Garmin Topo Alaska Enhanced Review

Earlier in the summer I bought the Garmin Topo Alaska Enhanced map card ($100) from Accupoint in Anchorage and plugged it into my Garmin Oregon 450 (thanks Ken!). A few weeks ago, while on Denali's Whale Tail, I had a chance to test it out

I have a love/hate relationship with GPS units. I think they detract from geophysical mountain skills of map, altimeter and compass. On the other hand I need every advantage when guiding. Also, it's nice to make progress in a whiteout. After purchasing Alaska Enhanced my question became: could the GPS map take the place of a 1:63,360-scale map printed by the USGS? (Alaska's most detailed maps are 1:63,360.) 

I imagined using Alaska Enhanced for tour planning, while in the tent in the backcountry, by creating waypoints on the GPS before heading out into low visibility. The problem was I had too much good weather in Alaska this summer. I did find a whiteout on Mount Logan, but that's in Canada. There I followed waypoints that I entered while on the trail during the ascent.

Then a couple weeks ago we woke to fog soaking our camp on the Whale's Tail. In Alaska. Yes! Sometimes I am so stoked for whiteouts. 

During our foggy day on the Whale's Tail we followed a ridgeline for 10 miles with 5,000 feet of ascent. Ridgelines in zero viz are not straightforward. They split, they broaden and become indistinct. All day I kept the GPS hanging around my neck, referring to it constantly to keep us on the ridge. Alaska Enhanced made the day almost a no-brainer and kept our group on the move. 

Late August in Alaska means winter is close and termination dust coats the mountains. Termination dust is Alaskan for first snow of the season that terminates summer.

 

During the day I did go back to my paper map. Part of the ridge was too craggy for hiking and we traversed steep tundra slopes along the side. A cliff appeared in the fog and I consulted the GPS map at right - no cliff. The cliff did show up on the 1:63,360 USGS map with 100 foot contours (left). 

When micro-route finding, those minute map details make a huge difference. While Alaska Enhanced is worth every cent, I found it doesn't take the place of the USGS-printed map for complex terrain. 

Brooks Range Scientist 35 Snow Saw Review

A snow saw lives in my pack when backcountry skiing. The saw is mostly for column stability tests, but also for cutting blocks for walls around camp in windstorms. My first snow saw was a folding Wasatch Touring saw. It's still going strong, although the Broken River Ski Club patch I sewed on the case 15 years ago is wearing thin. I've upgraded many times. Now to a Brooks Range Scientist 35 Folding Snow Saw.

The Scientist 35 Folding Saw is sleek and compact, folding into a 12- by 4.5-inch unit that slips unnoticeable into my pack back panel. Although touted as 35 cm, the Brooks Range Scientist 35 is more like a full 40 cm long. That's good. Forty cm is the ideal length for cutting compression test columns and extended column tests. Its teeth are sharp enough to cut branches--useful for overnighters--but to the happiness of my Gore-Tex, the teeth are safely hidden when the saw is folded into its bag.

For years I've used the G3 Bone Saw. It often feels a smidge too short when cutting and exposing the chimney side of my column. The Scientist 35 adds that last little distance I need to cut the side. Too bad length adds weight. The Scientist 35 is 7.7 ounces (219g) compared to the 5.9 ounce (169g) Bone Saw. That seems like not much, but it is noticeable--I won't be taking the Scientist 35 on Mega Tours. I'll use it on shorter days, when I'll be digging pits: when guiding less than super-athlete clients and on avalanche courses.

The Scientist 35 has found a happy home in my quiver of avalanche safety gear. Keep up the great work Brooks Range!

We played with the Scientist during a Level 1 Avalanche Course at Turnagain Pass last weekend. Here Jerry and Carina cut a thick section (a one-inch slice of snow) to shine light through a buried surface hoar layer. The saws fine kerf and sharp teeth kept the fragile surface hoar layer standing and intact. 

The surface hoar layer was over a centimeter thick and produced easy shears below 1,400 feet. At higher elevations people were initiating avalanches on near-surface faceted layers from December and on facets around freezing rain crusts from November and New Years. Scary snow is excellent for teaching avalanche courses. Not so good for exploring steep mountains.