Activity for erfink‭

Type	On...	Excerpt	Status	Date
Edit	Post #39779	Initial revision	—	over 4 years ago
Answer	—	A: Is there a utility / method to organize trad gear so that each piece is immediately accessible? When racking up, you have a spectrum of possibilities between two extremes: At one end, you could put every single piece of gear on the same carabiner. While the weight savings would be incredible, it would be an absolute pain to place a piece. At the opposite end, you could rack every single piec... (more)	—	over 5 years ago
Answer	—	A: When did indoor climbing gyms start to become popular? For a more data driven approach, here's a google trends graph for the popularity of searches for "climbing gym", "indoor climbing", "climbing center", "climbing centre", and "climbing wall": google trends Nothing too illuminating, outside of an interesting biannual cycle (peaking in the middle of t... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Answer	—	A: Why do almost all backpacking packs have top compartment ("brain compartment") zippers facing backwards? While I don't have a definitive answer, I do have a few anecdotal / personal experience reasons to prefer the zipper across the back. In order to keep terminology consistent, the "back of the pack" will refer to the side against the wearer and the "front of the pack" will refer to the opposite, non-s... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Answer	—	A: Rafting - Oar Locks vs Oar Rights vs Pins & Clips? Ask three different raft guides and you'll get three different answers---gnarly rivers have been rowed on all three setups and it ultimately comes down to personal preferences. That being said, each system has distinct (dis)advantages that I'll discuss, which can be useful to know when first starting... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Question	—	Rafting - Oar Locks vs Oar Rights vs Pins & Clips? When setting up a rowing frame on a raft or boat, there are three main ways to attach the oars to the frame: oar locks, oar rights, and pins & clips. Which is the best system? Oar Locks (Image from nwrafting.com) Oar Rights (Image from OutdoorPlay.com) Pins & Clips (Image from Out... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Answer	—	A: What extra gear to take up a multipitch climb? There are two main schools of thought: the "fast and light" / "light is right" / "rope, rack, shirt on your back" camp and the "be prepared" / "safety first" crowd. When taken to extremes, blindly following either ethos can lead to trouble. Like most everything in the mountains, it comes down to expe... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Question	—	What extra gear to take up a multipitch climb? When climbing single pitch routes, it makes sense to carry as little as possible while actually on the route, as almost every eventuality can be easily dealt with by simply lowering back to the ground and your pack. At the opposite end of the spectrum, alpine and mountaineering objectives almost mand... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Answer	—	A: Which gym workouts are beneficial for improving rock climbing skills? Ricketyship's answer gives a great outline of training the climbing specific muscles, so I would like to add several other points (especially as the question asked about antagonist training). First off, the ability to generate and modulate tension is a key skill in climbing (particularly bouldering... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Answer	—	A: Origin of the "bell curve" for rock climbing route setting This piece of advice is commonly given to new routesetters, and should generally be taken as a reminder of best practices rather than scientific dogma. For example, Most climbers don't onsight 5.13 and V12. While you should try to set routes for these climbers, you should remember that the bulk of ... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Answer	—	A: Compromised Ropes in Retail Stores Ewww. I'm guessing they punch pin tags through $700 gore tex jackets as well? And condoms? Even if the amount of damage is minimal, it's still something I would rather not do to my rope. Some climbers do use a needle and thread/dental floss to make small whippings on the rope to indicate that the rop... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Answer	—	A: When backpacking, what gear should go in the brain(top most compartment) instead of the main compartment? As the other answers mention, the brain compartment usually ends up becoming the knick-knack / catch-all pocket, for small items items that get frequently used. There are, however, several caveats to be aware of: As @Toby Speight mentions, the top pocket is generally prone to more exposure from the... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Answer	—	A: Crevasse rescue with knots in the rope In addition to Felix's excellent answer of what should be done it practice, it is well worth knowing how to pass a knot in the rope (whether while rappelling or hauling). This will generally be more time consuming than just having an extra length of rope for which to affect the rescue and it should b... (more)	—	almost 7 years ago
Question	—	Straps around Olympic Halfpipe Snowboarder Legs? While watching the Ladies' Olympic Snowboarding Halfpipe in Pyeongchang, I noticed what appeared to be straps around the lower leg of each competitor. For example, here's a couple pictures of American champion Chloe Kim with said straps indicated: And Chinese Silver Medalist Liu Jiayu: And Fr... (more)	—	almost 7 years ago
Answer	—	A: What kind of ropes are used for very long sport routes (like Chilam Balam)? As discussed in other answers, the easiest option would be to just have a custom rope and then everything works as you would expect. In a similar pro-climber vein, don't discount using rigging from the camera crew or stashing gear / fixed ropes. Note that these options incur a penalty in terms of eit... (more)	—	almost 7 years ago
Answer	—	A: How to progress in rock climbing after grades v4 / 5.11+? Before embarking on specifics, a word of advice: learn to love plateaus. When beginning climbing, we make drastic improvements seemingly every time we go out. As we improve, gains become more and more difficult. There will still be jumps in ability, but they will become more and more sporadic. Learn ... (more)	—	almost 7 years ago
Answer	—	A: What type of jacket can I wear to prevent my back from getting sweaty while also wearing a backpack? There are jackets out there similar to what you're asking for---you do need to poke around for them a bit. Most jackets made for hiking and climbing tend to be cut from one material in order to have a more versatile piece. For a very use specific jacket, such pieces can be awesome though! Keywords ... (more)	—	over 7 years ago
Answer	—	A: How do choices in design of a paddle-craft influence its handling characteristics? Ay-yi-yi! This is a very broad question, a true answer to which would probably require a PhD in hydrodynamics or years of relevant engineering expertise. Note that the interplay between these design characteristics can be very complex and depend greatly on the exact conditions (flat water / waves / ... (more)	—	over 7 years ago
Answer	—	A: How does ski binding height affect skiing off-piste? This dimension is know as the binding stack height (as well as binding stand height) and can be both beneficial and detrimental: On piste / carving / racing: a larger stack height is generally perceived as beneficial---the FIS even passed a regulation limiting it to 50mm after the thickness of bind... (more)	—	over 7 years ago
Answer	—	A: Why are carabiners so much weaker if the gate is open? Let's go to the source and watch some carabiners getting broken! Black Diamond Neutrino Testing Black Diamond wire-gate, open configuration Metolius Carabiner Testing While these videos show wire-gate carabiners, the idea is the same for a solid gate carabiner like the one pictured in your questi... (more)	—	over 7 years ago
Answer	—	A: How do you get bear spray off skin and or gear? Going straight to the source, here's a Materials Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) for Mace brand pepper spray (note that bear spray is high concentration, high volume pepper spray). Here's a snip of the relevant section: The particular first aid recommendations are: Move victim to fresh air, encourage ... (more)	—	over 7 years ago
Answer	—	A: How to begin trail / fell running? Adding on to the other excellent answers, here would be a few of my additional tips: Try to pay more attention to the difficulty of a hiking trail before committing to running it. Consider working your way up by running on forest service roads and flat trails before moving to more mountainous trail... (more)	—	over 7 years ago
Answer	—	A: What are some good games to play with children on hikes? Depending on the specifics of the terrain, one game that can help break up the "monotony" of walking for kids is to play a variant of "the floor is hot lava." Make a game of trying to go down the trail by only stepping on rocks and not dirt. Naturally terrain dependent, but gives kids a way of having... (more)	—	over 7 years ago
Answer	—	A: Dealing with anxiety and confidence issues That you find being on the edge of cliff scary is in fact a good, healthy response! It means that you are the product of millions of years of evolution, wherein people who had a complete disregard for the edge of cliffs tended to not live long enough to reproduce. The idea of teaching someone how to ... (more)	—	almost 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: What do I do if I lose my belay plate? The first answer that comes to mind: presumably your climbing partner didn't drop their belay device at the same time? It would be astronomically rare for both belay/rappel devices to be dropped at the same time. As such, lower the first climber (something you've already practiced almost every time... (more)	—	almost 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: Do you need to purify all mountain water sources The one shortcoming I find reading through many of the other answers is that they seem to skip over a major source of pollutants in backcountry streams: human waste. While you might not be downstream of a cattle feedlot, there's a chance that a human (or other animal) took a dump just upstream from y... (more)	—	almost 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: How long should a down sleeping bag last? Per Western Mountaineering, American manufacturers of high quality down sleeping bags, Down also is known to have the greatest longevity, and it will outlast any other insulation by 3 to 5 times, making it the most economical choice after its initial investment. Having worked in specialty outd... (more)	—	almost 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: Under what circumstances would I wish to extend the handle length of a snow saw? Expanding on cutting cornices, here's a video clip of ski guide Theo Meiners using an extended snow saw to drop a cornice. Note that most everything happening in that video is intentional (if dangerous, should things go wrong). There are other techniques; this is just one possibility. The general pro... (more)	—	almost 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: Relation of ski edge sharpening to skiing ability and snow conditions TL;DR Don't do it. It is really easy to ruin a perfectly good pair of skis. A great way to handle ski maintenance is to wax your own skis, touch up the burrs with a fine grit diamond stone (400-grit or so), and let a professional ski shop handle your edges a couple times per season. This would be an... (more)	—	almost 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: When hiking, why is the right of way given to people going up? For another possible explanation, I have always found it easier to see oncoming parties when you are going down. When hiking uphill, many people end up almost staring at their feet. In contrast, when hiking downhill you can spot oncoming parties much more easily. (more)	—	almost 8 years ago