Skiing | Hiking World

Patagonia Micro Puff Hoody

July 8, 2020December 26, 2019

I bought this jacket for the Manaslu Circuit Trek in Nepal and could not have been happier. In fact, I have been using it for many other things once I returned home as this is easily one of the best purchases I have ever made. They boast “A piece of high-tech magic from Patagonia.” and I have to say that it definitely lives up to that statement. It weighs about the weight of a chocolate bar but is probably one of the warmest jackets I own, aside from my Spyder Ski jacket. How this works is way beyond me, but I can attest to it effectiveness. Additionally, it can be packed and folded up into one of the jackets pockets for easy storage and packing. How light is it actually? I bought the Balkan Blue Medium jacket and it weighs a total of 289 grams, after using it for a while. … Read more

Extreme Cold Outdoors Gear Test

July 8, 2020February 5, 2019

Hi All, Today I decided I would test my gear to see how it stood up in extreme cold temperatures. When I left for my hike, it was -20 C, or -4 F. When I returned, it was -24 C, or -11.2 F. With the windchill it was -28C when I left and -32C when I returned, which equates to -18.4 F and -25.6 F. So, as you can see, these were great temperatures to test the gear out. I hiked 8.2 km’s in 3 hours and the good news is that the gear worked pretty well. I was exceptionally happy that my feet and hands were completely warm during the whole hike and perhaps the coldest part of me was my eyebrows/forehead and my arms. Both of which can be easily fixed by utilizing googles and clothing. Additionally, there is currently about three feet of snow, so hiking was … Read more

GoPro Hero 6 Black and Downhill Skiing

July 8, 2020January 29, 2019

The GoPro Hero 6 Black is my favorite camera for downhill skiing and any action based activities for that matter. The reason I really like it for downhill skiing though is that it suits every need I have. How do I use the GoPro Hero 6 Black I use an app named Trace Snow that allows me to track all my stats while skiing. The great thing about this app is that I can also take my GoPro video and overlay the Trace Snow stats on the video itself in real time. This allows me to watch back and see what I have been doing and how it affected my skiing. Here is a sample video that I recorded using Trace Snow and my GoPro Hero 6 Black. I also love the fact that the camera has audio prompts for recording on and off. This is extremely helpful when you … Read more

FIS World Cup 2019 Ski Cross at Blue Mountain Ontario

July 8, 2020January 24, 2019

Well, the results are in and Canada has dominated again! Brady Leman took 1st place for the men’s and in the women’s, Fanny Smith took first and Marielle Thompson is back after a year of recovery with style taking 2nd place. These athlete’s are simply a treat to watch with there speed, agility, and ability to fly over the jumps like it is an every day occurrence. As I stood there taking some photos and watching the elimination rounds, the air was electric with excitement. The crowd were revved up and the athletes were definitely feeling the excitement. Apart from a couple of spills, it was an accident free round for most of the athletes and they were ready to perform. I was absolutely thrilled to see so many of the athletes using Elan skis similar to my own XTi 88’s. It made me realize that I wasn’t just imagining … Read more