fenderfour

Banana splint? Maybe a viagra replacement?

The leg loop retaining straps are always slipping down.

Or you could get the Rock Empire Peak Plus Here or at MEC for $35. I used the Blizzard for the past two years, and I like the Peak Plus better. It has all the same features, all the same comfort, and half the retail price. And the leg loops stay in place.

<--- sofa king we todd did.

I was tought this method mostly for use at anchors, but I have used it on lead once. This could also be handy in an area where the terrain goes from not-so-steep to steep. You could use this on horizontally opposed pieces, but the angle between the pieces ends up being almost 180. This would greatly increase the force on both pieces if you fell. Someone better versed in the physics of anchors could explain this part better than me.

Best thread... ever.

I was taught an interesting way to set two pieces in opposition. This works best with pieces that are relatively close and oriented with an upward and a downward piece. Set you pieces (one up, one down) and each gets a biner. Clip a double (or triple) sling into the lower piece. Thread the entire sling through the upper biner. Pull the sling tight and wrap the sling around the upper biner, being sure to thread the sling through the loop coming from the lower biner. Keep wrapping until you are left with the appropriate sized loop, add biner and use. The sling is clipped to the lower piece, so it's not going anyhere. It's wrapped around the top biner enough to create a great deal of friction, and it's looped back through itself, increasing the friction, so the top piece isn't going anywhere. A downward pull will put most of the force on the upper piece due to all of the friction. An upward pull will put most of the force on the lower piece.

No problems there. I'm sure you know that the G-14's aren't fully rigid (like the vertically-railed Rambo). The spreader bar allows for enough flex to fit the boot. I wear a size 15, so there is plenty of space to allow the crampon to flex a little to fit. A more reasonable sized boot might not allow this. Second ascent has a bunch of Civetta's on their used rack and a pair of G-14's on display. You could probably do a test fit there.

snaffles are aid.

Tina! Eat the ham!

The fit is ok. The rear bail has to be positioned just right or it doesn't want to lock down. The geometry on the heel of the boot makes lining up the plastic bit on the crampons a bit difficult. After the crampons are on, they stay on just fine.

Are you European? Maybe Canadian? In the US, that's only 2 days between posts.

I used them in some seracs last summer. They swung pretty well, but the seemed kinda heavy. A lot of the tools on clearance have tubular picks. They set a lot better, but were tough to clean.

Get a harness that fits you well and go to a reputable shop to get help fitting it. Otherwise a harness is a harness, although everyone on this board will sing the praises of whatever piece they have been using for the past XX years.

Any cobbler or shoe repair place will do it. Don't expect too much stretch from a pair of heavy boots.

The XL stretch Elements fits just fine. Maybe you need to bulk up a bit, you know, hit the weights?

I've used it for most of this year. Pros: Super light Cheap Material is much tougher than silnylon packs (BD's new stuff) Cons: Too big no side compression straps Belt sucks bad No strap reinforcement (top strap has started to rip out) Solutions: Add side compression straps. There are already tabs in the design, just sew them on. Add strap reinforcement in the form of cordura backing sewn through the pack and the straps Widen the belt with a wedge-shaped piece of cordura. It's still too big. If you can sew, it's no biggee, if you can't - get a different pack.

DAMMIT! I've been listening to 500 lb cat for the past few days in my car. I need to look at this board more often.

I remember an over-the-counter pain med that was available in Canada that had caffeine, acetaminophen, and codeine all in one pill. Is it still available? Dru?

No variations, just the standard routes. Unfortunately, the day we climbed Monkey Face (saturday), we dicked around climbing other stuff in the morning and had a little trouble finding the correct route to the notch. We ran out of time and had to bail out of the mouth. It was getting dark very quickly. Oh yeah, all bolts were present. I could have french freed the bolt ladder. The bolts were very close together. I never got past the second step in my aiders. Fifi hooks and hero loops would have done the trick with a few draws for protection. I would have had a daisy chain set up as a chicken cord in case I got tired.

No nailing.. yet. It was great weekend out there. Temps were approaching 60 in the day and freezing at night. The bolt ladder was a hoot and the rap was ridiculous. Thanks for all the suggetions.

I want to do the easy aid. That's half my reason for doing this route. I'm bringing a couple o' hooks just in case there are bolts missing.

Tanks y'all.

Does the bolt ladder on the Pioneer Route of the Monkey Face have hangers or is it just bare bolts? The guidebook doesn't say anything aboot it, and my half-hearted seach of the net yielded nuttin. -Thanks

I did a bit of work in metallurgy. There is a misconception about tempering and hardening of steel. In order to fully harden metal, you would get it cherry red hot and cool it as quickly as possible without cracking it. In order to fully soften metal you would heat it to cherry red and let it cool as slowly as possible. Tempering is the next process which uses much less heat to make the steel softer to get the exact characteristics where you want them in the steel. Tempering is usually done in an oven at temperatures that will only cause color change on near-polished metal. You can see this color change on motorcycle exhaust pipes - the straw color slowly changing to dark blue. This color doesn't go away after cooling, but it can be polished away. Using a grinder of any sort on something as thin as an ice pick is very likely going to affect the temper making it softer and causing you to sharpen it more often. A quick rule of thumb - don't get tempered metal too hot to touch and you will be fine. Does this mean that you are destroying your picks by using a grinder? No. They will just dull faster.