Posts by ShemSeger
Short answer: As soon as it's determined that continuing could run the risk of someone getting into trouble or sustaining an injury. We had to abandon a cave-surveying expedition this past summer...
My 6 year old daughter was playing with ropes today and tied a knot of her own creation. I tried to demonstrate to her the importance of learning to tie good knots that don't slip, but when I went ...
If someone is seriously hurt deep in a cave, and only hours away from dying, chances are they are going to die. You have a map, but do you know how to read it? Cave maps don't read like a topo ma...
I know that eating bananas is one way to turn yourself in to a mosquito magnet. The potassium in the bananas apparently attracts them to whomever eats them. Whenever I meet someone who says they al...
I've led quite a few groups through one of the biggest caves in Canada, and I've received leadership training from the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides through the Alpine Club of Canada. K...
There are several knots that can satisfy your needs. The most common knot for making a loop of cord is a double fisherman's knot. This is what most people use when tying cord for prusiks, abalakov...
Your settings are mostly personal preference. Adjusting your DIN settings is not a complicated procedure. It's not uncommon for ski resorts to provide public benches with screwdrivers chained to t...
You can, but how well you glide will vary depending on your skins. Some styles glide better than others, and you will glide more with a shorter skin opposed to a full length skin. There's a 2km ap...
Not as real as the danger of death by exposure and hypothermia while outside the igloo. Your risk of asphyxiation in a snow shelter depends largely on its size, and the number of people inside it...
Climbing scree is a skill all on it's own. The trick is to have good balance and have a good feel for the ground, and gradually transfer your weight from one foot to the other, almost like walking ...
You will always be warmer in a shelter of any sort than you will be out against the raw elements of winter. You would be surprised how much warmth a tent can provide, but they still aren't the bes...
I was at the Remington Carriage Museum last night and was noticing the stove jack on an old covered wagon that was heated by a wood stove. It was made out of a large square piece of sheet metal. As...
Pemmican Pemmican was a high energy food used by the Native Americans, who introduced it to the early explorers and fur traders in North America. There's no specific ingredients for pemmican, but...
Related: How to clean bones found outside? The over the counter H202 isn't going to do the job with a skull that discoloured. You need to get some stonger stuff. Over the counter hydrogen peroxide...
It's easy to tell when your screws need to be sharpened, because they don't cut as well and get increasingly difficult to place, but with proper maintenance your screws should never get to that poi...
If you want to get your ropes clean in a hurry, use a rope brush: This is the result after pulling your rope through one of these brushes twice: Fill your tub with cool to luke warm water, th...
You're essentially "paddling" the air with your sail. I go windsurfing in Waterton Lakes National Park, it's quite gusty there, so I've been caught a few times riding a gust out into the lake when ...
If you're simply looking for a bag to transport your bow in, then go shopping for a compound bow bag. There is a large selection of bags available. If you're specifically looking to invest in a...
I use my hip pockets mostly for holding snacks or other items that I want regular and immediate access to. When I go out on a hike I pack both hip pockets full of granola bars and other goodies, ...
One quick way to deal with twists in a rope if you're single pitching is to switch ends on the rope you're climbing with. When it's your turn to climb, instead of tying into the same end the last c...
Sew it back together and tape the seams. Working with Goretex or any other type of waterproof material is the exact same as any other type of fabric. The only difference is that you tape the seams...
Drought. The BC Wildfire Service has an interactive map that shows every reported fire in BC and it's suspected cause. Most of them are ignited by lightning, but it's the unusually dry season, hig...
Probing is the best and only guaranteed technique for safely locating crevasses. Knowing how crevasses form will help you identify areas where crevasses are more likely to be, but you can't be cert...
First of all, if you're closer than 30 metres, then you're too close, get a telephoto lens and shoot from far away. If you want to see a moose, then the absolute best way to get a good look is to...
Most backpacking sleeping pads are insulated, some are even down-filled. When they're deflated they lose a lot of their insulating properties. This can be detrimental in cold weather, because when ...
