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Matt Kidd

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Everything posted by Matt Kidd

  1. Weren't happy with them on the weekend? How much you asking?
  2. Don't worry, you haven't been forgotten. A lot of work is being done by few people and I think we can all appreciate that it is worth taking the time to do it right. I asked for you and here is where things are at: "We are still awaiting all the addresses to come in from the kickstarter surveys. We are also in the process of creating the poster. It will be later in June or even July before we start sending them out. It took time to locate the photo we needed for the poster and are now having it cleaned and digitized. The slides are 20 years old at this point, so a bit delicate. This is a very long process, so some folks are bound to get a little ansy and may lose faith. We will continue to do our best to keep folks interested as we go along. We sincerely appreciate your support!! Connie"
  3. Full clip with long bars. If I can find the regular bars they will be included. Removed the superfluous Grivel style eye thingy from the front toe bail. Done lots of climbing but lots of life left. Small crack in the plastic on the heel bail where the strap attaches. Pics can be provided via email, PM me with a reasonable offer and I'll get back to you. Thanks.
  4. +1 I like the Petzl Sum'tec for this sort of stuff. Nice and light, and you can do a lot with it.
  5. I think that this is good advice. Or find a club/mentor that can take you out for a day. The advantage of a guide is that you know they will give you a safe day out. Being new you aren't in much of a position to evaluate your partner's abilities/practices. Good luck.
  6. Hey G - our young friend discovered that you can get a pick for ice for the Carbon, but I agree it is pretty specific for mixed or maybe steep waterfalls. If I had the choice I'd probably go for the Force Alloy in any event, though the Carbons do feel pretty sweet. Not that I can chuck that sort of cash at them in any event. Even if the price is out of my range I like that they are pushing the envelope as far as design and material. Curious to feel the Avatar with the magnesium, looks like something from an Aliens movie...
  7. This may be the best one... http://www.worldtopo.com/topoboek.php?topo=24
  8. How's your French? http://www.grimper.com/News/3084-un-nouveau-topo-pour-les-calanques-quot-escalade-calanques-de-marseille-a-la-ciotat-quot.html http://www.topo-calanques.com/ – " Escalade dans les Calanques " de G. Bernard, D. Gorgeon, C. Kern, B. Privat par le CD 13 de la FFME, le plus récent, donc à jour avec tous les nouveaux secteurs, 04 42 66 35 05. – " Sélection d’escalades dans les Calanques " chez Edisud. Stunning area. Rained until the last morning I was there, will be going back for sure. Car rental recommended...
  9. Seven Grivel 360 screws (One 20cm and 6 16cm) in for sale. 35 per screw or 210 for all of them. Teeth and threads in good shape, one minor nick in a tooth of one screw but still starts and places easily and would be easily tuned up. Will provide pics. Out of the country at the moment so would be mailing them out when I get back in two weeks. Preference given to anyone who buys the lot, next to those who want multiples... Thanks
  10. How much rock gear was also on the sling?
  11. Just out of curiosity, no one is actually racking screws on the sling are they? I have seen it done a couple times but it has always struck me as quite odd. One thing is for sure - 360s and rock gear need to be kept separate, though I am honestly sick of the 360s in general...
  12. For me yes to rock gear on a sling in the alpine most of the time. Screws always on the harness, along with runners as I don't like them dangling from the sling and getting tangled in the rock gear. I may not use a sling if there is a small rack for the route and it will stay tidy on the harness. If no rock gear then all on the harness for me, though for waterfalls the double length sling pre setup for anchors around the shoulder is my favorite approach. A small problem with the sling is what happening in the picture. Gathering runners and chucking them on the shoulder, taking the pack on and off for a belay jacket or food or whatever, and soon when you want to trade leads you have a pack, runner, and gear sling tangle to contend with. Not grievous, but something to keep an eye on. Liked the blog post. Maybe also an argument for block leading? Seems to me that at least in the alpine each pitch consumes less than half of the rack on average. Means less gear being transferred at each belay to block lead, thus faster and less chance of dropping...
  13. After this season the plan was to get some really short skis to put some old Silverettas on for carryovers with my Spantiks. My climbing partner had tried this, however, and said they were much more difficult to ski with mountain boots than a longer ski, not even while skiing in deep stuff. He changed back. Is this your experience? Other thoughts or suggestions? Post holing back from routes and carrying boots to the base this year has motivated me to try something new.
  14. I was expecting someone to have made a joke about a 'crash pad' by now...
  15. "To head this new department we have brought in a new face, Stefano Azzali a man devoted to climbing and climbing equipment, no stranger to high tech radical materials. Stefano’s work in this field of new technologies and avantgarde design qualifies him to lead “Grivel’s Racing Development”. (Grivel Reparto Corse) It’s almost second nature to a man coming from Modena, the home of design, engineering and above all “Speed”. We look forward to the future as we are proud of our past.." Grivel website.
  16. Fabio Elli says: 'MY FRIEND STEFANO WHO HAS DEVELOPED THESE SWEETIES DESERVES AS MUCH PUBLICITY AS POSSIBLE!!' and includes this photo. Clearly the origins of the Force tools, but they have changed some things in each as you can see including some geometry. Not sure of the relationship between this guy and Grivel but you can see the current design of the Force tools here under different branding: http://www.aciessesaldature.com/saldature/saldature_speciali.asp?Lang=IT&Sez=Cli It may be that Grivel brought him on board... Either way I do know that these tools feel way better to me than any of the e-climbs...
  17. Those are out now at least in Europe. Google the Avatar, that is coming this fall in limited numbers. Pretty psychedelic. Have not climbed ice with any of these but have done some drytooling with the Force Carbons and they are pretty incredible for that at least. The curve being so high on the shaft means you can really grip high on the tool before it changes the direction of pull on the picks. The only beef with that tool is the lack of a good attachment point for even clipping to the harness. The little metal loop at the top deforms pretty quickly.
  18. Ledges are supposed to be quite scary, as is the Mousetrap. A few years ago the long time Ranger up there told me that the vast majority of successful efforts over the years have been between the 6th and 20th of August, if that helps.
  19. Nope. Taken a real turn for Spring around here.
  20. About the multi-day with Nepals - I have done it but probably won't much now that I have an option. Like Gene says, it depends on what you're doing, but if they get good and wet then they do take quite a lot to dry out. I was talking to a guy last night about his Baturas, he really liked them. Said they were lighter and climbed better than Nepals, and I would be inclined to trust his judgement. Probably stay drier as well, at least from the outside. Pricier, though. The Spantiks I have found really easy to dry, and it has been really well appreciated recently.
  21. My two cents if you like - I stay pretty warm so take it with a grain of salt... I have three pairs of boots. One pair for warm temps similar to yours (Trangos Evos), one for basically all of my waterfall climbing (Nepals), and one for frigid temps and alpine (Spantiks). Yes, Sportivas do fit me well. I have always been fine in my Nepals down to -35C, the caveat being that I get to sleep somewhere warm and dry them out; over the years they have logged the most miles by far. If I were you I would grab a Nepal or equivalent and worry about AK when that happens. Myself, I would not try to get a crossover boot between nasty cold multi-day and technical, I would buy the correct one for your needs now and do the same later so that they perform for what you need. If you plan to do a lot of steep ice and mixed you will want a toe welt I think. My Nepals are going on 8 years of climbing, probably worth the investment. good luck
  22. Great TR. Also beautiful pics - out of curiosity what are you using for a camera?
  23. Hey Marc and Tamara, how's Squampton treating you two? The traverse was cool. Didn't undercling it though, there were good jams deeper in the crack. Where/how did you chop your rope?
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