My Review of M's Hooded Indie

Originally submitted at Ibexwear

A technical midlayer with perfect detailing, the Hooded Indie covers a huge range of conditions. 18.5 micron, 195g/m2 fabric in a more relaxed fit make this mid-weight hooded base layer a must-have for all your pursuits.

M's Hooded Indie

Cloak of Invisibility!

By Levi from Washington State on 1/30/2012

 

5out of 5

Chest Size: Feels true to size

Sleeve Length: Feels true to length

Pros: Warm, Lightweight, Comfortable

Cons: Thin Fabric

Best Uses: Layering

Describe Yourself: Practical

Was this a gift?: No

I tried this out recently ice climbing in Eastern Washington. The biggest thing I noticed was that I didn't notice it! It kept me warm. That's nice and all, but it never rode up my arms when swinging tools, it never felt like it was pulling up too high on my waist and the thumb loops allowed me to keep my wrists nice and dry and toasty. I'm a little worried about how thin it is, but we'll see...

ICE

Tags: Using Product

(legalese)

Monster Uinta Avalanche video

Wow, take an avy course if you go backcountry skiing!

Huge Uintas Avalanche from trentmeisenheimer on Vimeo.

Seattle Art Museum

When Lauren and I get time off together we usually fill it with skiing or climbing or something outdoors and fun. We both had a day off a couple days ago and were just beat from work, and running around. So we had a super great lazy day full of doing nothing. We capped it off by cruising down to the Art Museum and wandering around pointing at things. Here's a random smattering of pics I took with my phone:

Yes, those are full size Ford Tauruses doing flips. Good use of Taurus.

I like that she matches the art.

At first glance I thought there was a bong exhibit, but no, it's just cool glass art.

The Porcelain Room

Lauren, when she's relaxing....

Ueli Steck's System

I'm not sure what's more interesting, the gear or the thought process behind the gear.

Ueli Steck's Custom Outerwear System from Mountain Hardwear on Vimeo.

And just so you remember who this guy is!

Ueli Steck Speed Soloing the Ginat on the Droites from Jonathan Griffith on Vimeo.

I found this inspiring short film over on the Adventure Journal site. Enjoy!

COFFER from thismustbetheplace on Vimeo.

Mount Rainier Winter Expedition Skills Seminar Jan. 2012

A co-worker of mine recently took a work stint on a fishing vessel in Alaska counting fish. This opened up an opportunity for me to work a 5 day seminar on the beautiful and cold Mt. Rainier. 

Thanks Tim! ( I think)

Looks real nice, right?

In reality, the weather was unseasonably warm and sunny. We had to deal with a pretty stiff wind on the way up to Muir, but the shelters were a nice escape once we arrived. We did a little snow camping on the way up for one night.

This is what it looked like on the way up:

Then we got above the cloud layer:

The conditions were great for booting up, terrible for skiing:

If you look you can see Mt. St. Helen, Mt. Hood, and Mt. Jefferson.

THEN, my battery died in my camera. A client, Ming, brought a huge camera a took a bazillion photos so I'll continue this story later when I can illustrate it more effectively. Until then, just wonder how far up the mountain we got in January....

New Year's Day!

I spent my Sunday out backcountry skiing at Snoqualmie Pass. It's only about 20 miles from my house and it's super easy to access. With the dearth of snow all over the US I assumed it was my responsibility to go skiing for all the poor Utahns out there. So I did.

Fresh powder AND a waterfall!

We could have just taken a lift up and skied some already tracked out snow, but we were determined to find  some freshies. Tim showed up right at nine am, which is incredible if you think about a typical New Years Eve Party. Lauren and I were close to being ready so off we went!

Amazing sundog, later in the day.

We enjoyed perfect conditions on the way, a bit of wind on the Snow Lake Divide Pass and some clouds in the afternoon. Nothing to complain about. We also got this amazing sundog that foretold the copious amounts of fresh snow we are currently receiving.

Chair Peak 

This here peak, Chair Peak, is one of my objectives this winter. I'd like to climb the N. Face and ski a couple different lines on it. Looks like it might go soon...

Tim enjoying the goods.

Tim needed stress relief from some particularly arduous job training he's going through. He vented by taking the lead and breaking trail pretty much all day. Hope it helped!

Enjoying the sunshine.

Lauren is honing her backcountry skills and is quickly mastering the "kick-turn". She also looks sexy in her ski gear.

The Result of Our Efforts: Fresh Tracks!

We skinned a lot and were rewarded with some amazing turns in an amazing location. Almost makes the constant rain worth it! It's currently puking snow in the mountains and I'll be on Mt. Rainier all next week doing a winter mountaineering seminar, so stay tuned! More adventures to come!

The Skiing is Finally Happening!

This is a super cool bit of film done in some kind of mini mode. I'm finally getting some decent skiing in and will have some pics up soon!