furtive

2,321 reputation

216

bio	website	furtivecode.com
	location	Banff, Canada
	age	37
visits	member for	1 year, 3 months
	seen	May 13 at 17:03
stats	profile views	18

I live and breath in Banff National Park in the Canadian rockies, where I hike, camp, ski (downhill, x-country, touring), snowshoe, scramble and play.

I've camped in the winter in -40c, I've travelled across glaciers and mountain passes both solo and in groups, I enjoy solo camping in the backcountry, and I spent seven years in the military.

My favourite moments are being in the middle of nowhere, with nobody around me, in the middle of the night under a sheet of stars, listening to nothing other than the ringing in my ears.

Chris Lamothe on the Wapta Traverse, in Banff, Alberta

	2,321 reputation	bio	website	furtivecode.com	visits	member for	1 year, 3 months
216 badges		location	Banff, Canada		seen	May 13 at 17:03

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50 Comments

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May 13	comment	What should you be aware of when planning late-season or summer skiing? I'd add that kneeling in the snow or falling means you'll get much wetter than you would in the winter, so although it's tempting to wear spring/summer clothing, you'll want at least your pants to be Gore-tex or similar. Wool is a good choice for your top if you want to breath in the heat.
Apr 8	comment	ski damaged from sticks, leaves, soil, etc? I'd like to add the bigger nuisance of pine needles and leaves is that they stick to the bottom of the ski and affect your glide.
Apr 2	comment	A removeable solution for slipping insoles? Even the thinnest of velcros would add an uncomfortable thickness, and locking/unlocking velcro in the confines of a shoe would be a troublesome affair.
Mar 28	comment	Should I re-wax downhill skis after using skins? @LBell the skins leave sticky adhesive behind.
Mar 20	comment	What is this knee pain when going downhill? Using hiking poles helps take some weight off your knees when descending.
Mar 4	comment	Experiences hiking with a baby: backpacks Make sure there's a mechanism for a water bladder. My Kealty II lacks it, I had to rig something and it's less than ideal. THe plus side, my kid loves drinking from a water bladder.
Mar 4	comment	When do small waterfalls get significant freezing Came in to say the same thing, most ice climbs where I live are from wet surfaces that freeze over, very rarely are they on waterfalls of any significance, and if so then usually on a surface nearby that catches the water vapour.
Feb 13	comment	Do folding cross country skis exist? FYI, that Mountain Approach ski has skins permanently attached to the bottom, so they have no downhill glide whatsoever. It's more of a sliding snowshoe than a ski.
Feb 12	comment	Are folding poles suitable for cross-country skiing? AFter giving this question more thought I realized that unless you could collapse your skis then there's little advantage to having collapsible poles. For hiking the poles are the longest thing, for split-boarding you want the poles out of the way, but for cross-country, you're still going to always have those long skis.
Feb 4	comment	How to create campfire which will burn overnight? Hard wood (maple, oak, walnut, etc.) will burn longer than soft wood (pine, etc.).
Jan 2	comment	What are the key factors when choosing a sleeping bag for backpacking? Also, the top and bottom of a sleeping bags are not created equally, some are sewn differently or have a different mix materials on the bottom side to accommodate the fact that you're lying on it the whole time, but I think it's used mostly as a marketing tool and only has a minor impact in the overall quality of a bag.
Dec 27	comment	Adequate Shoes for Travel I've been using a climbing approach shoe as my go to walking/hiking shoe as of late. They are light, have a good grip on rock but a terrible grip on snow. None of them are waterproof though, and have limited ankle support so if you've got a heave pack or weak ankles I wouldn't recommend them.
Dec 20	comment	Should I be more careful about postholing during winter hikes? Another risk is in the winter it's hard to tell if you are on a field or on water (use a map!) postholing on snow-covered lakes/creeks invariably means wet feet or worse. Spread the load with snowshoes!
Dec 20	comment	Beginner Ski Touring - Avalanche Terrain Are you looking for general terrain suggestions like ski in the trees and not on convex slopes, etc, or more specific locations of entry level touring in and around Banff?
Dec 19	comment	Cheese and eggs on backpacking trips I've been told that european eggs aren't refrigerated because the natural wax on the egg is maintained, while it is washed off on North American eggs, which is why they require refrigeration. Can anyone shed some light on this?
Dec 7	comment	Why don't we apply the principles of layering when it comes to pants? Unless you're going commando you're already wearing two layers.
Dec 7	comment	Are there significant behaviour differences among bear species to adopt different safety rules? I complete agree with Russell, play dead until it bites, then fight back. Also, bring bear spray when travelling in the woods.
Dec 4	comment	Preferred way to wrap someone with Hypothermia? I can confirm in the Canadian Forces we did similar (sleeping bag liner inside sleeping bag inside arctic sleeping bag with hot water bottles inside).
Dec 3	comment	Performance of fur garments? A big difference between fur and down/synthetic/synthetic fur is that fur has a leather backing, usually adding considerable weight.
Nov 16	comment	What shoes keep me warm in the cold? And for the record, my current winter shoes are Scarpa Crux approach shoes with wool socks.