Posts by imsodin
The DMM device you linked to is as far as I know the only product that has this name officially, but a dead man anchor is a general term for what is in mountaineering also called a t-slot anchor. I...
There is already the question Please Explain Rock Climbing Grades however I would like to know about aiding grades. StrongBad's answer to an aid/trad question mentions A0 and C1 grades. Are these t...
The overall risk comparison between being alone or in a group can be split into parts: falling: no increased risk This is obviously independent of being in a group or soloing as climbing on a via...
I could not find evidence of an existing test and there is no widely accepting known cause. The only risk factor commonly noted is having been previously affected by AMS. Other mentioned risk facto...
Most torches have their brightness specified in lumen, sometimes one also sees a lux number, at times both. While the technical meaning of these units are clear (lumen is luminous intensity per ste...
The problem is, that these are a (comparatively) new type of shoes and a hybrid of other types. Therefore there is no clear definition, not even consistent naming. Trail running shoes These are t...
This looks very much like a homemade Grigri replication (or a predecessor). I assume from your description that the moving parts both rotate around the visible upper axis (red circle): One is the c...
One case of taping I personally know to be effective has not yet been addressed. A typical injury in climbing is a lumbrical tear in the most severe case. More likely than a full tear is a strain, ...
You are clearly overthinking this. Even if your are hanging freely, you should be able to take away your weight from the rope by pulling on gear and unclip the quickdraw (there is nothing that can ...
First of all: Even if in a region/guide the Yosemite Decimal System is used, you cannot be sure that ratings are comparable to other regions/guides using the same system. This varies a lot dependin...
As the protection required in these activities differ, there are different standards for helmets: EN 1385 for kayaking and EN 1077 for skiing. There are of course even more norms for other helmets....
When it is about new climbing partners you need to be very careful. This is not paranoia, simply necessity as you will be trusting them with your life. In any other situation, you wouldn't take tha...
As with most things in climbing, I myself would not go as far as saying this is generally unacceptable. In multipoint anchors there are often single strand connections between one point and the cen...
This depends highly on your location. Contrary to popular belief, the difference between the magnetic pole and the geographic pole is not the only reason for declination. As a matter of fact, the m...
There are three important aspects: Maneuverability, exposure to wind and firm attachment. The optimal orientation for all of those is vertical. Most of the board is then covered by the body so the...
Lets assume I am abseiling multiple pitches with some tuber device and at some point at a belay I dropped the device. How do I improvise something that does the braking while descending? I still ha...
Important disclaimer: I am not a medical doctor, all of the following is based on knowledge acquired from climbing courses and experience. Therefore I will keep it general, but take anything with a...
I guess there is no definite answer, but will vary from climber to climber, as I saw both methods applied. I use both depending of the angle of the pocket: I use the two finger so that the middle f...
The main reasons is simplicity and habituation: A prusik made from a loop is easily taught and controlled. This is a point that many experienced climber forget about often: When people start they m...
This can be calculated using a property called cryoscopic constant Kf which links the concentration of a solved substance to the freezing point depression Td: Td = m * Kf where m is the molality ...
As already explained in the other questions, the primary concern is possible contamination. For fresh snow and far from civilization this is very easy to identify: White is good: yellow, brown, ......
I try to address the situation you are asking about, even though I think you already did a good job so this may not be overly helpful/new. Additionally in one of your referenced answers that is act...
First I will describe the stages of frostbite focusing on how to detect them and what are the implications of each. Secondly I will address handling frostbite. Classification Stages of frostbite ...
There was a question about when a placed ice screw is not reliable. Now I want to know where to best place an ice screw in advance. So what are features of the ice I should look for or avoid when ...
I will only focus on signs to assess the quality of a placed ice screw. There are many factors that influence the outcome like the location, temperature, ... but they deserve an answer of their own...
