Alpinfox

The heaviest alpine rack I've ever carried is my ballz. Back on topic... I bought one of those 8mm Mammut slings today. A double length one. It's a little spooky how skinny they are, but it sure is nice how non-bulky they are. I'd like to replace a lot of my biners with those Trango superflys.

This will result in a factor 2 fall onto that piece if you fall above it without intermediate pro. I guess a lot of people do this though. I don't know shizzle about roped solo climbing.

Goats!!?!?!? Here's a tip. Sheep are naturally pre-lubed. More info Once you go wool, you'll never go BAAAAAAAck.

Thanks! BTW, the OR mitts and gloves Rafael is selling are in good shape and would be a good deal if they fit you.

I am all for this approach. All I ask is that you let me know what route you are doing and when so that I can, um... make sure your placements were good?

I start the bidding for inside information at $10. Could be quite a bargain if the Amazing Co. prize package is what I think it is (pink lycra tights and a matching stick clip for your trip to the top of Chain Reaction?).

Because Dubya has successfully FLIP-FLOPPED. Now the reason to go to war was to "help the Iraqi people in their quest for liberty" etc etc.. "...It's hard work..." "...the world is safer..." "...vote for me or YOU GONNA DIE!!!"

Rack is dependent on route difficulty, crack sizes (usually the guidebook will give you some idea), and climber's skill/comfort level. The lightest alpine rack I've ever carried was on NE ridge of Triumph and comprised a halfset of stoppers (the odd numbered ones I think), Metolius TCUs (#1 Blue, and #2 yellow), 0.5/1.0 tricams, BD cams (0.5, 0.75, 1.0), a couple of larger hexes, and about 6 single length runners.

I don't see why whether Cheney remembers meeting Edwards before or not is a big deal. Cheney is an evil fucker who has lied about a lot of IMPORTANT things and conspired to start the Iraq war for corporate profit. I think that's a little bit more important than whatever he says about meeting someone at sometime in the past. His lying about presiding over the Senate meetings is good stuff. Nice research Will. I hope he gets nailed on that.

First the Reverso as ascender thing and now this. Snoboy is schoolin' me! Good idea.

I am the passenger and I ride and I ride I ride through the city's backsides I see the stars come out of the sky Yeah, the bright and hollow sky You know it looks so good tonight I am the passenger I stay under glass I look through my window so bright I see the stars come out tonight I see the bright and hollow sky Over the city's ripped backsides And everything looks good tonight Singing la la la la la.. lala la la, la la la la.. lala la la etc Get into the car We'll be the passenger We'll ride through the city tonight We'll see the city's ripped backsides We'll see the bright and hollow sky We'll see the stars that shine so bright Stars made for us tonight Oh, the passenger How, how he rides Oh, the passenger He rides and he rides He looks through his window What does he see? He sees the sign and hollow sky He sees the stars come out tonight He sees the city's ripped backsides He sees the winding ocean drive And everything was made for you and me All of it was made for you and me 'Cause it just belongs to you and me So let's take a ride and see what's mine Singing la la la la.. lala la la [x3] Oh the passenger He rides and he rides He sees things from under glass He looks through his window side He sees the things that he knows are his He sees the bright and hollow sky He sees the city sleep at night He sees the stars are out tonight And all of it is yours and mine And all of it is yours and mine So let's ride and ride and ride and ride Oh, oh, Singing la la la la lalalala I'll see you down there Squidy!

I sent you an email about the screws and the Pro gloves.

I've done this once or twice also, but I think that falling with nothing between you and the piece but a sling (non-dynamic) would result in a lot of force on the pro, so you gotta make sure the piece is bomber.

Oh, I just thought of something else:

Yeah I know that trick, and it's a good one to know, but it's kinda a pain in the ass to get the doubled rope through the chains and pull it through. Especially with fat ropes and skinny chains. I've only done it a few times.

Pffftt! 13c? That thing is soft like kitten. Check my tick list yo! Cinnamon Slab, Easy Reader, Moscow, Instant Replay, and oh yeah... a little wonder called SUPER SLAB!!! Those are some sick riggs man. You wanna step to this?

Yup. Sounds familiar. I pulled a 40-50lb rock wedged in sand onto my shin in that gulley. Fortunately my foot was not well anchored (sand) so it didn't break my leg. Fun! Nice work!

I remember that bush!

Bob is in fine form today. GO GET EM BOB!!! Are you going to come down to Smith this weekend?

Think single pitch climbin' Ken. When you get to the top of a pitch and need to thread the rope through the chains to get down, you can't be tied in with the rope. So you use a daisy or sling. Slings aren't length adjustable, which can be a pain in the arse for awkwardly placed anchors. That's why people use daisies. I don't use daisies except for aid climbing. I use a sling and/or rope and a locking biner for anchoring. Attaching with daisy or sling to the anchor rather than rope also helps reduce clusterfuck potential on multipitch routes. Not a big deal for folks that are experienced at stacking the rope and swapping leads etc. There is nothing unsafe about using a daisy to anchor oneself assuming you do not belay directly off of your harness. If you must belay directly from your harness without redirecting the rope through the anchor, make sure you are anchored with something full-strength (the rope or a sling).

Camping in the grasslands. Look for me passed out in a sagebrush.

I've been pretty unimpressed with my Lowe Alpine Adrenaline jacket. Haven't tried the pants.

I wonder if the chickens were cocks or pullets?

In the above diagram, why is it 50%? Seems like if you clip ANY two loops with a single biner and all the loops blew out the biner would be outside the circle. Seems like it should be 100%? Am I stupid? There is no intrinsic difference between a "static" load and a "shock" load. Force = force. It is true that leader falls tend to generate higher forces than smaller falls. Duh. Except in a wierd aid climbing or "via feratta" system, a daisy/sling anchor is never going to be the only connection to the anchor in a fall. For example, if a leader takes a factor two fall (no pro between them and the belayer) and the belayer is belaying directly from his/her harness without a redirection through the anchor, there is still rope in the system that will stretch and disperse energy. Remember, there is no such thing as an immovable object (except for Trask's mom). Re: Will's comment about stitching. My daisy (Fixe brand) has 5 bar tacks at every loop so I think it's stronger than most. However, the way the carabiner would pull against the stitching in a daisy is different than the way the stitching gets pulled in a standard sling. With a daisy loop, the carabiner kind of pries the stitching apart... I can't explain that very well, but if you try to visualize it, you'll understand what I mean. I would guess that much less force would be needed to rip a daisy loop with five tacks than a standard sling with five tacks.

DUDE! The 80's are makin' a comeback! Better grab that old chalkbag.