ALPINE GUIDING

JANUARY 2013 ISSUE 1 VOL.2

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GEAR REVIEWS: WINTER STOVES, SOFTSHELLS AND AVALANCHE EQUIPMENTADVANCED NAVIGATION WITH LYLE BROTHERTON

MOUNTAIN HEROES: ADAM WATSON

HART FELL IN WINTER

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40 | January 2013 | Mountain Pro www.mountainpromag.com

('*+"$%,+-&",For much of the year you can get away with using isobutane/propane gas canister stoves – but as temperatures drop you’ll need to come up with inventive ways of keeping the canister warm to keep the gas in gaseous form. Remote canister gas stoves that have a preheat tube allow you to invert the gas canister to create a liquid-feed stove that I fi nd works down to about -10ºC, and even then you’ll probably fi nd a bit of creative canister-cuddling is necessary. Much below -10ºC and you’ll need to consider a liquid fuel stove with the associated pervasive odour and hand-singeing priming process.Phil Turner

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January 2013 | Mountain Pro | 41www.mountainpromag.com

()%)!./0-!1234At fi rst glance this appears to be a standard liquid-fuel stove (albeit an expensive one), but upon reading the instructions at home (yeah, it’s probably wise to do that before heading out onto the hill) the reason for the high price becomes apparent. Rather than lighting a little pool of fuel beneath the burner prior to lighting the stove and praying that the fi reball is small, the Muka uses a high pressure fuel injection system which doesn’t need priming. The magic happens at the pump, which has a rotary dial with various settings, including ‘start’, ‘stop’ and ‘run’ modes. It’s necessary to use the SOTO branded bottles to accommodate the large amount of pressure

that is required to “atomise” the fuel – pressure that is generated by a lot of pumping, 90 strokes when the bottle is full and 210 when half full. The integral pressure gauge is useful here. The burner is wide and emits a nice spread fl ame – no hotspots here – and all components appear high quality, with some nice touches

like a swivelling fuel hose attachment and easy-access fi lter on the end of the fuel line. Even the supplied large wind screen with adjustable vents is excellent. ! http://www.sotooutdoors.com

.('!"5#(6&'7#%&!/$#*&'(-7!1284The MSR Whisperlite has been around for a while, and the new Universal model is little changed from the classic Internationale, with a ported burner rather than the more common roarer. I’m pleased to see that it’s still wonderfully noisy. The major difference is the ability to accept gas canisters in liquid-feed mode, evidenced by the large preheat tube visibly protruding through the burner head. A clever plastic leg arrangement clips on to the main valve to support an inverted canister. In order to utilise liquid fuel both the jet and fuel adaptor must be changed. Swapping these is a simple process – the priming cup is unscrewed by hand and this and the priming wick can be removed followed by the fuel line. This disassembly also reveals the clever shaker needle – a simple method of removing jet blockages by simply shaking the stove. As well as replacing the jets the fuel adaptor at the end of the hose needs swapping. The heat output is controlled by a main valve local to the fuel source – in both cases the adjustment is positive and glove-friendly, with small graduations that permit fi ne tuning and the release of an appropriate amount of fuel to make priming safe. ! http://cascadedesigns.com/msr

&9&7'#9!5&:)$!122;!I have a soft spot for Edelrid – I think it’s the understated Teutonic effi ciency and impeccable engineering. This extends to the supplied spares and toolkit – each O-ring itemised and packed

neatly in zip-lock bags and bundled with a multi-tool in a plastic screwtop cylinder. The Hexon is a multi-fuel stove – accepting both liquid fuels and gas from canisters without the need to change jets. There isn’t anything to modify at the end of the fuel line either – both gas canisters and the liquid fuel pump use the same threaded fi tting. See? Effi ciency. The burner is the standard roarer with a preheat tube, and is a very simple and lightweight design that packs up neatly due to a very fl exible braided hose. The main valve adjuster is a little disappointing though, it’s just a small knurled knob which is fi ne when not wearing gloves, but it would have been easy to fi t something larger for ease of use with chilly fi ngers and gloves. At least the valve is horizontal and swivels nicely for ease of use with an inverted canister. The price is good and the low weight and multifuel ability makes this a good choice for those that require one stove to do everything. ! http://www.edelrid.de

6'#./(!,'-*#%<!##!&=!1>4This is an excellent gas-only option, with a very low centre of gravity and a wide burner with good output adjustment to cope with large diameter pots for group use and those that like to actually cook on their stove rather than just boil water. The folding legs allow the stove to fold up into a small package for transportation in a pot, and the preheat tube permits canister inversion for cold weather use. The piezo ignition on one of the legs is convenient, but can be easily removed when it inevitably breaks. Incidentally – the supplied foil windscreen requires user-modifi cation to give access to the igniter and to prevent the heat melting it... the simple adjustment knob on the main valve is just about okay when wearing gloves but could be easily improved, and I’m not sure why Primus have used a vertical design which makes canister inversion trickier. It’s a very simple, stable and fl exible stove that can accommodate a range of pot sizes, but in serious cold weather the limitations of a stove fuelled by gas canisters – inverted or otherwise – will quickly become apparent. ! http://www.primus.eu

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EDITOR’S CHOICE

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42 | January 2013 | Mountain Pro www.mountainpromag.com

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Another long-time favourite in tough winter conditions is the MSR XGK stove and the updated model XGK EX. I have tried and still use other stoves too, but when I need the most reliable and powerful stove, I go for the XGK.

The XGK is a liquid fuel expedition stove that simply just works. It can burn a wide variety of fuels but I favour using pure white fuel for a clean burn. The priming is quite easy and safe when you get used to it and I’m comfortable lighting and using the stove inside my tent, though I house it in a special aluminium box.

The best feature of the stove is the unbelievable reliability and easy maintenance, which becomes particularly important when you are in the middle of the winter wilderness and the stove is your only heat source to melt snow, cook food and dry gear. The stove doesn’t actually need much maintenance at all and the only time I have had it fail was in -40°C when the seals of the pump started to leak, but special O-rings are available for extreme cold.

The stove is noisy and adjustability is poor but often it doesn’t really matter. My XGKs are relatively new but I have also used MSR XGKs that have been used for hundreds if not thousands of days and they are still going strong. I expect my

stoves to do the same.Verdict: super-reliable and powerful stove

For the toughest of conditions you need the toughest shelter possible. Hilleberg tents have proven themselves on countless demanding expeditions and their tunnel tents have been the favourite of many Arctic travellers and adventurers, myself included.

The Keron GT isn’t the lightest or cheapest tent out there but it does deliver. When pitched correctly it’s very stable and durable – which I appreciate as I can’t choose the conditions I’ll be out in. The Keron GT is a big tent, and if weight isn’t crucial I like to use the three person tent for two people, providing loads of space, particularly important when you spend weeks or months living in it.

I use the Keron GT mostly in winter when I can pack it as a big roll on top of my pulka with poles partially in place and mattresses stored inside the tent. This makes pitching the tent and breaking camp fast and easy. When using a stove inside the tent (against the manufacturer instructions!) it actually makes quite a comfortable second home.

My tent is from winter 2010 and it already has a few holes and tears from hard use. But having used similar tents that have seen hundreds of days of hard use I’m positive that my tent will serve me for a long time. Some tears will need to be patched and snapped pole sections changed occasionally but it will keep going.Verdict: a tough tent for tough conditions

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For the toughest of conditions you need the

Outdoor professionals put their kit through hell and expect it to perform day after day. In this issue, Arctic guide Jaakko Heikka reveals the kit he relies on when the temperature drops.

Jaakko Heikka is an outdoor enthusiast and a qualifi ed wilderness guide from Finland. He specialises in wilderness travel in Northern and Arctic areas and the related skills. Jaakko spends his spare time in the outdoors too. In winter 2013 Jaakko will

be guiding trips with dogsleds and on skis in Northern Finland, Swedish Lapland and Iceland. For more information see: http://korpijaakko.wordpress.com/guiding/

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!ermarest NeoAir XLitePrice: £124.99 From: First Ascent, !rstascent.co.uk Tested: One Month

I used to camp a lot. !en, after years of camping at events I began to lose my enthusiasm. It wasn’t proper camping. !ere was always a burger van close by and, at least at Mayhem and SITS, the showers were nice. I started to miss my bed and so when camping at an event was necessary I’d insist we took a big in"atable airbed. It wasn’t as if space and weight was a problem since most times we’d be setting up a stand from the back of huge van. And so, I’ve fallen out of love with camping. But that’s a problem when your partner is a mad keen camper who prefers a tent to a hotel room. On not-for-work camping trips I’d insist we dragged the huge airbed. It was a source of con"ict, but I just want to be comfy and stand a reasonable chance of getting some sleep. I’ve used camping mats and cheap in"atable mats and I’ve never got on with any of them.

But then Vicki bought me this !ermarest. It’s the lightest and most high tech mat they make so she was taking quite a gamble. Luckily I do like new gadgets and I got my chance to try it on New Year’s Eve in Gisburn forest. We went up late, with the intention of getting up at the crack of dawn to be #rst round the trails.

!e matt is not-self in"ating but the bag that it packs into serves as an airbag that can be used as a bagpipe-like pump. You can blow it up by mouth if you want to top it up – and most of the time

it’s easier to just blow it up and get dizzy. One side is foil-backed and serves as a heat re"ector but the key feature of this mat is the internal chamber structure. !e internals are segmented into two layers of hundreds of triangular compartments and the result is a mat that is only a few inches thick and yet is fully supportive of my body weight - even my pointy boney bits. At 490g, it’s lighter than a full length self-in"ating mat, so if you need minimal weight, but don’t want to run a shortie self-in"ator, then your bony ankles will thank you.

Lying down on it the insulating e$ect of the re"ective layer is obvious immediately - it just doesn’t feel cold at all. !e support is excellent and even when rolling over, no parts of me made contact with the ground. It was more supportive and more comfortable that the huge 6in-thick airbed I’d been dragging to events for years and weighed a fraction of it and it packs down to little more than the size of a large tin of dog food. It does feel a little fragile, but that’s the price you pay for light weight and it does come with a repair kit for when you do stab it with your corkscrew. A feel of the unin"ated fabric shows it to be thicker than it seems – almost wax jacket-like if you want a yardstick. Obviously, if you do puncture it, you’ll be lying on the ground, but that’s true of any air-in"ated sleeping mat. A friend of the magazine used a Neo-Air for a tour of France and it’s still going strong so, with a bit of care, it’ll last you well.

Anyway, I overslept on New Years day and by the time I got up, the new year trails had been claimed.Overall: Amazingly warm and supportive and has single-handedly rekindled my desire to sleep in tents for fun.Mark

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