Activity for Usurer‭

Type	On...	Excerpt	Status	Date
Answer	—	A: Does anybody know or know where to find the requirements for Russian ice axe tests? As far as I know, there are no specific ice axe test requirements in Russia. I didn't find any GOST standard for an ice axe as well. So, if your ice axe isn't UIAA certified you can just guess about whether it's reliable or not. (more)	—	almost 6 years ago
Answer	—	A: How do I keep my group together? As for hiking, it's mostly about group discipline and communication. From my experience, I find the following actions to be effective. Put someone strong and fast to the end of the group - they should watch for anyone else not to lag behind. If someone can't keep the group pace, this last group memb... (more)	—	almost 6 years ago
Answer	—	A: Are liner mittens significantly warmer than liner gloves? I think, that whether you have a shell mitten or not, the main argument is the same - inside a mitten, you have one space for a whole hand, so small distant parts like the fingertips could get missing heat from the palm. From personal experience - when my hands get cold in both shell and liner glove... (more)	—	almost 6 years ago
Answer	—	A: With what unit are river flow speeds indicated on the Genshtab Soviet military maps? It's meter per second. See the more detailed legend explanation at this huge pdf The text means "Arrows that show rivers' flow direction (0.2 is a speed of the flow in m/s)" (more)	—	almost 6 years ago
Answer	—	A: What is a glass artificial horizon? I'd suppose, that the glass horizon is the one that uses a well-polished glass as a reflective surface. The quote from the answer you've mentioned: The basic arrangement needs a horizontal reflective plane, for which Amundsen used a pool of mercury. A precisely weighted mirror could work also... (more)	—	almost 6 years ago
Answer	—	A: Are these tracks on the sand in Portugal dormouse tracks? This Cabo da Roca guide offers three options: a badger, an Egyptian mongoose, or a weasel. Badger is quite big and, according to East Surrey Badger Protection Society, "The front paws of an adult badger range from about 4.5 cm to 6.5 cm across for a large boar". The print is also different - see, fo... (more)	—	almost 6 years ago
Question	—	Are these tracks on the sand in Portugal dormouse tracks? I've found these tracks just a couple of days ago on the Ursa beach near Cabo da Roca, Portugal. I'm not familiar with the fauna of this place and the only possible candidate I've found for now is a Garden Dormouse, but these tracks do seem too big for such a small animal and I'd expect a dormouse to... (more)	—	almost 6 years ago
Answer	—	A: What should I do to avoid ticks other than wear particular clothing? avoid grass and shrubs; keep your clothings shut tight, i.e. there should be as less places for the tick to get to your body as possible; wrap socks around pants, wear long-sleeved shirt, put something on your head; inspect yourself from time to time - especially after you've been to dense plants ar... (more)	—	over 8 years ago
Question	—	Are these tracks in the mud tortoise/turtle tracks? I was having a nice evening walk near one of the nature reservations in Andover MA, close to Tewksbury, when I've found such a footprint. I'm really sorry for image quality, though. So it's a wet, bog-like, piece of ground, two lanes of deep small holes (probably the actual footprints) - the distance... (more)	—	over 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: Quickest / most efficient way to ascend a hanging rope with rock climbing gear? Lanyard + 2 ascenders + cordelette. So you have lanyard attached to your harness, and ascenders attached to both arms of the lanyard. You fix ascenders on the rope - one will be above the other. Then you attach cordelette to lower ascender and make a loop on its end. So what do we have - you can pu... (more)	—	over 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: What is a buff? I have a couple of buffs - one is made of polartec with a piece of thin fabric attached, and another one is just the same thin fabric. I've found the first one to be very useful in winter because: it is very easy to put on and off; on a hike you can put it off for while you're moving and take on fo... (more)	—	over 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: Is there any way to dispose of liquid fuel? While writing the question, I've figured out an answer. I just burn the fuel in the stove. Maybe this little knowledge would be helpful. (more)	—	almost 9 years ago
Question	—	Is there any way to dispose of liquid fuel? So that's the case - I have a camp stove and a bottle of liquid fuel for it (gas? benzine? petrol? ah, whatever). Hike is over and I have to get on a plane - thus I have to get rid of this fuel. How do I do it? Or maybe there's no way to do it right and I've got myself a problem? (more)	—	almost 9 years ago
Answer	—	A: Is a mountaineering tent necessary for backpacking Iceland? Skirt. If you care a lot about wind and sand, then you should look for a tent with a skirt - many moutaneering-specific tents do have one. But skirt does increase the weight, so there's no right decision. I'd suppose a tent, that has a very small gap between a... uh, upper part, and a ground. Then ... (more)	—	almost 9 years ago
Question	—	How to dry Gore-Tex boots in the field I'm thinking of switching from old and heavy army boots to modern trekking ones. Trying to choose between Gore-Tex and leather with waterproof coating only, I can't get over a simple question - What do you do when water gets inside your boot? It happens quite often when you cross swampy grounds... (more)	—	over 10 years ago