glacier_dup1

In general, my understanding is that you want to avoid running your climbing rope around a tree trunk, due to potential soiling of the rope with sap, and damage to the tree (girdling) by the rope if it's pulled around the tree (see Long's climbing anchors and/or FOH). However, if you are using a long piece of webbing or chunk of rope as your anchor link between the tree and the toprope 'biner, as in a situation where your tree is some distance from the top of the cliff, then the illustration as posted by Iain is probably appropriate. As always, with an anchor, you should confirm that is meets the SRENE concept (Strong, Redundant, Equalized, No Extension). Long also has a good anecdote regarding the required diameter amd root establsihment of a tree. Essentially, the tree should be alive, at least 4-6" in diameter, and have a well-established root system.

"An evil exists that threatens every man, woman and child of this great nation. We must take steps to ensure our domestic security and protect our homeland." Adolf Hitler announcing the creation of the Gestapo, quoted in Preussische Gesetzsammlung of 26 April 1933, Page 122

quote: Originally posted by Off White: Well, for old time's sake, what about Solo? The bit with the frog is so cute, That was the 1st climbing film I ever saw - started me down the dark path. Also, the play K2, on which the movie is loosely based, completely owns the movie, as the dialogue is intense, and no hollywood ending... Oh, and 'Five Days One Summer' with Sean Connery.

In case you missed it- NPR is doing a series of radio profiles on people in the 'New West' - Today's profile was Chouinard- Yvon profile link

To add to the list of facial and ear injuries. Age 2: Scar under right eye with matching enhanced 'dimple' below - discovered the family Dalmation did not like to be cornered under the kitchen table. Age 12: Approx. 30 stitches to reattach top of ear after inadvertantly getting hit with softball bat during game on last day of school. Glasses bow broke and punched through the cartilage. The memory of the sound of sutures being pulled through cartilage still gives me the willies. Misc. - enough bushwack scars on forearms and shins to guarantee never having an even tan. Damn - the scars from the 2 knee surgeries (orthoscope) are too small and clean to show.

My personal favorite was my 1983 Cougar. Ah, the smell of burning foliage stuck in the undercarriage.

quote: Originally posted by RobBob: But I do believe in introspection when you scare the hell out of yourself. Not a knee-jerk "get back on the horse" response. Agreed, Anna, if you're still there, as well as others who have working in incident respose - I believe a post-response debrief is pretty typical - where things went right, where things went wrong. So think of this as a very rough debrief. The element here is to take whatever lessons learned and apply the next time. So running roughshod back onto the horse (or whatever mixed metaphors) is not very wise. I've tried the same in the past, and, for me, at least, found that I coped with the bad experience by either trying to suppress it or compartmentalize it out, neither of which addressed the root cause of the problem/experience in the first place, and allowed it to fester. Oh, yeah, remember we do this shit for fun.

quote: Originally posted by Dr Flash Amazing: Barbra who? Ignoring Streisand's goofiness for a moment, did the "no accident" theory not at least cross anyone else's mind? Actually, my gf mentioned that, as well, but then, she's former Earth First, so has a propensity for such things.

I was looking at bolt specs this weekend (I know, 'get a life'), and it looks like minimum seating depths on the 3" bolts (i.e. Red Head, Rawl) to meet the tested pull-out and shear strengths is 1-1/2", so a 1-3/4" depth should be fine. But, as they say, you can never be too paranoid. Thanks for the upgrades, btw.

A, Now is not the time to curl up in a hedgehog-like ball to advice and/or criticism, or throw your hands up and say, "I'm quitting." I know that I'm working with only two data points here - your own assessment of your experience, and Kruger's anecdote from the Smith trip, but it doesn't appear to me that a lot of learning and growth went on between those 2 trips. Actually, someone made the call back as far as Page One of this interminable topic that you made a poor judgement call regarding your own skills. Sure, it's a blow to the ego when someone says, 'You fucked up,' in no uncertain terms - as explicitely explained by Mr. Shoes and Chips up above - if they are in a position of experience or supervision - i.e. instructor- then they are well within their rights to call you on the carpet, so you do not create a hazard to yourslf or others. The teachers I look back the most fondly on are the ones who were the toughest on me - those who weren't - I remember neither them nor their lessons. Likewise, experienced climbers often behave the same way, and can be crass or aggressive when they see people puuting themselves in harm's way - Honestly - if I see people making mistakes while climbing, I assess what the likelihood that they will take advice is, and either give it or walk away. I've responded to people with everything from a polite, 'You may want to try this...' to "You're a shithead, and I don't want to be around to render first aid," depending on their response to advice. Sure, I can be an asshole, too. And if someone asks for advice, I give it, to the best of my knowledge. Hell, I teach and have guided a little - I can't help it. But I also know that I can't be responsible for everyone around me, nor should I try to be - we are out there putting ourselves in risky positions - it's how we mitigate those risks that will have a bearing on our lives and those of our partners. A goal for you now should be to take ignorance and bad habits and replace them with knowledge and good habits. And to assess the 'why I climb' question. What do you want to get from climbing, what have you received from it before? Is leading a part of what gives you what you want? Remember, the more you know, the better it gets.

'Course then there's the capybara of the Amazon - I think they grow to about 40+ pounds, so get the heavyweight snaffle award. Oh, and rabbits aren't rodents, they're lagomorphs, differentiated from rodents by a second pair of incisors behind the constantly-growing front top pair, as well as a constantly growing pair on the bottom. OK, I knew my Trivial Pursuit skills would come in handy some day...

What, you've never seen or read 'Never Cry Wolf'?

Aside from being caught on the fixed pin, I think in general it is 'safer' to rap in the case of a bad anchor. The forces on an anchor are much less when rapping than lowering - simply - You have the weight/force of one person (rappeller) rather than two (climber and belayer) acting on the anchor. I'm sure Petzl or one of the other techy knowitall pages has the info - also perhaps check one of the 'How to' books - I seem to remember something on this topic in the Twight light alpinism book.

Damn, the Petzl page is down. I guess I'll have to wait on the belay vs. rappel forces answer.

I haven't tried Gu-like substances, but have been experimenting with clif-bar-type recipes. These are ones I've played with: http://davedraper.com/protein-bar-recipe.html http://davedraper.com/nutrition-bar-recipe.html I find that splitting the brown rice syrup with some honey or molasses makes the bar a bit sweeter- also, add some applesauce or a bit more orange juice to help cut the chalkiness of the protein powder. Grinding part of the nuts down into a coarse flour helps add to the flavor, as well, especially with hazelnuts or pecans.

Someone was posting regarding a Wilderness First Responder course - following is a schedule of classes in the area - the 80-hour class and refreshers, as well as other offerings. web page

Refried Brains is a good line, and doesn't get much traffic as compatred to other routes in the same canyon (Heart of Darkness, etc.)- 6 (?) pitches with a few moves of 5.9.

I believe nylon does break down over time, even when in storage - I remember reading a rope articel some time back where 10-year-old unused ropes that had been stored in a closet broke onthe first UIAA drop test - I think the Fish.com website may have some info on nylon aging. Regardless, it is recommended that slings be replaced every few years, and spending $3-4 apiece to have the cams re-slung by Yates or Fish is cheap peace of mind, especially with the used gear.

Yup,looks like the proud GMC/Chevy products made the bottom of the list. Consumer Reports Hall of Shame

It appears to me that the flesh they get on those shows is singularly unqualified to survive. Change the format - last one standing. A friend's suggestion - Survivor Africa II - Americans on one team, Pygmy Bushmen on the other.

Go big or go home... "The Barrett Model 82A1 rifle gained worldwide popularity after pioneering the return of shoulder fired big-bore rifles for shooting enthusiasts. As a result of its unique operating cycle, the M82A1 easily fires the largest commercially available cartridge in the world, the .50 caliber. Yet, the Barrett M82A1 develops the lowest recoil force of any comparable rifle. The M82A1 operates on the short-recoil principle. Founder Ronnie Barrett adapted this operating principle to a shoulder fired rifle. The recoiling barrel and bolt assembly acting against innovative spring and buffer assemblies replace the sharp recoil impact with a longer-acting lower recoil force. To further reduce the recoil load, the M82A1 is fitted with a dual chamber muzzle brake. The muzzle brake redirects high velocity gun gas to lower recoil by almost 70%. The net effect is a rifle with the felt recoil of a 12-gauge shotgun. With these time-proven methods and innovative designs, the Barrett M82A1 offers safety, rugged durability, and reliability to the big-bore enthusiast." Yup, safety, durability, and reliability. There's your happy killing machine.

A balance board or wobble board, such as one of these is usefeul in improving ankle stability, as well as balance and proprioception (body memory). http://www.fitter1.com/products.html http://www.ankleboard.com/ A cheap alternative is a half-round piece of high-density foam - 4" diameter, about 1 foot long. Stand one-legged on it and play around with increasing 'challenges' such as dipping on one leg, rotating your head back and forth with closed eyes, throwing and catching a ball, rotating a light dumbell in a throwing motion, etc. If you have a propensity to twist/sprain your ankles, or want to develop a strengthening/stabilizing program - a PT can do an assessment and suggest a program. I can refer you to mine - also a climber - PM me, if you wish.

I'm not a gun nut, but I play one on TV.... Our firm does forest surveys in Alaska - since I assume you are looking at a bear attack scenario - the standard load for (firearm-trained) backcountry workers is a 12ga with alternating slugs and 00 buck. Anything smaller is trivial as far as a grizzly is concerned. One of our contractors emptied a full clip from a 9 into a bear a couple of years ago and only annoyed it prior to the bear filleting his partner's leg - fortunately, the drop helicopter was 5 minutes away. Of course, taking prudent preventative measures will avoid a bear encounter in most cases. In reality, if said bear is within gun range and coming at you full-bore (i.e. sow surprised in the bushes), the odds of you dropping it (or even hitting it) prior to it mincing you are negligible.

quote: Originally posted by Cpt.Caveman: Ahhhhhh... The human eraser In a motorcycle crash, we refer to it as the Human Crayon.... Oh, and one of my climbing partners was explicitly instructed not to use the word, 'Oops.' Seriously... Practice placing unfamiliar gear while on the ground, not on lead. Remember that the rope is part of the anchor, so as to save slings on multi-pitch - the clove hitch is your friend. Use commands that are either standardized, or can be well-understood by your partner and/or others. 'Safe', 'Take', and 'Slack' sound alot alike in the wind. And when in a busy area, use your partner's name with commands, so as to not accidentally give commands to someone else's partner.

Hey kids, Just stopped by Ramuta's to pick up a pair of repaired street shoes and inquired as to their status. OK, they are not closing their downtown shop (they plan on another 7 years). John is working out on his own now, but you can make dropoffs and pickups at the shop on Stewart. You can also drop off shoes at Stonegardens for John, as well.