Thought I’d start a thread about the stuff I’m gathering up for my trip to my new Alaska home-living, flying, and fishing there May thru September. Any comments/ideas from those that do/have done this same thing would be appreciated. On that note.....

Just purchased some ice screws so I can tie down the SQ2 on a Glacier, something that hasn’t really been a big concern here in Texas.

Re ice screws, just so you know, the natural inclination is to put them in 90-degrees to the direction of pull. Wrong. They are strongest when put in directly in line with the anticipated pull--in other words, so the threads hold the load rather than the screw. I can point you to vendor ice screw tests on this subject if you really want to dig into it further.

tedwaltman wrote:Re ice screws, just so you know, the natural inclination is to put them in 90-degrees to the direction of pull. Wrong. They are strongest when put in directly in line with the anticipated pull--in other words, so the threads hold the load rather than the screw. I can point you to vendor ice screw tests on this subject if you really want to dig into it further.

I never would have thought that, Ted. Interesting. It seems like for their intended use in ice lead climbing, they're mostly going to be loaded in shear, though perhaps that gets converted to axial load?

Additionally, glacier surface conditions can run the gamut from gravel beds to powder snow. Even the "ice" you might deliberately choose to land wheels on can be highly variable. I'd still carry screws, but get proficient with deadmen, V-threads, bollards, etc. And figure that some conditions will just be near-impossible to anchor to no matter what you're carrying. p.s. on the screws: be careful of pressure-melting the ice, and solar melting. You can help the former by not over-tightening your lines, and the latter by tossing a scoop of snow over the head of the ice screw.
-DP
As for Alaska kit- you have mosquito headnets already? OR makes some nice ones. You might even want to check out "the Original Bugshirt"

denalipilot wrote: You might even want to check out "the Original Bugshirt"

+1 this is critical for maintaining sanity. I got 100% DEET on my lip and it felt funny for a few hours.

tedwaltman wrote:Re ice screws, just so you know, the natural inclination is to put them in 90-degrees to the direction of pull. Wrong. They are strongest when put in directly in line with the anticipated pull--in other words, so the threads hold the load rather than the screw. I can point you to vendor ice screw tests on this subject if you really want to dig into it further.

Thanks for that "safety tip". I'd of put them out by the wing tips like I do my Abe's.

denalipilot wrote:Additionally, glacier surface conditions can run the gamut from gravel beds to powder snow. Even the "ice" you might deliberately choose to land on can be highly variable. I'd still carry screws, but get proficient with deadmen, V-threads, bollards, etc. And figure that some conditions will just be near-impossible to anchor to no matter what you're carrying. p.s. on the screws: be careful of pressure-melting the ice, and solar melting. You can help the former by not over-tightening your lines, and the latter by tossing a scoop of snow over the head of the ice screw.
-DP
As for Alaska kit- you have mosquito headnets already? OR makes some nice ones. You might even want to check out "the Original Bugshirt"

Had no idea about “pressure-melting” the ice, thanks. I knew if the sun hit the screws they’d likely heat up and melt out so figured I’d cover them with something. Hadn’t thought of snow - doh. Gotta learn about V-threads and bollards. I do have mosquito headnets. Hadn’t heard of "the Original Bugshirt”, thanks.

tedwaltman wrote:Re ice screws, just so you know, the natural inclination is to put them in 90-degrees to the direction of pull. Wrong. They are strongest when put in directly in line with the anticipated pull--in other words, so the threads hold the load rather than the screw. I can point you to vendor ice screw tests on this subject if you really want to dig into it further.

Be careful with your interpretation screw placement. Load should still be primarily shear. Slightly less than 90 degrees is generally accepted as strongest in most situations. You'd be hard pressed to find any ice climber willing to test placements in direct pull.

First minute of this YouTube covers "angle"... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayRmDzblwcE

tedwaltman wrote:Re ice screws, just so you know, the natural inclination is to put them in 90-degrees to the direction of pull. Wrong. They are strongest when put in directly in line with the anticipated pull--in other words, so the threads hold the load rather than the screw. I can point you to vendor ice screw tests on this subject if you really want to dig into it further.

I'd love to see a link to those tests. I have little experience with ice screws so I'm not saying that's wrong, but it's really, really...really hard for me to believe that direct pull is stronger than a shear pull. If that's true I'd love to know why.

Hammer wrote:

tedwaltman wrote:Re ice screws, just so you know, the natural inclination is to put them in 90-degrees to the direction of pull. Wrong. They are strongest when put in directly in line with the anticipated pull--in other words, so the threads hold the load rather than the screw. I can point you to vendor ice screw tests on this subject if you really want to dig into it further.

I'd love to see a link to those tests. I have little experience with ice screws so I'm not saying that's wrong, but it's really, really...really hard for me to believe that direct pull is stronger than a shear pull. If that's true I'd love to know why.

It's less to do with the strength of the screw, than with the unknowable strength of the ice, and how it absorbs force. Ice of course varies considerably, from very plastic and deformable, to very hard and brittle. It's the brittle (or otherwise weak) condition where the risk of fracturing ice by dynamic levering on a screw is the greatest. For purpose of tying down a plane I think it's far less crucial than in the case of a dynamic leader fall. On frozen lakes I usually use V-threads slightly outboard of the tiedown rings, and if I use screws, I do the same.
-DP
p.s. to avoid derailing Barnstormer's thread, I think we used to have an ice-screw thread around here someplace.
[edit] Here's the ice screw thread.

I know nothing about ice screws, except that they're to be used in ice (doh!). So if your "new Alaska home-living, flying, and fishing there May thru September" is only for those months, I don't think you'll get much use out of the ice screws. Contrary to popular belief, Alaska is not a frozen wasteland 12 months out of the year, and by the time you get up there in May, landable ice will be gone. Last year the Nenana Ice Classic tripod went over on April 24th, signaling breakup of the Tanana River near Nenana, southwest of Fairbanks, and this year's prediction from NOAA is for an earlier breakup than that. Even in colder years, breakup usually occurs by the end of the first week of May.

At the other end, freeze up depends on where in Alaska you are, but if my few years of experience there means anything, there's no solid ice that I'd want to land on until sometime after September.

But they're still "cool" items, right? And who knows, you might like Alaska enough to stay up there and experience it year around. I'd sure like to go back one of these days.

Cary

Cary wrote:I know nothing about ice screws, except that they're to be used in ice (doh!). So if your "new Alaska home-living, flying, and fishing there May thru September" is only for those months, I don't think you'll get much use out of the ice screws. Contrary to popular belief, Alaska is not a frozen wasteland 12 months out of the year, and by the time you get up there in May, landable ice will be gone. Last year the Nenana Ice Classic tripod went over on April 24th, signaling breakup of the Tanana River near Nenana, southwest of Fairbanks, and this year's prediction from NOAA is for an earlier breakup than that. Even in colder years, breakup usually occurs by the end of the first week of May.

At the other end, freeze up depends on where in Alaska you are, but if my few years of experience there means anything, there's no solid ice that I'd want to land on until sometime after September.

But they're still "cool" items, right? And who knows, you might like Alaska enough to stay up there and experience it year around. I'd sure like to go back one of these days.

Cary

Phil knows there is not ice year around here.. he also said he would be using them for glacier landings and tying down there.

Phil get the bug shirts, you wont go wrong with them, especially for some of the fly out fishing places!

Thanks for all the thoughts and suggestions. Keep em coming.

I just came back from the hangar and took pictures of what I already have which I’ll post here shortly. But first, got my Bear Fence in today. It should see additional duty when I’m in the Idaho Backcountry (and elsewhere) where horses and cattle are around to keep them from rubbing up against my plane.

Phil- do you have an Iridium sat phone? That's another good piece of Alaska kit to consider.

denalipilot wrote:Phil- do you have an Iridium sat phone? That's another good piece of Alaska kit to consider.

Yes sir I do, plus an inReach, plus a PLB.

This container is always in the back of the SQ2, even when I’m flying locally (okay it comes out for competition).



Here is what I carry in the tool bag that sits in the container. Guys, what am I missing (besides tie-raps which I carry elsewhere).



Here is what I carry in my tiedown anchor bag. Inside the pvc tube is the nail for driving the duckbills.



The remainder of what I carry in the container is this. The Gerber axe is great, super sharp, great for runway building and driving in tiedown anchors. The pump with the gauge is high pressure and carried for the shocks on the suspension. The blue painters tape is to seal myself inside the SQ2 in the winter to keep the cold air out.

I also always carry these in the SQ2.

To the left is my Ravi Winch, capable of 16:1 leverage, so I apply 100 pounds of pull and it generates 1,600 pounds of pull. After getting and using Ravi’s awesome tiedowns I asked him to build me a winch after I showed him the Australian rope winch gadget I was carrying after my adventure of getting the SQ2 stuck on island.

Speaking of the Ravi Tiedowns, the next two bags to the right contain the wing tiedowns. Directly below is the tail tiedown and a couple of soft links of different lengths in case I need to reach further.

Barnstormer wrote:

denalipilot wrote:Phil- do you have an Iridium sat phone? That's another good piece of Alaska kit to consider.

Yes sir I do, plus an inReach, plus a PLB.

If you don't already have these, add the local-exchange FSS numbers to your phone:

Kenai FSS (907) 283-7211
Fairbanks FSS (907) 474-0137

1-800-wxbrief will treat your Iridium like an incoming international call, and you'll find yourself talking to somebody in Long Island, NY.

Also, Alaska Rescue Coordination Center: (907) 551-7230

-DP

p.s. Some other stuff to consider is a synthetic sleeping bag, ensolite-type foam sleeping pad, and a med kit .

denalipilot wrote:If you don't already have these, add the local-exchange FSS numbers to your phone:

Kenai FSS (907) 283-7211
Fairbanks FSS (907) 474-0137

1-800-wxbrief will treat your Iridium like an incoming international call, and you'll find yourself talking to somebody in Long Island, NY.

Also, Alaska Rescue Coordination Center: (907) 551-7230

-DP

p.s. Some other stuff to consider is a synthetic sleeping bag, ensolite-type foam sleeping pad, and a med kit .

Thanks a bunch, I didn't have any of these in my phone.

This container is not my survival food, but rather my camping food. Maybe I should throw a few of these into my survival bag.



This is my tent and my sleeping mattress.



This is my camping container with a few survival items like signal mirror and smoke grenades in the three metal cans (hmm, need to move them into my survival bag).

And this is my survival bag when I head into the mountains.