Just a Zipper » Interesting Read

Soldiers to the Summit-Medical Update

Sarah — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 15:43:15 +0000

Well the Soldiers to the Summit team made it to the summit of Lobuche late last week and have now descended about 7,000ft back down to Lukla. Finally with solar power and service, we were able to check in with the team and see how everyone is doing after an incredible trip. You can see the step-by step rundown of the day on the Soldiers to the Summit blog.

Here is a rundown of how summit day went for the team.

Upon descending, we were able to check in with one of the team medics to see how everyone is holding up at such high altitude.

Polartec Tapped By Vanity Fair

Sarah — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 15:56:14 +0000

There are magazines, and then there is Vanity Fair. The world’s greatest photographers, feature stories so perfectly crafted that many feel they deserve a coveted spot on bookshelves for decades, preserved and respected. A who’s who of celebrities, public figures, the infamous and famous alike. Vanity Fair is a magazine you read, not skim. Thirty years ago, a book called The Official Preppy Handbook became an instant international bestseller. The same author, Lisa Birnbach, has recently completed the newest version, this time called True Prep. In this month’s Vanity Fair, they printed an excerpt from the book and in it, Birnbach has tapped Polarfleece as the biggest change in Prepdome in 30 years. We’ll take it, just as long as climbing in bowties doesn’t catch on.

Read the entire article- Vanity Fair’s “Official Preppy Reboot”

Excerpt from True Prep-
If, in 1980, you had whispered to friends that within the next few decades America would elect a thin, black, preppy, basketball-playing lawyer to be president, they would have laughed at you and exhaled in your face, inside the restaurant or club where you were sitting. And, if you predicted that one day all our children would have little portable phones stuck in their pockets so that they could not answer us when we called them from our little phones, we would have again exhaled in your face—indoors—and said you were talking science fiction.

Still, to our minds nothing is more sci-fi than the fact that preppies in the 21st century all wear the unnatural fibers we collectively refer to as “fleece.” We always thought our reliance on natural “guaranteed to wrinkle” fibers was our right and our trademark. If it’s hot or humid, we’d just roll up our all-cotton long-sleeved shirts. But now we wear polyester fleece, and its offspring, recycled water bottles.

The revolution began in 1981, at a company then called Malden Mills in Lawrence, Massachusetts, manufacturers of textiles including the wool for uniforms in World War II. A place like Malden Mills is populated by textile engineers who spitball, “mess around with fabrics,” and then refine, according to spokesman Nate Simmons. They work collaboratively with clothing manufacturers, as they did in this case with Patagonia. What came off the looms in the early 80s was pure synthetic, soft, quick-wicking, quick-drying, and machine-washable. It did not fade, and changed the wardrobes of athletes forever. Its Malden name was Polarfleece; its Patagonia name was Synchilla.

The new book also sites some new “Prep Careers for the New Millennium”, included in which is ‘Ski Bum’, a profession we are proud to associate with, alongside anyone working hard to support days off on rock, in rivers, on the slopes or anywhere else that requires a little less popped collar and a little more, “Where the hell are we?”

Yvon Chouinard product testing

Soldiers to the Summit Training

Sarah — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 15:13:13 +0000

In late September, a team of 12 disabled veterans, 10 successful Everest climbers, along with Erik Weihenmayer, will attempt the summit of Lobuche (20,075), just miles from Mt. Everest in the Himalayas. We will be updating you on the progress of the team throughout the next few months, as they train in various locations throughout the U.S. Last week, they climbed St. Mary’s, a glacial snowfield near Denver, and most of the team got a chance to meet each other for the first time. Check out Erik Weihenmayer’s post from his blog, BlindVision below to check out the most recent photos from the training session.

Last week, our Soldiers To The Summit team (http://soldierstothesummit.org/) got everyone together for an amazing training session here in Colorado. Though we’ve all been in virtual contact for the past few months, this was the first opportunity for everyone on the expedition to meet in person. (The only climber missing was Luis Benitez. But since he was still heading home from an attempt on K2, we’ll cut him some slack!)

We started off by meeting at Bent Gate Mountaineering in Golden, which is a great outdoor retailer that has been helping us with their expertise on gear. This is where we distributed the clothing that has been generously donated by our sponsors (ADS Tactical, Polartec, and Mountain Hardwear). The soldiers were also fitted with boots provided by La Sportiva. We are still working on rounding up some more equipment for the team (climbing gear, sleeping bags, trekking poles, etc.) but it’s looking like our soldiers will be well protected.

The next day, we headed up to St. Mary’s Glacier, which is a steep snowfield (it lost it’s official glacier status decades ago but the name hasn’t changed) at about 11,000 feet west of Denver. Although a couple of our soldiers–the two Hanging Chads and Matt–have experience climbing on snow and ice, the majority have never used an ice axe or worn crampons. Here we practiced skills such as ascending and descending fixed lines, self-arresting on snowslopes, and the basics of how to walk with 12 sharp points strapped to the bottom of each foot. I think most of our soldiers found this an eye-opening, and breathtaking, experience!

Our group camped for two nights at the base of the glacier. This gave us a chance to escape the “real world” down below and get to know each other better. While all the training is vital, this quite time is also an important part of building a team.

The next morning, we got an early start to climb James Peak, a 13,294 feet mountain that requires climbing the snowfield, trekking across the tundra, and then a final scramble up the summit pyramid. Though not technically hard, this gave everyone a chance to experience rugged, off-trail hiking and thin air. Unfortunately, Matt’s temporary prosthetic broke so he had to stay in camp, which is why these shake-down trips are essential before big expeditions. The rest of us made the summit and returned to camp in about six hours; a pretty good pace.

In short, this training trip was a huge success! We accomplished our mission, began to make connections with one another, figured out what works, discovered what doesn’t, sorted out gear details, and had a lot of fun. A phone call from President Bush was a great bonus. Organizing this expedition to Lobuche has been a lot of work for many of us. And I’m starting to feel like it’s going to pay off hugely. Can’t wait till we leave in October!

Here are some photos of the training courtesy of our team photographer Didrik Johnck.

Soldier Zach Martinez practices a self-arrest on a mellow slope before progressing to steeper terrain.

Soldier Nicolette Maroulis tops out after climbing a very steep 60-foot snow and ice slope on St. Mary’s glacier.

Erik roping up.

The Soldiers to the Summit team is made of up people with varying disabilities including amputees.

Soldier Chad Butrick prepares to rappelling down the glacier.

Soldiers Dan Sidles, Ike Isaacson, Cody Miranda, and Steve Baskis (left to right) celebrate the summit of James Peak at 13,294 feet.

Adventure Athlete 101: The Right Stuff

Sarah — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 11:53:55 +0000

Ever wonder what it takes to be a successful professional adventure athlete? For its June Outside in Aspen weekend, Outside magazine put together a panel of some of the most well-known adventure athletes on the globe to discuss what it takes to make it work, and what the evolution of that career path has been over the past decade.

According to the panel of experts, which included skier Chris Davenport, cyclist Tyler Hamilton, kayaker Jesse Coombs and climbers Jake Norton and Melissa Arnot, (sponsored athlete for Polartec parter, Eddie Bauer), it is a little bit of masochism, a dedication to the risky lifestyle and a steadfast enjoyment of the journey no matter how hard. Take a look at this footage of the panel, all of the panelists are pretty incredible. It may be the first video to ever make me consider skipping the shower for 60 days.

Outside in Aspen: Adventure Athlete Panel from Outside Magazine on Vimeo.

Religion and Politics

Ian — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 22:29:56 +0000

Let’s get this straight right off the bat…

Just like your mom taught you, it’s best to avoid talking about religion or politics at the dinner table on your blog. We have no intentions of endorsing a candidate or getting all theological on JustaZipper.com.

But, we got a link to an interesting Polartec story in our inbox via Google Alerts this morning. Here’s a mention of Polartec in an article on RealClearPolitics.com from Steve Chapman:

“All sorts of products that didn’t exist a generation ago are now commonplace even in humble neighborhoods — personal computers, cell phones, high-definition TVs, Polartec jackets, digital cameras, Starbucks coffee and more. If their incomes are steadily falling, how do Americans cart home so much stuff?”

Good to see that Mr. Chapman puts Polartec in the same league as cell phones and high-def T.V.’s.

Add some context to the above pull quote and read the rest of the article here.

WSJ on Carbon Footprints

Ian — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 22:48:18 +0000

Jeffery Ball at the Wall Street Journal recently wrote an interesting article about the carbon footprint of six consumer products: a Prius, Timberland hiking boots, laundry detergent, a 1/2 gallon of organic milk, a 6-pack of Fat Tire beer and a Patagonia Talus jacket made with Polartec® Power Shield® fabric. The Talus creates a 66 pound carbon footprint. Check out the results of all 6 products: footprint1.

While Polartec has partnered with Patagonia to develop hundreds of garments with recylced fabric, the Talus is unfortunately not one of them. Essentially, the Talus is manufactured in Asia where recycled yarn is harder to find and more expensive to source. Both Polartec and Patagonia would have preferred for the Talus to be a recycled product but it was just too expensive to produce and keep the price point competitive.

The Talus is a good example of the cost-benefit analysis of going ‘green.’

Of course, carbon footprints are incredibly difficult to calculate. As Mr. Ball notes, “For instance, many products’ global-warming impact depends less on how they’re made than on how they’re used. That means the easiest way to cut carbon emissions may be to buy less of a product or use it in a way that’s less convenient.”

From that perspective, the Talus jacket (and all Polartec fabrics) last an incredibly long time, require very few washings, and no machine drying. Wear it indoors and you can keep your heating bills down!

Read the full WSJ story here.