fern

5.whatever equals 5.whatever regardless ... but is my experience on a 5.whatever harder than yours by some objective measure? this is the boring unanswerable question I want catbirdseat to tell everyone his fractal theory.

don't ask ... just take the last piece already.

this is kinda O/T ... but I heard in passing somewhere that the Dora Keen expedition first ascent story for the peak (different route I think though) is now considered a hoax? does anyone know the scoop?

so what? you carry much climbing gear around? aid rack? winter expeditioning? you stay out for more than one night ever? blah blah blah Allison is a sooper experienced lightweight hiker with busted legs ... we heard it all before ... My experience with packs has been that in many cases the small sizes don't go small enough. Arc'Teryx for example For me this results in the straps cutting into the back of my neck and not being able to share weight with the belt. Maybe you and Mrs Fejas can find a place that rents packs and do a few demo hikes to make sure you don't get a store-comfy/trail-torture model. I never found that big boobs were a problem with fitting a pack, just torso length and hipbelt size/shape.

my work here is done! this is a fun thread. badly coiled ropes peeve me.

why the especially women? what makes our small hands more special than men's small hands? I don't have this problem. Just unwind the tie-off and unfold the butterfly and lay it on the ground. You must be suck. Glad you found a system that works.

actually maybe only small people do it this way no way I can stack a whole coil into one of my hands. don't forget to put your hood up first if you are coiling a wet rope over your neck ...brrrr....

izzat yours? wanna sell me the adze?

I want to know how much the Tech Wings weigh. I have seen lots of different ## in different catalogs. Also does the hammer weigh the same as the adze?

you mean like or or perhaps the world would be better served if we all wore BEIGE? no ... it would just be more boring. Even the original Gaston Rebuffat was as well known for his styly loud red+white sweater as anything else.

hey I called you that first. plagiarist. find your own childish insults sillycowpee.

another opinion, this time from Bluewater: bluewater ropes technical manual

you can ship me whatever you like, I'm sure I'll find a use for it in particular I could find a use for an unused climbing rope that is newer than the one I currently use and have been using for several years. If you think that's sketchy well good for you, you don't have to climb with me then. it's not hard to search the internet for rope strength studies and form your own conclusions about whether or not you think things are within your personal safety margins.

it is highly unsafe. please ship it to me for proper disposal.

from Fish website: Re: UIAA rope test results Author: Clyde Soles Email: csoles@rmi.net Date: 1998/10/22 Forums: rec.climbing Haven't seen the report but there isn't much I wasn't aware of Al Black <al@debra.dgbt.doc.ca> wrote: quoting the Alpine Club of Canada for their work on the UIAA safety commission, and the Fall 98 ACC Gazette: > Anyhow the the dirt is: > 1) Gasoline, diesel fuel, camp gas, sea water, coca cola, and strong > vinegar do not damage ropes . Urine dropped the number of falls held in > the standard test drops by 50%. Old news but it doesn't seem like a good idea to soak your rope in gas anyways (what about all the additives?). Acid is the big no-no. > 2) "An American product (Sharpie) specifically sold for marking the middle > of ropes reduces the strength of the rope (only at the point of marking > however and only when this point is loaded over the test edge) by as much > as 50%." Actually Sharpies are not marketed for marking ropes (can you say "liability" ;-) and it even says on the pen "not for cloth." The only pen I know of sold for ropes is Bluewaters and they control the solvent used. > 3) "It appears it is not possible to damage ropes by walking on them with > heavy boots even when the rope lies on sharp edges. Even walking on the > rope with crampons does not weaken the rope." ... Yep, but I still don't like someone walking on *my* lifeline. > 4)... "wet or iced ropes experience a major drop in edge strength (falls > for half rope go from 9 to 3) regardless of whether they are dry treated > or not." There is no official edge test so stuff like this has to be taken with a grain of salt. The bigger question is what happens to impact forces? > 5) Recent comparison testing of climbing ropes among various labs > has shown that the results are all over the map (up to 100%) on a variety > of parameters. I reported this years ago and Mammut/Edelrid recently showed how pervasive the problem is. The UIAA never calibrated/cross-checked the official labs, duh. It basically means the reported stats are not reliable between brands until the UIAA gets their act together. Some companies have been accused of manipulating the data for marketing but there is no way to verify this. Caveat Emptor. > 6) Ropes used for top roping lose strength over an edge very quickly. "They > should not be used for field work." No surprise. Same reason sport climbing is so hard on ropes. > 7) The official position of the Safety Commission regarding rope use for > glacier travel is that one strand of a half rope or twin rope is perfectly > adequate. Nice of them to acknowledge what everyone has done for ages.

this is the wrong card to play edit to add also that nobody needs a ropegun. also you can learn a lot of things even without a partner. also that many more experienced people are more willing to climb with a 'newbie' who has made an effort to learn things on their own and show strong self-motivation. also that it isn't an either the MOUNTIES or a buddy/mentor shows you the ropes ... there are other ways to learn stuff. for example guiding services, university outdoor clubs, read all the books and practice on your own etc. For example people here on cc give great advice and answers to specific questions on techniques and trix and such that people who are learning come up with, but they aren't going to develop the curriculum for you. just because someone wants to learn doesn't mean that they are automatically owed a free education by others. If you wanna climb in Squamish sometime I'll show you around and we can climb some and maybe you learn from that ... but I don't like teaching lessons.

without knowing the details of the quoted '"pack out your shit" policy' it's a little hard to decide who I am supposed to be making fun of here. Like does this club have a policy of packing out regardless of location? ... or is this a specific case of a trip to Rainier or other blue-bag place?

the excuse is not necessarily the reason

I hope that if their future search is successful the news will be handled with more discretion by the media than was exercised in the initial days of the search and rescue effort 2 weeks ago. to first learn they were missing through radio and news reports, to see obituary announcements online while helicopters were still in the air searching ... to see that incredibly tasteless 'pun' of a headline in the Province ... I don't think any of us want a repeat of such thoughtlessness.

I prefer the more subtle stealth chest-beating that show up in the gear section sometimes ... " Oh yeah hexes are great, this one time when I was free-climbing the nose I slotted in a bomber #10 ... blah blah." the "is your hardest climb harder than my hardest climb?" approach lacks craftsmanship.

I think this is a dumb thread

your pity is misguided. dru and I climbed prussik in a day with light packs so we could spend the other 3 days of our long weekend climbing other things. we covered more ground and enjoyed more variety of scenery that way. we enjoyed the sunset and the animals and everything but we enjoyed them on our feet rather than our asses. and considering I didn't get back to the road until 1am I also enjoyed a night under the stars with no-one around to distract me.

gee whiz this ain't rocket science. you should go play with some ropes or let erik show you like he says. if the knot can get pulled through the chains one way maybe you yank hard and pull it back through the other way and then your rope isn't fixed anymore? sometimes the ring or loop or whatever is big enough that the knot and the biner both can get pulled through, clipping the other side prevents disastah too much theoretical wanking ... you get the gist go play with some ropes and test the idea.

the biner is backing up in case the knot squeezes through the rap-rings

what's a professional rope cut? whipper on a sharp edge? you guys are scared of weird things. I got a taker already ... the rest of you buzz off