tvashtarkatena

Colony on the moon? Callista's already got the helmet!

BTW, a far more talented pair of climbers than you, John, also bailed off Ham and Eggs that very same day due to, oh, I don't know, 50 mph winds or something, but that's neither here nor there. The bottom line is that its a true douche maneuver to shit on another's TR here, or on any other climbing site. Argue the merits, if you're able, and save the resume for the interview.

Yeah, puff it up, John, you're good for that, but there's not a lot of actual response to the points I made. Somebody raps off your shoestring and dies and you're all good with it? Everything we do has consequences. There are no reported problems with ropes freezing in v threads that I could find. The larger rope seems to make all the difference. Not recommending it either way, but it seems worth a bit of trying out. Even a 5 time a year ice climber knows that actual experience with a technique usually trumps a chest beat without same.

I'm reminded of the blowhard Coloradan in Bolivia who refused to use lamas (the arejero took the trouble to show up and would just have to go home empty handed if we didn't hire him) for the carry to base camp...for a whopping $2.50 per animal, because 'he could carry his own gear, thanks'. Yeah, we all could, and that's not the point. A decent paycheck for the lama guy, and not much ego or wallet shrinkage for us, unless you're stuck in a certain 1st world, 'it's all about me' way of thinking. This tool's GF wound up eating din din at our camp several times. Better company, I guess. These guys chopped the route to satisfy a very ego centric '1st world' need...but didn't apparently think much about how it would effect the locals who have to make a living down there. They don't live there. We don't live there. Maybe the locals are all for the chop? Funny...nobody seems to have bothered to ask what they want concerning the mountain that's in their back yard, not ours.

Political threads are fun. 10,000 'lick sacks', however.... Hint: She's tryin' to give you a semi, KKK. The Innerwebz!

I'd say both bolters and cutters were douchebags for taking upon themselves to decide what's best for someone else's mountain range. Both decisions should have been left to the Argentinians. But hey, that's the Americanadian 'we know better' way.

God I hope so.

That method reportedly works fine. The issue is this: you need an anchor at the rap station anyway, so you'd need to take the extra time to make another v thread or place a couple of screws, or figure out a way to pull the tat with a weight rap line on top of it. Never tried that. Worth an experiment. Your pack's gettin' lighter already, John!

Yes, that's the same as climbing it yourself, fo sho.

Been there, done that, got the T shirt, time to move on.

1/2 inch tubular has a rating of about 4.4 kN. This is roughly the same as a 5 mm nylon cord (6 kN...knot factor bringing that down to 4-5 or so). When you add knot factors, that drops to about 3 kN...or just under 800 lbs. Sounds like a lot but any could half that. Body weight only ratings and 'good to rap on' are two different things in my book, but hey, it's your ass. I wouldn't think a stud like you John would have any trouble carrying the massive extra weight of 5.5 mm dyneema (3x rating of 1/2") or even 6mm cord (+25% rating). Maybe you're just a cheap skate in all the wrong places. The problem is that when you pull the rope, you can melt and destroy the strength of a too skinny v thread. Multiple parties climb even remote alpine routes during those narrow windows of good conditions. Sure, every party needs to be self sufficient, but still...you sure no one else is gonna rap of your tat? Personally, I'd care about something like that.

When you've ticked it come on back and tell us about it.

Oh, you'd clip 'em, given the alternative.

People actually watch that shit?

Stewart, I now offer discount surgery services for the New Economy. I can have that forearm off for ya in half an hour, and all you need to bring is a rack of offsets to cover the bill. You gotta get better, cuz I sure as hell ain't gonna play rope gun.

I'm with you. When do you replace a coat hanger? With 9 raps left? Use a nice stainless wired tool that won't fuck you at the worst moment. And, for fucks sake, leave V thread cord big enough so that others can (and they will) use it without dying.

For any of you guys whose never found himself Z clipped between a nipple and a clit ring, trust me, some weird sheeit can happen out there. And no, Jo, its not impossible, by definition. Hook failures all happen under load. I'm doing one armed pullups on a hooked biner as a type, in fact. I can see doubled biners, one taking all the load due to shorter sling, hook getting caught on webbing...I can SEE IT, BY GOD! All we know is that that poor, maligned little biner, jeez, the thing never meant to hurt anyone, has all the characteristics of a hook failure. Anything more will require a grand jury.

In space, no one can hear you shart.

Now back to backin up those biners!

Two words I'll leave you with. 'Welts' and 'quivering'.

I never whip and tell.

I'm tyin' some knots right now....

I read 'steph Davis', 'anal', and 'safety' real fast and almost suffered a concussion trying to speed scroll the rest of the post.

Fuck man, that Shaft meets Kung Fu shit's hilarious!

That Milky Way headlamp pic is fwahkin keeewl