Posts by Steed
MODIS data is accessible as JPEG images. Sometimes it's still not easy to find an exact point on the image, but at least you don't have to bother with HDF. If you can't find today's images for a s...
Gloves protect your hands from a couple of hazards: Cold (cold air, cold metal, cold rock/ice). Rain and snow, which make it even colder Sunburns Scratches and wounds The latter is a very serio...
This topic will be incomplete without mentioning the good old dulfersitz method used by our fathers when there were no belay plates and no carabiners. This method doesn't require any equipment oth...
Curiouser and curiouser! /Alice in Wonderland/ DISCLAIMER: this is definitely not a proven advice from the book and may be suitable only for experienced climbers, who do it on their own risk! ...
There is at least one option from Ferrino, but I am sure there are more from "mountain" brands. Maybe you should stop looking for "4 season" and start looking for extreme/mountaineering/alpinism so...
I believe that the best material is the same as you backpack is made of, though you may want something tougher if you are planning more scrambling over granite boulders. There is a plenty of Cordu...
There is more than one reason, which makes you feel warmer sleeping with less clothes (even if it's perfectly dry): It's the same deal as with mittens, which are warmer than gloves. When you wear...
If you'd broaden "down" and "wet tents" categories to "all insulators" and "all wet items", it'll cover pretty everything, I think. Also a membrane jacket might stick to itself (coalesce) and may ...
Some non-tested ideas: Put rubbers/galoshas (or any other huge size boots) on your ski boots. Remove the soles of your previous ski boots (or any other of your old boots with good grip) and glue ...
My wife is a doctor and she always wears gloves when dealing with wounds, even with friends outside of clinic. But when I ask her if I should wear gloves, she says it's not necessary. The reason ...
To avoid starting fire inside your shelter, you can do it outside and use a screen (sorry for my drawing): This is view from aside. On the upper picture there is a widely used method for sleepi...
One point besides being warm (which is a really tough task by itself), is having something to drink - it's not easy in below-freezing temperatures. You'd want to have a reliable stove or you'll be ...
Give them to those who need them. First of all, novice students in your gym or mountaineering school will be happy to use a bit heavier/older gear, but ease the burden of buying everything for th...
Avoid Putting cheese in plastic bags. Ever. Mold guaranteed. The cheese should receive enough air and shouldn't get wet. Cutting a big piece into smaller pieces (for easier service, you know). Fi...
Why exactly do you need to carry frozen water? If the temperature is about 0 C, the water will not freeze for a long time anyway. If it is way below 0 C, than you are probably having snow nearb...
I don't know of what quality are the poles which you are using, but it's a fact that the better the quality, the better the joints. It's one of the most important components of the price. For me, ...
As other posters said, roping together is not a good idea, at least if you are not an experienced mountaineer. Now on how you can do your trip in safety. When walking on ice and frozen dirt, don...
Use common plastic bottles from sparkling beverages. They are lightweight. When they are empty, they can be smashed thin and take almost no space (you can do the same which a half full bottle, push...
LBell has neatly summarized, that folding leads to smaller pack and stuffing is just faster. I'd like to add some considerations here (being an adept of stuffing). Sometimes you have to fold (and ...
In Europe your will be hiking on altitudes less than 5000 m, and on these altitudes you can go with sunglasses without heavy specialized equipement. However not any piece of sunglasses will do. ...
The range mostly depends on the power of your radio. 500 mW is OK, 5 W is much better. You should study what frequency ranges and what maximum power are allowed in your country for public, and go f...
I can agree with DavidR - it's the heritage of "old school". Some (like, 10) years ago, materials and sewing technologies were less perfect. My first harness had a much less durable belay loop, th...
I was always using and teaching the method, which Ben Crowell described very well in another answer, and it was standard in our club for a long time. However, over time it showed some important dis...
You can do most one-day trails with a pair of sneakers. It's much more comfortable, than any type of "hiking boots". And also much lighter (you spend less energy lifting it up many thousand times a...
In addition to great strategy advice by Kate Gregory and berry120, there are some technical points. Take a deep breath If there is no immediate health/life risk, take a deep breath and think a li...
