Gear Review – Patagonia DAS Parka

When I created this blog, I thought to myself I don’t want to make a blog where all I do is talk bout how uncool I am, I have friends for that….maybe I’ll talk about how cool some of the stuff I get to use is?

So I got to thinking about all of my gear and figured I’d start with something that is pretty much a consensus best-in-gear kind of piece.  The Patagonia DAS Parka.

In my early snow sloggin’ days, I used this as an around camp piece, a modern day camp fire if you will (without the hazards of fire…man make fire!) to keep me warm as I would scurry around trying to get everything done so I could stop shivering and get into my nice warm sleeping bag.

After doing some research I came across the Patagonia DAS Parka.  I went ahead to the Patagonia Outlet here in Reno and bought it for a steal.  It was love at first try-on…

DAS stands for Dead Air Space, as in the air it traps next to you, which by trapping your own heat, you are in effect using your hard earned heat to keep nice and warm in the most inhospitable of climates.  I’ve used this thing super-sloggin’, ice climbin’, and sometimes around my house when things are getting a little buckwild.  The common denominator is that I am warm, and thus am happy.  Sometimes too warm and happy.  My laziness when comfortable became quite evident.  While climbing some ice at June Lake, CA there were three of us doing laps on a top rope.  We were kind of working in order, and had stopped to eat lunch.  My roommate asks me if I want the next lap.  As I’m contemplating this, I kind of cock my head back to look at the ice flow (without helmet since we were out of harms way), and then it happened.  My cold, short-haired dome came into contact with the insulated hood of my DAS.  I decided that I would sit this one out and get the next lap, as I was entirely too warm and happy.

The insulation is a synthetic (the newer version I might need to spring for, which is lighter and has Primaloft One insulation which is neat) stays warm while wet, and is fully windproof and water-resistant.  It is relatively lightweight, but is not meant to be the lightest of light pieces for fast-and-light summer pushes, it’s meant for gettin’ down with the get down in the winter. The only flaw to this piece is its lack of packability, which is sort of to be expected since it is synthetic.  It takes up a lot of space in the pack, but is worth every square inch it takes up!

While it may not be the most stylish piece out there for around town wear (at least in the Nuclear, I mean Aztec Yellow mine is in) – so that means even the derelict snow bros at imperial will not think you are stylish, the DAS is a staple item that I take anywhere cold in the mountains.

Absolutely a five-star piece!

Near our camp with Mount Sill in the background, March '09, nice and toasty in my DAS

Vegas Airport

Over the holidays I get to go to either Connecticut or Las Vegas.  I know, most people would offer intelligent comments such as Brahhh, did you hit up all the sick clubs in vegas?   Did you party your ass off? Over the past year I have made three trips to Vegas, and I did not set foot on or near Las Vegas Blvd. with the exception of being near there on the airport.  The last two times I’ve been here, I’ve gotten to playon world class sandstone and have a great time with my friends.

Over the Thanksgiving trip I took here, I got to do some climbing on perfect sandstone walls in a winter trad climbing mecca.  I also got to boulder in an area under-appreciated for its bouldering. (which is phenomenal).  Over Christmas, we did a little bit of it all, from bouldering to sport to trad (shorter stuff this time).

One constant among these trips was the presence of my good friend Jeff.  He got in his first trad climbs, first trad lead, and basically killed it bouldering as well.  AJ, Ian, and Aaron were the others present on these various trips, all are fun to be around.  AJ, Jeff, and I all went to different high schools in the Las Vegas Valley (population ~2million), Aaron and Ian have both lived in Northern Nevada for quite some time.  Aaron, AJ, Jeff, and I all went to undergrad together at The University of Nevada (which just so happens to be in Reno, NV  – for those of you not too knowledgeable of Nevada, yeah you from back East…Reno is 500 miles or so North of Vegas).

Another constant from these trips was that none of the climbers we encountered called Vegas home.  We encountered fellow trad climbers from Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, and even some other folks from Reno on our first trip.  On the second trip some people from Michigan, Texas, and Utah were on the crags having a great time with us.

What brings me to Vegas repeatedly isn’t Red Rock (which would be reason enough for a trip to Vegas), my Dad owns a house on the West side of Vegas.  His house is only 20 minutes from the entrance to the scenic loop and even closer to some of the zones where fun can be had.  With this kind of access for a lot of people, you have to wonder where the locals are.  Red Rock is one of the premier winter rock climbing destinations in the U.S. of A, with moderate temperatures, infrequent precipitation, and infinite lines to be climbed, you would think that the locals in Vegas would be taking full advantage of what sits right outside of their back door.

Vegas also has access to some premier climbing areas within five hours drive, from the Eastern Sierra (where summer climbing can occur) to Zion to J-Tree.

I guess some of the locals could argue that it’s a good thing more people don’t know about it and whatnot, but hell, if you’re a local you probably have climbed most of the classics or know how to avoid the lines on them at this point.  So why doesn’t Vegas have more climbers?  Maybe I’m just here on weekends where a lot of people are on vacation and are in places not named Las Vegas, or just aren’t climbing.  It’s just beyond me that so much sweet terrain is right there and so few people know what they have sitting right there. Are too many of the locals mouth-breathing on the couch instead of getting out there and getting after it?   Discuss.

One thing I also find rather curious is the name of some of the guide books covering this area.  The technical name for the area is Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area.  Locals call it Red Rock.  Even the golf course, country club, and casino named after it are named Red Rock.  Many of the guidebooks covering climbing in this area call it Red Rocks.  Anybody out there reading that gives me any background as to why this is?

Had some fun down there both trips, I’m waiting for a memory card full of pictures from the last trip then there will be pictures and a TR of the adventures had down here.  Gotta get going on the plane headed home….

Let the games begin….

Finally I have succumbed to the time killer known as starting a blog.  Social media, yay.   I’ve been involved in alpinism and mountaineering for almost a year to the day now, and what a ride it’s been so far.  I’m nowhere near where I want to be, but with the lessons taught to me by my friends and mentors in the climbing world, I’ve been fortunate enough to get the opportunity to get into this kinda stuff.  Also helps that I live in Reno and my Dad lives in Vegas, so easy access to the incredible playgrounds that the Sierra and Red Rock have to offer.

I suppose what I’m trying to say is that the point of this is to share stories of some of my adventures, some lessons learned, and maybe some workouts, not too sure yet, but whatever I do put on here I hope you (the reader) enjoy!

Belay ledge at the top of Pitch 2 of Solar Slab Wall w/JBo aka Jbeezius, Red Rock, NV