One of the hottest (pun intended) products on my list is the Jetboil® Sol TI Premium Cooking System. Yes I know the Jetboil has been around for a while but they continue to update their products with regularity. I love the fact that Jetboil products have been designed by my friends at Rocketship® in the past.

Image :: Jetboil

A climbing photographer once told me that many times when he was shooting up on the ropes this was his preferred camera was the Canon® PowerShot G12 due to its versatility and compact size. Needing to upgrade my own camera, the Canon® PowerShot is on my wish list.

Image :: Canon U.S.A.

I am still rocking the original Petzl® GRIGRI. I love it and have had no issues with it. However, it would be nice to have the newer GRIGRI 2 with it increased range in controllable rope size and lighter weight.

Image :: Petzl

Finally, it would be nice to have some power every time I go out on extended outing. Being able to charge my GoPro® after a long day of climbing or canyoneering would be great and would reduce the need to carry extra pre-charged batteries for every device in my pack. The GoalZero® Escape 150 Explorer Kit fit that bill and would be a welcome Father’s day gift.

Image :: Goal Zero

It could be hypothesized that as discretionary income has decreased expensive activities such as climbing has decreased but this idea seem to rejected by the fact that that activities such as Telemarking (downhill) +46%, Skiing (Freestyle) +34%, Kayaking (recreational) +32% and Kayaking (white water)+24% which have considerable cost associated with them have grown in popularity.

If we were to argue that activities with higher cost of participation require higher high levels of commitment and engagement to overcome the objection of cost then would it make sense that a activities that had a higher level of commitment and engagement would see a decrease? If you purchased expensive climbing gear would you all of a sudden stop using it? Once the expense of purchasing technical gear has been met the participation rate should at least remain stable. If anything the declining average of discretionary income should limit growth and market capitalization of the Climbing segment especially in the Traditional/Ice/Mountaineering category.

One of the things I would look at in trying to explain the results in the report would be the sampling method used as the climbing results seem contrary to other existing data. Even this Topline Report shows an increase in overall participation of the last five years but yet shows a decline in climbing.  Others have reported an increase in climbing sales overall. Have we seen major decline in the crags? Dow we really believe that one out of four climbers have significantly reduced their climbing or quit all together in the last three years? And, there hasn’t been any external growth in our sport?

A statistical sample will allow every item in the population to having a calculable chance of being included in the sample. Thus the sample needs to be representational of the populations. It is possible that what may have happen here is a case of selection bias based on the convenience sampling. Sampling based on accessibility or ease of selection, such as online interviews, do not always lead to a statistical sound sample set. Do the people who are online all the time, share the same values, ideals, education, income, interest in outdoor activities etc. as those the entire population including those who actually get outside? If not, the data may be biased.

Getting a good sample data can be difficult and your results are only as good as your data. However there is still much that can be gleaned from these results. I am not saying that the results are bad but that when they don’t seem to make the sense we need to take these results with a grain of salt before applying them to future forecasting.

Fat Man’s Misery is the West Fork of Misery Canyon. The experience of Fat Man’s Misery includes tight winding slots, multiple rappels, various arches, big canyons, pools of water, swimming and more. The name Fat Man’s was derived from what I was told a small, tight sand bar like feature that could be crawled through, which would have been difficult for individuals of larger proportion. The canyon is rated 3B III, this means there are some technical challenges to the hike and requires an ability to rappel up to 50’. There will be some water with swimming required in at least a couple of spots. You should expect it t0 take most of a day to complete the hike. My buddy and I were able to do it in about 8 hours with a decent amount of sightseeing mixed in.

The beauty of this slot canyon is that it is located just outside of Zion National Park and therefore does not require a permit. So if you fail in being able to get one of those limited permits to a canyon you wanted to do, this can serve as a good standby.

View My Climbing and Cayoneering Map in a larger map

This is a perfect canyon to do in the spring or fall but should be avoided in the high summer heat due to the long uphill hike out. When my buddy and I did the trip in late August, we were expecting the opportunity to pick up some fresh water at the spring at the bottom of Misery Canyon. However, a severely decomposed deer carcass only 20 feet above the spring convinced us to forgo fresh water and try to make it out on what we had in our reserves. This turned out to be a mistake on our behalf as my buddy ran out of water halfway through the long hot uphill exit. Once I realized he was out of water I shared with him what little I had left. Although, he made it out on his own, he definitely had the starts of dehydration and was lucky nothing worse happened to him.

The Approach: The hike starts by heading south up the drainage between two large mesas, Checkerboard Mesa will be to the left (east), and over the saddle. After you descend the saddle and have made you wasy south of the mesas, the trail will turn south east. Not counting the drainage that you are currently in you will go through three more washes. The third wash will be the start of the Fat Man’s Misery, this will be noted by the presence of small pots that have been carved into the sandstone. Note: you may miss the pots if you enter the wash too far to the south and down the steep sandstone face.

West Fork: It is at this point the fun begins as you enter the West Fork.  This is the section with tight turns that winds through the sandstone.  Watch for multiple cool looking natural arches and bridges. Be prepared to rappel several times, although, with a hand line and some good down-climbing you may be able to bypass a few short drops. The end of this section is noted by a rappel in to the convergence of the East Fork. To avoid this rappel, we down-climbed our way into the canyon just east of the drainage. Be on the watch for any bolts with the Spanish word cuidado (watch-out) engraved on or near it, as these came from one of the earlier explorers to do the canyon.  My father told me that a local by the name of Mcarthur set these anchors but did not feel solid about their placement and thus wrote the warning. As always, caution should be used with existing bolts and anchors

The Main Misery Canyon: The final section of the combined East and West Forks begins here and will soon lead to a quick free rappel.  After this you will soon enter another technical section of the canyon requiring a little rappelling and down climbing. Expect to see some water filled potholes, with the first couple of water holes being quite stale. The last chamber of this technical section is called the grotto and is highlight by two natural arches/bridges. The descent into the grotto can be a little slick as both my buddy and I found out when we quickly landed on our backsides sliding into the water.  Coming out of the Misery canyon you will find the springs and fresh water.

Parunuweap: It is at this point that you will enter the East Fork of the Virgin River otherwise known as Parunuweap and its Zion Narrow’s like walls. Follow this for about a quarter of a mile. Exist at Powell’s Plaque. If you get to the Zion boundary marker you have gone too far.  Head up the hill to the north and stick to the ridge just west of the Misery Canyon, look for the Mesas before returning to the previous trail from hence you came.

It is nice to get a response and to have my concerns acknowledged in a day and age where many company struggle to understand the opinion of their customers. However, I feel that they failed in execution of this email on in several areas. Below are just a few of the ways in which I feel that they failed:

1. Timeliness: I got this email almost a month after the survey. If you really cared about my opinions and feedback then show it by responding in a reasonable manner. If you are going through all the trouble to elicit feedback from you clients, be ready to respond. Something tells me you didn’t think through this all the way to resolution.
2. Tell me specifics of how you are going to fix my issues: Telling me that you hired a new cleaning crew does nothing for me. You had a cleaning crew before, how does this change things? What are they going to do that the previous crew didn’t?
3. Personalize the email: Yes, I know this will require a little work and five minutes of your time, but weight that against the cost of having to find a new customer who is willing to pay for a VIP membership for his family. When I look at the email it looks like a ‘form letter’ sent to everyone who indicated on the survey that cleanliness was an issue (and just ignores the other issues I brought up). Also, you ask for me to email you back to discuss any concerns I have, but you didn’t even use a personal email, you instead used an email marketing/customer management program and generic email address that feedback into the program.  Nothing says we care like hitting to the ‘send to all’ email button.

Living on the Edge is another classic southern Utah climb. It is a must do for anyone who enjoys multi-pitched sandstone. Living on the Edge is part of the Aftershock wall just to the right of circus wall

Pitch 1: For me, the first pitch is the glory pitch, and worth doing even if you don’t want to climb the rest of it. In all actuality, probably 80% of the climbers who climb it only do the first pitch. The only thing that could make this pitch better is if it was at the top of the cliff and not at the bottom.  It is pretty straight forward climbing just above the lip of the arch. Powerful climbing just above the edge gives you a dose of exposure and makes for great pictures.

Pitch 2: I thought this was the hardest pitch of the climb. Start by moving straight up from the first anchors. I have seen from other climbers’ reports of the climb, indicating that they used smaller cams in the cracks right before turning the corner, I never did, which would explain why I might have been a little sketched out on this pitch. Clipping the bolt around the corner after the choss-grade rock is in my opinion the crux. The exposure after the crux is awesome and makes ascending it very enjoyable. Climb until you reach the ramp.

Pitch 3: With your belay stationed at the anchors atop of pitch 2, start up the ramp, to the right, and look for the bolts that begin several moves up. The starting moves are not hard but the height and the distance from your belay partner does make for slightly sketchy start. Move up the Patina. Watch out for the flake on this pitch. You can definitely feel it move as you pull and mantle off it, so be careful. Look for the anchors where the slab and overhang meet.

Pitch 4: Didn’t have my rack on that day so I haven’t done it.

Decent: The way we did it from the top of pitch 3 was to rappel down to the anchors at the top of pitch 2 and then using two 60m ropes we rappeled down to the bottom.  For those who are looking, go to the top there is a “walk-off” to the north but caution should be used as I thought it was near 5^th class descent when I went down it from Barbarian.

Mountain Project – Living on the Edge

Rockclimbing.com – Living on the Edge

Counting linear display space is a technique used in estimating the market share of hi-tech products. The idea behind it is to take a geographic area (the sample area) that is representational of the population as a whole, determine the percentage(s) of target product brand(s) to total products available, and then use various multipliers to adjust it to the population. Marketers are able to use this method of estimation to determine what the population proportion is currently in the retail space and forecast future sales.

I believe that this method can also be applied to the climbing/outdoor retailing world, specifically climbing cams. There are several reasons why this method of estimating market share works. First, cams, like hi-tech electronic, are a higher ticket items. They range anywhere from the $50’s to the mid $100 plus range and it is not uncommon for a climber to spend in excess of $1000 to assemble his/her rack. Therefore climbing retailers are encouraged to invest/carry inventory that is in their opinion most likely to sell. Prudent retailers will not tie-up large amounts of cash in expensive cams that will not sell well and have a quick turnover. The selection of cams on the wall represents just that, their determination of what the market will bare.

To estimate the climbing cam market share (population proportion), we first need to determine our sample area.  The Utah Valley region makes for a good representational location for sampling due to a couple of factors, the population of climbers in the area, the quantity (Utah ranks 3^rd in recorded routes on RockClimbing.com) and relative proximity to quality climbing, and the outdoor sports related focus of the region and state.

Next, we need to perform a field survey and visit all the available retail locations and count how many brands and related product lines that they have on display. In the nearby Utah valley area, I was able to identify 5 outdoor retailers of which 4 carried climbing cam.

We can use the result of our field survey to calculate the market share of our sample.

Based on the samples that we took, Metolius has the largest market share of cams followed by Black Diamond.  It appears that the two brands with the strongest market share also have multiple product lines, providing them with a billboard effect on the walls and shelves increasing their visibility and brand recognition.  And why not, if a certain brand of product sells well then the retailer will maximize their return and carry as many product lines from that brand.

In the next post I will discuss the significance of our sample proportions and what it might mean for the population as a whole.

One of the things that downright amazed me was the stickiness of the rubber. I am very familiar with Five Tens’ climbing shoes as I am actually in possession of several pairs. But to have same response when you are smearing on a sandstone wall as you would with a climbing shoe is outstanding.  Upon closer inspection of the dual rubber soles the stiffer C4 stealth climbing rubber is aligned with the inside toe edge, designed for making the Insight excel in edging. This understated but yet sometimes crucial ability to put the toe of the shoe in a small seam on the rock and to know it will hold is not something you can do with a traditional hiking shoe or boot. Outside of the inner edge, softer S1 rubber is used everywhere else to maximize grip in terrain requiring full-sole contact.

The Insight very much has a boot feel to it allowing you to hike up the talus while preventing your feet from taking a beating. The shoe is very well supported. The deep heel cup allows ample support of your ankle and reduces the slipping that will cause blisters on your achilles. I like the lacing and how goes almost to the tip of the toe. For my skinny feet the ability to tighten the toe box with such lacing is considerably under-rated, especially on those long downhill descents. Thick cushion soles and rocker bottoms take most of the pounding that these shoes will go through. For someone who is used to a lighter, thinner sole shoe, it took a little to get used to but after spending several long days in the canyons it was obvious in the evening how much support the Insight provided my feet.

The only down side to me was the weight of the shoe. Any shoe with that much support and cushion will have to sacrifice a little in the weight category, but that is quickly overcome by its versatility due to the superior dual rubber sole. As my friends would describe me, I am a go-light kind of guy; I would rather utilize just the essentials. For me less is always more, that is what the insight has become the essential cross functional outdoor hiking and canyoneering gear. It is a shoe that can go from the hiking down the middle of the river to the approach up the granite wall.

We have all seen their campaign: “Win one of everything we make, daily. Enter for a chance to WIN one of every product GoPro makes! We pick a new winner every day.” For the cost (manufacturing not retail) of a HD video camera and giving it away daily to an individual who had entered in their personal email address the day before, GoPro is able to do some significant marketing damage. Through the contest GoPro is gathering emails of individuals who are interested in their product. (or at least would like to get something for free) This act of joining the contest is a voluntary act of opting-in. Every time I submit my email for the contest I know I am adding myself to their ever growing email marketing list. They even say so in their disclaimer: “By submitting your information, you agree to receive communication from GoPro about this sweepstakes, GoPro products & our services.” And best of all, this list of emails renews its self every day.

This does one of several things for them. First, the marketers of GoPro never have to worry about the quality or the age of their email list, which cannot be said of most companies. Certain leads that you find/purchase through various channel cannot (or should not) be directly added to your current marketing campaign. Many of your email marketing service providers such as Mailchimp, Constant Contact, Vertical Response, etc. prohibit use of the purchased and tradeshow lists. Most service provider require the use of permission based emails which mean that they have to asked you for your consent before they send you commercial advertising.

Second, nobody wants to hit the spam button and send all GoPro emails, including the one potentially announcing you as the winner, to the trash bin. Any email campaign that gives you a reason to not report it as spam is a winner because if an email campaign starts receiving too many spam clicks their server can be blacklisted by email service providers such as Google.  (And good luck getting your server off that blacklist) Now if GoPro is smart, (And I can guarantee that they are) they probably have some kind of built-in cut-off that after of so many months of inactivity (i.e. no response to emails, no clicked links, hasn’t enter into daily contest, etc.) by an email or user that automatically removes the email form the marketing list. This removal prevents recipients of their email campaign from tiring of their emails and newsletters flagging them as spam.

Although I love their email marketing campaign, the thing that makes their email campaign work is the content. You can’t go wrong with first person perspective action sports video. I like getting their emails and newsletters and that is the true genius to the marketing.

From calico basin, head up the canyon 15 – 20 minute approach and watch for the obvious wall on the left. There is a ramp like deck that will give you access to the cliff. The name of this route may also be called Mother’s Day based on the guide or data base that you use. Check out the pictures and you will not have any problems identifying the route.

Cram It is a short little warm-up of a trad route and may be a little sand bagged for a 5.9. A standard size rope will get you up and down without and problem. Overall the route is a little short and while it is nice to do once, I would in no way consider it a classic. Start directly under the corner crack and work your way up to the first and only bolt on the face.

The lied-back finger/corner crack is definitely the best part of the climb and requires mostly small gear. I used a combination of stoppers and cams. Although the climb is not too difficult, this section provided me with a good opportunity to work on my technique. The second half of the crack really thins out and without many opportunities to place protection I chose to run it out.

After the crack, I verged to the left and followed a diagonal flake to the anchors of Mom and Apple Pie. Although it wasn’t necessary, I threw a #1 stopper into the flake as I didn’t really want to run it out too much. The nut went in well but the almost horizontal placement made it impossible to remove despite 20 plus minutes of yanking by both me and my buddy. So I sacrificed my #1 stopper to the rock climbing gods. If I were ever to do it again I would not place any protection in that final flake on the traverse to the left. Supposedly there is a walk-off option to the right.

Cram It offered very little in the way of a challenge for me. I don’t think of it as a must-do but for the beginner this could be a great crack to work on technique.

Cram It – Mountain Project
Cram It (Mother’s Day) – Rockclimbing.com

Know who your audience is. What is the demographic of that you are targeting? Knowing who your audience is will help you make decisions on your event’s organization. Base on the individuals I saw at the race, most were there to have a fun time. Several teams dressed up in bright outfits and headbands and I even saw an on-course incident with silly string. I too was part of the majority looking to have an enjoyable experience as I was solicited to join a team in order to help my friends beat their wives’ team. In the end, I was just hoping to have some fun and make it over all of the obstacles without completely embarrassing myself.

Sell to your audience. If you and your team are looking for a casual, feel-good experience and not striving for the ultra-marathon this could be the race for you. For the average runner, like me, the Vigor Utah was not a hyper-competitive, ‘ironman’ styled race that is going to push you to your limits. The 5k summer obstacle course was designed to be attractive to individuals, like me, who may be novices to racing but are still looking to finish the race and feel a sense of accomplishment. The nature of the ‘team’ competition combined with crazy fun obstacles (Card Ninja, Bucket Head, Egg Carry, etc.) made for great camaraderie and a very pleasant event.

Have good food. Bagels, multi-grain wheat bread, homemade honey butter, orange wedges, chocolate milk, water, popsicles and more made a perfect end to a great event.