Doug Shepherd
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Posts posted by Doug Shepherd
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I only got one insert per tool as well, same as Bob.
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I've had such a good experience with the Nomics that I don't buy it's just a swing difference (for the Fusions) from straight handles to offset handles. I've climbed all sorts of ice with the Nomics and never had the problems I had over the last couple weeks.
And the sketchiest part of the whole thing was topping out steep ice onto low angle ice. Pretty much impossible to swing solely from the upper grip at that point, there are some tricks you can pull though which make it easier.
All that said...blah blah..woe is me, I've got two really nice sets of ice tools. Maybe I should go back to climbing with my Cassin Rainbows and then I'll stop bitching.
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Double dutch rudder actually. You're working it and I'm loving it.
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Nice job guys! Good seeing you out there, you'll have to make a trip to the 'rado and show the locals what "rad' really is!
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Just had a talk with some people at BD.
The bolt not staying tightened sounds like a one-off issue, we're trying to figure it out.
Getting them to stick sounds like I need just need some more mileage with them, which is fine by me. Let's just say I prefer the Cobra's swing.
The cleaning issue may come down to a personal style/pick choice. I'm not exactly known for swinging lightly. Frieh can attest to that! I'm going to play with modifying some Laser and Titan picks to see if I can't get the tools to clean easier.
I really want to make these tools work, because of the nice handle design and usability in the alpine. I just need to be able to get the things in and out of the ice which is basically all that counts!
Basically...to be continued....
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I've owned a pair of Nomics since they came out but recently passed them onto a friend, I liked them for mixed climbing but prefer my Cobras for ice/alpine climbing.
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Yeah...I might try it, but that doesn't solve the other issues.
I'm seriously considering passing them on and just using my Cobras for everything.
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I thought about it, but I want to be able to change the picks easily.
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I've been climbing on these tools for quite a few pitches now.
They drytool very well and climb steep ice well once you get them into the ice.
That said, I'm actually bummed I sold my Nomics. These things bounce on any low angle ice and even some high angle ice, even modified laser picks get stuck really badly, and they just swing...funny. My Cobras swing much more naturally and don't stick with the same pair of modified laser picks.
The bolts on my pair refuse to stay tightened, especially because you have yard on the damn things so much to get the picks out. I have constantly been tightening the bolts on them, even mid-pitch.
I'd say less than a quarter of the days I've had them I haven't been cursing them. I'm hoping I can get things figured out...I ran into quite a few climbers (including BD athletes) here in Bozeman who are having the exact same issues as I am.
All said, I can't recommend these tools right now for anyone who doesn't plan on using them on WI5 and up or mixed ALL the time.
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see below...
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Good to see you guys.
Stop falling on ice Gordo!
See you in a few weeks...
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Hey now, why would he need an income...oh, right....
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There's a simple solution to that. It involves my couch and a lot of free time
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I climbed on Quarks for 3 years before purchasing a pair of Nomics. I really like the Nomics for steep mixed climbing but honestly feel that the Cobras climb better on hard ice and moderate alpine terrain while still mixed climbing reasonably. I don't quite have the resume that Dane does, but am not exactly slouch on harder ice/mixed climbs either.
I always feel like I am swinging a blunt hammer when I climb ice with my Nomics. I still need to try out the thinner picks for more than a couple days, they did seem to help.
The big drawback for me of the Cobras is the poor pick life of the Laser picks. I bent a brand new Laser on the first pitch of the Ames Ice Hose in November this past season...I had just put it on that morning! However I've had good luck with the Titan picks for alpine climbing and didn't mess up another Laser pick the rest of the season.
All that said, leashless is definitely the way to go. I was on the fence until I lead a couple WI6 pitches without my leashes and realized how nice it was.
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5 kN is quite a bit, but not as much as you think. You can generate 5 kN by bounce testing a piece with a static runner.
That said, I've fallen on a lot of small gear. Some has held, some has broken, but I didn't expect any of it to hold harsh falls. Usually I'll chain up the small gear if there is that chance.
The problem with this is that you could bounce test or take a small fall (arbitrarily <5 kN for this example) on an Alien which is rated for say 12 kN and it won't break. Then you take a harsher fall (> 5 kN) on the piece. Maybe it will hold, maybe it won't. That just freaks the hell out of me.
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In regards to the information from the initial post, the tests were performed on units which had clearly been subjected to heavy use, therefore the validity of the tests is nullified. All lab tests conducted on new units by CCH in the past several years has shown them to meet necessary safety requirements.
Are you serious? This is clearly a braze failure. It is a different issue from the recall cams (not enough braze in this case vs. quenching the hot joint for the recall), but even heavy abuse of the red cam would not cause this kind of failure. The middle of the cable pulled out of the head!
Look, I'm glad your Aliens haven't hurt/killed you or your partners. I have four that are older that I have fall tested myself, but now I'm even questioning those because of this failure mode. Just enough of the cable was brazed to let this cam survive a bounce test/small fall, but it would fail in a heavy fall.
In addition, the cable pull tests conducted by CCH do not cover the failure mode of the purple cam. Hopefully they will at least respond to adatesman about that failure mode...I doubt it though.
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Hahahahaha
I love it. The nice part about being a MOG is there is plenty of you to go around. The chocolate milk idea both frightens and intrigues me. BEEFCAKE! However, Both you will have to fight off the wifey for your piece of the action. She's tiny, but fierce.
Oh and nice job Bryan, making John go North with a hate bag. Some kind of friend you are!
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The have one turbo Otter and another one in the garage they are fixing up!
The Otter is a badass plane, that thing definitely rocks it out.
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word.
John doesn't give himself enough credit. This trip wouldn't of ever happened without him and I had a really good time. Even if he did abandon me at the Fairview our last night there...or something like that. There was a lot of
and 
going on with the locals. -
I moved to Colorado almost 4 years ago and was expecting to climb a ton out here. I grew up in Seattle and was used to the climbing up there and I am under the opinion that Washington has some of the best climbing anywhere. I was disappointed with the climbing out here and kind of lost motivation so I dropped out of the scene for awhile to focus on school which meant that I didn't do much exploring. The biggest problem that I have with Colorado is the lack of variety of other things to do than just climbing. In Seattle you can go climb, mt. bike, paddle, dive, go to a museum that is worthwhile, go to an amazing concert, you name it. It is true that Colorado get 300 days of sun a year but I would much rather live in the rain and have more options than live here in the sun. I am moving back to Seattle in a few weeks and will not miss Colorado.
Rudy, you were right... Seattle is by far the best place to live.
Why were you disappointed with the climbing out here?
As to your other complaints, I'll just say I disagree except for the parts about diving and the music scene.
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There is more climbing in the South Platte than you could finish in a lifetime. All of it amazing granite. This is the unheralded gem of Colorado climbing.
RMNP has fantastic alpine rock climbing and some of the best trad ice/mixed climbing in the states. There is a lot of ice climbing that isn't that far of walk (1-2 hours) in RMNP. Lumpy Ridge is a fantastic place that has an alpine feel for a small buy in (30-45 min approach).
The Indian Peaks is an untapped resources for big alpine faces in the spring/fall which have awesome alpine climbing. Mt. Evans has the Black Wall which you can drive to the top of, rap in, and climb 5-7 pitch crack routes back to your car!
Boulder has the Flatirons, Eldo, and Boulder Canyon. You can find any kind of climbing you want here.
The St. Vrain canyons are full of awesome rock climbing (and ice/mixed in the winter if you look hard) and relativity unknown to climbers.
Clear Creek Canyon is fun sport climbing on good rock. There is a great hard trad crack crag near Golden as well.
Then there is Vedauwoo, Shelf Road, the Black, Rifle, Vail, the list goes on and on. Desert climbing can be had in 5 hours, as well as the whole San Juan range which is some of best ice climbing in the lower 48 as well as great back-country skiing and alpine climbing.
Man, if you can't find stuff to do in Colorado, I don't know what to tell you.
The alpine climbing is not as full on as the Cascades, the amount of giant granite crags is lower, and you aren't as close to Canada for ice/mixed climbing. The snow pack here is fluffy, but pretty reactive. Hard to ski a lot of stuff during the winter. Like somebody said above, unless you live for alpine climbing you should be just fine in Colorado.
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Definitely
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Hey now, I proudly live with hate bags!
Yeah, ice climbers are a cool, if wrong in the head bunch.
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I just realized that, thats the Ice fest Weekend....Gapers beware...lots of hate bags rolling in from the south.
Hate bags from the south? Man, the worst people I always run into at Cody are these guys from South Dakota who intentionally climb the trade routes during the Ice Fest weekend to try and disrupt clinics. I've seen them out there three years running while helping with clinics/climbing.
That said, there are definitely more people out during the Ice Fest. I've never had a bad time during it though, definitely a lot of cool people around and fun routes to be done.
[TR] Hyalite - Bozeman Ice Fest 12/10/2009
in Ice Climbing Forum
Posted
Damn, he looks comfortable in my belay jacket.
Bastard.