Posts by StrongBad
The animal may startle causing harm to itself or others. For example Nature Workshops says: Wild animals that have been approached too closely, have: Been startled and run into traffi...
One of my more memorable hiking experiences came on the Wonderland Trail in the summer of 1994. The trail is about 93 miles (150 kilometers) long. It's in the Mount Rainier State Park which is loca...
In the US you cannot refill the small tank at a propane distributor, at least not in any state that I am aware of. In general, the small tanks are classed as not refillable. There is small risk of ...
Trying to cut pack weight is all about leaving "extra" things out and then replacing needed things with light versions. Some things that jump out at me as "extra": Tent for 2 people If there ...
While most people think that the YDS system is easy compared to the British rating system, I am not sure that is the case. In the YDS system, there is a rating, a grade, and a class. The grade ind...
In aid climbing the frequency of difficult placements and the length of potential falls essentially determines the grade. Basically anything A2/C2 and up is going to require you to use some combina...
Quantifying the total risk of an activity is hard and to an extent opinion based. The increased risk of being solo, is more quantifable and that is what my answer focuses on. The major increase in...
Let's say we have a liter of coke and liter of water. Both of them weight nearly the same. However, the coke contains a lot of calories whereas the water contains none. The law of conservation...
A good car camping kitchen, in my mind, mimics a home kitchen. Propane stove(s) with a total of 2-4 burners (maybe 6 if it is a big group) Propane oven or grill (either propane or charcoal) depen...
I would go with either a barrel hitch or a barrel sling depending on the exact purpose. With the added constraint that the rope can only go around the object once the the "magic" needs to be in th...
The Whippet is marketed as: ... the ultimate ski mountaineering tool ... that can help keep minor slips from turning into slides for life. For ski mountaineering, it is not feasible to carry ...
While trying to answer Why static rope rather than webbing for toprope anchors? I immediately thought about splices in long pieces of webbing. For example, REI says that spools of Blue Water webbin...
From what I can piece together, according to the The Gunks Guide by Swain the protection rating system was proposed in Rocky Heights, A Guide to Boulder Free Climbs by Erickson. According to Swain ...
I have heard a number of people say that a pound on your foot equals 5 pounds on your back. Is there any hard evidence to support this claim and how does the terrain affect it?
My philosophy when bailing from routes is to first try and escape to an easier route. If that fails try and down climb/down lead. If all else fails, rappel off a single bomber piece. Ideally the si...
One complaint about using the Munter hitch for belaying is that it twists and kinks the rope. After doing a full rope length rappel with a Munter hitch down a slightly overhanging face to the base ...
When free climbing with a partner the first time, I explain that he/she owes me a beer for every nut that I need the nut tool for. This drastically improves efficiency since it makes the leader rea...
In terms of clothing insulation there is the concept of the CLO. The key equation is T = (31 − 0.155·P·R)°C where P is 48 W/m² while sleeping, R is the number of CLOs, and T is the temperature in...
There can be a slight weight savings for a double bag over two single bags. This is difficult to fully calculate, especially if one person sleeps warmer than the other or if there is a height diffe...
Rock climbing cams often have integrated slings. Like all webbing, these slings can be degraded by UV and wear out much sooner than the cam themselves. There are numerous companies that will "profe...
To set an equalized 3 point anchor, at a minimum you need 3 single length sling (2 ft) lops (6 feet total), a 1-foot, 3-strand, clip in loop (3 feet total), and a couple feet for the knot. With suc...
While not supported by any hard evidence, in How to Rock Climb by John Long he says Because it is rate that a pocket will accommodate all of your fingers, the first choice is the strong middle ...
While rock climbing, when crimping a hold, I always use my index finger (and whatever other fingers fit) since I can stack my thumb on top. For two finger pockets is it better to use your index and...
The obvious disadvantages for these types of tents are that they occupy valuable roof space making mounting racks (e.g., bike, kayak, or gear) more difficult and that you must pack up your tent eve...
It has been suggested to me in a comment, about an answer of mine that suggests using a hip belay, that: There's a reason ATCs, plates, GriGris, etc got popular: they're safer. I know I stopp...
