General Q&A about the great outdoors and outdoor pursuits.
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I am a beginner. I live in Toronto. In the February/March season, temperatures drop to -20°F, sometimes it's even colder. Is the following a good outfit for cross country skiing? For top: base ...
Every winter in -30C my fingers freeze. My warmest military grade gloves don't solve the problem. I wonder if electrically heated gloves will do a better job of keeping my hands warm, but haven't f...
The flannel shirt is extremely popular when it comes to outdoor activities since ever. Flannel is a soft woven fabric, of various fineness. Flannel was originally made from carded wool or ...
I'm going skiing for the first time. From what I've read, most everyone uses hard shell jackets and pants for skiing. However, they usually mention something about skiing in bad weather, frigid col...
Assuming I am lost with minimal tools, but have my knife, is there any way to improvise a knife sharpener in the woods?
Under the assumption that an emergency kit like the ones listed here are for the emergency of getting lost and being stranded for days, how necessary is a knife sharpener?
I've hiked some in my life, and gotten used to carrying a small axe for chopping wood for the fire. But after I bought my self a large fixed-blade bowie knife, I find myself relying less and less o...
I'm using a Spyderco Tri-angle sharpmaker to sharpen both a drop-point fixed blade and a folding tanto blade. It has 2 settings: 2 20 degree sides for a 40 degree working edge 2 15 degree sides ...
A lot of knife owners who have carried pocket knives for 30+ years talk very fondly of the traditional patterns, like Barlow, stockman, etc. However when it comes to explaining exactly why they car...
I bought an old knife, the previous owner botched up the blade. The sharpening was done so bad there are sections that look like a one sided knife blade and some that are sharpened on both. I can u...
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...
What is the proper way to make a spear with a fixed blade to prevent breaking as described by Vorac in his comment here?
I was going through anchoring techniques and I came across this well-received question: Anchor without cordelette? How should one decide when to go for a Cordelette or an Equalette?
I'd like to get some Tyvek maps, both topographical maps and regular street maps of a few U.S. cities. Where can I get these?
The Norwegian directorate for nature management publishes a map of wilderness showing how far away a particular area is from heavy technical interventions, such as roads, electricity lines, hydro l...
I am watching a video about a climb of Annapurna. To acclimate the climbers head up from base camp to another camp higher up, stay for a day or two, then return to base camp. They repeat this pro...
While reading this question, another one came to my mind: Last summer on a mountain hut some guy told my packing newspaper in Gore-Tex (or any similar) shoes wouldn't be good for their breathabili...
We all know when people run out of O2 up there, trouble follows. Is there a breathing technique to get more mileage out of bottled oxygen? Let's stick to the basic scenario of the need of bottled...
I seem to often catch myself holding my breath during a difficult crux, which seems quite bad really. On the other hand, sometimes I actively breathe fast and deep repeatedly before starting a dif...
I used to think this question was a bit ridiculous. The volume of air that we take in while breathing may be high but the lungs only consume 25% of the oxygen for any breath and the rest is returne...
I have seen a few divers who practiced breathing fast before a dive. What good does it do? Does deliberate/forced hyperventilation help to hold breathe over long time? Is there a connection in th...
So winter is well and truly over in Wales. Pretty much all the snow has melted and the weather is improving. So it's time to retire my winter gear until next winter. What should I do with my Ice ...
I have Scarpa Charmoz GTX Women boots for mountaineering (upper than 4000 m) in Iran. I want to find a good pair of crampons for them. I cannot choose automatic crampons but somebody says I can use...
How should one carry crampons when not actually using it, but knowing that they are going to be needed in the further stage of the expedition. Further clarification: Suppose I am gonna need to hav...
When trad climbing I have seen many people wrap their rope around a tree and then rappel, and then yank the rope down at the next belay station or tree. I have also seen the scarring as a result of...
When rappelling and using an autoblock consisting of a french prusik knot it seems there may be some options on how and where to attach the autoblock to my harness. Is there a correct placement ...
There is a story I have heard about climbers who confused "take" and "safe" and I am wondering if it has actually happened. The story goes like this, The climber is out of sight of the belayer an...
Climbing ropes are UIAA rated for so many falls of an 80kg weight. After that number of falls–or a specific period of time based on amount of use–you are supposed to retire the rope. But what if ...
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...
It happend to me a couple of times now that I've cross-loaded my carabiner when belaying; the frequent change from slack to tension and back, moving the carabiner up and down and all that, can easi...
I have a belay device that looks like: which I used when I am belaying someone who is top roping or leading. However, my rope only goes through one of those slots. What is the purpose of the oth...
I am learning to rock climb, and I have heard that I will need to belay climbers, so if they fall, my belay will stop the fall and prevent an injury. What do I need to do to properly belay my clim...
When doing a multi-pitch and you reach a belay station (the top of a pitch) you can choose between belaying the lead climber from the body (like you do e.g. indoors where you aren't doing multi-pit...
I've learned several points in rock climbing where one must perform checks, but none that come with a checklist. And there is a serious difference. I passed an indoor belay test roughly as follows...
When rappeling I understand the need for a backup--whether an autoblock below the belay device, or a second person providing a fireman belay. My understanding is that using an autoblock incorrectl...
We'll be camping at Yellowstone for a week. What solutions are there to get weather forecasts? I am aware of: NOAA weather radio: would prefer to avoid if there's anything better because it's b...
My wife and I are trying to figure out if back country camping in Yellowstone is something we are prepared for. We've never done this before, so the planning is the hardest part for us right now. W...
I am looking at hiking half dome, but the hike is so long, it requires camping out the night before. Campsites open up for reservations 8 months before the date at 7am, and immediately fill up. The...
My wife and I have never been to Yosemite. We will have some time off in a couple of weeks (end of March) and we're considering planning a trip to Yosemite. The amount of rain and snow in recent w...
In the United States, we have areas designated as National Parks, and areas designated as National Monuments. What are the fundamental differences between the two?
The Navajo National Monument website notes that Betatakin can only be visited on a ranger-guided tour. It states that groups leave daily between May 27 and September 3, and cliff dwellings are clo...
We live in Massachusetts, and love trees, flowers, and wildlife of all kinds. Sometimes when wandering around marshy areas, especially in New Hampshire and Vermont, we're blessed with a sighting of...
In the United States, many national monuments are managed by the national park service, but not all. For example, Grand Staircase-Escalante in Utah and Upper Missouri River Breaks are both managed...
UNESCO, The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, has declared the Lake District National Park a cultural World Heritage Site (WHS), according to criteria (ii)(v)(vi), ...
A Recent news event (Pioneer Cabin Tree in California felled by storms), brought drive through trees to mind. When I looked at the pictures, I realized it is not the same tree I drove through last...
I would like to go fishing for speckled trout (proper name spotted seatrout) along the US Gulf Coast, specifically near Galveston Bay and Trinity Bay. What months are the best times to catch speck...
I have been curious as to which mountain is in this picture. I have tried a reverse Google image search but all I have found is pictures of computers. Presumably it is somewhere in the Sierra Ne...
Are there any edible wild berries in southern California? Are there any conventional berries (like wild strawberries or blueberries) and how far out of the city do I have to go to find them?
I want to spend a few days in California, near Nicasio, hiking and sleeping under the sky (no tent, just a tarp in case it rains). I have a lot of experiences in Europe, but I have never been in US...
In May this year (6–8 May) I will have a workshop in Mammoth Lakes, California. I would like to do some hiking in addition to this workshop (roughly one week). I have never been to the United State...
