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 ...
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...
You do not need a tarp in addition to the rainfly of your tent (that's what the rainfly is for). While it's always nicer to pack up a dry tent instead of a wet one, as long as you air dry the tent...
For cams, Black Diamond recommends: With occasional use: slings should be replaced every 5-8 years With frequent use: slings should be replaced 2-5 years. This sounds like a good policy for any...
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...
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...
Roping up would be a bad idea. A good rule of thumb is that you should only rope up if you can place protection between climbers (i.e. attach the rope to something). Glaciers are a different story,...
While there's always more uncertainty in climbing with someone you don't directly know, don't discount finding partners online altogether. I've had great experiences (primarily rock climbing) with ...
What would be the best way to test the waterproofness of different outdoor apparel such as: Boots Jackets Pants Gloves etc... I'm interested in both the binary case (e.g., is this boot still wa...
Generally when doing multi-pitch climbs, I prefer to just climb with a light pack. However, sometimes that's just not possible and the pack(s) must be hauled instead. What are some good ways to ha...
Yes, you can always add layers to stay warmer. Exactly how much warmer isn't really possible to figure out, as different jackets put their insulation in different places (e.g., more in the torso/ar...
Short answer: For your first rope, none of these numbers matter. Any 60m dynamic rope around 10mm diameter will be fine. Get the cheapest one of the three, and buy a rope bag to keep it clean. Ge...
Doing multipitch routes with double ropes is great, but (at least for me) inevitably results in messy tangles, twists, and crosses of the two ropes. What are some strategies to prevent the ropes f...
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...
I use the following video as a guide: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4N6ZuKTZ_c Basically: Prep garment: close all main zippers, open pockets, and loosen elastics. Wash sweat/dirt/oils off usi...
Everyone knows an undercammed piece is bad. Does any data exist on how bad it gets? In other words, how does the strength of a cam placement change with the retraction angle?
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?
Sleeping with the socks on your torso is the most effective method I have found, and it does not require anything you wouldn't already have. For this, you just: Take socks off Put them inside you...
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 ...
First, prevention is going to give you the best bang for your buck. Make sure you dry your shoes properly between uses by hanging them out, and don't keep them in a bag/trunk/confined space. Duri...
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...
The electric igniter on my jetboil has been giving me trouble. It's not completely broken, but I'll only see a spark 5 or 10% of the time. This means I don't completely trust my stove, and have t...
Good footwork is the foundation to good climbing. Most climbers think their footwork is better than it actually is, and could be better climbers simply by improving their footwork. Here are some ...
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...
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