Posts tagged safety
In an answer given to this question: Micro-Fractures in Climbing Equipments, it's stated that dropping gear causing micro fractures is a persistent myth, quoting Black Diamond's statement: Q. I...
If someone falls overboard from a sailboat, it is firstly imperative not to lose sight of the person since finding a man in water, especially when there's waves, can be very difficult. What techn...
I'm going to the Rockies (trails in Jasper and Banff). Would it be safe for me to cook food while on the trail? Won't bears be attracted towards the smell of the food?
Headed to Denver,CO (mid-february) for a couple of weeks and looking to shed some fat through a weekend trip to Rocky Mountain National Park. I am looking for a hike with an elevation gain of 4000-...
How safe is it to use a chest harness without a sit harness? I ask this question because of an experience I had while on holiday. A couple of years ago I was in China and hiked/climbed HuaShan (se...
I have the John Long book on climbing anchors and also a couple of others that describe the subject more briefly (Pesterfield, Traditional Lead Climbing, and Freedom of the Hills). When it comes to...
I regularly see online that on expeditions snow anchors are strapped to the side of the backpacks. This is typically an item like the upper on following pic: I never saw this in the Alps by myse...
I was just looking at an article about an expedition on Eiger. I came across this picture. Is this setup right? For more info on the expedition: http://www.markseaton.com/stories/eiger.htm Ku...
The Association of Canadian Mountain Guides demonstrate Fixed-Point belay systems in this video. Fixed-point belay systems as demonstrated make no effort to equalise the loading on the two anchor...
Everyone knows redundancy is chief when building climbing anchors. However, I have seen several types of anchors that don't appear to be fully redundant due to a single ring providing the master po...
I took some kids out climbing last night at a small crag popular for top roping, but I wasn't too impressed with their choice of anchor placements, or lack of additional hardware considering their ...
My wife and I, are going to a a location full of beaches. My wife is 4 months pregnant and she wants to do a para-sailing session. They take off from the beach, fly over the sea for 5 minutes and...
I have been looking around and I see some claims of 15 to 30 minutes. Googling 'snake bite fastest time to death' brings back many different answers. In one place I see Black Mamba with 30 minute...
I visited the woods with my nieces a few weeks ago. They enjoyed the nature pretty much of course and were happily hiking until we decided to take a break. We (the adults) began to fall in this com...
I visited the woods with my nieces a few weeks ago. They enjoyed the nature pretty much of course and were happily hiking until we decided to take a break. We (the adults) began to fall in this com...
Some questions about rope swings similar in size to the the corona arch swing which has an accompanying setup video. Assuming you can avoid rope abrasion, do swings like this damage climbing rope...
My dad and I are planning to hike the Lapland UKK from Aittajarvi to Kiilopää in late-May (22-30).We are planning to drive from Helsinki to Saariselkä, about 12 hours drive. Is it possible to dri...
So you know how when you're belaying you clip in to the belaying loop, and when your climbing you tie in to the two loops the belay loop is stiched through... When you're climbing, what part would ...
When you're walking in a roped party over a glacier, how can the leader detect crevasses? Sometimes it's possible to walk existing tracks, but even then it's possible to have a crevasse fall. W...
I have seen a few documentaries where the high altitude mountaineers constantly keep the hand-gloves ON. Is it really because handling the metallic equipment with bare hands can cause a Frostbite? ...
I have a perfectly good motorcycle helmet (one that encompasses the whole head, including the chin) that I never use (I bought it for lessons, but never bought a motorcycle). However, I do not have...
When sailing, can the passengers of the yacht safely go swimming while in the open seas? That is, when some miles away from the coast-line.
Coming up with emergency information for a recent trip got me thinking: What information should you leave with your emergency contact? I imagine the answer depends on the length of the trip, remot...
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...
From a pure safety standpoint is there a functional difference between a climbing helmet, cycling helmet, etc? Is a cycling helmet actually the safest solution for a cyclist, or would the greater ...
What are the advantages/disadvantages of climbing helmet design (foam or hardshell)? Foam Hardshell PS: I do not intend to compare them by how much they cost.
What are the measures to take to ensure the safety of the person who is spotting a climber?
What are the risks of climbing a via ferrata alone? Would going through very easy via ferratas still pose high risks? Are well visited and easy climbing via ferratas necessarily a great danger? I...
It is imperative that climbing ropes are in excellent shape so they don't split while someone is climbing. How do I properly inspect the rope when I'm about to start a climb?
Monkeys are funny, as well as dangerous. I have already asked a question about how one should go about camping where there are monkeys around: Camping and Monkeys. The best advice would be to avo...
Looking at flotation devices (life jackets) they are rated Type I, Type II, etc. What do these rankings mean and what type should I by?
On a new Hults Bruk's Kisa axe, the cheek isn't entirely smooth and has shallow indentations in it. The blade is nice and sharp, whole thing feels sturdy. Where do these indentations in the cheek ...
When we camp in rainforests or even country side forest, we are supposed to be very careful about Reptiles, especially Snakes. In India out of the many venomous snakes, I have found Pit Vipers to b...
We've all been on hikes that pass close by a good lookout. A rock or ledge sticking out with a good view. Sometimes these are heavily maintained by park rangers, but often not. If I'm on a tra...
I have used the Mega Mid tent almost exclusively for hundreds of nights out over the last many years. It's versatile, well ventilated, light... but has this pole sticking straight up the middle. I...
Yes, mayonnaise. It is sold unrefrigerated, and is an essential component of any back-country sandwich. Has anyone reached its limit and had it spoil on them? (I haven't. Of course, I've never had...
Most of my prior hiking experience has been in areas that are not home to bears, so what precautions should I take to protect my camp (and myself as I am hiking) from bears. I am aware of a couple...
I'm thinking about sailing a part of the Danube, alone, on a self-built raft. I have no experience sailing rivers on any serious basis. I'm considering a raft for a number of reasons: It's chea...
I have never used a snow chain with my vehicle, or even saw the process of someone putting a snow chain onto a vehicle. I plan to drive to western Cascades Mountain area in my small front-drive ha...
Sometimes while hiking/trekking/whatever I practice urbex (in random buildings, factories, farms, tunnels, the usual), and I'm aware of the risks to my health caused by toxic gas, asbestos, lead an...
Hello I have a question that I ask myself every morning when I commute to work. I live New England and I take the I-95 south from New Hampshire to Massachusetts every weekday. During my commute I d...
We have discussed a lot and at length about how to climb and other climbing techniques. I haven't come across a single post that talks about Spotting techniques. What are the duties of a Spotter?...
Last year, I learned that you could thread the wire of stoppers/rocks/hexentrics through tunnels in the rock if threading cord or a sling through them would be too difficult. As a reference, see th...
I see people doing this a lot: My question is: Why? When is it necessary to double up locking carabiners? Ever? Doubling up non-locking carabiners with opposite and opposing gates was, and sti...
In winter your hand and feet (especially toes and fingers) may get painfully cold or you may even stop feeling them. How can you warm them up? This usually happens, when it's below 0°С or when it'...
Like many campers, I bought a portable jump starter, which contains liquids and gases. In what situation does it get dangerous? Can I simply carry this portable charger along with all my camping ...
Recently I fell ill whilst car camping and it made me consider the situations when not around amenities. In addition to this I recently was part of a four man, one dog team climbing Snowdon and one...
This afternoon there was a tornado warning - TAKE SHELTER IN A PERMANENT BUILDING IMMEDIATELY - for the west half of Algonquin Park issued through the usual channels including Twitter. I believe by...
This question asks "What type of mosquito repellent is the most effective?". It's a great question. Now that we may have an idea about what is best to use, I want to know how effective are even t...
Now, this is not very common, however I have heard it enough times from people to know that it actually does happen. When sleeping in the open or in an open tent (yes, i know you shouldn't), snake...