General Q&A about the great outdoors and outdoor pursuits.
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Last night I had a nightmare that I was 5 pitches off the ground and it started to pour rain. When I woke up I realized I have no idea how to deal with this. Asking around, everyone says two thing...
In 2009 I successfully completed the AFF course, after a stop due to the birth of my son I'm going to resume regular activity. I currently have 31 jumps, all carried out by renting the equipment, ...
What books have you read that have given you a better understanding of an outdoors activity? Ideally I would like to compile a list for all activities. e.g.: Climbing Canoeing Backpacking Ba...
I have been given conflicting information for how to minimize the impact of traveling in small groups in wilderness areas. For groups traveling off-trail in areas where it is appropriate I have hea...
I have always been inspired by the sketches and watercolors of explorers, cartographers and scientists who lived before the invention of photography. I have tried bringing watercolors myself, but d...
I've come across a Kelty Kids carrier. The tag says 'Kangaroo', and the date code on it is F11-95, style 21959030. I've called Kelty and looked on their website. The problem is that the Kangaroo...
I'm looking into buying a rope for rock climbing, and I know that I need a dynamic rope for lead climbing. However, trying to find information on the elongation percentages of ropes is proving tric...
Possible Duplicate: What is the most efficient food to take a for a 12-15 day hiking trip? A list of suitable foods for a long hike I normally carry brown rice, oatmeal, instant potato...
I have been walking/running/hiking in my huaraches for about half a year now and have worn through 3 pairs of laces. I have been using accessory cord used in climbing as lacing material, since it h...
The other day I used some mysterious, ultra-sticky climbing-tape at my local gym, which got me thinking: How much should I be paying for my tape? Prices for climbing-specific tape seem to be somew...
Heavy backpacks can spoil the pleasures of being in the outdoors. There are two ways to resolve this: Carry less Find an alternative to the backpack While the first option is usually the best o...
We've applied for corridor campsites for May 2013 - problem was that we applied January 21st. How long does it generally take to hear if we've got reservations? (Our alternative is to wait and ...
I see a lot of higher-end cross country skis now have an NIS mounting plate to enable the mounting of bindings without drilling any holes (and easy adjustment). But why are the only NIS compatible...
After several trips with poor fitting hire ski boots, and having had no end of trouble finding suitable fitting hire boots at the current resort, I went and bought a fitting pair. The boots have be...
After a few ski trips in slightly painful hire boots, I decided to buy a pair that would fit properly. After trying quite a lot of pairs, I eventually found some that fitted well all over my foot, ...
As in the title really. In the hypothetical situation that I'm caught in the wilderness in winter and there's a heavy snow storm resulting in an unexpected level of snow, snow shoes could well come...
I've been top-roping for several months. About a month ago I found out how much fun bouldering is. I've been getting quite a few scrapes on the knees working certain routes, or from falling. I'm...
This question may seem obvious — but is a national forest always a forest? In Norway, statskog — which quite literally means national forest — is a state agency owning forest land, but also vast am...
I've registered some caches in Poland. It strike me that reviewer from GeoCaching was asking how I'm supposed to service caches far from my home location. In the meantime I moved to Germany, which ...
My girlfriend and I both like sleeping in hammocks in the outdoors. We now sleep in two separate hammocks. However, I've seen many hammocks that are designed, or at least make it possible to sleep ...
I will be walking up Snowdon in Wales, 1085m, this February and am looking for advice on what jacket and trousers to get. Weather supposedly is windy, may be snow-covered and probably wet. Should ...
I have quite unfortunately found out several months ago that I'm gluten sensitive. Nearly all my meals I've planned and eaten on the trail have included wheat, and thus gluten, in some fashion. I'm...
In this excellent answer, LBell quotes the U.S. definition of wilderness: (1) generally appears to have been affected primarily by the forces of nature, with the imprint of man's work substanti...
The electric igniter on my jetboil has been giving me trouble. It's not completely broken, but I'll only see a spark 5 or 10% of the time. This means I don't completely trust my stove, and have t...
I live on the coast of the northeastern part of Brazil (Rio Grande do Norte). As you go inland, the terrain becomes very arid. There are cactus and a lot of xerophilic plants that remind me a lot o...
From browsing this site, I have learned that US national parks and wilderness areas have restrictions and that campsites need reservations, sometimes months in advance. I've never seen anything lik...
I've recently learned about the U.S. national trails system, apparently akin to the European long-distance paths. I found an (incomplete?) table of U.S. national trails and a rather poorly layed ou...
I need some help planning a a hiking trip to CO. I have been on a couple of hiking trips and have grown up going into the mountains with my family but I have never been the one to plan a trip. I'm ...
In many European countries, dedicated long-distance hiking trails are marked with a white-red marking, like in the photograph below: Source: Wikimedia Commons. I've seen this in at least The Net...
I've read that the summer months (June, July, and August) are the safest months to hike in Colorado because these are the least-likely times to run into ice patches that can't be crossed with norma...
This is just a climbing terminology question: What is the difference between a Fingerboard and a Hangboard? Maybe there is no difference at all? Maybe it's subtle? I have been Googling around an...
A lot of hikers carry denatured alcohol for cooking. Is there any risk to using it as an antiseptic for cuts and lacerations?
I have just arrived to Franz Josef town, South Island, New Zealand. The main attractions here are the Franz Josef and Fox glaciers. Several local tour operators feature heli-hikes to both glaciers...
I recently started indoor rock climbing at a local spot. I got to the top and (after appropriate communication) my partner started to belay me down. I instantly starting swinging and spinning pre...
I've been climbing off and on since I was a teenager, but one thing I've never done much of is taping my hands. As I gained more experience, it's value is now apparent. What are some good techniq...
In other words, it would be a site where you can "subscribe" to certain locations and then have the service email you if the weather forecast matches the kind of weather conditions you are looking ...
MSR WhisperLite backpacking stoves are ubiquitous, but they lack a key function: the ability to simmer easily. How can you set a WhisperLite to simmer without having to constantly watch the stove a...
I have an MSR whisperlite international stove. Can I mix fuels when both require the same jet? Background: When backpacking I often just carry one fuel bottle, filled with white gas. On my last tr...
Winter is here and, like every year, I am still thrilled when the extended family rounds up all the little kids and we go sledding. This year we compared our sleds and found that some were signific...
This question was already asked about personal locator beacons (PLB, Wikipedia page which is a great comprehensive article.) However it does not cover how to choose a PLB or the differences between...
I already asked if I had to change the food for winter. Since freezing is a major concern in winter, which types of food are more suitable because they are less inclined to freeze ?
I'm preparing to go on my first ever backpacking trip and do not have a suitable sleeping bag. What are the factors I should consider when choosing one? Personally I'm looking for the best value I...
My wife are around 30 years old. We are experienced trekkers (South America, Israel and Nepal), but in average-or-less physical shape - we're working in offices most of the time. We have booked th...
In the last few months I have come to the conclusion that I need to have a fingerboard at home if my climbing is to get to the next level. But the problem is that I live in an apartment. How can I ...
I have currently no place of permanent perspective (from the geocache's point of view, I think it should be about 5 years, to be able to service cache in that time). So I'm thinking about creating ...
I love sailing, and my wife loves the ocean, but she gets sea-sick often. Any advice on how to avoid sea-sickness in people prone to it? I'm looking for advice in terms of foods that are less of...
I mostly hike in bear country, which limits how much food I can take to the volume of my bear canister. This excellent question dealt with foods that are great on a trip where food-selection criter...
I will be traveling for five months and am in need of a good pair of shoes. The terrain I will cross will be Canadian urban village snow, city, forests, and desert. A friend recommended the La Sp...
I have bought a North Face RoadRunner 3 tent 10 years ago. It is a great tent, and it served me well during a 9-month trip to South America. The problem is that the transparent part of the rain ...
