MSR’s Complete Guide to the Basics of Water Treatment

What kind of water treatment do I need? It’s a simple question, but there is no easy answer. Water treatment is far from a black and white subject; differing threats, varying standards and lack of information can make it a challenge to determine which threats you will encounter. To compound the matter, the various water treatment systems available can be difficult to understand; microfilters, chemicals, UV light treatments and purifiers offer different advantages. We developed this series of articles to help you make an informed decision. Each overview links to a deeper story on the subject. The information presented here is founded in peer-reviewed science and communicated by the experts at the Mountain Safety Research water research lab. What does MSR know about water treatment? MSR first approached backcountry water…

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Plane camping on the Kenai

Story and photos by Holly Walker “There’s a lot of air up here!”, I exclaimed, the seemingly endless Capps Glacier and everything beyond it making me as excited as a little schoolgirl. The Anchorage mountaineers stared at me as I sat in their kitchen tent and I realized how silly I must have sounded. I was comparing Alaska to the Lower 48 and was enjoying the lack of cars, busy roads and crammed airspace. My pilot friend Jake Soplando and I had just landed on the Capps Glacier in the Tordrillo Range in his personal Piper Super Cub airplane. Moments ago we were soaring above the snow as it sparkled in the alpenglow, watching the enormous peaks and hundreds of crevasses light up with a soft pink hue. “Jake, what are…

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