Home > Trip Reports > Jan 18: Skyline and Video

Jan 18: Skyline and Video

1/15/10
WA Stevens Pass
12877
30
Posted by savegondor on 1/18/10 12:22pm
Chris and I headed out in the direction of Skyline Lake and beyond.  Met or saw 15-20 people spread out over several different aspects.  12-14 inches of powder on a firm firm crust, wet and heavy at times, light at others from 4500 feet upward.  below that it was more like 5-12 inches.  wherever the sun hit the snow got heavy and sometimes really wet.  very little wind transport over the last two days...unlike Crystal, Stevens was spared any prolonged high winds.  depending on aspect, elevation, and location the snowpack has been affected by sun, wind, ice, rain, etc.  Nearly every aspect and location had different conditions.   

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gY6w8KgFO1k
LOVE the andriod phone!!!!!!! soon our GPS toys will be obsolete, very soon. 

COOL TRIP...THANKS FOR MAP AND VIDEO!

Nice and simply excellent report!

We met you on top of 5476. Much better conditions than I'd anticipated. It was hard to find uncut snow (but we managed to hit a couple shots), there was a lot of pent up powder energy waiting to be unleashed! A beautiful day with new and old friends.
   

nice shots Jim!!!!

Nice photos, Jim. Good to see you out there again.

Did you track yourself with your Android phone?  How do you do that?

Savegonder...did you track your route with your android phone?  I have a Droid and would love to track my tours with it.

It's not that we don't like dissidents, it's that there's an expectation of common courtesy.  Sorry I missed this one earlier, but I cleaned up that derail.  Z, glad you enjoy the site and hope you continue to visit.

Also, woot!  Powder!  Nice report y'all.


"All records told the same tale—then the lie passed into history and became truth

Imagine a (Dynafit compatible 3 buckle) boot stamping on a pristine powder face--for ever"

;D

author=gibbycu link=topic=15215.msg63773#msg63773 date=1264018545]
Did you track yourself with your Android phone?  How do you do that?


Yes!!! I used an application called My Tracks.  The program syncs with google maps (which requires you to have a google/gmail account) and uploads the route.  There are several other GPS programs I haven't tried yet...some of which DO NOT require a cell phone signal (to download maps etc).  This time my phone had already downloaded the google map of the area so I was able to use a crude topo of the area on my phone as well. 

future apps and possibly existing ones promise to replace all those crap expensive GPS units outdoor stores try to sell.

marcus.  You call it common courtesy.  I call it deletion of a discussion that was actually meaningful.  You want it milquetoast?  There was no profanity used.

author=Marcus link=topic=15215.msg63835#msg63835 date=1264091437]
It's not that we don't like dissidents, it's that there's an expectation of common courtesy.  Sorry I missed this one earlier, but I cleaned up that derail.  Z, glad you enjoy the site and hope you continue to visit.

Also, woot!  Powder!  Nice report y'all.


Marcus, might I suggest that censorship is not the best possible fashion in which to begin your reign?

He wasn't discourteous. Critical perhaps, but not ill-mannered. Leading members to believe they can't speak their minds ain't good.

Take it to Random Tracks if you want to talk about it Lee.  You can have a fine discussion without being insulting.

This isn't at all out of line with the way the site has functioned for years.  It began discourteous, or we have very different definitions of what that means.  Absolutely, people should express their opinions, but insulting other folks isn't necessary.

author=Marcus link=topic=15215.msg63862#msg63862 date=1264113039]
Take it to Random Tracks if you want to talk about it Lee.  You can have a fine discussion without being insulting.

This isn't at all out of line with the way the site has functioned for years.  It began discourteous, or we have very different definitions of what that means.  Absolutely, people should express their opinions, but insulting other folks isn't necessary.


That's fine then.  You do want it milquetoast with everyone holding hands singing kumbaya.  Feel free to delete this comment too

With respect Z was the one being called an Ass.

Ass>punter on most recognized scales of discourtesy.


I don't know what to tell you Lee -- one end of the spectrum is rude and the other end is kumbaya.  Is there no middle?

I deleted the balance of the discussion mostly because it all stemmed from the first couple of posts, which were beyond the guidelines that have been in place for years.

- Be civil and respectful, avoid personal attacks - that is the norm here;
- Alternate viewpoints are welcome: debate the viewpoint, not the person;

Without those first few posts, I felt the others made little sense.  I'm not going to edit an individual's words within their post.

****
PNW, those posts are gone too, eh?  Same reason.

I absolutely do not want to stifle good discussion -- I apologize if that's what happened here, but my reasoning is consistent with the way TAY has been run for a while.  Perhaps I'll split this off to RT so folks can talk about.

author=Marcus link=topic=15215.msg63867#msg63867 date=1264114715]
PNW, those posts are gone too, eh?  Same reason.


I'll refer to my good friend oftpiste's observation that:

author=oftpiste link=topic=15215.msg63861#msg63861 date=1264112710]
He wasn't discourteous. Critical perhaps, but not ill-mannered.



Okay -- the posts I've moved aren't going to come back, obviously.  From the tone of some of the PMs I've received, I think I came down on this a little harder than I should have -- cut me some slack, if you will... it's my first week on the job.

I'll take a more considered tack in the future, though there will always be a subjective quality to what "respectful" means.  This isn't my site so much as it is the community's and I want to keep it a useful meeting place.  If the community norms are moving one way or another, I'll try to be flexible as that happens.

Thanks Marcus.  It's a delicate balancing act and a thankless job

WHOA!@!!!! as a therapist I prescribe more Powder.  I have no idea what all this hassle is about but 12 inches or light and dry should help out...hope it comes soon...

If you want to keep the censorship discussion rolling, please do so here:


author=savegondor link=topic=15215.msg63632#msg63632 date=1263876007]
LOVE the andriod phone!!!!!!! soon our GPS toys will be obsolete, very soon. 


I have a couple of questions for you.
This image (the topo reference shown above) would seem to imply that your phone was on the whole time?

Does the Android present the same degree of beacon interference that other so called smart phones do (I.E. Iphone, etc)?

Thanks.

author=gravitymk link=topic=15215.msg63926#msg63926 date=1264173226]
I have a couple of questions for you.
This image (the topo reference shown above) would seem to imply that your phone was on the whole time?

Does the Android present the same degree of beacon interference that other so called smart phones do (I.E. Iphone, etc)?

Thanks.


Thanks for the question!!! I can only answer it in part. 

First of all I have a question:  Do we even know that smart phones cause interference?  Is there actual research to back this up?  and if so, do you have the source?  I'd be interested to know this.  Theoretically any electromagnetic device cold cause such a problem including GPS.

To answer you question, yes I did have my phone on the whole time.  But the neat thing with the android is that it is very easy to turn off whatever you want.  I could have chosen to leave ONLY the GPS on.  my phone has multiple antennae including a) wifi b)gps c)cell phone radio and reception.  since I'm assuming the gps antennae won't cause said interference I'll try just leaving that on next time and nothing else. 

and like I said, I haven't tried all the GPS apps yet... ideally there would be one where I could download the maps via my flash card and use only the gps antennae thus avoiding any potential interference. 

again, I'm wondering which if any of the antennae cause this interference.  It may also be in the near future that our beacons are obsolete...one only need write the software and create a durable enough housing for the cell phone.  avi beacons are NOT high tech, and like gps are TOTAL rip-offs.  it's just that the free tech isn't out there yet that i know of.

There's a lot of stuff on Wild Snow and TGR by Jonathan Shefftz on this subject. His übergeek conclusion is that iPhones and iPods are especially troublesome. I've started turning mine off or at least mitigating risk by doing so on higher risk days/terrain, not carrying phone close to beacon etc. As I recall the problem is the likely drive rather than the GPS/Cell antennae


author=PNWBrit link=topic=15215.msg63977#msg63977 date=1264199440]
There's a lot of stuff on Wild Snow and TGR by Jonathan Shefftz on this subject. His übergeek conclusion is that iPhones and iPods are especially troublesome. I've started turning mine off or at least mitigating risk by doing so on higher risk days/terrain, not carrying phone close to beacon etc. As I recall the problem is the likely drive rather than the GPS/Cell antennae




Interesting...may need some field testing.... did you say the hard-drive caused it? 

Thanks for answering my question.

As a rule I avoid having anything on my person when beacon is present and on that can generate a magnetic field. If I have my iphone with me it's off, or otherwise at the car. The only time that I carry the GPS is on the sled, and I've taken to mounting it to the sled instead of carrying it on my pack or in a pocket. I don't know that the GPS is an issue, but I'm also not willing to take a chance that it is.

A GPS doesn't have a transmitter -- the RF emissions it creates are very weak.
A cell phone does have a transmitter -- and a "smart" phone like the Droid is pinging the network periodically -- that could cause some interference.

VHF/FRS/GRMS radios in transmit mode generate a strong signal and might confuse or interfere with searching beacons.  It is possible that the transmit button could be depressed by snow or other items pressed against the radio in a burial.  The FRS/GRMS radios that I now use have an automatic cutoff feature to revert to receive after 60 seconds of continuous transmission.

In my own experience with VHF/FRS/GRMS radios -- I've been careful to position away from the beacon -- but mainly because of interference from the beacon's transmissions being audible on the VHF/FRS/GRMS radios when they are place close together.

The broad approach to "no electronic devices at all"  -- is simple -- but perhaps not the best.   Beacons are supposed to be worn in transmit mode all the time -- so it would be best to know whether a device interferes or not -- 'cause otherwise you can't use it at all eh?

It's not that hard to test for interference -- Just place the a beacon in transmit mode and the device next to each other and then try searching for it with another beacon.  Compare results of signal detection distance and direction indicators with and without the device.

A basic beacon test at the start of a trip -- where you test whether each of you can pick-up each other's signals is a good idea anyway.

Here's the link to Jonathan Shefftz analysis:  http://www.wildsnow.com/1609/jonathans-wildsnow-beacon-test-notes/

Last Saturday I did some exercise at the Alpental Beacon Park with my Tracker beacon in my right hand and my iPhone turned on in my left pocket.  I had no interference problem.  Hardly a scientific study, n=1.

Have we accomplished a second hijacking of this thread now?  Marcus, shall we move a few of these posts to a random tracks thread:  Beacon/Cell Phone interference?

That tracking program sounds sweet...will definitely be trying that next time out.  If you are wondering about interference, try putting the phone and beacon together and searching for itwith another beacon

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jan-18-skyline-and-video
savegondor
2010-01-18 20:22:39