Posts by StrongBad
When it comes to flat tarp shape, there is no right or wrong answer. Both shapes can be used to make simple roof, lean-to-type or a fully enclosed tent-like structures. There is a ton of informatio...
You are not going to like the answer, but a 5 member team should recruit a 6th person. I think 3 people per rope is ideal. 4 people always seems like too many and 2 people makes stopping a fall rea...
Basically, if I'm hiking around Ashville area and carrying openly, will I be getting undue attention on myself or it's cool like in some western states? Ashville is a pretty liberal town, and...
Final question would be why not just a re-threaded figure 8 as you would use at the end of a rope? Lets start with this. This would be a nightmare to tie as you would have to pull a lot of rop...
One should never let middle age men sit around drinking and reliving the glory days of their youth on a holiday weekend. I think I may have agreed to a mid January Presidential traverse in the Whit...
The warmth of clothing is often defined in units of CLO. A 1 CLO ensemble of clothing is suitable for sitting in an office (or more specifically having a metabolic rate of 60 W/m2) at 22C or slow w...
If I stop to take a break in cold dry windy weather, I am perfectly happy tossing a big puffy belay jacket on top of my shell if I can get out of the wind. If I cannot get out of the wind, I will u...
This is called horse packing. It is a totally different outdoor activity to hiking. There are places you cannot go with horses/mules and caring for an animal is a lot of work. Some people love it a...
First, the difficulty of a V1 is not consistent everywhere, especially for climbers with limited experience. A V1 crack is a very different animal from a V1 slab. Yosemite climbs and boulder proble...
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...
I am going to reiterate and expand on a previous deleted answer from a different user. A hip belay can be incredibly fast and is a common technique in situations where falls are unlikely. Many/mos...
If you start a route, fall, lower down a bit, and then climb to the top, most people would not say that you have sent the route. See What is the term for completing a climbing route uncleanly?. Mos...
If the bag is laid flat like it would be for two people, it will not be nearly as warm. Basically you are doubling the effective surface area in which to lose heat relative to a single person sleep...
I think it is easiest to understand if you think about a small pocket where you can fit a single finger in deeply and securely or jam two fingers in poorly. While it is always nice to distribute th...
While it looks like it has changed, Outward Bound used to routinely include a 3 day solo without food. If I recall correctly, a poncho tarp shelter was provided and you were located near clean wate...
I think the general progression I use is climbed, led, freed, flashed, and on sighted. I might break freed into red point and pink point if the route or area makes if ambiguous. I generally break l...
As long as you are okay with grinding your beans at home, why not just make cowboy coffee. Basically you Put your tin cup on the fire/stove and bring the water to a boil Remove the cup from the ...
As you are looking to rappel for fun, you should find a place better suited for it. As you mentioned, the anchors are not well situated for an easy rappel. If you want to rappel off that cliff, jus...
As you are aware waterproof breathable fabrics can "wet out" reducing them to simply waterproof fabrics. That does not make wetted out waterproof breathable the same as waterproof non-breathable fa...
You should probably interpret the incident as a rare fluke and try and forget about it. Murders and crime have happened on the AT before: Frequency of crime/assault on the Appalachian Trail I have...
Short roping is dangerous, but a critical part of guiding. See my answer here: Is "Short roping" "Death Roping"? That said, the premise of your question is wrong. Being somewhat of a hyper awar...
There is a lot going on there and I am not really sure what the system is, but at a minimum The figure eight on the pink rope is not properly dressed. The locking carabiners are not opposite and ...
I doubt he only knew 4 knots. Looking at online photos, is difficult, but in this photo I think I can see a double fisherman's on the cord on the back of his harness, a figure eight on a bight o...
The problem with rescuing someone in the death zone is, well, that it is the death zone. Supplemental oxygen helps, but the decreased pressure is also problematic. If you are injured or sick, you a...
There are a lot of factors that determine what R value you will need. While the low temperature might be 10°F (-12°C), the ground could be substantially warmer (or potentially colder). The temperat...
