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Activity for roryalsop‭

Type On... Excerpt Status Date
Answer A: How should a climbing rope be cleaned?
All the major climbing sites agree on the two options for cleaning, and the subsequent drying: ukclimbing.com basicrockclimbing.com etc Wash in cool water (less than 30&#xB0;C) and use a mild detergent, either in a bath, or in the shower. Some people place it in the shower while they wash. Gentle...
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almost 10 years ago
Answer A: Are there any phobia-friendly ways to deal with flies?
Because I appear to be a midge's favourite food, I have tried many ways to repel them, with varying success, but the single best solution for you, if you can cope with having flies near but not touching you, is the midge suit and hat. Examples below: This suit from treemeadow.co.uk And this hat f...
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almost 10 years ago
Answer A: Considerations for buying windsurfing boards?
This is actually a very broad question, and I'm not 100% sure it is best suited here. That said, I'll try an answer: Sports Stack Exchange has this question on sail choice for sailboarding, which actually led me to this useful page on poolewindsurfing.co.uk. They have an excel spreadsheet which hel...
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almost 10 years ago
Answer A: Activities at the campsite
In addition to Kate's excellent answer I have the following advice, from over 35 years camping (13 of them with kids): If there is the slightest chance of the entire holiday being rainy, take a tent much larger than you need. This isn't just to give you room to dry wet things, store dry stuff etc., ...
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almost 10 years ago
Answer A: Does windsurfing experience help me to learn kitesurfing?
Your understanding and 'feel' of waves and swell will almost almost certainly help, as will experience of identifying gusts coming in. Being able to carve a board will also be useful. Overall, while you will still need to learn how to handle the kite, your experience windsurfing will shorten your t...
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almost 10 years ago
Answer A: Ways of attaching a DSLR on a ACT Trail 32 backpack
There are any number of ways to do this, but perhaps the simplest is to use something similar to this belt mounting clip and have one of your rucksack straps fed through the belt loops: I would suggest mounting it either on the back of your pack, and allowing the camera to hang lens down, or on th...
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almost 10 years ago
Answer A: How do I fold in / tidy up the straps on my rucksack?
As all rucksacks and packs I own have areas of webbing on most sides, I tie up any long straps with multiple half-hitches onto the webbing, so I still have the full length of the straps - in case I need them - but have them safely out the way.
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about 10 years ago
Answer A: How water proof are these kinds of tents?
I have camped in a tent with a similar rain fly - it was fine in gentle rain, and I found it amusing in a force 8 gale with lashing rain - because it leaked about 11 litres of rain into the tent overnight (so my middle daughter ended up a bit damp) My wife wasn't so keen, as she had never camped in ...
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over 10 years ago
Answer A: What are the consequences of — illegally — using a 446 MHz PMR in the North American wilderness?
Excluding the legality question, as to be honest, that's likely to depend on who detects you, and how much it interferes with licensed traffic, the safety angle has a couple of aspects: It doesn't look like you will clash with emergency services, however there is a risk that you will clash with loc...
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over 10 years ago
Answer A: What shoes to wear while climbing monolithic granite rocks?
If it is steep enough to count as a climb I use rock boots. Hiking boots are only useful when walking on trails where you need tread to grip. Smooth rocks are best climbed with the kind of smooth rubber soles you have on rock boots. You could take both though and change as needed.
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over 10 years ago
Answer A: What exercises can you do before Scuba Diving to improve your air consumption?
There are three things you should look at here, lung capacity, oxygen carrying capacity and bradycardia reflex. Lung Capacity When I was younger I suffered from asthma, and had a series of lung exercises to improve lung capacity. I can't remember them all now so I checked various sites. This one ha...
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over 10 years ago
Answer A: Keeping the things interesting in a small climbing gym
What my local climbing arena does is have multiple routes up every wall. They overlap, sometimes on flat surfaces, sometimes on real rock, sometimes on artificial (extra grippy) rock. The climbs here range from a 3 to an 8C+ but on a particular pitch you may have a few ranging from a 5 to a 6B, fo...
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over 10 years ago
Answer A: How do climbers retrieve anchored rope?
You would use the rope doubled, so that when you are at the length of it, you anchor off and release one end of the doubled rope so you can pull it through the anchor. Then re-anchor at your current position in order to continue your descent.
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over 10 years ago
Answer A: Thermal insulation of truck cap
I'd probably go with a foam roll mat under you, as your biggest heat loss well be conduction through the metal bed. As the space isn't that great, the cap shouldn't need insulation, but this will depend on your sleeping bag.
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over 10 years ago
Answer A: Does packing boots with newspaper make them dry faster?
While airflow does dry shoes, it is much less effective than physically wicking moisture away using towel, some or paper. Capillary action is very effective at removing water from anything, and wide fibre or coarse paper, such as newspaper, or better still, tissue or kitchen towel or swimmers' chamo...
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over 10 years ago
Answer A: Please Explain Rock Climbing Grades
In Europe we have a few systems depending on the country, so in the UK we have two grading systems, adjectival and technical and they work as follows: Easy - E Moderate M - US 5.2 Difficult D - US 5.3 Hard Diff HD Very Difficult VD - US 5.4 Hard Very Difficult HVD Severe S - US 5.5 Hard Severe HS -...
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over 10 years ago
Answer A: How do I prevent soreness due to friction when swimming?
The simple solution is not to rub your arms against your torso. If you can't do this, you can buy things like rash vests, that a lot of surfers and kayakers use, or even house fat or Vaseline like cross channel swimmers use.
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over 10 years ago
Answer A: Is caffeine helpful or hurtful when backpacking?
If you normally have a coffee in the morning then you will be fine with a coffee in the morning out on the trail. It is part of your daily routine. It is useful to have something like red bull or energy drinks in a pack as part of your emergency rations as week. Not for long term but if you need to ...
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over 10 years ago
Answer A: How can I keep my backpack from resting directly against my back?
I think you won't be able to do much with your existing rucksack, but there are many out there specifically designed to avoid the sweaty back. Deuter make a range of rucksacks with their Airstripes system: This holds the rucksack away from your back as much as possible and allows air to flow over...
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over 10 years ago
Answer A: What's the fastest and easiest way to replace an in-boom outhaul?
This will depend entirely on the type of boom and outhaul. If you have a simple straight through outhaul: If you have completely lost the outhaul, either get yourself a fish tape (from your local DIY store) or use a small plumb bob and fishing line. A fish tape should work even when the boom is ho...
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over 10 years ago
Answer A: How to cope with thorns when hiking barefoot?
Generally, thorns will not dissolve in the body. Very small ones may work their way out, but they may not. Treat them and any other sharp objects as possible sources of infection. The first thing to do is check to see how badly the skin is broken. A baby wipe can be enough for this. If you can see a...
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over 10 years ago
Answer A: Splitting up weight hiking as a couple/mixed gender group
When I go hiking with my wife or a mixed group, we don't use any fixed figures of x%. Instead we all know roughly what weight we are happy carrying, and if someone feels they could carry more they will offer to help out someone who appears to be struggling or overloaded. In general, if you are exper...
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over 10 years ago
Answer A: When should pregnant women avoid buckling a backpack's waist straps?
This will vary by individual - the basic recommendation is that once it becomes uncomfortable you should stop. 6 or 7 months sounds about right. By that stage though, the recommendation is also to dramatically lighten the pack you carry anyway, as ligaments get much more elastic by that stage of pre...
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over 10 years ago
Answer A: How do female-urination-devices perform on long backpacking trips?
I have it on good authority that the Shewee (no info on the other one) is incredibly easy to clean, as it is made of recyclable polypropylene, so all that you would want to do is give it a quick rinse with water if you need to. As it is so highly polished, all you normally need to do is give it a s...
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over 10 years ago
Answer A: How bright a flashlight would I realistically need for searching through terrain?
For search party purposes, bigger is almost always better, both from the perspective of the lost individual - he/she may be able to see the light from a distance and make themselves more visible or move towards the light, and from the searcher trying to see their target, perhaps an unconscious indivi...
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over 10 years ago
Answer A: How to estimate the depth of a pool of water from a distance above?
Firstly, Bear Grylls is notorious for not doing things the way they look on television, but actually conducting extensive planning, multiple attempts, using alternative methods to get better camera angles, and in some instances, apparently going to stay in a hotel! But with regard to your question, ...
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over 10 years ago
Answer A: At what point do I need snow goggles or glacier glasses when hiking?
The sides on glacier glasses are invaluable when on a snowfield, as the sheer amount of light hitting your eyes is increased dramatically by the high reflection from the snow. Ordinary sunglasses allow a lot of light to hit your eye from all sides. I would recommend always using the sides when on s...
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over 10 years ago
Answer A: How to find new poles for old tent?
These are actually so incredibly easy to get, it doesn't really warrant an answer, but here goes anyway: Because these sort of poles are the de-facto standard these days, they are available everywhere. A google search on tent pole replacement gives me two pages of shops, Amazon, GoOutdoors (and some...
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almost 11 years ago
Answer A: Who places the anchors that rock climbers use?
This varies by area. Often a local climbing group will manage anchors and route safety. In other areas it may be park management or a local council. There are no fixed regulations as to position etc either - but teams will generally follow generally accepted good practices. Maintenance is also vari...
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almost 11 years ago
Answer A: How to apply duct tape and mole skin to prevent blisters?
This is actually very simple. You use them as both a cushioning material and a way to prevent your shoe rubbing on your skin. If you have a problem area, products such as Compeed cushions, mole skin etc work really well, but in an emergency duct tape should work just fine. Just stick them over th...
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almost 11 years ago
Answer A: Why do many climbers appear to not trust their belay loops?
I have never seen what you are describing in many years of sport climbing. Every climber I know uses the belay loop correctly as it is one of the strongest parts of the harness and like the old harness loop has been designed to take the strain of falls and distribute it evenly to the leg loops etc. ...
(more)
almost 11 years ago
Answer A: Hardening the skin on the whole body (not only soles)
Not really, no. What strengthens skin is damaging it, either by rubbing or by cutting/scuffing, so you end up with either thicker/rougher tissue or even scar tissue. I would imagine running through long sharp grass every day could do this quite well but it would not be fun.
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almost 11 years ago
Answer A: Geocaching or alternative game/activity to learn the basics of GPS navigation in terrain
You could try the global multi-layer GPS game from Google: Ingress You need to be able to navigate to locations (generally monuments, statues, major landmarks etc) and once there you claim them for your faction (or destroy the mods placed there by the opposing players) - and to handle higher level...
(more)
almost 11 years ago
Answer A: How to harden feet for walking barefoot on harsh surfaces?
Try running on sand for your morning or evening run - sand is very good at early stages of toughening up your feet as it still spreads the load well. Once you have toughened the skin a bit, you will be able to walk on forest trails, stone, gravel etc. But for now, the best thing you can do is moist...
(more)
almost 11 years ago
Answer A: Is it generally allowed to walk in German forests in the night?
The warning during hunting season is not so much a legal restriction, but a safety one. Many regions allow night time hunting in season, and the risk to you is that you may be mistaken for a target animal and shot! Most tourist trails and blaze paths should be appropriately signposted, giving warnin...
(more)
almost 11 years ago
Answer A: Sweating in sleeping bag
I get far too hot but like you I find that layer part of the night gets cold. My solution in temperate climates is to only ever zip the sleeping bag up halfway so the top half is left loose, that way I can pull it over me or off again without waking up. If it is a wee bit cooler you could try this ...
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almost 11 years ago
Answer A: What do you do for sun allergy?
If she is actually allergic to sun then the only solution is to cover up, with clothes and sun screen. From Weather.com As a first-line treatment, we usually ask the person to avoid the sun if possible, and if they do go out in the sun to use photo-protective measures. So in addition to sta...
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almost 11 years ago
Answer A: Transfer data from Suunto Ambit2 without Movelink
Yes, you can use the USB cable to directly transfer information from your watch to your PC. You just won't get updates or new features, and you'll miss out on the Movescount functionality online. This and more information in the Suunto Ambit 2 manual.
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almost 11 years ago
Answer A: What are the dangers of swimming in natural waters?
I have a couple of extra points that were always relevant for us as kids growing up in an extremely tidal area (peaking at 16knots - 30mph!): Between islands, tidal races are usually predictable, and the local tide chart will let you know when slack tide (either high or low) is - these will be rela...
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almost 11 years ago
Answer A: Are sleeping bags needed in southern Spain in summer?
There are two problems with this question: Night-time temperatures vary a great deal across Spain-it is a big country, with coasts, plains and mountains Your ideal temperature may be very different to mine So what you want to do is look at the range of expected temperatures in the area you plan t...
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almost 11 years ago
Answer A: Sailing with a child
Children are a relatively high risk on board a small boat. At 4 or 5 years old they don't know enough about safety, and by their teens they are either convinced that they are invincible, or terrified that they will drown, so at either end of that spectrum there are challenges. Ideally you want ever...
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about 11 years ago
Question Sailing with a child
Inspired by this question on taking an infant sailing, as it is quite different when they can move, I thought I'd ask the same question in respect of a toddler or child. What essential safety considerations should I meet?
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about 11 years ago
Answer A: Sailing with an infant
We took my youngest with us in a punt on the river Cam when she was ten days old. Slightly different age and size but as they are effectively immobile, they are actually easier than once they hit toddler age. Some things you do want to check: are you both very strong swimmers? If there is an issue...
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about 11 years ago
Answer A: What features to consider when buying a bouldering slipper?
Generally speaking, the main differences between bouldering and top roping (unless you are an expert) is that you are likely to find yourself trying more extreme positions when bouldering. Huge generalisation, I know, but when top roping you usually look to conserve energy, assess the pitch, and ma...
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about 11 years ago
Answer A: How to select a good GPS receiver?
If you really do need exceptional accuracy, you could use the solution many Ingress players use - a good Android phone with a battery pack. In the game you often need accuracy of 2 or 3 metres - so the Galaxy S3 or a phone paired with the Nexus 7 (which has an excellend GPS) are the tools of choice....
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about 11 years ago
Answer A: Comfy inflatable pillows for car camping
Have you tried fitting them both into a single pillowcase? That should keep them together for you. Failing that, if you are car camping, why not just take your normal pillow? Presumably you don't have any weight or space issues. That's what I do when car camping.
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about 11 years ago
Answer A: What are the advantages of a double sleeping bag?
The only real difference is that in a one piece double you don't have zips so the insulation is evenly distributed. The zips add some weight over a one piece but not much - it also won't pack quite as small but has the advantage that it can be split across two packs. Where you have zips, the insula...
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about 11 years ago
Answer A: What's the problem with electrolyte imbalance and how do I mitigate it?
Your blood and body need sodium, potassium and various other solutes in order to function (without the correct potassium levels, your heart will start to fail etc) In a hot country, where you may sweat a lot, and top up your liquids by drinking water, you lose these solutes quite rapidly. The quanti...
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about 11 years ago
Answer A: How should I remove a leech?
I used to think I knew the answer to this, from having a couple of very small leeches, but this guidance from wildmadagascar.com is quite comprehensive: Identify the anterior (oral) sucker which will be found at the small end of the leech.Put your finger on your skin adjacent to the oral sucker Gen...
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about 11 years ago
Answer A: How would you evaluate sailing lessons for adults?
If you have the option, small boats give you the best feel for how sails work and how changes in trim affect the boat and your course, so at least start on a small boat. Also, taking a few full days will help far more than a bunch of evenings. You develop a feel for sailing over time so for your i...
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about 11 years ago