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This is a follow on from my answer here. I took this photo of my belay and shared it on Facebook, where I friend of mine (A qualified climbing instructor) pulled me up on it as I'd made one or two...
Beacons are tough. Tougher than you if you get thrown against a rock or a tree or buried under the snow. With that in mind, if things were so bad that there was any concern about my beacon being da...
Conditions that can lead to clear ice such as this are: Water with few impurities causing less scattering of light: This lake does not have any water flowing into it, therefore rain is the only s...
In answers to a recent question, ultrasonic dog repellers were suggested as a means of self defence against stray dogs rather than weapons. I'm also concerned with loose farm dogs, and live somewhe...
I agree with the prior answer that a rope should not be your permanent solution here, given that it will ultimately damage the tree. However, I think you can mitigate this for short-term use of ro...
Although the question asks specifically about high altitude camps, my answer is about camps high on a wall, i.e. on big walls, because that's all I know. I also believe portaledge camps are unbelie...
This item might be identical to a certified one, but the seller is clearly not aware of certifications, so you should assume it is not certified - in short: Do not use this carabiner for safety-re...
These look like the Carabiners frequently used on Via Ferrata climbing kits. See for example these images on google. I am certain that you can find such carabiners from respectable brands with a k...
This sort of hard decision happens at lower elevations. In some ways harder: The Death Zone scenarios obliges you to abandon the victim to save the rest of the party. At lower elevations it's of...
Here's an article about the Iroquois long house: https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/longhouse Woodland Cree made log cabins, generally with shed roofs covered in layers of poles, d...
Summary: Develop muscle memory for the basic move through instruction and repetition, develop robustness against external water conditions, and address the internal panic response. Develop musc...
Tragically those specific climbers are deceased. I read some of Dean Potter's climbing journals and articles, and didn't find a mention of which specific sunscreen or other products he used. What ...
I've hiked in the UK, and a little in the US and western Europe. I'll concentrate on the UK. My perception is that British hikers keep their gear for longer than Americans, leading to two things:...
For some time, I have been following both European and American long distance hikers and a few things stood out to me, gear wise, and I was curious if someone could shed some light on it. For examp...
The tables above are generalizations. "Your mileage may vary" But the numbers to me do not look like extended effort numbers, but huddle and try to remain conscious numbers. Swimming results is ...
The standard fall test for single ropes is performed with 80 kilo and all the other equipment is designed around the loads appearing at the fall test (typically with a 100% reserve). So generally s...
As a reference, see Patterson's "The Dangerous River, Adventures on the Nahanni" book. He would prospect for gold, and had a camp a good ways up the river. His boat was in effect a 30 foot long 5...
I am about to start a long backpacking trip through South America, and I would like to take as little weight as possible. I have the rest of my stuff more or less sorted out, but I am a bit at a lo...
My answer is going to be: depends. When I started climbing, I was in a similar height / weight bracket as you are. However, my finger strength was fairly decent for a novice. I did install and u...
Given that you're top-roping, very little needs to be on your harness when you're actually on the route. In fact, one of they joys of top-roping is the freedom from all this clutter! Everything e...
Anything that needs to be accessed quickly needs to go on your harness, this would include, Belay devices. Personal clip in gear. A couple of slings and carabiners Beyond that, you can sling yo...
I currently use a series of a slipped buntlines and slipped overhand knots tied off with a chain sinnet to attach random gear to my backpack. Its much easier than it sounds. How to tie a buntlin...
I used to live in Washington state. There are similar regulations there. As Charlie says in his comment this is "legalese for mud flaps" For passenger cars it is integral to the cars design. Thi...
Conditions: I live near a wide (~1000ft or 300m) and fairly deep river across from the area where I work. This area is slightly earthquake prone -- near a fault line that has had multiple magnitu...
I am wondering about the "cross country like" aspects of Alpine Touring gear. I am in Ontario Canada, where hills as small as 75 meters can be referred to as "mountains". I'm a relatively experie...
