Posts by Felix
Completely personal preference. The only thing to do are keep it out of the sun (check), dry (check... I hope), and away from corrosives and other sharp things (definitely check). I usually store ...
You could try adding in a few bouldering sessions if you're mostly doing roped climbs. I find that bouldering strengthens the fingers much more than roped climbing, simply because it's higher-inte...
I've heard that pouring boiling water into a Nalgene-style bottle is either completely fine or definitely going to kill you. Which is it? Are there any scientific studies demonstrating exactly wha...
Belay glasses are (in Europe) so common that they are basically now part of the standard gym/crag equipment, just like an autolocking belay device. In some places, it can be rare to see someone wit...
In another question someone posted a photo of a skier going up an apparently extremely steep slope on skins. This slope looks so steep that skinning would be really difficult (especially on an icy...
Short roping is an advanced technique, but it is a necessary one to progress quickly and safely in the mountains. As with most techniques, knowing when to apply it just as important (or more) as th...
All harness manufacturers instruct users to put carabiners through the belay loop and not the tie-in points. Petzl has it in their manual: Black Diamond's Director of Global Quality Kolin Powic...
I'll address the mountaineering viewpoint (as opposed to the other good answers about the climbing viewpoint). Mountaineering usually involves covering a lot of distance over a bunch of different ...
This question is the opposite from this one: What would the consequences of using a US two-way radio (GMRS/FRS) in Europe? I know Europe has their own frequency range for two-way radios (PMR), but ...
The American Alpine club publishes this data for North America annually, though it's unlikely to cover all accidents. One of the best visualizations of this data I've found is from Steph Abegg: Mo...
Coming up with emergency information for a recent trip got me thinking: What information should you leave with your emergency contact? I imagine the answer depends on the length of the trip, remot...
This, probably more than any issue in climbing, has generated more discussion, heated debates, and vitriol (especially on the internet) than any other issue in climbing. Both sides (lower vs. rappe...
I alternate between the double fisherman's (which everyone has already talked about) and the flat overhand. Lately I've been leaning towards the flat overhand. The benefit of the flat overhand is ...
Forecasts for the mountains generally seem to be somewhere between useless and unreliable. Afternoon thunderstorms, clouds that come out of nowhere, unexpected rain showers, etc... Anyone who has s...
Petzl does recommend this for the second bolt: Clip the second bolt at waist level; this reduces the amount of rope out and thus helps prevent the climber hitting the ground in case of a fa...
First, see my comment above. Get some professional instruction. Seriously. To answer your points directly: Build a snow anchor, then transfer the load to your anchor. Holding your partner's weig...
The US government just shut down, stopping funding for (and thus closing) most National Parks, BLM lands, campgrounds on national lands, etc... What areas are still open?
In addition to zoul's excellent answer, the Bowline has another drawback in that it can come loose (or even undone) after repeated load/unload cycles (i.e. weighing and unweighing the rope). This ...
Unfortunately nail polish would probably gunk up the locking mechanism. I wouldn't put nail polish on any moving piece of a carabiner. You can use nail polish to mark your gear so you know that i...
A rain jacket is a good windbreaker as well. The main downside, as you pointed out, is that it will not breathe as well as other fabrics. This shouldn't be an issue as long as you aren't doing a ...
Since this is your first rope and you're mostly doing single-pitch sport climbing, I would recommend you look for just a few simple things: Dynamic rope: This is absolutely a requirement since yo...
I would recommend an American Alpine Institute mountaineering course. For a mountain like Elbrus, you are probably most interested in their 3-Day Glacier Skills and Crevasse Rescue course, but the...
Keeping some outward tension on the belay device really helps. If you're toprope belaying you should already be doing this, if you're lead belaying basically keep the climber locked off unless you...
The Petzl mini/micro-traxion are what most people seem to use. Outdoor gear lab did a recent comparison with a few other devices. I've also seen Gri-Gris used for that purpose, though it's obviou...
This is sadly a very persistent myth that has been around rock climbing for far too long. Black Diamond says that as long as the gate action is fine and there is no major structural damage, the gea...
