Posts by Wills
We already have topics on fuels here and here which give quite an overview. Also REI gives some info how to choose your stove and fuel properly. Still I would like to know what are the best option...
The answer will depend on the quality of the jacket and therefore somehow also the price. In the high-end range you often find jackets without zipper covers and still they are 100% waterproof (well...
I just discovered there is a way to rapell (e.g. for crevasse rescue) without any equipment building a snow bollard: How is this done in the best possible manner? What do I have to look for in ...
I regularly see online that on expeditions snow anchors are strapped to the side of the backpacks. This is typically an item like the upper on following pic: I never saw this in the Alps by myse...
Yes, shoe size plays a role which is quite important. But for beginners I would suggest to think more about foot technique than caring about the best possible gear. For climbing shoe sizes I give ...
I just saw a documentary where they investigated lakes inside of glaciers. They rapelled in big crevasses and even dived in those sometimes huge water reservoirs. The scientist had a regular looki...
When you are facing a serious sweating problem, maybe your overall setup is too warm. What layers/jackets do you wear above the one-suite-fleece? I am thinking of a very thin layer which is highly ...
I think it's quite similar to skiing because the reason for kick-and-glide is to save energy. Same for snowshoes; try not to elevate the whole weight of the shoe for every step. Of course in deep s...
This depends on the actual type of clothing and mostly on the wind speed. The wind evaporates moisture from the body. Since evaporation is a cooling process and absorbs latent heat away from th...
At an online shop I found a great deal for an avalanche shovel (14€). It's not a no-name brand, indeed it is a trustworthy German label. Still there are users complaining about the robustness of th...
While reading Hermann Buhl's tour book* of the Nanga Parbat expedition in 1953 (yielding to the first ascent on third of July, Buhl did the final ascent solo) I got curious about the height differe...
Consider we are trying to pre-acclimate for an expedition in Himalaya to shorten the actual timespan on site. As an example, I am expecting a benefit if I go in the Alps for several days above 400...
Like being said you could also ask if price scales with quality. That's not true in general as we all know. What hasn't been said is that there are big differences in terms of labor conditions, su...
In my opinion the major risk wearing no snowshoes on deep snow (besides the time aspect) is that you step close in front of a stone or other obstacle. You don't have to run, it is just normal that ...
You will always find climbers saying they want 100% safety for their hobby. That's a bit like the mountaineers trying to go on ski tour or doing alpine tours only if there is literally no avalanche...
If you don't have a compass or other instruments, it is possible to measure the slope with your two (ski) poles solely. Just hold one pole vertically by using gravity and stick it into the snow. H...
I came to win, came as I always do, in order to justify who I am and what I have become; now I don't even know what that is. The rot inside me, the cancer of desire, feels unbearable, now it kno...
First of all, I will just spread some ideas. I never did a winter bivi by myself. Please don't blindly trust my words. But... because I am interested in the idea and like to do something similar i...
Some general rules: layer system also for the hands is a good idea but those gardening gloves won't work pretty well better use inner liner gloves (wool or even a softshell glove) and a warm mitt...
This is simply a question of the increased surface area of gloves which will therefore increase temperature (heat flux) exchange. Same reason why foxes have smaller ears as further away they are lo...
The weather is very harsh, and the mountain does not allow much area to take a walk on a day when you are not going up the mountain. This sounds like two points mixed up. Is it the bad weather wha...
The repetition of the really great alpine routes seemed to us much more interesting than discovering obscure little climbs in remote corners. Like ugly girls, many of the ridges and faces which ...
If the glacier isn't snowless (aper) you can probe for spaces under the surface which should be noticed by less resistance in the snow/Firn. Still it is preferable to avoid going in regions where o...
The answer of @BenediktBauer covers pretty much everything you have to know as a beginner on glaciers. What you also have to know is the proper knot (and that was the second part of your question)....
When doing a multi-pitch and you reach a belay station (the top of a pitch) you can choose between belaying the lead climber from the body (like you do e.g. indoors where you aren't doing multi-pit...
