Posts by DudeOnRock
Google Earth can give you an elevation profile of pretty much anything. There are 4 ways to go about: Look for a .KMZ or .KML file to load into Google Earth. Activate the EveryTrail layer in Go...
I wanted to mention two additional scenarios not covered by Ben Crowell's great answer. When it is possible to fall past the belayer (on a multi-pitch climb, or when getting to the start of a cli...
Under-camming and camming angle are two very different things. The camming angle is constant for the whole range of the cam and is defined by the shape of the cam-lobe and can range from 12.5 deg...
What is your intended use for those joined ropes? If your life depends on it (you tagged your question with "safety"), I would not recommend using drastically different sized ropes in the first pla...
Single use water bottles are nice, like Steed mentioned. I use those a lot. The downside is that most filters don't readily attach to those bottles, which means I often wish I had a third hand when...
Both sport climbing and trad climbing are a form of lead climbing, which means the first climber to go up is not protected by a rope from above. A sport climber uses quickdraws which, as you mentio...
The best practice for climbing is to actually go climbing. I have wasted both time and money experimenting with training setups at home for practicing climbing, and I have mostly been disappointed....
Upfront I would like to mention that I don't live in the UK, but I hope my answer is still relevant. The most commonly used stove brand in the US is Coleman, and I looked on amazon.co.uk, and it l...
The general advice I have heard for surprise lightning storms when climbing is to retreat. Since retreating quickly is not without danger itself and often is not even all that quick (I personally h...
This answer is purely complementary and does not attempt to answer the question directly. Another option for securing a rappel is the fireman's belay. This works on single pitch climbs when someon...
Figure eight-knots are not directional. Once the knot is properly tied and dressed, it doesn't matter if you passed the rope through from the top or the bottom, it is purely a matter of preference....
I have friends who say stuffing your rainfly prolongs the life of the tent, because folding waterproof material over and over is going to make it leak. I have other friends who say folding and roll...
I used someone else's Wisperlite Universal for the duration of a trip and it looks like the only functional difference is a jet that can be attached for burning propane. Can I purchase just that je...
I am looking for sustainable alternatives for carrying out human waste. WAG bags, though convenient, sadly have to end up in land-fills. I am looking for a system where the non-biodegrading compone...
What is a good emergency-overnight-sleeping-setup when every ounce counts, like on long technical routes (grade V or VI) where the goal is to do it in one day (without hauling), but one wants to pr...
Is there a good resource for quickly identifying peaks that are visible on the summit of a north-american peak? Currently I use a topographical map and painstakingly identify each individual peak....
I love doing routes with 3 people. Once you are efficient at it, those don't take much longer than going with 2 people, you have someone to talk to when the leader is taking forever, and you have a...
I have a small summit pack that has loops on each side of the backpack, which your's seems to have as well. My pack advertised those for "securing overloads," meaning you can drape stuff that doesn...
Like with most climbing related questions, I personally find it hard to give a definitive rule that applies to all circumstances. There are a couple of safety factors to consider, as well as the pe...
The other day we were waiting in line for a popular 200 foot single pitch climb in the valley and the party in front of us was using two 70 meter ropes they had joined together with a double fisher...
I know I am answering a slightly different, more general question, but I think it is quite crucial to learn how to unjam a rappel device without relying on anybody else's help before embarking on a...
I feel only qualified to answer the first portion of your question: When you are in a rural area, just ask if someone lets you set up camp on their property. Farmers often don't mind. Whenever I ha...
What kind of mementos am I allowed to collect from State and National parks in small quantities, if any? I am especially wondering about: pebbles, shells, sea-urchin-skeletons, sand-dollar-skelet...
I have experienced the same when trail running. I can pretty consistently reproduce the symptoms on downhill stretches when running distances that are much longer than my regular runs, when starti...
Where are the wildest places in the south-western US? By "wild" I mean places where evidence of people or their lasting effect on the land are minimal. Particularly, I am looking for places with ...
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