MSR Backcountry Cafe: Green Curry

Jun 24, 2013

Photos and Story By  Lindsey Kunz This dish is a welcomed alternative to freeze-dried meals and competes with freeze dried packages for weight savings and cook time, thanks to the powdered coconut milk. And I’ve yet to find someone who doesn’t love this dish, both for its taste and for the ease of making it vegan and gluten free. One pot is all you need. Servings: 2 Ingredients 2 bundles thin rice vermicelli noodles (a package of 8 can be purchased at an Asian food market for just over a buck, or you can find in the international section of your grocery store)

Read More

MSR Folding Utensils – Behind the Gear

Jun 21, 2013

Product Manager Steve Grind answers a few questions about the design and performance of MSR’s Folding Utensils. What is the advantage of a folding spoon, fork or spork? Folding utensils are popular because they collapse into a much smaller configuration for packing, and often provide an overall longer utensil that is more suitable for use with pouch-cook meals. And utensil length is important if you’re a freeze dried food aficionado, assuming you’d prefer not to spend your after dinner time cleaning stroganoff from your knuckles. Some people prefer rigid utensils for their simplicity and ease of cleaning—and there are some good, long, single-piece utensils available. I tend to take folding utensils on most trips, though, since I can pack each color-coded utensil inside its matching mug, thereby keeping the kitchen…

Read More

American Road Tripping

Jun 19, 2013

Photos and Story By Ben Kunz The climbing road trip has become a defining part of being an American climber.  The freedom of packing up a vehicle and travelling to dreamy crags across this Great Land is part of our climbing culture.  Last year marked a chance to fulfill a dream of taking some serious time explore some of the best climbing this country has to offer. The High Sierra Galen Rowell’s amazing photography opened up my world to the High Sierra.  These amazing mountains with its excellent rock boasts some of American’s finest alpine routes! “The best alpine wall in the country.” – Peter Croft, about the Incredible Hulk Tyrolean traverse on Sun Ribbon Arete on Temple Crag:

Read More

The Sprinter Experience: Living in a Van Down by the River…er Crag

Jun 14, 2013

Photos and Story By Ben Kunz When Daimler Benz merged with Chrysler way back in 1998, it wasn’t even a blip on my radar, nothing that I needed to worry or care about! But within a year, I started seeing the Sprinter Van, Mercedes gift to North American mid-sized cargo carriers. When I first saw this hardcore Euro-styled van, I did some research and quickly did the math on these genius homes on wheels.

Read More

The Smallest Mountain

Jun 7, 2013

Now that you’ve climbed Everest, or at least sifted through a porter-load of stories about climbing it, you should take a break and do something different. Something completely different. That desire led us to Mount Wycheproof, the world’s smallest registered mountain. Located in Australia’s Terrick Terrick Range, Mount Wycheproof stands 486 ft (148 meters to the rest of the world) above sea level, which is not bad as far as small mountains go. The catch is that it only rises 141ft (43 meters, I suppose) above its surroundings. The mountain is located in the town of Wycheproof. It could also be said that the town is located on the summit, it’s hard to tell. However you choose to see it, the mountain/town is home to a population of 686, which…

Read More

5 Tips From Chad Kellogg’s Everest Speed Training

Jun 3, 2013

Getting Sick at Altitude? 5 Tips From Chad Kellogg’s Everest Speed Training Chad Kellogg has trained for more than six years to become the fastest climber on Everest. The lessons he learned on previous Everest attempts and speed climbs of other mountains have given him a strong understanding of what it takes to succeed at altitude. Here are the key techniques Chad uses to prepare for Everest: 1.     Train your heart, legs and lungs in advance. Chad’s Everest program focuses primarily on volume and endurance training. Both types of training also condition his legs for climbing. Most of the locations and resources he uses are free and available to anyone, anywhere. You can easily scale Chad’s workouts to fit your available resources and goals. Chad’s volume training involves high-intensity sets…

Read More

Speed Ascent Recap: Chad Kellogg’s Oxygen-Less Attempt on Everest

May 30, 2013

Chad Kellogg shares the details of his oxygen-less attempt on Everest. We are proud of Chad and his efforts. Read the details of his summit attempt here: “At 2:45 pm with all hands ready to see me off, I paid my traditional respects for safe travel. Offering incense, water, rice and making three circumnavigations of the team stuppa. When all was in order, I posed with my friends for some photos and reminded myself that this was going to be fun and to enjoy every step.

Read More

MSR Backcountry Cafe: Recipe for Chunky Pesto Tortellini

May 28, 2013

Photos and Story by Lindsey Kunz This delectable pasta dish is guaranteed to make your friends and fellow campers drool! It’s a rich backcountry recovery meal, well suited to keep you fueled for another epic day in the mountains, be it ski touring, mountaineering, or alpine climbing. One pot is all you need. Servings: 2, plus leftovers for second dinner or next-day’s lunch

Read More