Ben Crowell‭

When climbing multipitch, what is the cycle of things you do when climbing each pitch, and what are the associated voice signals?

4 answers  ·  posted 3y ago by Ben Crowell‭  ·  last activity 3y ago by System‭

With the exceptions of grizzly bears and polar bears, bears are nuisance animals that are after your food. They have no interest in you except as a source of food or as an obstacle to obtaining you...

posted 9y ago by Ben Crowell‭

I'm a beginning trad leader, having done about five easy fifth class leads. I've had some formal instruction, but don't currently have access to a teacher or mentor. I'm finding that I'm extremely ...

4 answers  ·  posted 9y ago by Ben Crowell‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

Among people I've talked to who have tried bivy sacks, none have had anything good to say about them. Tarping is a great way to save weight compared to bringing a tent, but putting up a tarp is tim...

posted 9y ago by Ben Crowell‭

I sometimes bring a tarp and sometimes a tent. Most of my backpacking is in the summer in the Sierra Nevada, which means most of the time there's no threat of rain and I don't take my tarp or tent ...

posted 9y ago by Ben Crowell‭

Freedom of the Hills is a book about mountaineering, not rock climbing. They overlap somewhat, but they're basically different things. Rock climbing can mean a lot of very different things: climbin...

posted 9y ago by Ben Crowell‭

To me, hiking is totally different from the rest of the activities on the list. A hike is just walking. The other possibilities require a lot more technical skill, gear, trust, and experience. In t...

posted 9y ago by Ben Crowell‭

What wild animals are there in California that can be dangerous or create hassles, and how do I avoid problems with them?

2 answers  ·  posted 8y ago by Ben Crowell‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

The knot in the photo you posted is a double overhand knot. It's often used as half of a double fisherman's bend, and that's essentially how it's being used in the web page. (It will become a doubl...

posted 8y ago by Ben Crowell‭

This isn't a complete answer, just an answer about the avalanche stuff, but it's too long to fit in a comment. Research shows that most avalanche training actually is not helpful in reducing people...

posted 8y ago by Ben Crowell‭  ·  last activity 6y ago by System‭

Interesting question. Here's some speculation, but I don't know if I'm right. There has been a clear tendency for climbing grades to inflate over time. You can really see this, for example, if yo...

posted 8y ago by Ben Crowell‭

There are many different types of belays from above, e.g., you could be belaying for someone on third-class snow, with your dug-in crampons as part of your anchor. In that particular situation, you...

posted 8y ago by Ben Crowell‭

For the spike, I usually just take a piece of corrugated cardboard, fold it to double the thickness, punch holes through it, and use some thin cord to tie it through the hole in the spike. This is ...

posted 8y ago by Ben Crowell‭

If it "easily came out of the rock," then it was at best useless and at worst a safety hazard, because of the possibility that someone might naively trust it. Removing it was a public service. ...

posted 7y ago by Ben Crowell‭  ·  last activity 7y ago by System‭

The only gear you need is a good, comfortable pair of running shoes and any cheap backpack (extra points for Hello Kitty). There is a popular belief, probably based on pop-culture images dating ba...

posted 7y ago by Ben Crowell‭  ·  last activity 6y ago by System‭