Posts by roryalsop
While there are slightly different needs (on your roof you are likely to get more friction against edges than a climber) for most purposes you can use perfectly normal climbing ropes, and a standar...
While that construction has no shelter currently, Scouts and other outdoors groups will often make a frame like you describe, and then cover those branches with leaves, moss or even a tarp in order...
Your final sentence is correct. The newspaper will wick water from internal fabric, but it will not pull water back through the Gore-Tex layer. It only allows water vapour to pass through. You act...
At night it is very easy to find true north using the stars (true south doesn't quite have an equivalent.) First identify Ursa Major, the Great Bear or Big Dipper. Then take the two stars at the e...
This may be a contrary position, but I think methane has actually gone out of favour in many parts of the world (definitely in Europe) as propane and butane have become popular. In fact propane or...
Braces have a couple of advantages I can think of: the weight of the trousers is taken on your shoulders, not your waist they can come up higher than your waist These are important for snow spo...
You wouldn't want to use one to climb. My favourite quote I found on the Internet: Here's my advice on climbing with grappling hooks: don't climb with grappling hooks. Real climbers never use ...
After reading @Aravona's question on the best time to pick sloe berries, I was wondering where I should actually go to find sloe bushes. I think I can recognise them from pictures online, but are t...
I first learnt snowboarding twenty years ago, when boards and bindings were rigid, the boards were long and asymmetrical, and back then carving was the way to turn. You'd lean right over (sometimes...
A sling belay is typically used to connect 2 points at an anchor. An example belay sling from Edelrid.
What you describe is exactly how it was done: Accurate measurement of distances and angles Obviously, measuring distances on flat ground is relatively straightforward: you use a known length me...
These are emergency kit - specifically to help those suffering health problems due to altitude. As I understand it they are used within the climber's tent or bivouac, which provides the shelter req...
Having suffered similar on a marathon I had to run in freezing rain once (ending up with not just large areas with the skin chafed off entirely, but also deep cuts into my thigh muscles from the st...
It's not as clear cut as for cycling. For cycling you have definite benefits, and of the 3 listed in the accepted answer on the cycling page: To prevent infection when crashing. To pull off banda...
You will want to look for a sun cream that is designed for swimming - don't bother looking for specific ingredients, look for the bottles that say they are for sun and swim. Usually in addition to...
Who says you can't hike? If you have no medical concerns (ie high blood pressure, blood results showing complications etc) then guidance is to keep doing the sports you enjoy (with some exception...
They can't run for long periods. They have brief sprints up to about 12mph so you can outrun one, especially if you keep going. That said, alligators don't attack humans. From this LA Times articl...
Paul and Kevin are correct here - any corrective lens has to alter what your eye sees. Your brain very rapidly corrects (a few minutes) but it is a basic function of optical physics that is unavoid...
If you wanted to avoid the 4WD areas* my suggestion would be to make your start point for a multi-day hike at one of the furthest reaches of a 4WD trail. And if that trail is one of the lesser used...
They are examples of a round turn and two half hitches. Sometimes known as an anchor hitch or a fisherman's hitch. http://www.animatedknots.com/roundturn/index.php?Categ=boating A Useful Boati...
Most applications will let you minimise your margins, which reduces waste, then all you do is cut the margin off one page, and then stick that page over the other one, which gives you a solid conne...
Yes - 50lbs draw means you need to be able to pull 50lbs, unless you have a pulley/gear reduction. So if you increase to a higher draw, you'll need to be able to pull it.
It can happen, sure, but because of the way a climbing harness fits (you sit in it) and because of the way falls typically happen (you fall straight down from an upright position in many cases) it ...
My solution to this is a Hohner G3T and a 1 Watt Marshall amp. The Hohner fits easily down the side of my bigger rucksacks, and the amp is tiny. They don't add a huge amount to the weight of my...
Here are a few quick and easy ones that will help your strength: Squats will be the most useful. Not exactly at your desk, but you can definitely do it next to your desk. Seated leg raises. Keepi...
