genepires

to be honest, it has been a while since I was a AMGA trained guide so my observation is a decade old and could have changed since. But if you really have fears that your rappel setup could mechanically fail mid rappel, then by all means attach your backup to a full strength belay loop. The weakest links in the rappel linkages is the anchor, rope and the brake hand. Looking at all the rappel accidents, never has the rappel biner or device broke. Anchors fail, ropes get cut or control of brake is lost. Having taken a rock to the chest mid rappel and almost passing out, my main concern is to prevent the loss of the brake strand. The leg loop is perfectly acceptable for accomplishing this task. And since I rarely extend my rappel device, there is no way to use the autoblock on the belay loop.. but whatever, if you feel there is only one way to perform a task, then flame on.

but the bigger issue than brake backups is TIE KNOTS IN END OF ROPES! (speaking from personal experience) That is what kills people.

pros and cons to everything right? pro for having friction hitch above device: having the friction hitch above "may help" (or may not) if you rap off the ends of the rope. having the friction hitch below will not help with rap off end of rope con for friction hitch above: seems like always fighting the hitch when it grabs while descending. cavers seem to use the friction device above more often and use those peztl mech grabbers often to be able to release when it grabs. but they like to carry extra gear. But going by the standard guides method of descending. Girth hitch sling to harness (either belay loop or waist/leg loop) with knot and belay device like Dan above mentions. Small prussik loop girth attached to leg loop and then friction hitch of some kind to brake strands. The benefit of going to leg loop is that the hitch is far away from device. if the device hits the hitch, then it will not work. so it all depends on how long your prussik loop is. if it is real short, then you can go to belay loop I find it interesting that people think the leg loop is not strong enough for the job of being a brake backup. lets do a test. which can hold more weight; a leg loop or a firemans backup? (serve same purpose)

to add to the gripped article mentioned above, I had a NED moment due to not fully doubling back the harness. On a multipitch, I had to sit on some gear during the first pitch of the climb and at the top belay anchor, noticed that my harness was not doubled back. I guess that body weight was low enough for the harness to stay on but I know that a leader fall would have been death. If it would have been a standard craggin situation, it may have failed on being lowered also.

" putting your autoblock on your leg loop is good for a third hand but is not a redundant back up for your rappel device/belay loop/main rappel carabiner " the loop for autoblock does not need to be anywhere as strong as a belay loop. We are talking about the small prussik that backs up the brake hand I assume. Basically it needs to be as strong as your hand grip is. the autoblock replaces the hand as a way to apply braking force to the rappel device. I wish my grip strength was in excess of 15Kn pulling force.

isn't the only difference between speed buckle and the buckle you speak of that the end of the webbing is sewn over to prevent it from being unthreaded? KNIFE woudl fix that.

if that does not pan out, try misty mountain harness. I heard they can customize for a reasonable price.

for the middle of summer, I use a sleeping bag liner. One of those down filled 50F bags that is supposed to go inside another bag to boost the temp rating. I also sleep warm and just wear clothes inside. Makes the mornings less hectic if already dressed for day anyways. Fine for even places like rainier in july and is so light and takes up very little space. Consider specific bags if you are a belly or side sleeper. seems like most mummy bags are for back sleepers. I had to buy a FF 20F bag that has a wide top section to allow for arm position while stomach sleeping. Can't remember the name but it seems like more brands are creating such bags now. well worth the extra price for a bag that fits your sleeping sttyle.

we were able to buy/download the movie to our PC and watch it for $10 plus some tax. well worth the money.

I suspect that layer was the result of that November snow followed by weeks of sun and freeze thaw. Not that unusual for the first couple of snow events to slide on it. A month of dumps will bury it real good. But don’t let my human factor heuristic kill anyone

I hope you find someone willing to show you around. I suspect most people are uneasy being a mentor but are fine with requests for climbing partners with you being honest about your skills. If you could change your title to just looking for climbing partner and drop the mentor part, you may get more hits. maybe I am wrong and you get a good mentor. FWIW, I did an electrical apprenticeship so my expectations for mentorship may be much more involved than you are expecting. A lot of people got there start using local climbing clubs and when the experience level is adequate, stick with the friendships developed there and to casual internet hookups like this site. But I am old-ish and started in pre internet days so maybe that tract is unnecessary.

Best answer is from Grivel. While we all think we are pretty smart, we are all just over confident monkeys. Good luck. nice looking ice tool though.

nice way to ensure you always have some tat for rappeling. (crampon straps)

Looks a little frosty right now!

the new more mature Bob taking the high route. oh times they be changin'

based upon the two maps shown, it looks like the place where road blocked is the left hand turn on that caltopo you show? how much road walking to trailhead? seems like it should be 2.5 miles one way? (assuming the trail is 9.5 mile one way?) I tried a solo winter climb of that but had to bust trail through to much road and only made it to tree line before pooping out. would love ot make a fall jaunt before the snows come. looks real nice.

are you looking to buy or try on? I know you are trying to find someone selling within the US but I have bought stuff from europe and the shipping is not too bad, almost at par with buying stuff online from the states this place is selling that helmet for 75 euros with shipping to US in that amount. for some reason the price went from 75 euro to 60 someodd when I entered in the US shipping cost. they must be afraid of Yanks. I think total comes to $100us. https://www.outdoorgb.com/p/Cebe_Trilogy_Skiing_Climbing_and_Biking_Helmet/

I just saw your post about drytool development. I don't own a drill but I may be able to borrow one or even convince my buddy to jump aboard. where is this rock at? are you still into the drytool idea? gene

thanks for the TR. brought back memories of whitney. oh I love me some sierra's and wish I could get back there more often.

Also rearrange the order of routes from his book. If I remember right, the routes were in alphabetical order instead of geographic order.

would be cool to have some kind of wiki thing for this one day winter climbs. By being able to add info on existing routes from book and add new routes that Kloke never got in his. not really current conditions but something that would be helpful years later like access road changes, better approaches, route up dates, ect

I have been using the grivel alp wing for alpine ice routes for a while. The bend in shaft is not too extreme and you can take the trigger rest off for routes with more snow plunging. Trigger rest on and it is worthy for WI4. My version is 15+ years old so I don't if it is still made but I would still look for something like that. The trigger rest was a bear to get on but I would think they made a easier version by now.

if the noaa forecasts for el nino are accurate, this could be a great winter to knock off several peaks from that kloke book. Most routes in the book tend to be smaller peak mountaineering type of routes.

why would anyone climb a mountain without an ice axe? coolest part of trip is the summit selfie branishing your weapon of choice. standing tool-less looks lame. standing with axe poised over head looks savage. But seriously, it is always a good idea to travel with a axe if you think there is at least a small chance of walking on snow. Self arrest on summer/fall snow is difficult, if not impossible, without one. there are too many bodies stacked up at the bottom of snow slopes from being unable to self arrest. best to stack odds in your favor. think of this as a chance to spend some money, that you may not have, on one of those ultra light axes that you have been drooling over for a while. you won't notice the extra weight but gain massive "cool points" with the ladies.

I usually keep my language to overly polite, but this is a fucking ridiculous idea. I only hope that those wires are really full strength and not going to kill someone when they end up on someones rack.