Posts by requiem
Based on the picture the OP presents, the yellow prusik cord weave has each pair of threads (likely not the correct term) passing over 3 or 4 threads rather than two. This doubling of length and c...
I would call it a basic munter hitch. Take the eye in the end of the cord (through which you are pushing the bight in the first image) and imagine it to be a carabiner. This should make the struc...
The safe and courteous way to handle an encounter with stock (horses, donkeys, etc.) is to step off the trail to the downhill side, and also to talk to the riders. This helps the animals know you ...
I would begin with making sure the food plan is nutritionally well-balanced. For shorter trips you can survive on almost anything, and most people in developed countries are already carrying more ...
The background It took me a moment to find it, but an example of a car in which this happened can be seen here. If the fuel in the canister becomes sufficiently warm the pressure can rupture the ...
Yes, your GPS device can tell you the distance to a location. You will first need to load the cache locations onto it. Both the manual and the quickstart guide that came with it have information ...
Such packets are included in MREs (Meals, Ready-to-Eat) and are referred to as "flameless ration heaters". The packets contain finely powdered magnesium metal, alloyed with a small amount of iron,...
The short answer is, "it depends". Packs sold to women may have only superficial changes compared to the men's version (i.e. the color is different), but there are usually a few common differences...
Traditionally a bear bag was simply something to hold your food out of reach of bears. This usually meant finding a way to suspend it from a high branch, and in this instance it's usually sufficie...
Yes, it has been done! You can try contacting the people at Paradox Sports; this sort of adaptive climbing is exactly what they do. In terms of personal experiences, there are a couple of threads...
Caveat: Heading out into a blizzard seems an easy way to get killed. Personally I'd only do it in dire situations. Regarding your layers: Cotton stores about 27x it's weight in water. This make...
The National Weather Service offers a REST Web Service to provide forecast data in XML format. You can request forecast data using latitude and longitude, start and end dates, and forecast data el...
The glossary section of Big Walls by John Long and John Middendorf defines a sling belay as: A hanging belay with no stance; listed as SB on topos From perusing forums, I suspect this term ar...
Wild dogs can indeed be dangerous, and packs can be extremely dangerous. You do not want to take on a pack of dogs if you can at all avoid it, and running is often a particularly bad idea. I sugg...
I find myself in agreement with the definitions listed on Climbing.com, so I have excerpted them here: Backstep n, v : To press your shoe’s external edge onto a foothold and drop the knee light...
Reaching for my Kindle copy of House and Johnston's book*, I find the statement: "In an ideal world we’d eat seventy grams of carbohydrate per hour to replace the roughly 400–800 calories per hour ...
In the context of camping, it's perfectly safe to wear a down jacket. Keep in mind that fleece is typically also made from synthetics, and so can be expected to have similar properties to your dow...
The standard expedition stove for extreme conditions would be an MSR XGK. You will likely want to bring a pair of them, along with a repair kit, on the assumption that due to the cold or poor qual...
While I'm not too familiar with this brand, a 2013 article on BackpackingLight (largely paywalled) discussed recent developments in canister stoves, most of which are now manufactured in Asia. I t...
If you have the equipment already, I would go back to the book and practice using the equipment. In the US the standard text is Mountaineering: Freedom of the Hills; there may be equivalents in ot...
Belaying Multi-pitch It's often recommended to belay off the harness (an "indirect" belay) when belaying the leader, and off the anchor (a "direct" belay) when belaying the follower. Use of an i...
I suspect you are bringing more items than you have listed, since you've alluded to some of them in the comments. That said, here's what I see as missing or improvable: Flashlight. Is that beca...
The main standards to focus on for bicycle helmets are probably the CPSC standard in the US, and the EN 1078 standard in Europe. The climbing helmet UIAA 106 standard is based on the EN 12492 stan...
I think you are correct and what you see it is the polyurethane coating chemically breaking down. Warm or damp conditions will accelerate this. An example image is displayed on the Outdoor Gear L...
The concern is valid; your basic plan should be to stay calm and not increase your heart rate. If other options for evacuation are not available, slowly walking yourself out is the best remaining ...
