Franko
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Posts posted by Franko
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Anyone tried the winter route after the snow is gone? Too brushy, or what?
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Virtually new. Tried it out one night on my deck, decided that it is not roomy enough for me. I'm 6'1", 240 lbs, & a restless sleeper. If you're smaller and/or don't toss & turn a lot, this bivy is lightweight & well liked by most reviewers.
List is $275. You can find it on sale for $230 or so. Or you can have this one for $200. Shipping extra; UPS about $9, US Postal about $5. Payment by Pay Pal.
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the tests done by BD some time ago showed that strength of the screw depends on the angle of the placement and the quality of the ice. also turns out that 13 cm screw held the same as 17cm. one might argue that the energy absorption by the screamer is achieved by lengthening of the fall, hence not real energy absorption is happening.
Screamers spread the force out over time, thus reducing the peak momentary force applied to the screw. It's the same way that you spread the force out over time by partially applying the brakes on your car, vs standing on the pedal.
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Paul, have you looked at summer falls lately?
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I doubt a .22 would do much, but a 12 gauge with buckshot might work. I plan to give it a shot next week.
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I live on Bainbridge Island, but I want to get over to the desert for some ice climbing soon. Thinking of Banks Lake, Ancient Lake, etc. I prefer weekdays to avoid crowds, but weekends are OK too. Anyone interested PM me.
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Good riddence
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But why would you want to do this rather than just spending a few extra days in a beautiful place in the mountains?
I hope that was helpful.
It was. Thanks. What's your opinion of figger8's statement that 8 hours a day in a simulator will not make a difference?
Spending a few extra days at altitude would be great, but I live at sea level and often am stuck climbing on the weekend. Altitude has never been a problem with me, which doesn't mean it won't be in the future, but I'm more concerned with my daughter, who wants to start going into the mountains with her dad. Since I don't know her reaction to altitude, and people have died from AMS on Rainier, I'm looking at options. Google led me to altitude simulator companies, which all seem to claim to make you ready to do K2 in a day, so I posted here get more knowledge.
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This was part of my job in a previous life. If you have a different interpretation of what that stuff is - I'd love to hear it. Anyways...I thought everyone knew this stuff
Everyone knows lots of stuff, or thinks they do.
For example, I've been told that adaptation to altitude is different than just having good wind due to cardiovascular exercise. I've also been told the opposite. My own experience has supported the first theory. Some years ago I climbed Rainier with a group that included some pretty fit folks, including a marathon runner. At the time I trained by watching TV, smoking 2 packs of Kools a day, and living at sea level. I doubt that I could have run a quarter mile without stopping for breath.
I was the only one of the group who did not feel sick once we got above camp Shurman, and was the only one who felt good enough to climb past the schrund to the top. Since the climb was part of an AMS experiment, we all ate the same food & drank lots of water, so whatever made the difference it wasn't cardiovascular fitness.
If you look back at the posts you'll notice a variety of opinions, and nobody save mneagle has put forth any credentials. And I don't know what Layton posted; he's been on my ignore list for a long time.
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In order for the body to adapt (increased red blood cells primarily) to the lower partial pressures of oxygen at altitude, you need to live/breathe/eat/sleep at that altitude. You can't just jump in a chamber and expect your body to effectively change to something it is exposed to only 8 hours a day.
Increased VO2 max is the main result of training at altitude, which is simply a measure of how efficient your body is at processing oxygen - the higher the better.
What Mike is talking about is increasing lactate threshold, which is the body's ability to process and recycle the glycogen which accumulates locally in the muscles during max/near max exertion.
My 2 cents at least.
And you know this because?
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A great exercise to simulate high altitude is swimming. The exercise involves working out without breathing. Swimming forces the body to exert itself during low O2 intervals.
Hope this helps,
It does. Can you steer me to any urls that have more info?
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Yes, I have an altitude tent. What do you want to know ???
Have you used it to prepare for a high altitude climb, and was it effective?
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Anyone who actually knows what they're talking about have anything to share?
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Has anyone tried one of those altitude simulators?
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You should be able to get someone who knows there stuff if you shop at any of the 3 Vertical World pro-shops (Bremerton, Seattle, & Redmond). they might not have the largest selection but they'll probably know what they're talking about.
So there I was at Bremerton Vertical World belaying my daughter & listening to the VW employee explain the use of a grigri to some newcomers.
"So the grigri will automatically catch a fall? You don't have to do anything?" asked one of the newbies.
"That's right," replied the VW employee.
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how's that approach?
The approach is tough. Go over the fence & down scree to the base of the route, avoiding the river & sniper fire from the overprotective security guards.
The top of the route might look problematic, but the feds will have a complimentary chopper waiting for you.
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Not sure what I did wrong, but here's another try.
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anyone have any suggestions where the best ice is going to be this coming weekend, thur-sun? leavenworth has been to dry for anything to form. Banks lake maybe?
This was in last Monday.
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Kelly thanks everyone for your kind remarks. With your encouragment she has decided to be either a climber who writes or a writer who climbs.
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My 13 year old daughter wrote this for her 8th grade language arts class. I thought some of you might enjoy it.
The Lead
I stood at the bottom of Orchard Rock at Peshastin Pinnacles, a state park near Leavenworth, surveying the sandstone rock above me. Only my second time doing real rock-climbing, I was ready, eager, and possibly a little over-confident about my first lead-climb.
“I think I can get through that tough spot if I put my foot up on that ledge, since I’m more flexible,” I told my dad, who has just tried (unsuccessfully) to climb up the slab of rock. I pulled my foot up around my ear, stretching.
“Anytime you’re ready,” he replied, already hooked into a tree at the bottom of the cliff. He was going to be my belayer, or the person who would pull me to a stop if I were to loose my footing and fall. That is assuming my protection caught me first.
Probably the hardest part about lead-climbing is placing protection. Unlike a top-rope, where the rope is connected at the top of the cliff and leaves virtually no space to fall, a lead-climb uses protection, little oddly shaped pieces of aluminum that are lodged into a crack and then clipped into your rope so that if you fall, that would be what you fall back on. It doesn’t sound so bad…except that in lead-climbing falls can be over10 feet before a piece of protection catches you.
I was all ready to go. Harness buckled, carabiner clipped, everything set. I sucked in a breath and took the first step.
Surprisingly, the first ½ or so of the climb was fairly easy, except for a few tough spots. But finally I had climbed past all the protection my dad had previously placed. I was on my own now.
Looking down at my choices of nuts and devices, I started to get a little nervous. How could something the size of my thumb hold me up against a heaving fall? I put in two nuts, taking about 10 minutes just to make sure they were good and tight.
I continued on, more shakily than I would have preferred. My original plan was to throw a sling around a ledge I’d seen from the bottom and lower myself off that. Now the ledge was next to me. It looked a lot less sturdy now than it had from the ground. I tested my weight on it, and it moved. I decided against relying on it for my life.
I was beginning to freak out. Where would I lower myself from now? I couldn’t down climb this, it was too steep. A case of sewing machine leg had erupted from my thighs to my toes, making them jiggle uncontrollably.
Calm down, calm down, I told myself. There was a chimney-type crack ahead that if I could climb up, I would have access to a great anchor. But how to get to it?
I made my way shakily up the chimney, my dad calling suggestions from below. Suddenly my foot slipped and I was moving downward, the scariest sensation I had yet experienced. Like floating somewhere between life and death, unaware of the outside world.
SLAM!!! The next thing I knew, I was lodged in the bottom of the chimney. Shaking, breathing hard, but alive . It was the most exhilarating experience of my life. Now I knew I could get out of here. I could do it.
I backed out of the crack, my head finally clear…and I saw it. A solid column, probably strong enough to support a truck, was right beside me. I’d finally found my anchor.
After getting to the bottom again, I looked back at Orchard Rock, but it didn’t look the same. It’s like after I’d climbed it, I knew its deepest secrets and darkest desires. And as my dad and I walked away, I felt satisfied, but not like my job was finished. Someday, I’d come back, maybe not the next year, maybe not even within the next five years, but I’d be back, and when I came, I’d be going all the way to the top.
Kelly
9-16-05
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My curiosity got the best of me, so I took a 10.5 rope that I had retired to non-lead duty & did some experiments.
I cut 4 20 foot lengths , took a bight in the middle of each, & dipped the bight in the following:
Battery acid straight from an old battery.
A mix of 50% water, 50% chlorine bleach
A mix of 50% water, 50% liquid Drano (lye)
A mix of a handful of ashes from my wood stove plus 2 cups water.
I left each rope in the liquids for a few minutes to assure good penetration, then let them dry for a few days.
Today I tied some 1" webbing around a stout tree stump on my property, & tied the acid rope to the sling with a figure 8. I tied a figure 8 in the other end & looped it over the trailer hitch on my Land Cruiser. Then I drove slowly forward until the LC stopped. I floored the gas, and the rope did not break, nor did the tires slip. I have no idea how much force the LC put on the rope, but it is considerable, or the 5000 pound vehicle would not go up much of a hill.
Next, I backed up to the stump, & accelerated the LC for a couple of seconds, then lifted my foot off the gas. The LC was going about 12-14 mph when the rope went taught. The LC slowed almost to a stop, & then the SLING broke where the rope passed over it.
The acid soaked portion of the rope still had not broken, although it was now much stiffer than the rest of the rope. Almost brittle.
I put a doubled sling around the stump, passing the rope through both loops of webbing, and accelerated again & the rope popped at the acid area without slowing the LC much.
Next I did the same experiment with the other (Drano, beach, ashes+water) ropes. All held against the throttle, and all stopped the LC at least twice when I accelerated & let the momentum come against the rope. When the rope finally broke, it always broke at the knot on the trailer hitch. I took what was left of the rope in each case & tied another figure 8, & did it again. In every case, the rope broke at the knot at the trailer hitch.
NOTE! DO NOT ASSUME FROM THESE RESULTS THAT IT IS OK TO EXPOSE YOUR ROPE TO CHEMICALS OF ANY KIND. ROPE MAKERS WARN US TO SAFEGUARD OUR ROPES FROM ALL CHEMICALS. BELIEVE THEM!
Conclusions? In this poorly controlled test performed by a non-expert in materials, chemistry, physics, etc., the weakest part of the rope proved to be the knot, except in the case of the acid treated rope.
The weakest part of the system, weaker even than the acid soaked rope, proved to be a sling made of 1" tubular webbing, tied with a water knot, which broke not at the knot, but at the point where the figure 8 loop passed over it. I'm not sure why this happened, although my guess is that the loop of rope, as it was squeezed tight by the force, put most of the load on the edges of the webbing, which failed progressively inward. Anyway, I will forever more double my slings at belay & rap anchors.
For those who find this kind of stuff interesting, here are some relevant numbers.
5000 pounds (2222 kg) going 10 mph ( 4.7 meters per second) has 24542 joules of kinetic energy, all of which must be absorbed in order for the weight to come to a halt. http://science-ebooks.com/store/kinetic_energy.htm
240 pounds ( me, 109 kg) must be moving at 21.2 meters/second in order to generate the same 24542 joules of kinetic energy. This means I would have to take about a 68 foot fall in order to accelerate to that speed.
http://www.glenbrook.k12.il.us/gbssci/phys/Class/1DKin/U1L5d.html
Since the rope was only about 20 feet long, that means I would have to take a factor 3.4 fall in order to generate the same force on a 20 ft. length of rope, which I could only do if I had the rope tied to a length of something like a steel chain.
It was interesting & fun. My family watched, so my kids (& their mother) now feel much more confident in the stuff that protects their lives while climbing. And I have an excuse to buy another rope.
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Back in the day, pioneers made lye - the active ingredient in Drano - by seeping water through wood ashes. Hardwood ashes were preferred, but maybe other ashes would work too. I don’t know.
I bring this up because last week I was climbing up Icicle Creek in an area where there had obviously been a fire. I noticed that my rope had picked up some sooty looking marks, probably from the area near the big pine that we used as an anchor. The pine itself had some scorch marks, and there were charred sticks in the area.
So I was going to wash my rope, and the sooty slings that were tied around the pine, when I remembered the water plus ashes method of making lye. Now I’m worried. I don’t want to expose my rope & slings to lye; it’s wicked stuff that can dissolve many substances in seconds, and I don’t know if nylon is one of them.
If any of you have any knowledge that could help me decide whether or not to toss a fairly new, expensive rope & some new, cheap, slings, please chime in.
Pineapple pass goof
in Climber's Board
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I know we weren't the first to turn up the first, wrong, gully to the Tooth south face. I know because when you reach the point where it is obvious that you're in the wrong gully, there is a rap anchor with 3 slings; 1 pretty new, 1 middle aged, and 1 old. Thanks to whoever left the anchor. It allowed us to rap down & get up the correct gully with enough daylight left to climb.
BTW, I found a metal bottle at the bottom of the face with what smells like gatorade in it. PM me if you want it back.