Activity for Ben Crowellâ€
| Type | On... | Excerpt | Status | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edit | Post #41941 | Initial revision | — | over 4 years ago |
| Edit | Post #41905 | Initial revision | — | over 4 years ago |
| Edit | Post #41811 | Initial revision | — | over 4 years ago |
| Edit | Post #40609 | Initial revision | — | over 4 years ago |
| Edit | Post #40322 | Initial revision | — | over 4 years ago |
| Edit | Post #40068 | Initial revision | — | over 4 years ago |
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A: Cycle of actions and voice signals on a multipitch climb Alice and Betty are climbing in a team of two. Let's start the cycle with both climbers together at a belay, both tied in to the anchor with clove hitches. Betty is going to lead the next pitch. The standard set of voice signals in America, which I'll use below, are the ones introduced by Paul Petzol... (more) |
— | over 5 years ago |
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Cycle of actions and voice signals on a multipitch climb When climbing multipitch, what is the cycle of things you do when climbing each pitch, and what are the associated voice signals? (more) |
— | over 5 years ago |
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A: What is the strongest knot using a steel-thimble to make a steel-eyelet at the end of the line? The idea that knots vary along a continuum of strength is a misconception. There is a class of knots that, in the correct application, simply do not spontaneously come undone. It then doesn't make sense to pick a knot from among that class based on strength. As an example, if you tie a clove hitch w... (more) |
— | over 5 years ago |
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A: What gear should I carry along for winter emergencies? There are some good answers here from some people with solid experience in mountains in the winter. However, these answers seem to slant extremely heavy on gear. Sometimes it's reasonable to do a day hike in winter in the mountains in a lightweight style, but you do want to be carrying the crucial th... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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A: What are the benefits of learning to climb outdoors rather than indoors? I would say I'm a fairly experienced hiker, and would love to begin climbing some more challenging mountains i.e. mountains that require actual climbing, rather than just hiking. [...] are there any benefits to learning how to climb outdoors, when the end goal is outdoor climbing? The answer to ... (more) |
— | about 7 years ago |
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A: Are there any general rules of thumb for route finding up a mountain without any trails? The question is pretty broad, but if the terrain is steep enough so that it's likely to be difficult or impassable in spots, then basically the standard technique would be to look at a topo map and look for a route to the top that keeps to the least steep terrain possible. The least steep terrain is ... (more) |
— | over 7 years ago |
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A: Is it warmer to sleep with an empty bladder? Most important reason to pee before you go to bed: you'll be uncomfortable lying there all night feeling like you have to pee. Second most important reason: if you try to delay it, you'll just have to get up later, in the middle of the night. This means getting out of the bag and getting cold. The ... (more) |
— | almost 8 years ago |
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A: How does the effort required for a hike or run depend on the amount of elevation gain? The previous question motivated me to study this question more deeply, and to write some open-source software to do the relevant calculations. Along the way, I learned that a lot of what people believe about this subject seems to be wrong. People have traditionally tried to quantify this kind of thi... (more) |
— | almost 8 years ago |
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How does the effort required for a hike or run depend on the amount of elevation gain? If I do a certain hike or run, it's going to cost a certain amount of effort, which could be measured by how many calories I burn. How does this effort depend on the amount of climbing? Is there a conversion factor, like a certain number of calories per 100 meters of elevation gain? A related questi... (more) |
— | almost 8 years ago |
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A: How to deal with dogs on public hiking trails? Statistically, most of the dogs in the world are dogs that are not pets, but live around humans and scavenge food or get food from humans who give it to them. These dogs are in my experience never aggressive with humans. When a dog is kept as a pet, it will tend to be territorial about its home. Whe... (more) |
— | almost 8 years ago |
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A: What factors should I consider to prepare high protein meals using a single camping stove and pan? what are you recommendations for protein or fat rich foods using traditional camping methods Focusing on the fat part, the following are all practical sources: olive oil, or any other vegetable oil, which you can add to rice or pasta, dip crackers in etc. nuts ghee hard cheeses string cheese (... (more) |
— | almost 8 years ago |
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A: How many calories does hiking burn? There is a paper here by Minetti et al. describing systematic measurements of this kind of thing: To get an estimate, I assumed that you climbed up and down 1000 m twice, so that the gradient was 0.2. I don't know what your body weights are, so I used 66 kg. The result of the estimate is that you b... (more) |
— | almost 8 years ago |
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A: How to keep away animals from my camp without setting a fire? I haven't seen any evidence that animals are kept away by a fire. This answer discusses that briefly. In general, wild animals in pristine backcountry areas tend to be wary of humans, simply because we're unfamiliar. Some animals, such as squirrels and bears, that live in heavily used areas can becom... (more) |
— | almost 8 years ago |
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A: What features should I look for in a satellite emergency device? I use a personal locator beacon (PLB), which just allows me to send a signal in an emergency showing my location. If it can get a GPS signal, it broadcasts my location, but if it can't, it still acts as an omnidirectional beacon. There is no monthly fee. Every few years, NOAA asks me to update/verify... (more) |
— | almost 8 years ago |
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A: Are nuts and cams less safe if the rock is wet? Mountaineers doing technical alpine routes certainly use rock pro under wet or icy conditions. However, the kind of routes they're climbing are typically not the kind of high-angle stuff that you have in mind when you go out for a day of rock climbing. There are people who do things like mixed rock/i... (more) |
— | almost 8 years ago |
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A: Why does hop always grow clockwise? There are quite a few plants like this. It's coded into their DNA. Some vines spiral in the right-handed sense, others left, e.g., morning glory and honeysuckle go the opposite way. There can also be a screw-handedness in various other things like the way the leaves are arranged around the stalk or t... (more) |
— | almost 8 years ago |
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A: Is it bad to rely on trekking poles? Also, overall strengthening of the body to build stamina, strength, and endurance since you're technically relying on something to make things easier. You have this backwards. As described in the medical study referenced below, trekking poles make you less efficient, so they increase your exerti... (more) |
— | almost 8 years ago |
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A: Correct and incorrect slip-slap-slide belay technique I located some more information online about these techniques. SSS was the standard technique in the days when a hip belay was the standard for a lead belay. It also works well for belaying with a Munter. In both of those techniques, braking position is with the braking hand up in the air. For these ... (more) |
— | almost 8 years ago |
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Correct and incorrect slip-slap-slide belay technique This blog has a discussion of the slip-slap-slide and PBUS techniques for taking in rope when belaying. Here is a video demonstrating PBUS. Slip-slap-slide is illustrated on p. 161 of Freedom of the Hills, 8th ed. I use PBUS, and as the blog discusses, it's becoming almost universal now to teach begi... (more) |
— | almost 8 years ago |
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A: How do you deal with a picky eater on a backpacking trip? It seems like you're assuming there will be group meals, but that's totally unnecessary. In fact, group meals tend to lead to health problems, because people get diseases like giardiasis from each other by hand-to-mouth transmission, due to primitive hygiene. A really simple solution, which I've bee... (more) |
— | about 8 years ago |
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A: Where to camp for almost free on the surroundings of Los Angeles? You don't need a permit for car camping, but parking in many areas in So Cal requires a National Forest Adventure Pass. You are not going to get car camping with a toilet and shower for free. If you want free, you need to go backpacking, not car camping. An example of a typical cost for car camping ... (more) |
— | about 8 years ago |
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A: First skills to learn for mountaineering I've taught some classes for a mountaineering club, and the following sequence is based loosely on what we do. (1) Learn traditional map-reading and navigational skills. Move beyond attempting to navigate the way most people do these days, by peering at the screen of a cell phone. Get in the habit o... (more) |
— | about 8 years ago |
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A: How safe is a chest harness when used without a sit harness? This is basically a hike but with some very steep sections protected by chains. If I'm interpreting the photo correctly, this is a sort of horizontal via ferrata, and the protection is the steel cables, not the chains. This does not seem like a setup that would have been designed by anyone whos... (more) |
— | over 8 years ago |
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A: What to look for in (trail-)running shoes for various terrain? People can say anything they want about running shoes, and manufacturers too. It's 99% nonsense, not based on any evidence (example). There are basically only two conclusions I know of that are supported by evidence: (1) If you're interested in reducing your chances of getting an injury such as a re... (more) |
— | over 8 years ago |
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A: Plant identification methods If you're identifying a totally unfamiliar plant in the field, then typically you consult a field guide or botany textbook that has a key. These books can be broad or specific. For instance, I have one that's a pocket guide to conifers, and another that's a guide to Sierra wildflowers. They can al... (more) |
— | over 8 years ago |
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A: When a knot unties because the tail is too short This is called rolling, inverting, or capsizing. What happens is that the knot turns inside out, and part of the tail is consumed. If this happens repeatedly, or the tail is short, you can use up the whole tail, and the knot fails. For example, an offset figure-eight is not a safe bend for use in ty... (more) |
— | over 8 years ago |
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A: Does leaving a knot in a static cord damage the cord as it does with dynamic rope? should I be untying the fisherman's knot between uses? Typically it's simply not possible to untie a fisherman's knot, especially after it's been loaded, so that wouldn't even be an option. This is actually a good reason to tie your Prusik cords with an offset overhand (EDK), because then if you... (more) |
— | over 8 years ago |
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A: Top Rope Anchors - is a figure-8 on a bight stronger or just easier to untie than an overhand knot? His opinion was that I could tie an overhand for the master point and be just as safe–the only downside being that it would be more difficult to untie after being loaded. Yes, this is correct. Many people seem to think that commonly used climbing knots can slip if there's not enough ... (more) |
— | over 8 years ago |
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A: Quick release knot for attaching kit This answer assumes that you're trying to attach something to a loop (the black and green band in your photo) that you can't open up. If you can open up the loop, then see ShemSeger's answer. It depends on how quickly you need it to release, and how important it is to you for it to stay secure. A s... (more) |
— | over 8 years ago |
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A: Carrying soda instead of water due to nutritional energy? For a day hike, yes, it could make sense, if it's the type of day hike where you need to carry water rather than drinking from sources along the way. It's really just a matter of what you enjoy. If you enjoy drinking soda, bring soda. Let's say we have a liter of coke and liter of water. Both of ... (more) |
— | over 8 years ago |
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Most common infectious diseases acquired in the wilderness? People traveling in the wilderness can acquire infectious diseases. These can be caused by organisms such bacteria, viruses, protozoans, or fungi. They can be transmitted through drinking contaminated water, or by transmission from one person to another. Does anyone know of any reliable, quantitati... (more) |
— | over 8 years ago |
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A: Why static rope rather than webbing for toprope anchors? This is not a complete answer to my own question, but the following may be relevant. The book by Long and Gaines on climbing anchors says this: For toprope setups, most professional guides use static rope when tying off huge boulders and blocks, since it is more abrasion resistant and less l... (more) |
— | over 8 years ago |
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Online instructional videos for crack climbing For technical face climbing, there are some really good online instructional videos (on youtube) by Neil Gresham. Can anyone recommend similar instructional videos for crack technique? (more) |
— | over 8 years ago |
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Why static rope rather than webbing for toprope anchors? I'm signed up for an AMGA single-pitch instructor course (to learn how to teach other people single-pitch climbing). One of the pieces of gear we're supposed to bring is a 30 meter static rope "for setting up big 'v' anchors." I don't own one, and the instructor says I can borrow one, so it's not a p... (more) |
— | over 8 years ago |
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A: Is there a general rule for climbing runout grading? However, your frightening and my frightening are completely different. IMO this is less subjective than you're thinking, and the WP definition is not very good. The issue is not the spacing of the protection per se. The issue is whether or not you really have a meaningful belay, which can depen... (more) |
— | over 8 years ago |
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A: How can the attitude that one is a guest in black bear country prevent hassles with bears? The question asks: What are the three to five most important do's and dont's -- in simple bullet form -- for a guest in black bear country? But there is really only one item on the list: Store your food properly. That's it. Black bears can become dependent on human food and habituated to hu... (more) |
— | over 8 years ago |
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How should I vet belayers? What should I look for? The other night I went to the climbing gym, intending to look for a climbing partner once I got there. (My usual gym climbing partner isn't available to climb as often as I want to.) The gym provides a whiteboard where you can write your name if you're looking for a partner. A woman came up to me an... (more) |
— | over 8 years ago |
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A: Is a single strand of webbing unacceptable for climbing anchors? The blog post shows an anchor in which some kind of hitch is tied around a tree, and a single strand of webbing leads away from the tree horizontally to, presumably, the top of the climb, which is out of frame. The blogger seems to be criticizing this setup because there is only a single strand. I s... (more) |
— | over 8 years ago |
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A: Why are people so worried about Giardia? The question doesn't state what geographical area it's about, and it really isn't possible to give an answer that covers everything. In this answer, I'm only going to deal with pristine backcountry areas in North America, such as the Sierra. In order to interpret the scientific evidence properly, it... (more) |
— | over 8 years ago |
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A: Is there any way to dispose of liquid fuel? I was recently in Mexico and bought some unleaded gas at a gas station as stove fuel. I gave the unused fuel away to a taxi driver to put in his car. I suspect the same thing would work fine with the fuels sold as "white gas" or "camp fuel." I've heard conflicting information about exactly how this ... (more) |
— | almost 9 years ago |
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Unfreezing cached water bottles Here's a scenario I was faced with recently. We do a climb that involves going up to a mountain hut and sleeping there the night before summit day. There is no snow at the hut to melt for drinking water, so we have to carry up all our drinking water. This is in Mexico (on Iztaccihuatl), so we're buyi... (more) |
— | almost 9 years ago |
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A: How do I rescue someone out of a crevasse? This is a very complicated topic, and you can take an entire course where you learn and practice the techniques. Reading an answer on SE is not going to be enough. You need to practice. The following is just an outline. There is an entire chapter in Freedom of the Hills on glacier travel and crevasse... (more) |
— | almost 9 years ago |
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A: Keeping safe distance while scrambling The main issue you're going to encounter in this situation is rockfall. You don't want a situation where the person in front inadvertently kicks a rock loose, and the rock then hits the person behind. There are a bunch of possible techniques for dealing with this. You can limit the number of people c... (more) |
— | almost 9 years ago |
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A: What percentage of bacteria in water dies if it is boiled? How clean is it after boiling? How many percentage does the bacteria in the water die if it is boiled? 100%. More info here: How long does water need to be boiled for to kill all bacteria / viruses? How clean is it after boiling? Is it drinkable? It will still have any dirt, etc., but that isn't necessarily bad for you.... (more) |
— | about 9 years ago |