Activity for anderas‭

Type	On...	Excerpt	Status	Date
Edit	Post #41984	Initial revision	—	about 4 years ago
Edit	Post #41972	Initial revision	—	about 4 years ago
Edit	Post #41409	Initial revision	—	about 4 years ago
Answer	—	A: Are "fall-arrester" devices used in climbing/mountaineering? This kind of device is rarely used in sports as it is only useful when used with fixed ropes. You mentioned crevasses: The rope is not fixed here and you are tied in, so it is hard to image how such a fall arrestor would help. However, one kind of climbing frequently uses vertical fixed (steel) line... (more)	—	over 4 years ago
Answer	—	A: Are there GriGri-like devices that support auto belay rather than assisted belay? In general: No. While some devices use mechanisms that can be different from the Grigri (in some cases radically different, such as the Wild Country Revo), all current sports climbing devices require the user to keep a hand on the braking strand of the rope. Some provide more room for user error th... (more)	—	over 4 years ago
Answer	—	A: Redundancy in rappel systems Strictly speaking, the system you propose (fix each strand of the rope to one anchor, rappel with the same device) is not fully redundant as you still have the device, carabiner and your harness as single points of failure. If you disregard that point and simply want redundancy against rope failure,... (more)	—	almost 5 years ago
Question	—	Is there a good way to be kept up-to-date with climbing gear recalls? In the last years, there were a few occasions when companies would put out recalls on their climbing gear due to manufacturing defects. For example, Black Diamond recalled some improperly riveted carabiners and they have a list of all their product recalls since 2000. Usually, I read about any recall... (more)	—	over 5 years ago
Answer	—	A: What is the best way to place a sling on a rock spike so that it's prevented from lifting off? Here are some ideas, with the usefulness depending on the terrain and rock quality and the terrain: Hold it down with an upside-down nut: Place a nut below the spike and clip it to the sling. The nut needs to pull down on the sling so that the sling won't move. The nut will only need to resist bein... (more)	—	over 5 years ago
Answer	—	A: How to safely mark a rope The German Alpine Club (DAV) tested several permanent marker pen inks (Edding 3000, Retract 11 and Staedtler Lumocolor) and found no reduction in rope strength in static tests. So I would feel pretty safe in using one of them, despite the fact that they are not specifically sold as "rope markers". ... (more)	—	almost 6 years ago
Question	—	Do self-inflating sleeping pads have to be kept dry during trips? Context: I'm planning to take my self-inflating sleeping pad on a bike trip this year. The bike doesn't have any mounting points for a rack, so space is somewhat limited. Currently, my plan is to simply strap the pad to the handlebars in the manufacturer-provided stuff sack. Question: Do self-infla... (more)	—	about 6 years ago
Question	—	How to land when jumping off a bouldering problem to minimize injury potential? A recent question made me wonder: A while ago, there was a nice route in the local bouldering gym with a rather high crux. The repeated jumping-off lead to minor knee pain for a few days. Now, there is a new interesting route with no down-climbing options from the top (which means that jumping off in... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Answer	—	A: What kind of technique is required for bouldering outdoors? There is no generic answer to your question - it all depends on the kind of boulders you'll encounter on your destination. For example, if you have overhanging jug problems, the technique required is similar to gym problems. But you'll rarely find finger cracks, slabby balance problems or other "outd... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Answer	—	A: Grigri+ vs grigri 2 I have used both Grigri devices (the older one much more often than the new one), but I own neither. So I can answer at least most of your questions: have you used this device? I have used it a few times ;-) Does it wear the rope less than its predecessor? I don't know, I didn't use it more than a ... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Answer	—	A: Is the gas canister standard common in France incompatible with EAN417? CampingGaz cartridges are incompatible with threaded cartridges, as the former use a kind of snap-on valve mechanism and don't have threads. Because of this, you can't use CampingGaz cartridges with threaded stoves (and vice-versa). However, if you travel to France and have to buy cartridges there, ... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Question	—	How to "store" excess rope in a running belay? A recent question made me wonder how a running belay is really done. Suppose you are climbing an alpine route, maybe of difficulty UIAA 5. You encounter a stretch of 100m of UIAA 1 terrain with no visible difficult parts and ample opportunity to place protection (or even some bolts). It is possible... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Answer	—	A: What do classifications of belays (like "4th class belay") mean? The belay class in the linked answer is in reference to the typical methods one would use in grade 4 (or 5) Yosemite Decimal System. Typically, in a rock climbing context you typically see grades like 5.6, 5.10a. The 5 indicates that the route is what we commonly call "rock climbing", but grades 1-4... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Answer	—	A: What is a dish or dish-like hand hold in rock climbing? "Dish holds" are holds that are (in relation to their total size) rather flat. That seems to be their defining property - they can be round, have pockets, edges or other interesting features on them, but the one thing they have in common is their flat shape. This is in contrast to e.g. large jugs o... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Question	—	Will ibexes react aggressively or flee if approached on a mountain? On a recent multi-pitch climb, we encountered a strange situation: The wall was basically divided into three parts: 200m of climbing, a large steep grassy part where you untie from the rope and walk to the last 200m of climbing leading to the summit. After untying from the rope after the first part... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Answer	—	A: How can you tie a clove hitch one handed? The basic steps are to clip the rope, form a loop with one end, move it around the other end of the cord/rope and clip it into the carabiner again. In the following images, I'm using a somewhat stiff piece of cord and slightly exaggerating some steps to improve visibility. Step 1: Clip the rope in... (more)	—	almost 7 years ago
Answer	—	A: What are these strange seeds that looks like a mini porcupine which you can find all over Germany? These are not exactly the seeds, but the hull of the seeds of the horse chestnut. Image source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Aesculushippocastanumfruit.jpg (more)	—	over 7 years ago
Question	—	Are nuts and cams less safe if the rock is wet? In (probably) most of northern Europe, it is somewhat cold and wet outside. Despite this fact, I'm trying to get as much outdoor climbing done as I can. A backup plan for somewhat cold weather (i.e. around/slightly above 0°C) would be to try aid climbing, but we're wondering if this is a safe idea.... (more)	—	over 7 years ago
Question	—	How to train climbing endurance at home? Close to my home, there is only a bouldering gym, but no climbing gym that offers roped climbing. But my real goal in climbing is leading harder/longer routes. The bouldering really improves my strength and technique, but I often find myself unable to redpoint routes near my limit because my arms are... (more)	—	over 7 years ago
Question	—	How to learn route setting? I started setting routes in the small bouldering gym of our climbing club. I'm basically learning by doing this, so my approach is basically to try to think of some interesting moves, put up the holds and then tweak the route. Pretty often, this includes finding out that the move I intended doesn't w... (more)	—	over 7 years ago
Question	—	Does inside vs outside make a difference in a bowline on a bight? This question asks whether the bowline knot is better with the tail inside or outside the loop. When climbing and tying in with a bowline on a bight, does it make a difference whether one starts with an inside or outside bowline? (more)	—	over 7 years ago
Question	—	How to avoid tangling up the rope when throwing it before rappelling? When we rappel after a multi-pitch climb, we usually take up the rope (or both ropes when we use half ropes) so that we end up with one or two nicely lap-coiled ropes. Throwing the coiled ropes quite often results in at least one of them becoming a tangled mess on the way down, even without getting... (more)	—	almost 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: What is a "spit anchor"? Searching the climbing dictionary for "spit" shows that this is the french term for a "bolt". So the answer is simple: The translation of the guidebook isn't perfect. "Spit anchors" are bolted anchors (or rappels) on these routes. (Which actually matches my observation there.) (more)	—	almost 8 years ago
Question	—	What is a "spit anchor"? In an English climbing guidebook about a French region, I read the term spit anchor in the general description of the equipment of the (multi-pitch) routes of some crags. I never heard that term before; what is a spit anchor? (more)	—	almost 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: What's the purpose of the sling on the heel of boots? Carrying. The sling makes it easy to attach the shoe/boot to a backpack or something else. (For me, this is the main point.) For example, you can clip your approach shoes to your climbing harness (or your pack, if you carry one) if you plan to descend after a multi-pitch route instead of abseiling.... (more)	—	almost 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: Quickest / most efficient way to ascend a hanging rope with rock climbing gear? I wouldn't count ascenders as common climbing gear, so I'm answering for gear that almost every climber has available: An ATC Guide (or Reverso, or similar device with a guide mode) and some cord or webbing. You fix the ATC guide to your harness in guide mode, so that you can easily pull in the rope... (more)	—	about 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: Is it polite to ask other climbers to belay for you? From my experience, the simple act of asking won't be perceived as impolite. There is a good chance that people will let you join them, but be prepared to accept "no" as an answer just in case. It would be impolite to press on and try to get them to change their minds, but if you politely accept the... (more)	—	about 8 years ago
Question	—	What's the best way to apply patches to partially waterproof softshell jackets? In a bike accident, I managed to damage a softshell jacket. The damage consists of some smaller holes, and the manufacturer provided me with a patch kit that is basically a piece of the material that is large enough be cut into patches for all the individual holes. What is the best (i.e. most waterp... (more)	—	about 8 years ago
Question	—	How safe are stoppers/rocks when threaded through rock tunnels? Last year, I learned that you could thread the wire of stoppers/rocks/hexentrics through tunnels in the rock if threading cord or a sling through them would be too difficult. As a reference, see the following image (left: sling/cord, right: stopper): I used that method a few times for rather non-c... (more)	—	about 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: What is the different between climb-spec and military-spec webbing? In addition to @ShemSeger's answer, there exists another minor difference that is also visible in his images: On the red webbing, there are three white threads. Each of these threads stands for 5kN of strength. All climbing webbing that I know has this kind of marking, though often in a different co... (more)	—	over 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: How to "spot" someone who is bouldering? Basically, "spotting" someone means making sure that they safely land on the pad with their feet first to prevent injuries in case of a fall. This means several distinct tasks: Moving a falling climber to the pad: try to guide them towards the pad, ideally by pushing at the hips or shoulders. Don'... (more)	—	over 8 years ago
Question	—	What to do if the second seems stuck and absolutely no communication is possible? Backstory: A few months ago, I experienced the following situation: We (two people) were climbing the last pitch of a multi-pitch route. Near the end, there was a cave-like chimney. Basically a chimney where the opening was narrower than the chimney itself, and the whole thing getting narrower towar... (more)	—	over 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: Is clipping directly onto a dyneema sling safe? Was it better than no protection? Probably. Would I recommend it? No. The reason is this: DMM performed some tests where they anchored a sling to a carabiner and a load (80kg), and dropped the load from various heights. The results are a bit more nuanced, but the gist is that you should never fall o... (more)	—	over 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: What to do when you run out of rope on a sports climb? An alternative to @BenCrowell's answer would be to rappel like you would on a multi-pitch route. You will be rappelling on single bolts, so you should know how to judge their quality: (Tell the belayer to put a knot into the end of the rope, if not done yet.) Rappel down from the next bolt until yo... (more)	—	over 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: What are some simple tasks to teach knife safety? This answer is going into a slightly different direction than fgysin's one since I just noticed that your question is about activities, not technique itself. My suggestions might be obvious to some, but this is what I would teach (and how I learned handling knives): making a "spear" (or improvised... (more)	—	almost 9 years ago
Answer	—	A: How to attach a shackle to vertical square tubes by using a rope? Coming from a climbing background, I would propose the following: Tie the cord/rope into a loop, for example using the One-sided overhand bend or the double fisherman's knot Secure it around the pole using a Prusik knot. Note that the english wikipedia entry is only about climbing; the german versi... (more)	—	almost 9 years ago
Question	—	Are manual double-back buckles on harnesses considered obsolete? My current harness has these single-piece buckles: (source: http://www.mountaineeringmethodology.com/harness/) It might be due for replacement in one or two years, and I really like these buckles, since I can completely open all parts of the harness if I need to. Also, I heard friends complaining ... (more)	—	almost 9 years ago
Answer	—	A: How to top belay 2 climbers at the same time on multi-pitch climb? One thing you don't want to do is hang the ATC from an anchor by its wire loop and provide a belay from above. This method is a poor one because the braking position would require the brake strand to go upward. But that's awkward and contrary to what people have in their muscle memory. (A workaround ... (more)	—	about 9 years ago