friday dawned clear and cold. We grabbed lift tickets for the resort, and I got to experience my first solid taste of “side-country”.

We traversed the entire resort Euro style by heading straight for the 7th Heaven chair, then traversing the ridge from Cowboy Mountain over to Big Chief with a few steep runs in-between.

Our lift assisted tour ;) — Our lift assisted tour 😉

After gaining the ridge we set our eyes on the untouched powder visible on the south slopes of Big Chief:

The day inspired my to toss together yet another cheezy home vid collaige of the day:

I’m still trying to absorb all the info I’ve gathered over the last 4 days. From conversations with fellow educators, to coaching from some of the industry’s highest avalanche professionals, to practical experience in a new snow climate and mountain range, I’ve walked away feeling more confident than ever at delivering the mission statement of AIARE “Save lives through education”. And now, through EMS Schools commitment to guide training we’ll be able to continue that mission on a scale close to double what we were providing! Now if some of that coastal snow would follow me home we should be all set for a great course in two weekends!

2nd Avalanche Course of the Season

January 13, 2013 David Lottmann Avalanche Courses, Backcountry Skiing

Last weekend wrapped up our 2nd course of the season. This post comes delayed since as soon as that course finished I was west coast bound for an Instructor Training Course in Steven’s Pass, Washington. As I wait for my plane back home I have some time to get the photos from the course uploaded.

Just like the 1st course the conditions were near perfect for learning about decision making in avalanche terrain, and the 8 of us (plus an aspirant instructor) made our way up into Tuckerman Ravine and even got a few short powder turns near the mouth of Right Gully.

Checking out some early season layering in Crawford Notch

Considering our options from Hermit Lake

As I said, as this course wrapped up I had hours to prepare to fly out to the Cascades for some excellent continued professional development. Lots of classroom time, but also some great turns in fluffy white stuff. Stay tuned for a full report within a day… Subscribe if you are interested… and if you are looking to take a course this winter we may have some new spots opening as we bring some of our guides up to instructor status over the next few weeks. Some courses previously sold out may soon have openings, so check the dates here and let us know if you can come join us. It’s an excellent time to take an avalanche course with us!

1st AIARE Avalanche Course of the Season

January 1, 2013January 21, 2013 David Lottmann Avalanche Courses, Backcountry Skiing

Mother Nature really prepped the Mount Washington Valley for the 1st Eastern Mountain Sports Schools Avalanche Course this season by bringing close to 22 inches in the last four days. This brought our monthly total to 70″ (178cm) and according to the Mount Washington Observatory that puts us 20 inches above average for the month, and way above the average for recent years. I caught a glimpse of this channel 13 forecast 2 days before the course started:

So this past Saturday I met the first 7 avalanche students at the AMC Highland Center in Crawford Notch in full on Nor’Easter conditions. We spent the morning delving into the basics of avalanche terrain, then spent the afternoon outside practicing companion rescue.

The next day was much milder and after some morning classroom we headed out for our observational outing in the afternoon.

I can’t remember a year where we’ve had such great snow to travel on before the New Year. Last year it took almost the entire month of January to break out the skis, so using them on the first course was a very welcome boon. To add some icing on the cake we had some excellent visible layers for our first snow pits, getting very positive test results while learning about some small column tests. CTE Q1 and CTM Q2 45cms down for those in the know 😉

Our Day 3 tour was “full value” as Mother Nature’s fierce grip on Mount Washington had yet to loosen, yet the whole group was physically and mentally prepared to travel in what many would consider horrible conditions:

After reaching Hermit Lake we assessed the current conditions and decided to look for some sheltered snow near Hillman’s Highway. But first a quick group shot at the avalanche conditions board:

We took a look at the devastation from the 2008 D4 avalanche in Hillman’s and worked our way up a small ridge to see what else we could see…

Conditions being quite brutal, we took in the sights, made some quick weather observations, and quickly descended back to a sheltered area near to first aid cache. After a couple quick snowpack observations there we headed back to Pinkham and wrapped up the first avy course of the season…

All 7 participants were fully engaged in the process, the snow conditions were almost perfect for learning about avalanches, and despite the wind chill being a bit on the extreme side, I couldn’t be happier for the way the 1st course turned out.

So here’s the thing… we are already sold out through the month of January and a weekend in March has already sold out… space in these courses is really at a premium this year… with a banner winter season in the making now is not the time to postpone signing up for an avalanche course if you have been meaning to take one. Click here to see the course details and available dates. See you on the mountain!

Ice Climbing Fast Track

December 29, 2012December 29, 2012 David Lottmann Ice Climbing

To start my winter guiding season off I got to climb with Andrew, Jeff, and Caleb during the last two days in our “Ice Climbing Fast Track” program. Andrew had taken an avalanche course with us last winter and having ticked off a bunch of winter ascents around the White Mountains was ready to try something a bit more technical. Jeff and Caleb had some solid multi-pitch rock climbing experience from a few years ago but were relatively new to the ice climbing scene.

Mother Nature joined us yesterday bringing a size-able snow storm that dumped almost a foot of snow in the valley and kept us in full winter conditions though-out the day. I chose the Walk in the Forest area of Frankenstein to give us some shelter from the winds that day.

Hiking up to the climbing area... — Hiking up to the climbing area…

Practicing ice axe placement... — Practicing ice axe placement…

Caleb checks out the strength of a V-thread

Jeff eyes the steeper line... — Jeff eyes the steeper line…

Day 2 dawned clear, sunny, and much less windy. We set our sights on Standard Route at Frankenstein, and found the right side in good early season condition.

Caleb almost to the cave on Standard Route

A slightly crowded cave... — A slightly crowded cave…

We continued up to the top following the less traveled right variation and enjoyed a short rappel during our descent. It was a fine two day start to the season, with a good group of guys, good early season ice, and good weather. Tomorrow brings the first avalanche course of the season and we have quite a bit of snow on the ground compared to last year. I couldn’t be more psyched!

Northeast Alpine Start

Gear reviews, trip reports, and how-to articles for Northeast adventures

Author: David Lottmann