hafilax

Yeah Rob. Don't you know you're supposed criticize RuMR on another message board?

Does your kid wear a helmet in the gym?

If climbing were that dangerous there wouldn't be climbing gyms. You guys make is sound like every time you touch rock you're staring death in the face.

What does that have to do with anything?

Most probable worst case scenario. She could have flipped upside down and cracked her head open but then again she could have been hit by a meteorite. I guess that's a bad example since a helmet would help in both cases.

I simply think that you are overstating the potential dangers that kid was in. It seems to me that the most probable worst case scenario happened and that the girl showed great courage and determination in finishing the climb. It may not have been the best situation but I think it was a positive experience in the end for parent and child. I hope it did something for her self confidence but that it is followed up with a lesson on safety in climbing. This isn't aimed at anybody but I think that many parents take the role of protector too far and fail to teach their kids that the world isn't scary, that kids can be capable of making their own decisions and that they must take responsibility for their own actions.

Democ-rat? gnuk gnuk

Is THAT the Jehova you were talking about?

Start him off with Ethel The Aardvark Goes Quantity Surveying.

I was wondering the same thing.

Is that what she's calling it these days?

Shell helmets provide next to no protection to the brain from hits from the front, side or back. Foam helmets are far superior in that regard. I don't see where I said not to wear a helmet. I was merely pointing out that you should choose the right helmet for the right job. https://www.thebmc.co.uk/Feature.aspx?id=1534

I'm with Rob. NBD. I've seen monkey bars more dangerous than that climb. I hope he gets her a foam helmet and not the old school shell/suspension type. Those things are pretty useless for preventing concussions in a fall.

I thought you meant this killer kitty: [video:youtube]6YdiptluUOQ

I guess she doesn't get military protocol.

Nothing like an old fashion golden shower advertisement.

What if you allow the use of a safety word?

If you have to bail cord is cheaper, knots better, cuts better and you get twice as much of it in a loop versus a single strand with eye loops. In the end it's all personal preference.

Careful, they've been shooting cougars at will in Squamish.

Can't afford your prescription?

You'd better update your signature; I think you're regressing.

Too much gin?

Mark Twight in Extreme Alpinism and Craig Connelly in The Mountaineering Handbook basically agree on a good climbing hydration and nutrition strategy based on sound science. I can't remember the details but the essences are: -Gastric emptying, the process of passing water from the stomach to the intestines, is optimized by sport gels (Gu, Carb Boom etc.) and you can drink about a litre/quart an hour with one gel. Hydration is the number one concern and even at that rate you will lose water throughout the day. Basically you need a certain amount of sugar in your stomach in order for it to pass water through. Most of what people think of as a lack of food energy such as brain fog and lack of energy is in fact due to dehydration. -Energy mostly comes from fat stores. You get little energy from food eaten during the day although some food is good for tricking the body out of feeling hungry. Anything that is hard to digest will slow you down. I think that there is a common misconception that gels are for energy when in fact they are designed for hydration. -Replacing electrolytes is also important. They both recommend adding powdered electrolytes and a bit of protein and even creatine (for recovery) to your water to supplement what is in the gels. -Carb loading the night before. You store a bit of extra energy in your liver that is easily accessed early in the day. It gives you a bit of extra energy but not much. The article above seemed to speak against prolonged carb loading. I think it has been shown to be effective if only done the night before. -You can prehydrate to some extent but exceeding the maximum that your body can do through gastric emptying before the climb will not help. Be sure to drink lots of water the day before in order to not start the next day in a water deficit and drink tons of water after intense activity especially if doing a multi day activity. I've tried the gel and water all day thing and it works well for me. I haven't taken it to the next step with the electrolytes but I'm sure that will help as well. I climbed the Buttress on the Chief on Saturday drinking water with gels and a cliff bar with good success. I didn't get the bonk that I would get in the past at about pitch 8 and I am not exactly in top shape right now. I can barely walk today. I did have to carry quite a bit of water in a hydration pack but I think it was worth it. It surprised me how closely those books outlined the same recommendations and they are science based with good evidence from endurance athletic events. I highly recommend reading those sections if you are interested in the food science.

I've found that if the leader is out of sight and out of listening range that rope signals also don't really work all that well (in Squamish at least). A tug down 50m of rope wandering around blocks and trees let alone the gear isn't exactly a juice can and string phone. The exception would be in high winds or near a raging river. To me a confused message is worse than no message at all. You're in a tough spot getting pumped and set a piece ahead. You pull up rope in a hurry but are too weak and drop it. Repeat that a couple of times and you're off belay? If there's no clear signal from the belayer I'll belay to the end of the rope and then take the belay device off. I'll then take the anchor apart. There's a certain rhythm to the tugs when you're on belay as the leader is feeling for you at the other end. I'll wait a little longer and then climb a bit. If the slack is taken up I proceed with caution until I'm sure I'm on belay.

Henna?