Posts by ShemSeger
Having actually hunted and killed squirrels for food before, if you're planning on keeping the meat, then you don't want to shoot it in the body, shoot it in the head. A squirrels head is just as b...
Twin ropes can be as small as 6.9mm (35g/m), and are only used in pairs; you tie into two ropes, and clip both as though they were a single rope. This provides you with the redundancy of having mor...
A walking stick might help, but I think your best bet is going to be to sprawl out flat and dig your hands as deep into the sand as possible. Sand is not like ice. You can self arrest on ice beca...
At sea level, pure water boils at 100°C. In my hometown, water boils at 97°C, and being at a higher elevation we always had to boil or cook our food longer than the recommended times given in recip...
There are no exceptions to leave no trace. Either you leave a trace, or you do not, the whole point of leave no trace ethics is to make as small an impact on the environment as possible, this means...
The answer is the same for burying toilet paper as it is for burying poop: see: When is it not OK to leave feces behind? Burying toilet paper with your poop is acceptable in areas where it can b...
A single strand of 1" tube webbing has a breaking strength of almost 18kN. which is 50% more than the total amount of force any climber will ever be able to generate (12kN), but the safety standard...
A grizzly bear can climb a tree with relative ease if it has branches large enough for it to grab onto, but they can't climb trees like a black bear can, especially a larger grizzly, they're much m...
The Halbmastwurfsicherung (half clove hitch) or "Munter Hitch" was one of those accidental discoveries. Someone back in the day tied a clove hitch wrong and discovered that the resulting knot had s...
The answer is yes. But not for everyone. The first two people on record to die on Everest were George Mallory and Andrew Irvine. There's speculation that they may have even summited the Mountain, ...
It's traditional to construct a bed of evergreen tree boughs in survival situations (fir or cedar are the best kind), I've done it a number of times on private land, and deep in the wilderness on c...
I've been hearing that a lot of people are recommending wasp spray as a bear repellant. Proponents argue it has a longer range, and is more accurate to aim. How effective is wasp spray as a bear ...
The simple answer is the weight of your rope. When you're at the top of a pitch, you will have the full weight of 60m of static line below you, braking on your device. As you move down the rope, ...
For the most part they are identical, the only identifiable difference is that military spec tube webbing has a ribbed weave, while climbing spec has a smooth weave. Having a smooth weave obviously...
A single strand of 550 paracord will hold body weight, so when you say, "load bearing" are you implying more than body weight? If not, then I think it's a non-issue, especially if you're weaving or...
I'd recommend a common particulate respirator, you can buy them in bulk from pretty much any hardware store or drug store. It'll protect you from dust and asbestos, but if you're venturing into ...
For the sake of your tendons, it is better to use your ring and middle finger in two finger pockets, because of how your muscles in your forearm insert on your fingers, and how they're wired to you...
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...
I just buy these things in bulk at the dollar store: I call them my, "hang anything from anywhere" hooks. Not really though, they're just a double hook, and I find them really handy. Almost as h...
The biggest giveaway is that you can't follow them for very long before you encounter an obstacle. Usually it's branches hanging over the trail that you have to duck very low to get under. The trai...
Warm Your Core! One thing all climbers have in common, is a big poofy down jacket. Your fingers are only going to be as warm as your core is, so keep your core warm, and that nice warm blood will...
What you might want to look at getting are some randonee boots and some Dynafit bindings. They're designed more for racing up ski hills than they are coming down, but still do a good job on the qui...
First of all, trekking poles will change the way you hike forever. They are a luxury that saves your legs a lot of exertion, sparing you a lot of energy, allowing you to enjoy yourself that much mo...
I have a friend with cerebral palsy who likes to climb, and can only use one arm, he did fairly well belaying with a Petzl GRIGRI: It's a self locking belay device, and can be used easily and ra...
There are such things as compact, or mini rolls of duct tape, I've got a couple that came with my small, one or two person survival first aid kits: You could make a small roll yourself, just fol...
