Activity for Benedikt Bauerâ€
| Type | On... | Excerpt | Status | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edit | Post #40589 | Initial revision | — | over 4 years ago |
| Edit | Post #40587 | Initial revision | — | over 4 years ago |
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How do you know you have reached North or South Pole without GPS? Having read about the recent foot traverse of Antarctica by Colin O'Brady I was wondering which means the polar explorers of former, pre-GPS times used to determine that they had reached the North or South Pole. Obviously, you cannot use a compass since it would guide you to magnetic north or south a... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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A: How to isolate a strong magnet from things it could damage in a small backpack? To keep this answer focused, let's set the discussion aside, whether a permanent magnet can be strong enough to damage electronics. Physically speaking, you cannot shield magnetic fields -- you can just "dilute" them. To prevent magnetic field strength from being too high at the place of magnet sens... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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A: Using hiking boots for amateur rock-climbing For easy climbs you have quite a good chance to be OK with hiking shoes. The most important property for a shoe to be usable for climbing is, that you have to be able to stand on contact points so small that only a part of your toes' length fits on them. To achieve that, you have basically two possi... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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A: What are quality differences between Fleece? Some (maybe not all) aspects are: Insulation per weight ratio While your observation "the thicker the warmer" is true in general, there are fleeces that are warmer for the same weight and thickness than others. Unfortunately, there's normally no objective measure given for that feature in product de... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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A: How to walk on the hot beach or rather hot sand? One approach I learned when playing beach volleyball in Egypt are a pair of thicker socks. With these you still get the barefoot feeling but have a layer of insulation under your soles. For me my old socks from my military service do the trick, but a pair of old tennis socks should also work fine. (more) |
— | over 8 years ago |
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A: Mountain guide leading towards a thunderstorm - does his explanation make sense? The guide's argument seems to be reasonable. However, I would not recommend to simply copy that behaviour but try to go with the more conservative advice you were given. The guide has one big advantage compared to you: He is roaming this area all the time – if he is a local guide, if not he h... (more) |
— | over 8 years ago |
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A: Oversized Merino undershirt? Finally, you will have to decide yourself if you want to keep it or not and it depends a bit on your preferences and on how much oversized the shirt is. I for myself prefer my base layer shirts to be skin tight since in colder weather I often wear two similar shirts on top of each other where every ... (more) |
— | over 8 years ago |
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A: Does a backpack negatively influence my archery shooting? I'm not an archer, however, I would be surprised if you would not notice any difference with your backpack as compared to no backpack – at least in the beginning. Basically with every skill that requires precise and coordinated movement of your body the precision is more or less strongly susc... (more) |
— | over 8 years ago |
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A: Is it possible to use Suunto Ambit3 R with multiple heart rate monitors? While it surely is possible to pair the watch with several HR monitoring devices, I don't think it's possible to use more than one at the same time. I cannot tell for sure since I don't have an Ambit3 (which uses the Bluetooth Low Energy protocol to connect external sensors, as far as I remember) but... (more) |
— | almost 9 years ago |
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A: What coat should I wear when camping that won't be damaged through melting by embers from a fire? As already was pointed out in the comments: leave synthetics. Some time ago (can't find the source any more, unfortunately) I read about a guy who planed on a very minimalistic outdoor trip basically for the rest of his life, i.e. basically wander the woods of Europe and staying wherever he likes to ... (more) |
— | almost 9 years ago |
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A: Differences between the right and the left trekking sock Well, basically the difference is just that their design is mirrored. However, I have the feeling that your real question behind the actual one is "Why do they have to be mirrored?" Compared to "normal" socks, which are basically just a symmetrically knitted tube that is closed at one end and has a ... (more) |
— | almost 9 years ago |
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A: Advantages of a (hunting) hat in the woods? In the woods, there are many small items that can fall from above that are more or less awkward to have on your head. This goes from leaves and needles on the "not very harmful" side over water droplets (during or after the rain) to ugly things like bird poop. One characteristic that makes a hat as ... (more) |
— | almost 9 years ago |
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A: I never adjust for true north. Is this bad practice? Olin Lathrop's very good answer to the question you reference basically already contains most of the information needed also your gut feeling about the topic is quite right. So let's look at it in a bit more general way: Keeping your compass declination in mind gets the more important, the closer ... (more) |
— | almost 9 years ago |
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A: Does newspaper (in shoes) kill Gore-Tex (breathability)? I would say that this guy at the hut was plain wrong. As far as I'm concerned, the working principle of the Gore-Tex membrane is gradient-driven. That means, the membrane itself (if you consider only the membrane and ignore the layers it is sandwitched in) does not have any physical or chemical pref... (more) |
— | almost 9 years ago |
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A: Lots of birds together at the same time As far as I could extract it, the general question contained in your text is something like: This year in October I saw a lot of robins, male and female, finches and chickadees, and geese flying south. [...] So why this big congregation of birds when it is still going to be relatively warm for mo... (more) |
— | almost 9 years ago |
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A: How to react to someone measuring distances? This answer is not exclusive to archery but concerns basically any activity where there are certain implicit rules that are widely agreed on in the community and are written down explicitly for competitions. Since you say that it was during a tournament and covered by the rules, then it's easy. You ... (more) |
— | almost 9 years ago |
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A: Keeping the Batteries warm The most simple solution is keeping them close to your body somewhere within your clothing. This shouldn't be a problem with small items like phone batteries or small power banks. However, to make sure that they don't get damaged as your clothing gets damp from sweating, I would advise to pack them i... (more) |
— | almost 9 years ago |
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A: Repairing down stuff? According to this German blog post either duct tape, the Tenacious Tape mentioned by Greg Hewgill in his answer or – and I was a bit surprised about that – also bicycle tube patches should be OK for an on-trail repair. However, the post also argues that normally these do neither look v... (more) |
— | about 9 years ago |
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A: Is there a practical "Measurement of warmth"? The physicists answer: there could be such a measure (it exists for example for the insulation of buildings), but it would in the case of clothing depend on so many factors that it would be close to useless. Factors that have an influence here are things like physical activity, wind, humidity or pers... (more) |
— | about 9 years ago |
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A: Is it ok to wear hiking shoes on street conditions? Concerning using hiking shoes on asphalt: it certainly can be done and is a much better option than the other way around (i.e. taking a business shoe on a mountain hike). Hiking shoes are a bit stiffer in their construction and might have a little less damping in their sole which can make them a bit ... (more) |
— | about 9 years ago |
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A: Why do Robins tilt their head to the side before pulling a worm out of the ground? I don't know for sure, but your suggestion seems right. As you can see on the picture you posted, these birds have their eyes on the side of their head which means that they quite surely are not able to see things right in front of their beak. So by turning their head they can look at their prey wit... (more) |
— | over 9 years ago |
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A: What is the difference between "dry rope", "non-dry rope" and "dry core rope"? What are the differences? The different ropes basically differ by how they have been treated to handle water: non-dry ropes (although I've never seen that mentioned explicitly) have no special treatment at all, dry ropes have only the sheath, treated with some water-repellant, while dry core ones al... (more) |
— | over 9 years ago |
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A: Is a smartphone or dedicated gps receiver better for navigation in the desert? Let's go through the different aspects of phone versus dedicated GPS device point by point (however, quite surely without being complete). Basically you have to decide which points apply in your situation and how you weigh them. GPS reception and accuracy When the first smartphones with GPS units h... (more) |
— | over 9 years ago |
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A: Is wild garlic edible? How do you prepare it? Wikipedia is basically right – you can safely eat it (according to the German Wikipedia article the whole plant, however, the leaves are the most used part) and here in Germany they sometimes even sell the leaves in the supermarket. The typical use I know of is the one that is given in the ci... (more) |
— | over 9 years ago |
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A: Any sites/apps for sharing and rating hiking/hillwalking routes? Sharing and downloading routes done by others Concerning sites where you can upload and share GPS tracks you could have a look at http://www.gpsies.com/. There are lots of GPS tracks for hiking, cycling, mountain biking, running, skating, horse riding,... you name it. The extended search allow to fi... (more) |
— | over 9 years ago |
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A: Most efficient training before alpine hiking/climbing? In short: Build up your base endurance! This will give you the ability to perform at moderate intensity over several hours and to recover quickly after the tour. This means, try to get many low-intensity but long training sessions. For your cardiovascular system it doesn't matter in the first place ... (more) |
— | over 9 years ago |
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A: Headlamp with open flame I would guess it's a carbide lamp as it was in former times used by mining workers and is still used in speleology (caving) sometimes. The basic working principle is a box with carbide and a water reservoir from which water slowly drips onto the carbide. Carbide and water chemically react and form a... (more) |
— | almost 10 years ago |
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A: Numbers on down jackets They are basically measures for the quality of the down fill. The 90/10 part refers to the mixture of down and feathers. As down contains nearly no rigid structure, one adds some amount of feathers to give the whole filling some more stability. The example of 90/10 means 90% down, 10% feathers and s... (more) |
— | almost 10 years ago |
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A: 1000 names for snow Firn/névé: Snow consisting of several millimeters sized grains that develop by repeated melting in the sun and freezing over again during the night. Typically occurring in late winter and spring when the temperatures rise again or – in higher altitudes where snow exists all year &#x... (more) |
— | almost 10 years ago |
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A: Quality/robustness of avalanche shovels In this article in the bergundsteigen journal (unfortunately in German) the authors, one of whom is a known Swiss expert in the development of avalanche rescue systems and techniques, did a review of a bunch of avalanche shovels. As they do not cite any norms that these shovels must comply to but com... (more) |
— | almost 10 years ago |
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A: Why some sleeping bags have four temperature ratings while others have only one? The answer might be already hidden in the answer to this question: In the US, there seems to be no standardized norm for sleeping bags, i.e. every manufacturer can write onto the label whatever they want – which can be more or less realistic... Basically this means that they will possibly writ... (more) |
— | about 10 years ago |
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A: What is the best mountaineering quote that you have ever read? It's a round trip. Getting to the summit is optional, getting down is mandatory. - Ed Viesturs and of course, It is not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves - Sir Edmund Hillary (more) |
— | about 10 years ago |
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A: How to walk as a roped party on a glacier? First of all: Walking a glacier contains some serious risks and roping up is not enough to cover that risks, but also knowledge of crevasse rescue is needed. Therefore I strongly recommend a glacier course where all those things are taught. Now for some basic things to consider when walking a glacie... (more) |
— | about 10 years ago |
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A: How to prepare for a long rocky alpine route, which is unusual for me? If I interpret your question correctly, your problem is not so much about the climbing itself but more about the strategy, i.e. to identify where to rope up and where to remove the rope again. As you say, this can cost you lots of time if you recognize those points too late. This isn't something tha... (more) |
— | about 10 years ago |
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A: How to make DIY ice axe protectors? What came to my mind when I read WedaPashi's answer about bicycle handles was the use of old bicycle tubes to build some sheath. The rubber of the tube is flexible but it's not too easy to perforate it, therefore you can build your sheath rather close-fitting. Also you can glue it easily with bicycle... (more) |
— | about 10 years ago |
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A: During high-altitude lengthy expedition: To shave or not shave? Apart from the practical advantages mentioned in practicality of beards, there's also some aspects that are special to remote and/or high altitude trekking: Melting snow to obtain water costs a lot of fuel (and time) which makes water quite a valuable good. You don't want to spend 10% or more of you... (more) |
— | about 10 years ago |
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A: Onlinetool to setup a track in a map and calculate the distance For central Europe I can recommend www.wanderreitkarte.de, which is a German site but has also an English and Italian language layer. Its data is based on openstreetmap data which is (at least in Germany) much more detailed off the beaten track than google maps is. Unfortunately it does not contain N... (more) |
— | about 10 years ago |
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A: Fine tuning the Warm-up routines at Higher altitude I don't think you have to treat that topic significantly different than on lower altitudes (but I have to admit, I have never been higher than 4300 m) as long as you stick to trekking. As you already introduce your question, warming up is especially important for sports where maximum strength (e.g.... (more) |
— | about 10 years ago |
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A: How to cross a 25 feet wide Crevasse? A crevasse that wide cannot just be jumped across (unless you're among the top long jumpers of the world), therefore you have only two possibilities: avoid it or build a bridge over it. Typically such bridges are built using aluminum ladders (cf. image below) that are placed across the crevasse and ... (more) |
— | about 10 years ago |
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A: What does it mean to free a climbing route? "Freeing" a route does basically mean to climb a route, which up to then was only aid climbed, in free climbing style for the first time (i.e. using only the natural holds for gripping and stepping on them). Therefore it is a thing that can only happen once per every route. In the great times of the... (more) |
— | about 10 years ago |
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A: Are there B2 alpine boot brands in the UK besides La Sportiva and Scarpa? Looks like you have a very limited range of brands over on your island Beside the brands you already mentioned here are some others that spring to mind: Hanwag Lowa Mammut Salewa Dachstein I know, you're the continent, we're the island ;-) ! (more) |
— | over 10 years ago |
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A: How can I test out my equipment before a backpacking trip? There can't be any general rule on testing equipment but you should have tested at least all the features that you think you will need during your journey. You also do not necessarily have to test all your stuff at once. For "technical" equipment such as tents, stoves and the like, it might be enoug... (more) |
— | over 10 years ago |
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A: Knot to turn cord into loop (load bearing) I use the (double) Fisherman's knot for such cases. It's easy to tie and has a clear and concise form (easy to check if done right). As already mentioned in nivag's answer, it can be hard to untie if it was heavily loaded. One of its drawbacks is that it is not applicable for webbing as it is not po... (more) |
— | over 10 years ago |
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A: Selecting a rotary hammer for bolting climbs Foreword I fear it will be a bit complicated to get scientific reference for the answers to your questions as those things might be important but too less to be published. Therefore most of the evidence may be hidden somewhere in the corporate knowledge of the hammer drill manufacturers. Nonetheless... (more) |
— | over 10 years ago |
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A: How to use campus boards I guess to understand the use of a campus board it's the easiest to have a look at it's genesis: The campus board was invented by Wolfgang Güllich, who was with Action Directe the first to climb the grade 9a. He invented the campus board while training for this ascent. The crux of Action Direct... (more) |
— | over 10 years ago |
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A: Effective training for rock climbing There's one exercise where I can't remember the name but let's call it climbing marathon. It is best done in a gym at the end of your climbing session when you are already somewhat pumped. Search for a sector in your gym that is vertical with routes where you know that you can climb them without rea... (more) |
— | over 10 years ago |
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A: What is a tour book used for? First of all I have to admit that the following is mostly not based on knowledge but more or less on educated guessing, so take it with a grain of salt. Alpine tours Let's first consider hiring a guide in the Alps (maximum height below 5000m). Here the answer, if you will be asked for a tour book s... (more) |
— | over 10 years ago |
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A: What is SPF in sunscreen cream? As it is stated in this Wikipedia article, the sun protection factor (SPF) roughly describes how the time that your skin is able to protect itself from sunburn is elongated. To take the Wikipedia example: if a person develops a sunburn in 10 minutes when not wearing a sunblock, the same person wi... (more) |
— | over 10 years ago |