Ricketyship‭

I'm planning on Annapurna base camp or Manaslu circuit trek in December (mostly the end of December). I know December is the winter season in Nepal and is expected to be quite cold at that time. Ha...

2 answers  ·  posted 7y ago by Ricketyship‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Charlie Brumbaugh‭

What are the criteria used for grading a trek? One article that I came across provided the following set criteria for grading: Duration. Terrain (includes altitude). Exit routes. Weather/Climat...

4 answers  ·  posted 11y ago by Ricketyship‭  ·  last activity 1y ago by Charlie Brumbaugh‭

We had a few white browed bulbuls visit us recently. One of them seemed to have a peculiar interest in the chillies that grew in one of our pots (I believe these are bird's eye chillies [no pun i...

2 answers  ·  posted 6y ago by Ricketyship‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

I wouldn't recommend gaining 3700+ meters in 2 days. It's not about fitness. It's just about how well your body adapts to altitude. I agree that 3700 meters is not too high to get severely sick due...

posted 11y ago by Ricketyship‭

For night trekking, I use a headlamp. Couple of reasons: Keeps your hands free. (Useful when you are walking up steep slopes) No worry of dropping them flashlight (Had happened to me once where m...

posted 11y ago by Ricketyship‭  ·  last activity 11y ago by System‭

From my personal experience, this is what I can tell: Using a flat/softer material lace is better. This allows for the lace to hold on the knots. I have laces made of harder material (Nylon types...

posted 11y ago by Ricketyship‭

In many of the mountaineering expedition books that I've read, there are references to cutting of snow steps on slopes. What is the advantage of cutting snow steps? Why not use crampons and do a ...

2 answers  ·  posted 11y ago by Ricketyship‭  ·  last activity 10y ago by System‭

The rucksacks that I own, have extra long straps as well. But the manufacturer has provided an elastic band of sorts on the straps to fold them and tuck them within the band (I'll try to post a pic...

posted 10y ago by Ricketyship‭

Two scenarios are to be explored. Do you have mobile coverage? Yes? Then just find out your gps coordinates, send them to your rescuer. And stay put. In case your location changes, resend them ...

posted 9y ago by Ricketyship‭

I've to agree with @Dakatine on this. What also matters is how you descend. The gait and the positioning of the foot matters a lot. I've changed my gait over a period of time to avoid the knee pain...

posted 7y ago by Ricketyship‭

Are there any possible risks of exercising (body weight, calisthenics only) at high altitudes? I'm talking of altitudes above 4500m. The whole premise is not to lose muscle mass. Background: I'll ...

3 answers  ·  posted 6y ago by Ricketyship‭  ·  last activity 6y ago by System‭

Recently I saw a podcast of Alex Honnold with Rich Roll where Alex speaks about deliberately eating up and gaining weight before going on an Antarctic expedition (I'm assuming this is because of th...

1 answer  ·  posted 6y ago by Ricketyship‭  ·  last activity 6y ago by System‭

On some of my Himalayan treks I've seen people who wear shorts or wear single layer of clothing and shiver due to the cold weather (most of these people live in a tropical climate). When I've asked...

5 answers  ·  posted 6y ago by Ricketyship‭  ·  last activity 6y ago by System‭

Elephants are a major threat in two situations (not that they are not a threat in other situations): The herd has calves. The elephant is a single male tusker. In the first scenario, the protec...

posted 6y ago by Ricketyship‭  ·  last activity 6y ago by System‭

There's absolutely no reason why a guitar string can't be used for rabbit snares. In fact, I've seen rabbit snares which match the same thickness and quality as the guitar strings (these were illeg...

posted 6y ago by Ricketyship‭