Guest Blog: Squallywood athlete Robb Gaffney
Here’s a guest blog from BCA’s first sponsored athlete, Robb Gaffney. We set him and brother Scott up with Alpine Trekkers when they were filming, “Walls of Freedom” in the late ‘90’s. Scott has since become a lead cameraman for MSP Films and Robb is an MD, Squaw diehard, and author of the Squaw Valley guidebook, “Squallywood.” The Gaffney bro’s helped us make our first video, “Trekkies from Hell,” featuring our Alpine Trekker. We’ll post that soon, as soon as we convert it from Beta format…
In the early 90’s my brother, Scott, and I had moved from Colorado to California to pursue our dream of making ski films. Packed into a single car with all my life’s belongings were my Alpine Trekkers. Those Trekkers helped me explore most of the backcountry around Lake Tahoe and on return trips to Colorado our Trekkers enabled Scott and I to get up to ski some classic Colorado lines like Mt. of The Holy Cross. On those same Trekkers, we also explored backcountry off of Whistler and Blackcomb. My first pair of Trekkers lasted over ten years and brought me some really good times. Thanks BCA!
Trade Shows and Touring
BCA attended the SIA (Snow Industries of America) On-Snow Demo this week, mainly showing off our Float 30 airbag. The original goal was to get as many people as possible to ski with the airbag deployed. But avalanche airbags are not nearly as popular to demo as the latest rockered skis. So instead of demo’ing the Floats we ended up entering a team in the rando race, finishing third out of 21 teams in the open division. This surprising finish could be attributed to the secret weapon we deployed, shown in the photo below.
BCA’s secret weapon was deployed early in the Scarpa Dynafit Uphill/Downhill rando race at Winter Park.
Float 30 Deployments at SIA
BCA airbag tests at Snowbird – day two
Testing airbags in avalanches is harder than we thought. We spent our second day at Snowbird just hauling two of our dummies out of Mineral Basin. We had high hopes of using a helicopter to do this, but the heli flight was cancelled due to weather. So Brian set up a z-pulley system with Chantal of the Snowbird patrol. Adam went into the starting zone on belay to tie the dummies into the system and hump them into the toboggan. Brian and Chantal then hauled the dummies-in-toboggans uphill one at a time. Having completed my supervisory role early in the process, I opted to burn a lap in the Gad Chutes, then go for a short tour up to Pole Line Pass (followed by a visit with Alta snow safety director Dan “Howie” Howlett).
Brian, Chantal and Adam hauled the dummies out of Mineral Basin with a 3:1 z-pulley. By the time this was complete, it was time to head back to Boulder for SIA.
We’re putting our airbag testing on hold for now, since it’s time for the Snowsports Industries America (SIA) show in Denver. And we’re burned out on humping these dummies into cars, trams, and toboggans. These beasts are extremely unwieldy, as shown in this video from the Snowbird parking lot (parental discretion advised):
Thanks again to Dean Cardinale, Mongo, Randy, Jimmy, Chantal, Kevin, and the entire Snowbird patrol for helping us try to get these tests done. We’ll take it up again in Colorado when we get another big avalanche cycle.
Loaded up for the long ride back to Boulder.
BCA airbag tests at Snowbird – day one
Plenty of other blogs have covered the Outdoor Retailer Winter Market, so we’ll spare you the details. But we can assure you the Float 30 created a huge buzz. For a great blog from Lou Dawson, check out www.wildsnow.com. Our Tracker2 and new Stash pack line were also a big hit. But there’s nothing that shows like an avalanche airbag blowing up. All heads turn in the direction of BCA!
The Float 30 highly impressed "Wizard of the Wasatch" Bob Athey.
Product manager Brian Ciciora, mechanical engineer Adam Sotkin and I (VP of Marketing Bruce Edgerly) played “hookie” from the last day of the show on Sunday to test the Float 30. With 80 inches of new snow in Little Cottonwood Canyon, the timing was right. We had hauled three 185-pound dummies all the way from Colorado. These were graciously loaned to us by Rocky Mountain Rescue, the local rescue team in Boulder. Thanks to huge support from Dean Cardinale and the Snowbird Patrol, we were able to get these beasts to the top of Mineral Basin Sunday afternoon in a driving snowstorm. After deploying the airbags and lowering them into the start zone, it was time for “fire in the hole.” Snowbird patrollers threw four charges on to the slope. But it didn’t release. Rats!
We’ll go back on Monday and try again on a different slope, possibly with some helicopter support. Stay tuned!
Adam and Brian manhandle BCA's unwieldy dummies in the Snowbird parking lot. At 185 pounds each, these beasts have been a huge burden to us for over a week.
Brian hauls the stiffs from the Snowbird tram over to Mineral Basin.
Brian set up an intricate belay system to lower the two dummies into the start zone. For the first time ever, we were disappointed that we couldn't start an avalanche.
BCA timing perfect for pre-OR Wasatch storm
This week is the annual Outdoor Retailer show in Salt Lake City, our favorite trade show in the world for this reason: it’s near the Wasatch. We usually go out early and ski for a few days beforehand (and a day or two afterward). This year we got three days of touring in before the show–and we nailed the timing, again. The snowpack here is about half of what it normally is this time of year. But that all changed as soon as we arrived. The first day, up Porter Fork in Mill Creek Canyon, it snowed all day. The second day we skied in Mill D North in Big Cottonwood with our buddies from Mountain Equipment Co-op and the Alpine Club of Canada. The Utah Avalanche Center was reporting 28 inches of new! Today we skied Silver Fork in Little Cottonwood and the conditions were primo! What a great way to get ready for our show. We are incredibly lucky to be making a living in this industry. Anyway, we’ll be introducing a whole new line of Stash packs this week and showing off production units of our Tracker2 avalanche beacon and Float 30 airbag. Stay tuned for further reports…
The BCA crew and friends pose between laps in Porter Fork in the Mill Creek drainage in Utah's Wasatch range.
Brian Ciciora, Andy Wenberg, Adam Sotkin, and Steve Christie on the skin track from Grizzly Gulch to glorious Silver Fork.
While visiting the Snowbird patrol this afternoon, we ran into the US Navy Seals, who showed us their secret weapon.
AIARE Level 1 Avalanche Class Recap with Peak Mountain Guides
The below was submitted by Matt Wade, the owner/operator of Peak Mountain Guides in Ridgeway, CO. This is a recap of his most recent Level 1 Avalanche Class. Being located in SW Colorado allows Peak Mountain Guides to access the San Juan Range. Matt is also a big supporter of BCA.
Thanks Matt for sending in the great story and photos.
With a 15″ snowfall not too far in the past, a forecast for clear skies, and a snowpack of questionable stability, all the ingredients were in place for a fun and educational avalanche course. Grant, Nate and Jim, three experienced telemark skiers from Grand Junction, were excited and eager to learn avalanche awareness skills during a 3-day level one avalanche course I was teaching through my company, Peak Mountain Guides, in the San Juan Mountains of Southwest Colorado.
Our course included a mix of classroom sessions and practical field time, with an emphasis on applying the information to actual decision making in the backcountry. I have always felt that hands-on application of skills and techniques is important for retaining informatin and really grasping concepts. As we learned during the course, it’s important to plan for your trip ahead of time so you can anticipate what equipment to bring, how much time you’ll need, and to carefully select terrain that is suitable for safe travel and good skiing.
Grant and Jim making a tour plan for the following day.
Before blasting into the backcountry I introduced Nate, Grant and Jim to the process of the conducting a companion rescue. More than a “beacon search”, an effective companion rescue includes assessing the scene for safety, coordinating the group to be an efficient team, properly utilizing a transciever to hone in on the victim, pinpointing the location with a probe, and then strategically shoveling to excavate the victim quickly and efficiently. Utilizing BCA Tracker DTS beacons, everyone quickly learned how to perform a signal search, coarse search, and fine search to hone in on the buried victim. As usual, the Tracker DTS made for quick searches and it’s ease-of-use facilitated everyone’s understanding of the process.
A student hones in during the fine search.
Eiseman Hut
Here’s a video of my recent powderfest amongst the trees outside the Eiseman hut- the snow was so good we kept skiing it well after dark…
BCA pulls the trigger on shipping Float 30.
Posted on 5 January 2010 | 7 responses
Another biggie for BCA this week: we started shipping our Float 30 airbags! We love this product and think it will become standard backcountry equipment in the future–right up there with your beacon (Tracker, of course), shovel, and probe. How can you argue with the physics? By pulling a trigger cable when the avalanche fractures, the bag inflates, adding 150 liters of volume to your body. This increases your buoyancy and keeps you on the surface through the process of “inverse segregation,” otherwise known as the “Brazil Nut Effect” (in turbulent flows, large particles rise to the surface.) Similar products have been proven to be extremely effective in Europe for nearly 25 years, but they have not caught on yet in North America, mainly due to cost and refill logistics. The Float 30 is very affordable ($500) and easy to exchange and refill through our network of dealers, SCUBA and paintball shops. In addition to the airbag itself, the pack holds 30 liters of gear and has dedicated shovel and probe pockets.
The Float is a 30-liter pack with a 150-liter airbag that comes out the top, floating you to the surface of an avalanche. Just pull my finger! (Actually, just pull the trigger on the right shoulder strap.).
BCA covert operator and friend Mike Schlauch walking back to the lot after deploying the Float while mach'g Berthoud Pass's front face. The Float is designed to maintain your mobility and peripheral vision so you can concentrate on escaping the slide before it picks up speed.
Ruben Garcia and Jerry Helbak use the BCA compressor to fill Float 30 cylinders before shipping. They are submerged in water to dissipate heat while filling to 2700 psi.
Each cylinder and valve head are checked for leaks using our helium leak checker. Since helium is the smallest molecule on the periodic chart, this is the best substance to use for detecting leaks.
Each Float 30 is deployed before shipping to make sure all systems are GO. Dean Kurcab hooks the cylinder up to the ejector assembly before deployment. Fire in the hole!
The Float 30 will mainly be available at snowmobile shops this season. We expect that next season they’ll be equally as available in mountaineering shops (and also on our website). They will not be available outside North America this season, as we are still ramping up our production. We also have not yet had the system “pi-marked,” or approved for transport in Europe. We’ll get cracking on that soon.
Just in case, you haven’t seen the Float 30 inflate, here’s a video taken outside BCA’s world headquarters in Boulder, CO:
2010 off to a good start. Happy new year from BCA!
This is a short POV video shot over the holidays in Colorado, by BCA diehard Andy Wenberg (location undisclosed). Happy new year!