Bellavista on 3.5 limbs

Cold but happy climbers after Bellavista. Photo: Alan Cassidy (you should read his blog, it’s really good)




Before my ‘long shot’ trip to Bellavista with Alan Cassidy, I had a small hiccup. I was leading Hold Fast, Hold True (E9) in Glen Nevis a week before we were leaving and didn’t quite catch a hold right after the crux, slipping off and decking out from rather higher than one would like. I got away lightly, with quite nasty whiplash and a sprained left ankle. I was able to walk, well, between the kettle and the couch anyway. So I felt it wouldn’t be a problem for the upcoming trip.




I left it 5 days and then tried to get a couple of pre-trip training sessions in TCA before we left. To my dismay, I discovered that I couldn’t even nearly get a rockshoe on my fat, bruised foot. I had a session of one-footed traversing anyway and then went for an X-ray since things seemed to be getting more, not less painful. Sure enough, a couple of bone spurs that have restricted my left ankle dorsiflexion ever since I broke it in 1997 had broken off and are irritating my ankle joint. Some day surgery awaits. I’m quite looking forward to a couple of weeks of Beastmaker abuse during the Lochaber monsoon next month.




By the day we left for Cima Ovest, I’d managed to walk round Morrison’s, take Freida to toddler group and lie on my side in bed without taking Tramadol first. Things were looking up!













Alan trying to get the psyche to rock climb in winter climbing conditions




As I wrote in my last blog, we then proceeded to spend most of the trip being hammered by crap weather. The route was soaking, it rained, snowed, snowed a lot more and then got windy and freezing. We tried to climb on the 8c pitch anyway, but both of us knew we were getting absolutely nowhere. We became totally set in the viewpoint that having been soaking all week, the chances of it drying out a bit in our remaining three days were zilch.












Being practical, or venting wet weather frustration? You decide.




But it didn’t quite work out like that. On the third last day, I went out for a look on the 8c pitch first. The first half was still wet, but the second half was nearly dry, and I could link it to the belay straight away. Quite good. Alan went for his go and was also feeling like he could get to grips with the pitch a bit more. But then, as he was out of sight near the end of the pitch, I heard an “AAAAAGGHHH!”. The rope jerked momentarily tight, then suddenly slack again. Another loud scream and Alan appeared into view, dropping through space. He stopped, dangling at least 15 metres down in the void, with quickdraws sporting ripped pegs spinning down the rope towards him.




He was just sitting on a peg, brushing another damp hold when it ripped and the previous one ripped too. It must have been an exciting journey into space! After having a good laugh about Alan’s trip, we had a think about where this left us. There was now a big section near the end of the pitch with no gear in it. We were on budget flight mode and hadn’t been able to bring any pegs or aid gear in case we needed to re-equip.












In the end, we managed to borrow a hammer from the lovely folk at Rifugio Auronzo and I set up a tension traverse to back-aid and free climb back along from the next belay to the bit that needed re-equipping. I managed to get a sketchy cam in a pocket and gingerly sat on it and proceeded to fail to get the two ill fitting pegs to go in somewhere other than where they’d been before. After an hour, I had it sorted and the route was back online.




However, we had one day left. I just wanted to get the gear back and get home. Everything was wrong and I felt a bit fed up to be honest. My ankle hurt on the walk-in, I couldn’t do certain movements with it on the rock, I’d had my fill of climbing wet rock or frozen rock, we’d not had even one good day to try it properly. Worst of all, it was baltic.










Shall we go climb an 8c north face route today?




We’d not seen a single other party climbing on the north faces all trip. I’m not surprised. On the last day we wandered up, both of us ready to strip it and get on our plane home. Alan climbed the first three pitches (7b, 6c+, 6a+) in one big pitch again. He was clearly struggling to get any feeling from fingers and toes. It was well below zero and blowing a bitter wind. Seconding him, I felt like a frozen robot, clawing up the rock with zero feedback from my digits. Leading the next two pitches (7a, 7a+) I still couldn’t even get my core warm despite climbing in myArete jacket. However, by the time a freezing Alan joined me, the wind had dropped a bit and I was feeling more myself with the full belay jacket and trousers armoury on.




I went out along the start of the 8c and was most surprised to find a special scenario of feelings come over me that doesn’t happen every day. The pitch was the driest it had been all trip. First, there was the sudden rushing feeling of being confident flowing through the moves rather than constantly expecting to ‘ping’ off wet holds. ‘I can still climb!’ Second, the ‘last day’ go for broke mentality clicked into place. When all the preparation has gone so badly, what do you have left except to see what can happen if you just don’t care anymore and go for a good fight with the pitch? Finally, I knew I was going to have one link attempt, so I might as well get it over with as quickly as possible and get home to see my family.













Alan drying holds on one of the 'warm' days




So after the five minute warm up burn, I blasted off at full tilt, through the crux and onto the weird back-and-foot rest at the block above. I wasn’t that pumped. So get going! Up through the mono move and onto the big traverse. I was breathing hard but forearms were absorbing the hit so far. At the undercut move I decided to start really trying and grunted through. But I was able to rest each hand on every hold. I got down to the move before a rest at a huge ‘Hueco’ pocket. My sequence is to fling my feet up into the hole first, have a rest in the bat hang and then flip round and throw my whole arm into it. My ankle was so weak I couldn’t pull up on the toehooks and nearly fell off. I took a few seconds more to figure out what to do, before resting my left foot once and then trying again. It worked and Ihung from the arm-bar for five minutes, breathing slowly calming down. The final ten metres was a pure exercise in relaxation. I knew I could get to the belay if I didn’t make a mistake. The only way I’d make a mistake would be if I started to anticipate success. So I just switched off and pneumatic-ed through the holds with no emotion until the belay suddenly appeared in front of me.




Switching off completely means that when you do wake up and realise it’s done, it’s quite a shocker and the emotion comes flooding back. Alan wasted no time in gathering every down garment we had assembled at the belay and jugged up to join me, already shivering. I thawed out a little in the duvet while Alan cruised the 8a pitch above. I still had to jug up the rope and be lowered back down to do it myself, just to get the blood moving. The wind just kept cutting through me and in the next two pitches (6c+, 7a) I got really pumped on what should be easy ground. There just seemed to be no blood going through my forearms. We both had to second the remaining pitches to the Cassin ledge in the big jackets and duvet trousers! Never done that before, even in mixed climbing. There was just time to strip our gear out of the roof as it was getting dark and made it down to the base to find everything was frozen solid. We packed, rushed back to the car, then Venice for three hours sleep before boarding our flights back to Scotland.




It was really interesting for me to share the experience with Alan, who hasn’t done a great deal of mountain big wall climbs. Failing when the route is hard is something most climbers can deal with pretty well - why else do we try such hard climbs except to feel pushed and feel uncertainty? But failing through not being able to properly try can get under your skin. I certainly still find that creates a lot of restlessness in me. Last week I channelled it into finishing a draft of my book while the blizzards raged outside. Alan took it all really well and was able to keep turning on 'mission mode' all the way on the last day redpoint, despite the scary fall the previous day. His blogs through the week are a nice illumination of an adventure unfolding, the final twist coming right at the last hours before the flight home.




Even now I can’t believe that came together.

Civia Halsted: the Compact Basket Bike

Civia is a Minnesota-based manufacturer of transportation and utility bicycles, known for its unisex designs and reasonable price points. I do not see many Civia bikes in New England. But for some time now I've admired the look of their Halsted model and wondered what it was like to ride. Last week I finally got the chance to find out.





The Broadway Bicycle School in Cambridge, MA uses one of these as a shop bike, and they allowed me to take it out for a spin.





The Civia Halsted is a modern variation of a classic front load delivery bicycle. It is designed around a standard size (26") rear wheel and a small (20") front wheel, above which sits a frame-mounted platform. This type of construction creates extra space to accommodate a large front load, whilst also positioning the load lower to the ground.





Because the platform is connected to the bicycle's frame rather than the fork or handlebars, it remains independent from steering. This, together with its low placement, is aimed to minimise the front load's impact on the bicycle's handling.



The front platform ("rack deck") is rated for 50lb of carry capacity. It can be used on its own, or built up as a front crate/basket using modular side panels (as shown in the pictures). The deck and side panels are made of HDPE plastic. The tubes securing the platform to the bicycle's frame are steel, painted to match the bike.





The Halsted is available in one size only, and will fit riders between 5'2" and 6'5". The frame features a dropped and moderately sloping top tube. Thanks to the small front wheel, this results in a very manageable standover height for someone of my size (I am 5' 6 1/2"). I did not have to swing my leg over the back of the bike, but was able to step over the top tube after slightly leaning it toward me.





Another feature of the Halsted frame is the possibility for attaching a plaque to advertise one's business. This is nicely integrated, and makes for a fabulous-looking shop bike.





The Halsted's cro-moly frame and fork are TIG-welded in Taiwan. The finishing is smooth and attractive. The straight, unicrown fork is tiny, on account of the small front wheel, and looks good on the bike. The colour pictured is from , and the current one (shown here) looks to be a light periwinkle-gray.





The front wheel is equipped with a disc brake.






The rear with a v-brake.






The standard drivetrain is 1x9 derailleur gearing, but the semi-horizontal dropouts make it possible to build the frame up with an internally geared hub.






The "cockpit" includes a threadless stem, swept-back handlebars, rubberised grips, city brake levers and MTB style shifter.






Fenders, a rear rack or lighting are not standardly included with the bike. A double-legged kickstand is included (though I did not find it especially stable in windy conditions).




The low bottom bracket is great for toe-down stopping and full leg extension while pedaling. There is no chance of toe overlap with the small front wheel. The components included in the stock build were easy and comfortable to use.




Considering that the Broadway Bicycle School has been using this bike for over a year and storing it outdoors for large portions of the day, I thought it to be in good condition. Aside from surface rust around some bolts and components (namely the disc brake and rear derailleur), I saw no sign of weather-related damage.






My Civia Halsted test ride consisted of cycling down the road to buy groceries, then riding home to drop them off. After this I circled the neighbourhood with the front basket unloaded, before taking pictures and returning the bike to the shop. In total it was about 4 miles, on a cold and windy day. The groceries I carried were distributed between two shopping bags, and included heavy items such as milk, wine, vegetables and a 5lb sack of apples. In addition to this, I carried my camera and laptop bag, as well as a couple of books and some spare clothing. Loading all of these things into the crate, I felt that it could have been made a bit deeper, with the modular panels sturdier (they rattled a bit in motion). But I was nonetheless able to stuff everything in securely, without the use of bungee cords.




The Halsted's handling felt distinct, but fine, with and without weight in the front basket. Steering did not require special effort, though it had a quality to it that felt particular to this bike. I could definitely feel the weight in the front, but this did not result in any difficulty controlling the bicycle. One thing I noticed, was that I was taking corners wider than normally, but I cannot be sure that this is related to the handling and not to my awareness of the wide front crate. The bike rolled easily uphill and generally felt fun. I also liked being able to keep my eye on my stuff in front of me at all times. In that sense, it was kind of like riding a larger version of my Brompton.






I did not see the Halsted's geometry chart until after my test ride. But once I did, I noticed the high-trail front end (trail in the 80s, according to my calculations). Some might consider this unusual for a bike designed to carry so much weight in the front. While I cannot say how the Halsted handles at its maximum carry capacity, with a moderate front load I thought it very ridable.




When I look at pictures of Civia Halsteds in use, it is apparent that the bikes can also carry substantial weight in the rear. Owners attach rear racks, child seats, even Xtracycle extensions. The Broadway Bicycle School often uses a trailer with theirs.




Still, one major benefit of the small front wheel design, is that it increases the bike's carry capacity while keeping the wheelbase reasonable (1134mm). The overall size of the Halsted is the same as that of a typical city bike, and at 33lb it is manageable to lift and maneuver. The compact basket-bike design is worth considering for those interested in a front-load utility bike. And priced at $1,195 the Civia Halsted is a good value.




Many thanks to the Broadway Bicycle School for the test ride! More pictures of this storied local establishment here.

Happy Birthday Nathan!

Today we celebrated Nathan's 44th birthday. Rene and Mira invited us over for Happy Hour where we were treated to a nice party platter of food. They are on a campsite that overlooks the water, so this is their view.



We enjoyed hanging out with them. They shared their DVD's that they made of pictures that they took during their first trip in Alaska. They were incredible and inspired Austin to want to travel to Alaska next year.

They shared Nathan's second cake with us. We ate fajitas for dinner. We played pickleball. It was a great day.



I hope you had a great day, honey. You deserve it! Living the life in lovely Virginia!

Cumberland Island :: Sea Camp

After walking along the beach for about a mile and a half, another boardwalk, this one along the Sea Camp Trail, leads you across the dunes.



It seemed like a sudden change, from the brightness of the sand dunes to the darkness of a forest of strangely twisted and misshapen Live Oak trees. The change was startling and it took a little while for your eyes to adjust. But once your eyes adjusted, what they beheld was really quite magical.

Several boys were climbing in one of the larger trees, its limbs going in every direction. There was a sign nearby. Not one that prohibited climbing in the trees, but rather cautioning climbers to wear shoes! Hidden midst the grove of trees were campsites. In the summer this area would provide a welcome relief from the glare and heat of the sun.


I followed the trail through the Live Oak forest on to the Sea Camp Ranger Station and Dock. There was very little wind and the water was as smooth as glass.

It was getting late, close to 4 o'clock, so I followed the River Trail, where I was surrounded by tall, large Live Oak trees, back to the Dungeness Dock. Quite a difference between these trees and the ones at Sea Camp. As I was walking, I kept hearing something moving around in the underbrush. It took a few minutes but I finally saw what was making the noise.

The most common view I had was from behind as I watched it for a short time. It scurried around with its nose hidden in the ground, searching for the next delicious morsel. But for a few brief seconds, the Armadillo stopped and stood on its hind legs.

With my arrival back at the Dungeness Dock, my visit to Cumberland Island was nearly over. The sun was starting to go down and it was getting colder. Along with several other passengers I patiently awaited the arrival of the ferry. This time I opted for the comfort of the warm cabin area. It was standing room only inside but sore feet and legs were a small price to pay for a little warmth. 'Twas much better than sitting outside where it was cold and windy!

There is so much more to see and learn on Cumberland Island. In the six hours I spent there I covered only the southern tip, perhaps 3 miles. It would take several days to explore the entire Island. As well as the miles of beach and trails, there are the other Carnegie estates on the northern end including Greyfield Inn (a luxury hotel) and the restored Plum Orchard mansion. There is the First African Baptist Church (where John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette were married). There is the history of the early settlements: the Timucuan Indians, the arrival of the Spaniards in 1566, Pirate attacks, then the English came in 1733, and the plantation owners in the early 1800s. In 1890 a settlement was established for emancipated slaves. For such a small place, it certainly has a fascinating history. I'm so glad that I decided to ignore the weather and visit Cumberland Island!

Other posts in this Series:

• Dungeness
• The Marsh and Dunes
• The Beach

The Huffman/Hoffman Kinexxion :: Detrick

According to “The Henry R. Baldwin Genealogical Records” Didrich Hoffman was “born June 23, 1751 and died Mar. 10, 1826 age 74 yrs. 8 mos. 13 days” and was buried in Washingtonville Cemetery - the same cemetery where John and Catherine Hoffman are buried. On a visit to the cemetery in October .. I was unable to find any of their stones.



Samuel Hoffman and John Hoffman were named administrators of the estate of Detrick Hoffman who died intestate. His estate was valued at $263.14 on May 12, 1826 when the inventory was submitted to the probate court.



Detrick's wife, Susanna was still living when Detrick died and received her Widow's Distribution on May 12, 1826.








Estate of Dederick Hoffman (Packet 805) FHL film 2032459

Columbiana County, Ohio

A Schedule of the provisions and other property allowed to Susannah Hoffman Widow of Detrich Hoffman late of Salem Township Columbiana County Deceased for her Support for one year by us the Subscribers duly appointed appraisersers to the Estate of the Sd Deceased to wit:

one lot of meat, one hog, a Small lot of Kitchen furniture, one Cow, twenty Bushels of wheat, five Dollars in money, eight Bushels of oats, three lbs of Wool, one bushel and a half of Salt, a lot of Soap, twenty lbs of Sugar, two twiled bags

We the Subscribers do certify that the foregoing is a correct Schedule of property allowed to the above named Widow given under our hand this 12th day of May 1826.



George Wirick, John Yoder, Andrew Altman } Appraisers

The final account dated March 12, 1828 indicated that there was a balance in the estate of $586.392 to be distributed to the heirs, according to law. However, the heirs were not named.



On my visit to Columbiana County last July there was a file on Detick Hoffman at the Columbiana County Archives, which included a transcription of a Petition for Partition published on September 29, 1832 in the Ohio Patriot of New Lisbon. The library in New Lisbon has the Ohio Patriot on microfilm. The printer on the microfilm reader was out of order and the image on the screen was quite dark so the photo that I got of the article isn't that great, but after a bit of enhancement, it is readable...








The Ohio Patriot. September 29, 1832. Page 1.

The State of Ohio,

Columbiana county, ss

Common Pleas, Vacation after August Term, 1832.

Petition for Partition.

John Hoffman,

vs.

Samuel Hoffman,

Daniel Coler and Elizabeth, his wife,

John Swarts and Margaret his wife,

Henry Hoffman,

Samuel Hoffman,

Jacob Hoffman,

Abraham Hoffman,

Samuel Fox,

Edward Rhodes and Sarah his wife.

The petitioner this day filed his petition in the office of the clerk of said court, setting forth, that said petitioner and the defendants are entitled, as heirs at law to Detrick Hoffman, late of said county, deceased, to twenty-seven acres of land, being a part of the north west quarter of section 12, township 15, range 3, and praying the court to cause the one-sixth part of said land to be separated and set off to him in severally. Said petition will be presented to said court for hearing at the next term, commencing on the 15th of October next.



Fisher A. Blocksom, Att'y for petitioner.

August 23, 1832 – 31s6w

The key element here is that there are 10 people named in the Petition for Partition but John was requesting his “one-sixth part of said land” indicating that there were only 6 children of Detrick Hoffman.



It was more than a little frustrating when I was unable to locate the deed record, assuming that the land was sold. The only other record I found relating to the partition of the land was the following record in a Common Pleas Journal at the Columbiana County Area Archives.








Common Pleas Journal (v7 p512) April Term 1833, 4th day, 2nd of May

Samuel John Hoffman vs Samuel Hoffman} Petition for Partition. Writ of Partition returned that the frieholders therein named upon actual view of the premises were of the opinion that the land could not be divided according to the demand of said writ without a manifest injury to the value thereof. They therefore appraised the Same at $280; which return is here now approved, and no one or more of the parties concerned electing to take the said Estate at the aforesaid appraised value, the Court at the instance of the Demandant order that the said Lands & tenements be sold at public auction by the Shff. who held the inquisition, or his Successor, according to law that [?????] accordingly.

Through evaluation of various records (primarily Columbiana County census and marriage records as well as several deeds) and information from another researcher who contacted me late last year (he's a descendant of Michael Hoffman), we believe the relationships of the individuals listed in the Petition for Partition are as follows:

• John, Samuel, Jacob, and Abraham - children of Detrick


• Elizabeth wife of Daniel Coler, Margaret wife of John Swarts, Henry Hoffman, and Samuel Hoffman - children of Michael & Mary (Coy) Hoffman


• Samuel Fox and Sarah wife of Edward Rhodes - children of Phillip and Susanna (Hoffman) Fox

Various undocumented “sources” give Berks County, Pennsylvania as the birth place of John Hoffman. The manuscript on microfilm of “Church record of Zion's or Spiess's Reformed and Lutheran Church, Upper Alsace Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania, 1774-1845” copied by William J. Hinke, July 1921. Typed April 1944 shows the following births for children of Dietrich/Diedrich Hoffman (the mother of the children wasn't given):

• Henry b. Dec. 14, 1777, bapt. Febr. 20, 1778


• John b. June 22, (1778)


• John Michael b. Mar. 10, 1782


• Samuel b. Apr. 6, 1785 bapt. May 29, 1785.

The son Henry was not named as one of the heirs of Dietrich. It's likely that he died young or perhaps as an adult without issue.



In 1997 John T. Humphrey published “Pennsylvania Births: Berks County 1710-1780” and a second volume for the years 1781-1800. All four of the above named children of Dietrich Hoffman are included in these books with the same dates – with the exception of John. The Humphrey book gives John's date of birth as 09 Nov 1778. According to the cemetery transcriptions noted in the 2nd post in this series “my” John Hoffman was born in November 1779. I don't know if the Zion-Spiess Church records have been microfilmed, they are not at the Family History Library.



It is rather slim evidence but based on the following, I'm going to go along with other researchers, for now, and say that John Hoffman who was married to Catherine Coy is the son of Dietrich Hoffman:

• They lived in close proximity to each other near Washingtonville in Columbiana County, Ohio. Dietrich lived in Salem Township and John in Green Township (which later became part of Mahoning County).


• They are both buried in Washingtonville Cemetery.


• Michael Hoffman married Mary Coy, sister of Catherine Coy.


• John had four sons: Samuel, Henry, Jacob, and John. The first three were presumably named after his brothers. Why couldn't he have named a son Dietrich?


• John had five daughters: Mary, Susannah, Elizabeth, Margaret, Catharine, Hannah, and Sarah. The first daughter, Mary, was presumably named after his wife's mother. The second daughter, Susannah, was presumably named after his presumed mother, Susannah Alder. Elizabeth and Sarah are also the names of his two (presumed) sisters.

Obviously, additional research needs to be done... One of the items in the inventory of the estate of Dietrich Hoffman was “one German Bible” which was purchased by Samuel Hoffman during the estate sale. Where is that bible today?



I'll be posting some of the documents from the estate files of John and Dietrich as well as the few documents that have been found on several sons of Dietrich. Hopefully, if any descendants or anyone else researching the Hoffman family find these posts they will contact me at kinexxions “at” gmail “dot” com.

Snowshoe adventure on Mt. Josephine

My last few snowshoe hikes have been up Mt. Josephine, but not on the "normal" trail that everyone knows about. I decided to go up the back side of the ridge, going in from Highway 61. There is an old trail that runs along the spine of the ridge but it has not been maintained in years and is very difficult to see in most places. It took two trips on two consecutive days to break the trail to the summit. The first day I only made it halfway up the mountain and was completely worn out due to the depth of the snow and uphill climb. Most of the "trail" goes through some pretty thick brush, but once you get to the summit the terrain opens up and the views are worth all the effort it took to get there.








Once I had a trail packed all the way to the top I returned with a couple of friends who wanted to snowshoe the trail with me. We took our time and spent most of the day on the trail. Its only about 3 miles round-trip, but we took our time and savored the views along the way and spent quite a bit of time at the summit. Along our snowshoe path we saw 4 or 5 places where deer had bed down for the night. It was interesting looking at the indentations in the snow and thinking about a deer curled up there for a good night's sleep. When we made it back to the highway the sun was getting ready to set and the colors in the sky made for a perfect ending to an incredible day.

The RAB Xenon jacket

Because I like and use the Atom LT so much and the Mtn Hardware Compressor before it I am always on the look out for first rate lightly insulated (60g) climbing jackets.



The Xenon first came to my attention and a few of my pals a couple of seasons ago. I was pretty stoked...right up till I had a chance to try one on and found the side pockets had no zippers. What was RAB thinking on that one? I actually discussed that with one of the RAB reps earlier this fall. I just figured someone made a huge mistake on that order to China.



But nope no zippers was intentional first time around to save weight. Clearly stopped me and a couple of my friends from buying the Xenon though.



This year the Xenon does have zippers on the pockets, thankfully. Makes them so they don't fill up with snow and you can actually store something in them with no worry of loosing what ever that happens to be.



The RAB party line:



"The Xenon Jacket is a super lightweight synthetic insulated jacket with a very light outer fabric.





The Xenon Synthetic insulated jacket is the culmination of several years hard work with fabric and synthetic insulation suppliers. We have taken Primaloft® synthetic fill and wrapped it up in the lightest Pertex® Quantum® GL 10 Denier fabric that is currently available.



You get a full length garment with a full length YKK zip, 2 hand warmer pockets and a chest pocket and all for just 340g/12oz!!! The whole jacket packs into its own chest pocket and is ideal as a superlight belay or over layer jacket, to be carried in a pack or clipped to a harness.



Ideal for Alpine Climbing, Mountain Marathon,Mountain Walking, Trek and travel and any fast and light activities. What more could you want?"



Sizes: S - XXL



Weight: 330g / 12oz



◦Pertex® Quantum® GL 10D ultra light rip stop nylon outer and lining



◦Light 60g Primaloft® One in body, sleeves and hood

◦Lycra bound hood fits snugly under a helmet.

◦1-way YKK front zip with internal insulated zip baffle and chin guard

◦2 YKK zipped hand warmer pockets and 1 YKK zipped chest pocket

◦Double exit hem drawcord

◦Packs away into chest pocket

◦Short cut





I am obviously not doing any climbing right now. But I am using the Xenon almost every day. I really like this jacket. One of my projects has been to figure out where in my climbing clothing system I can use this one.



It would be a LOT easier if the hood fit over a helmet. It doesn't. Typically that would "kill" any climbing jacket for my ow use. But the new Xenon(with pocket zips) is good enough that I have been looking for places to use this jacket. Here are the reasons I want to use this jacket. First off the materials used, Primaloft One and Pertex® Quantum® make it a lwt package that is hard to ignore. The nice detailing,zipper baffle, corner zipper reinforcements,andthe fleecechin guard you notice. Even the hood has a slick little retaining strap for when it is not in use. The XL size is more like a comfy US large than a XL and it actually fits me very well after the chemo diet. It might be the only jacket in the house that does come to think about it!






If I am not using the hood I don' want it full of snow...the hood retainer strap is a nice detail.








The Xenon tucked into it's own chest pocket with a loop for clipping it to your harness. My XL (call it a roomy US large) weighs in at full 11.8OZ! For once the "stuff" pocket is over size for the jacket and easily goes into this one. The jacket would gointo a smaller (more durable)stuff sack if the bulk is a concern on the harness. Though you are on your own for that.




I may not get the winter use I had planned for the Xenon without a hood that will go over my helmet. But this will certainly be the jacket I throw in the pack for the rest of the year as required. Yep, at under 12oz. I like it, a lot. Really, who actually gives an honest garment weight these days..BRAVO, on that oneRAB!




I like it enough that if they made the hoodbig enough togo over a helmet and kept the zippers onthe side pockets I'd buy one of those too :) After all how much weight is a bigger hood really going to add?



Here is a buying tip....if you find this jacket on sale via the Internet...make sure the version you are getting has the side pocketzips if you require them.