General Q&A about the great outdoors and outdoor pursuits.
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The more common way of belaying is called PBUS which stands for Pull, Under, Brake, Slide. What is the correct way to do this (including illustrations)?
I plan to go hiking in Hokkaido next spring. I'd like to hike two weeks and to keep away from the cities during this time. I'd like to visit Daisetsuzan Park and Shiretoko Park. I've read about Da...
Railbiking is so much fun for those of us who are not limited physically in one form or another. Are there any Draisines-Railbike Companies that have wheelchair accessibility options for the disabl...
I am looking for my first skitour skis. I have main focus 90% on ascent, and 10% on descent (mostly on piste). I am 184 cm heigh, and weight is 87kg. What should I consider? my weight? inclusive...
This question lists the principles of Leave No Trace, taken from the Center for Outdoor Ethics website. While the general principals apply to many types of outdoor activities, this particular set ...
I am preparing a dayhike with some buddies of mine but to get to the trailhead, we have to cross more than ten river crossings which are passable by huge vehicles. The water there is quite fast and...
A snow saw is useful for building snow shelters and for avalanche danger testing. Some models are said to be easily attached to ski/trek poles in order to increase the handle length. Under what cir...
Spearfishing has been around ages and everyone has heard of how great the Native Indians were at spearfishing. As we all know, light is refracted (bent) when it enters water. The key to spearing f...
Would it be possible for a compass be affected by its surroundings, such as a large iron deposit or other rocks to the point where it is not working correctly? I am not talking about declination ...
According to a google search sulfur is widely available in nature. Volcanic regions and hot springs are common sources of it in elemental state. Less obvious sources are iron pyrites (iron sulfide...
If you are putting together a survival package for a prolonged period, should a sling make the short list of your hunting tools, and if so, why? By prolonged, I mean a year to decades, during whic...
How do you smelt and forge iron sources from & in the wilderness? People must have started somewhere with this sort of thing! I once saw a video from a primitive technology practitioner on Yo...
One of the surest ways of purifying water is distillation water is boiled and only things that evaporate at or below 100C are captured. This does lead to the potential issue of things like petrole...
As part of an effort to be a responsible user of the world's waterways, I've been thinking about ways to reduce marine pollution. A friend told me that certain chemicals in common brands of sunscre...
If in a survival situation, how can one preserve the hide of an animal with a minimum amount of tools and skill in order to make clothing or bedding? I am not asking how to make things with the hi...
Background I bought my compass in the US last year. Next week I'm going to travel to Australia. Question Is my US-compass compatible with Australia? or do I need a special compass? Do I need an...
I'm trying to plan a night trip around the New Moon to have my first go at Astrophotography, so I'm looking at Moongiant. I'm trying to learn what date a moon phase guide represents. For example, ...
Today I learned about the existence of the "gyrocompass". A gyrocompass is a type of non-magnetic compass which is based on a fast-spinning disc and rotation of the Earth (or another planetary bod...
Hematite is one of the more common ores for smelting iron, but as illustrated in the comments from this question—the answers to which focus on the processing of iron—there are apparently other sour...
I've seen whippets while skiing and am thinking of taking one (or two?) on a 4 day tour in glacier terrain, but am confused as to their purpose. Do they replace ice axes or are used in conjunction ...
I have been an avid diver for over a decade. Once upon a time, I wanted to get my divemaster certification in order to work (for a short time) as a divemaster. However, that ship has since sailed, ...
How do you know how fast or slow to go while hiking at elevation (say above 3000 meters) on an instant per instant basis? Elevation, weight carried, steepness, surface underfoot (e.g., trails, cros...
I just learned that I am going to end up in San Francisco for 2 weeks in early April. I will be meeting a couple of relatives there who will travel from tropical places, so they won't have a lot of...
I'm looking to camp in SE Oregon. At minimum, my girlfriend and I will have sleeping bags. We're open to adding a tent, fire, and other stuff as recommended. Our goal is to be able to hike around l...
There are people who had to survive one or more nights in altitudes above 7000 m at temperatures far below zero, without tent, sometimes without sleeping bag or even a proper jacket. Some examples ...
Why is sunlight in mornings and evenings more intense in the temperate zones than in the tropics? It is more difficult to drive facing the sun at 7am for example in Auckland, NZ than at Singapore.
After nearly a decade of regular mountaineering, I am having this issue for the first time. And, I am almost sure to claim that it may not be because of the shoes that I use since I have been using...
There has been some discussion on this question about whether or not hunting would increase or decrease the likelihood of a mountain lion attack. I have seen some websites saying that it does not, ...
In my garage, and when it is parked around town, I lock my bike to a rack via a U-lock or at least a cable lock. How should I similarly secure my kayak? I realize that a determined thief can break ...
I have some damaged-beyond-repair self inflating sleeping pads. On one the hard gel housing the valve has completely disintegrated so it cannot be inflated at all. Two others have dozens of tiny ...
On either side of my backpack, I have a loop with some kind of locking mechanism on them. They look like this: They are placed on the upper center of my backpack: The plastic bit at the end c...
I'm planning on hiking from John O'Groats in Scotland to Land's End in Cornwall via the Three Peaks. I'm wondering if there are any good online hiking planners that let you set waypoints and minimi...
I am hiking in the wilderness, a round trip to civilization and back is at least 24 hours. I know where I am and I can return to the same spot. If my hiking partner dies, how can/should I protec...
After picking berries, you are often left with a pail full of berries, some leaves, some sticks, pieces of stems, sometimes little white worm creatures and some dirt. Is there an easy way to clean...
I'm living near the black forest and one of my favorite animals are lynxes. Since 2014 the lynx-population in the black forest is growing. Still they are quite seldom and of course shy. Nevertheles...
Having a sense of community on a backpacking trip can mean the difference between enjoyment and misery. It can also be the difference between backpacking as a team instead of as random group of peo...
One of my favorite things about backpacking is the absence of time constraints, you eat when hungry, sleep when tired and sort of track how much time is left until dark. Would there be any situati...
On a backpacking trip with multiple people, it is all but guaranteed that disagreements will arise. Pace, food, wake-up times, route and chores are some of the common sources of friction. Backpack...
I need to convert the spine of my Goldtip and Easton shafts to the AMO static spine standardization. They've their static spine declared as for example "500" which translates into a deflection of "...
I will travel to the Highlands and have a very quick stop-over at the Glasgow Airport since I have to catch the bus from Daluir. Is there any chance to get alcohol-fuel for a burner? In some countr...
I currently live about 25 miles northeast of Cincinnati, Ohio, USA. On February 20-21, 2015, a fairly significant snow and ice event struck the area. On February 29-March 1, 2016, a smaller event...
While backpacking with an inflatable or self-inflating sleeping pad one runs the risk of getting holes in it. This does happen fairly frequently, and while they do make kits, I would like to know ...
Backpacking sleeping pads come in two basic types, foam and air, with some of the air pads being self-inflating. What are the pros and cons of each and how would one decide which type to get?
I'm unsure where to go this summer/autumn. Among my options would be to join an organised trek somewhere I wouldn't (currently) want to go independently (such as for experience, language, cultural...
Sometimes compasses are less accurate than we would like them to be. They can be thrown off by their surroundings, have their polarity reversed, become demagnetized, develop air bubbles or be take...
I'm looking to get a new pair of trekking poles for my next trek as I find them an invaluable tool on longer hikes with higher pack load. It seems others and science agree to some degree at least, ...
I'm looking at buying regulators for scuba-diving this weekend and we came across the options to have a DIN or a yoke valve for our first stage. What are the pros and cons of both a DIN and a yoke ...
Let's say that two persons are going to attempt to climb a mountain that is 6 000 metres high. These persons are equal in every way, except that one lives at sea level and one lives at 2 500 metres...
We have American mourning doves in abundance in Massachusetts. They spend months in our yard, eating seeds both on the ground and in the feeders. They also peck around in my flower garden, so I thi...
I recently came across a gif file showing a gang of turkeys circling what appears to be a dead cat. It appears to be a structured formation as the turkeys are trotting at the same pace and spacing ...