baker_bc

Anyone have experience with this arrester from petzl? Check out the videos. The one of the dummy drop certainly exceeds any fall I'd make while toproping. Specs say for use with >10.5 mm semi-static ropes. Thoughts on applicability for self belay climbing?

I'm looking for a new sleeping bag for winter use in rockies, quebec, and potentially denali. as always $ is in short supply. anyone with first hand knowledge able to comment on MEC Thor and Taiga Wild Cat Loft? Design? Construction? Durability? Value? or should I start selling blood and saving for a Feathered Friends?

This question came up during an unanticipated descent last weekend - What bend(s) or knot(s) are best (or worst) for joining ropes of dissimilar diameter? I'm thinking about the situation where a double-rope rappel uses two very different diameters, say 8 mm & 10 mm. From reading and chatting with friends about the flemish bend, double fishermans, EDK, I've found nothing beyond anecdotes about which is the best (or worst) when the ropes are of rather different diameters. Does diameter mismatch differentially affect the force at which different knots roll?

this is advance planning for a warmer climate in which there are fewer days when it's possible to ski to the base of each mountain

Can you explain this, as I can't see what you mean? I tie in with the climbing rope and a clove hitch, because it's fast, can be done one handed, and allows length adjustment later. Immediately after weighting the clove hitch, I tie a figure 8 on a bight a couple of feet down the rope and add this into the same locker with the clove hitch, then lock it. This limits the length of adjustment available, but I reason that it provides a backup to the clove hitch slipping. I just started trad climbing this year and have learned a lot from this forum, so would appreciate feedback on potential problems with this approach.