Posts by Ricketyship
Agree with both LBell and Rory Alsop. I come from the leech infested Western Ghats of the Indian subcontinent. I must have been bitten by these guys innumerable number of times. Most of the times,...
Stepping on a rock during a hike is always riskier than that of stepping "Over" a rock/log. I must have lost my footing a gazillion times trying to step "On" a rock. Regarding startling a snake/cri...
When on long backpacking trips, what I do is to take a day at a time. I have seen many lose morale when they start to think about the number of days left in front of them. For me, taking a day at a...
Disclaimer - The answer is purely based on research. I've personally only been up to 6400m and have never used an altitude tent to acclimatise. Background of altitude acclimatisation: With increa...
Usually firmness of a surface is measured in terms of the work that needs to be done to move across the surface (in other terms, the displacement of your body that occurs due to the force applied)....
I follow the idea of leaving as less a trace as possible. So what I do is to reuse the cathole. The problem with multiple catholes is how much damage it does to the landscape (especially if the gro...
I know this is a bit late, but having had a lot of experience with leeches makes me believe I can add some value here. Salt works for both avoiding and for removing leeches. The method to apply i...
Ear popping is due to the difference in the pressure between the outer and the middle ear. Popping of ear occurs at high altitude to allow for the two pressures to equalize. Now, there's no corre...
Recently we were climbing up a glacier with the ice at an angle of around 80°. We were placing the ice screws angling slightly upwards with respect to the slope of the ice wall. However, one from...
Depends on how steep your ice patch is. Crampons are really good when you have steep slopes and you need to do some real front pointing. Crampons are good for mixed climbing as well. They are als...
As a general rule, all evolved beings (the ones with a brain) can end up with mental health issues. There are multiple resources which document these. Pet birds are known to get depressed and pluck...
Outdoor sports vs Gym training is not actually a one against the other. Many a times they are complementary to each other. Having said that, each has its own advantages which might be difficult to ...
I'll answer this from a perspective of what we follow in some of the areca nut and coconut farms that I've grown up in. The areca nut and coconut trees shed their branches often. These are similar...
The bird you are listening to is a northern mocking bird. I am not sure why it’s making the calls in the middle of the night. Mockingbirds in general are known for their intelligence and their ab...
There a few muscle groups that are heavily used while climbing: Lats: The side muscles of your back. Also termed as wings. Biceps. Forearms (one of the first to tire out). Calves (for most of you...
I was recently watching the IFSC world cup held in Meiringen. One of the interesting observations that came across (made by the commentators) in the semis was that the routes were much easier for a...
Milam glacier falls under the Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve limits. In case you want to enter a national park limits, you will need a permit from the forest department. Additionally, since parts of ...
I've hiked a lot with a lot of female trekkers. And I've never seen women trekkers having any problem with any unisex/male backpacks. Most of the manufacturers keep the chest straps adjustable so t...
Always remember that when you carry a backpack, it's the whole of your upper body that has to take the weight. If the weight is only on the shoulders, you will eventually end up with with a painful...
A couple of years ago, we hiked up to a place in the western ghats during the month of December (end of it). Which is actually the end of winter in the Indian subcontinent. The biggest problem we f...
I have these hiking shoes that have metal hook type of eyelets. Since I frequently go to the leech infested areas of the western ghats in India, I'm forced to use salt on my shoes to prevent leeche...
I've come across a lot of articles talking of breathing techniques while running. However, I've not come across any which talks of breathing techniques for tough hikes (tough in terms of inclinatio...
I get to travel a lot in the richly biodiverse western ghats of India. While hiking, one of the most difficult tasks I face is to identify birds that I come across. I'm not a professional or even a...
My absolute favorite: “There are other Annapurnas in the lives of men" --Maurice Herzog
Dividing loads between your trek-mates is a good idea. A better one would be to pack light. In case you want to collectively gain by individually reducing the weight, then my suggestion would be to...
- ← Previous
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- Next →
