Posts by Charlie Brumbaugh
It is often said that when using two carabiners at the same point, such as an anchor, they should be opposite and opposed. What exactly does this mean?
If one were to hike during the night and sleep during the day, what differences in navigation would one have to take into account? In my experience you are more on instruments (such as a compass o...
Here is what I would consider a regular Bic butane lighter. However I have noticed that you can buy High Altitude lighters such as this one. Is that just marketing or would a regular lighter n...
Imagine you are sitting around ready to begin; you have your gear spread out, and your helmets are off. How should you place your helmet so that it doesn't wander off?
This is something I have pondered on multiple occasions, when the light of the full moon and the altitude induced insomnia kept me awake long into the night. I realize that this would be an unusua...
Hearing someone above you yell ROCK when climbing is a scary experience because that means that an object (usually a rock) is plummeting down to the route towards you. Hopefully you are wearing yo...
There are a couple of long hikes that I am thinking of doing, both are 70 to 80 miles (110 to 130 km) long one way. I would like to do a yo-yo (140 to 160 miles, 230 to 260 km) without a resupply. ...
From Scouting For Girls, Official Handbook of the Girl Scouts Whistle Signals One blast, "Attention"; "Assemble" (if scattered). Two short blasts, "All right." Four short blasts, ca...
For your specific questions, The rock type is sandstone. This type of rock formation is called a Hoodoo and they happen when a harder rock type or layer is ontop of a weaker layer. The weaker lay...
I have been wondering how often the thru-hikers on the Pacific Crest Trail resupply. I would assume that it depends on the part of the trail and the hiker, but is there an average distance or lengt...
According to the Guide to the NEW Recreational Craft Directive 2013/53/EU page 8, a builder's plate has the following information on it, Manufacturer’s name, registered trade name or registe...
In some parts of the western United States there are herds of wild horses. How dangerous could a herd be to a human on foot while hiking or backpacking? If they are dangerous how should a human pr...
This is what a diagram of opposite and opposed carabiners looks like. The gates are on opposite sides and form a X when laid over the top of each other. The purpose of doing this is to make it ...
Sometimes compasses are less accurate than we would like them to be. They can be thrown off by their surroundings, have their polarity reversed, become demagnetized, develop air bubbles or be take...
Basically it looks like this. The rope goes from the object to a caribiner that is hooked into the anchor. Then it goes back down to where a prussik and a caribiner have been hooked to the rope ...
A z-pulley or z-drag is a way of gaining leverage to pull a rope tight or to pull an object or person closer to the anchor. It is commonly used to tighten Tyrolean traverses, recover pinned boats i...
At night it would still be a good idea to have the flashlight, because the farther away you could potentially see a bear, the more time you have to adjust your course to avoid it. Whether or not i...
It looks like there is a possibility of strong winds, Lake Tahoe is also known for its vibrant blue skies, its sparkling cold waters, and its hazardous wind conditions, especially on the easter...
From Chapters 6 and 7 of the book Touching the Void by Joe Simpson, there are two things that I think would explain why he didn't cut the rope. He thought they were both going to die. I knew...
It looks like the answer is that it depends on the direction, wind speed, terrain and type of chairlift. The ski area you are going to might keep statistics on how often the wind makes the use of c...
It's a unique serial number for the boat. The HIN is a 12 character serial number that uniquely identifies your boat. Source The acronym stands for Hull Identification Number. It is possibl...
It looks like a combination of checking out a potential predator and following a leader. Turkeys, he says, are naturally fearful of cats, which can be a threat to younger, smaller birds. So it’...
It looks like there is some truth in it. I don't think that it has to do with the sheep so much as it does with their grazing habits. During the day, mosquitoes like to rest in tall grass or am...
It looks like a DIN valve can be used at higher pressures and has a more secure connection. Since the fitting is more secure, DIN valves allow the use of higher pressures, and are more suitable...
It is possible and to explain why consider the following question. Is the angle formed by the red or by the green lines larger? Trick question! The angles are identical. You see, if we have ...
