I can't help it. There's no other way. I need to capture these moments for eternity. Again and again I have to pull out one of my two cameras and try to use it to halt the relentless march of time. The movement has become a routine: free my right shoulder from the snug padded strap and tilt my whole body slightly to the left, at just the right angle for the pack to slide off the other shoulder into the fluffy snow, already lightly tamped down with my left ski, and land at my feet with its back facing the sky. There isn't much time; everything has to happen in quick succession. Only rarely can you shout "Wait, stop!" and pause the action on the screen of mountain life. When a skier is charging down a slope, he won't hit the brakes for you and ruin his own fleeting moment of powder bliss. The cameras have to sit in the pack so I can grab them instantly, without rummaging. I'd probably miss a good half of my shots if I had to do without the back-panel access, which I value enormously on the Lowe Alpine Revolt ski touring pack: two zips, two quick pulls, with gloves on of course, and the whole back panel swings open. As if I were opening a suitcase. Except this ski touring "suitcase" rides on my back all day without making too much of a fuss about being there.
Yes, this article is a celebration of the Lowe Alpine Revolt ski touring pack. It caught my eye, then convinced me and finally won me over.
It's not just for photography that you'll appreciate the speed and sheer simplicity of getting into a ski touring pack through a swing-open back panel. Just think of fishing for dry gloves in the freezing cold when they've filtered down to the very bottom. With back access you see the whole contents of the pack and your hands go straight to the right spot. To get your flask or first-aid kit, you don't have to throw your down jacket, spare hat, snacks and everything else piled on top out into the snow.
"What else should I pack for the tour? Just in case?" With four kilos of camera gear I usually face the opposite problem: what else can I do without? I deliberately choose packs of around 25 litres for day tours, because if you really want to enjoy the ski down, a bigger pack just gets in the way. But then comes the other side of the coin: making do with less. Over the years spent on skins I've worked out a minimal kit that gets me through any situation, with four pairs of gloves and miracle duct tape being the essence of success. Even so, I often hit the limits of a pack's capacity, and stuffing the skins inside meant putting on my jacket to free up space for them. Compared with everything I've used before, though, the Lowe Alpine Revolt seems to be a bit inflatable.
I've never had this much room in a 25-litre pack. Ski goggles and Horalky wafers have their own pocket at the top, and its volume isn't eaten up even when the two main compartments (besides the one already described, there's also an avalanche compartment for probe, shovel and saw) are stuffed to bursting. And if, like me, you're obsessed with losing your keys and would rather check ten times that they haven't wandered off on a whim, the Lowe Alpine Revolt will give you peace of mind. Two internal pockets, one of them with a key clip, will soothe your nerves.
It's frustrating to count the days you manage to get out on skis. It's much easier to put up with tallying the days that won't let you head out. And luckily, this year there haven't been many of those so far. Praise be to my home Jeseníky mountains, at whose foot I live, and to the Swiss border that opened for a few days. So ever since the spruce branches bowed under a white eiderdown and the slopes were flooded with sparkling white, I've spent many beautiful but also demanding hours with the Lowe Alpine Revolt. It's had quite a time with me. Especially when, instead of a single walking ice axe that the Headlocker attachment system was originally designed for, I forced two climbing tools on it and headed off with Tomáš Petreček to take a few shots on the ice. It coped – the pack, that is. Helmet included, sitting snugly under the integrated mesh, which you can hide completely in the bottom of the front panel when you don't need it.
Living with skis on your feet – and in my case probably in your head as well – is beautiful but demanding. Especially on your gear. An expensive waterproof outfit turns into work overalls, and I'm already starting on my second set of self-adhesive patches. I've got red thread ready for the down jacket and black for the gloves. A split ski tip was saved by two-part epoxy glue, and the pack is going through some tough times too. So far, though, it acts like it's no wimp, and if it does have any weakness, it has decided not to show it to me. The burly fabric clearly doesn't give in easily, and as is usual with Lowe Alpine, you won't find many things on the pack that could break.
Simply put, it's a champ. When I'm worn out, it'll even carry my skis for me. One on each side, or on the front. And it could handle a snowboard too, apparently. But enough talk now, we have to get back out there – it's snowing.
The Revolt ski touring and freeride pack doesn't make its presence felt at all on your turns. Snow doesn't stick to the Tri-Flex™ back system and you can operate every buckle and zip with gloves on. But what you'll appreciate most is the roomy back-panel access, which lets you quickly find a dry hat even in a blizzard and fish out your flask without taking your gloves off. More info >>
I climb mountains. I write about mountains. I photograph mountains. And I always come back happy. It's written in my name, after all.
