Posts by Charles E. Grant
Donkeys are not cars or bicycles. They have minds of their own, and they are considerably stronger than you. If you are going to use a donkey for trekking, you had better know enough about managing...
March in Yosemite is considered winter, so you need to be prepared for cold temperatures and for snow. A sunny but cold day in the snow can be gorgeous and fun, but you have to also be prepared, so...
alpine style remains relatively rare in the Himalayas Actually, as far as I can tell from the current climbing literature, alpine style climbs in the Himalaya are relatively common these days....
Much of our clothing, particularly outdoorsy technical clothing, is made of plastic (nylon is a plastic). The plastic in our clothing is largely inert, but it is subject to mechanical wear and tear...
Snowshoes are certainly useful in mountaineering and are widely used, at least in North America. Typically they are used on the approach and not so much on technical terrain. Many of the climbers I...
Ignoring the difficulties of travel (in summer you may need a boat, in winter, skis), then the current weather will make more difference then the season. Given the correct time and standard navigat...
While a shot of liquor or an applications of camphor may make you feel warmer, neither is actually providing heat. They are chemically stimulating nerve endings and "tricking" your body into dilati...
There are many different kinds of lice, but only three species can colonize humans. Lice are strongly adapted to a particular species and don't cross infect other species. They are also "obligate" ...
I do not have much alpine experience Climbing the Breithorn in the winter is a much different matter than in the spring or summer. Any 4,000 meter peak in the alps is subject to arctic weather...
Yes. My wife is a geologist and has been on a couple of research cruises in the south Pacific and Indian oceans. It used to be quite common to have a "swim call" when the seas were calm. The vessel...
Not dropping the ice axe is a pro in some circumstances and a con in others. If you drop into a crevasse it would be really nice to hang on to your ice axe to aid in your rescue and finishing or ev...
Not all search and rescue organizations charge for their services, even for air evacuation. It varies from state to state and even county by county. In the US clubs like the Sierra Club, the Mazam...
The non-breathable pants are usually considerably cheaper than the breathable ones. That can make them a better choice for activities that stand a good chance of ripping holes in the material, glis...
I just finished Caldwell's book Push. The big walls in Yosemite are essentially vertical deserts. Even in winter they're in the full sun much of the day. It would drop below freezing at night, but ...
There are certainly folks who would say that the entire idea of keeping marine animals in captivity and on exhibit is bad for the animals. However, if you are willing to accept keeping them in capt...
This is really down to a matter of taste, fit, and comfort. These days through hikers doing long distance hikes like the Appalachian Trail or the Pacific Crest trail mostly go for light weight hiki...
As a beginning skier you will probably be falling down a lot. This means that you are likely to end up covered in snow even if the weather is nice. If you are wearing a soft shell, the snow melting...
I've eaten both. They really don't have anything in common besides containing a lot of sugar and peppermint flavoring. There may be several variants of mint cake now, but the stuff I was eating in ...
When you buy Patagonia or Arcteryx you are paying, at least in part, for a status signaling label. Patagonia is sometimes derisively referred to as Patagucci. That said, I do own some Patagonia clo...
A market definitely exists, but that also means you already have quite a bit of competition. There are both small local guide companies that do this, and big companies with a national, or even inte...
I had to turn around on a long (5000ft) glacier route last week because one of my ankles had really begun to hurt. The ankle was so fatigued after 1000ft that I doubted my ability to safely finish ...
You know, most black bears are probably going to be deterred by the presence of your dogs, but bears come in all sorts of personalities and degrees of desperation for food. Your dogs might be able ...
Really the key to escaping tree wells is to ski/board/snowshoe with a buddy. I have friends who have ended up head down in a tree well, completely unable to reach their bindings. With every movemen...
This weekend I was out for the third time on my MSR Lightning Ascent snowshoes. I'm pretty happy with them, particularly the traction on ice or heavy crust. However, the bindings are driving me cra...
Statistics is sometimes referred to as the study of decision making in the face of uncertainty. The XKCD comic is funny because the character is relying on a hopelessly broad statistic when there i...
