layton

thanks, that system looks perfect for redrocks

darin, rockfall and sliding over edges with the lines under stress can cut the rope quite easily on small diameter pull cords

darin, i had considered your quicklink idea... if the tag line breaks (you'd have to set it up to pull the tag line) the knot gets jammed. so far, that's the best possible solution. you could use some webbing/cord and tie a smaller bight - but then your making it diffuclt (more friction) to pull the rope. I think I'd rather use some smaller aluminum quicklinks concidering the forces involved aren't going to be huge.

i was taking about a re-woven fig-8 not an overhand fig-8. Anyway, thank for those links. Sounds like an overhand fig-8 is much more likely to come apart. Two EDKs tighened snuggly together may be the ticket. as far as pull cord back-up.....

oh, and yes two twin/double ropes would make this conversation moot. However, twin rope technique is just plain shitty when you have 1. hanging belays and cramped belay stances 2. difficult climbing and belaying is involved 3. rough/abrasive rock

Exactly, Blake. Except that the first down is not testing the whole system that the 2nd will be doing - like when you back the anchor for the first and pull the back-up piece for the 2nd. Rapping both lines does lessen the load on the pull cord since you are weighting the lead line a bit more. The only way I can see making it safe (assume that this is unsafe) is fixing the lead line to the next rappel and clipping some gear in on the descent so if the tag line does snap (from rubbing over a sharp lip or rockfall) there's at least something to stop you.

i've been taught, and i put it in my book: If you are rappelling on ropes of different diameter, use a rewoven fig-8 (fleischmans) instead of an overhand (EDK). And if you are using a skinny pull-cord (5mm-8mm) use this set-up: knot on pull cord side, tie knot in lead line on knot side of rap anchor, clip knot to lead line on the non-knot side of anchor - so if the pull cord snaps, you're still on rappel. You have to pull the pull cord first in this set-up, but I've been told to pull it first regardless since the odds of the lead line getting stuck tumbling down are higher than the pull cord getting stuck. Good advice. Don't want that pull cord snapping. Fig-8 won't come undone. BUT!!!! I'd say that the vast majority of rope-pulling, rope stuck issues i have had is because I've used one of both of the above set-ups. And, I HATE getting my rope stuck. Worries about the trip down sometimes ruin the trip up. So what I'm wondering, and would love the input of fellow (ahem) experience climbers is: How bad of an idea is it to just say fuck it, tie an EDK on a 9.8mm and a 6mm, forgo the back-up knot/biner, and also pull the lead line first. Coming from an odds/risk ratio I'm proposing that the odds of the pull cord cutting on rappel are low enough to mitigate the real risks involved in getting your rope stuck. I'm also suggesting that I would rather have an entire length of free lead line and stuck pull cord than visa-versa. So what do you think? Are most of you thinking, "no shit that's what I normally do" or are you thinking "don't do it, you are being totally unsafe because...." Thanks, Mike

regardless, it looks like Fixe has a better expansion range than does totem

i'd have to respectfull disagree with this. i wouldn't use link cams in the desert (or anywhere) - regardless too expensive, prone to fix, and in bottomless cracks I can just see them walking/rotating up. And hexes? Mad respect to those that lead hard desert splitters with no constrictions on those, but no thank you. I'd rather use the smaller sized big-bros or large tri-cams if I was forced to use something besides a cam. Or...I'd find something else to climb.

i like metolius for between 1+2 and .75 and 1. never had a problem between 2+3, but maybe that's cuz that size is such a solid jam, i don't really care. what climb are you talking about?

p.s. it's funny. if people were cars, it would be so easy to diagnose and fix these issues. but for some reason, when you toss in anatomy, the mechanic somehow becomes this amazing practitioner! My point? Start treating auto mechanics like doctors.

every therapy, diagnostic, stretch, etc... mentioned in this thread are taught to chiropractors, and I'm assuming to PT's also. It's not the profession, it is the practitioner. No muscle actually crosses the SI joint, making it a difficult joint to stabilize. Adjustments or PT mobilizations pop it back in, but since there's nothing to keep it there, there is a chance that some other imbalance will pop it back out. Pregnant women have a hard time with this joint from relaxin, etc. Here's a small checklist of things that may be causing your issue: leg legnth inequality - functional (because of a muscle imbalance), or anatomical (one leg is longer) Overpronation of the foot. Lower Cross Syndrome: weak gluts and abs, tight hip flexors some solutions: change footwear, orthotics, heel lift short term therapy: adjustment, ice, electrical modalities, massage stretch the shit out of: hams, hip flex and quads, piriformis, adductors exercise the crap out of (and I mean 50 reps and a minute or so of isometric stability at least every day): back extensors, transverse abs(including pelvic floor), rectus abdominus, obliques, lumbar lateral flexors, gluts/leg extensors, leg abductors anyway, chiros don't get paid like PTs do which is why, i think, there are so many bad chiros. I usually only get paid for an adjustment...and maybe a couple bucks for extra things. So chiros can't spend the time that PTs do. Hopefully the anti-discrimination in payment clause in the new healthcare bill actually gets enforced.

http://www.batterblaster.com/ My new favorite - good for pancakes and the extra bost of nitro!

is she's not your girlfriend yet, winter campin' is the way to go! i've taken my wife up hundreds of routes from cragging to towers to long alpine bivy routes ... and she is still not a "climber" IMO you don't want a climber girlfriend, they are generally a bit extra crazy. So are climber guys.

I have about 15 mostly un-used dyneema slings onces I realized sling weight is a petty concern. I pretty much only climb on nylon slings. The extra weight is negligible compared to the extra force dispersion, resistance to wear/tear, ability to tell when they're getting sketchy, and cost. Keep in mind I climb in the desert a lot. If I worried about bulk or water then I would use titan slings. I have some pretty old ones that look brand new compared to some much newer dyneema slings that scare me just looking at them. I wouldn't consider using a daisy made out of that thin dyneema, and I no longer use fancy cordalettes with kevlar or spectra since I want some give in the system and don't want to be thinking $$ when I burn it for tat.

goretex proshell has probably come down in price, and is surprisingly breathable

that would truly be a senseless act pete

camp air cr or the red arctyrx. I like the CR b/c it has adjustable leg loop for us skinny guys with big thighs. haul loops on both are a joke, so just tie a piece of webbing in the back. my other harness for long routes with light approaches or for offwidths is the metolius safe tech.

no, the booty clacker uses some sort of piston to ram it! someone should post the link

i like the range on the Fixe Aliens better. get those

there was a very very funny thread on mountainproject called "booty clacker". Dude was acting like he owned the secrete formula for cold fusion. You should go on there and take him down a notch.

I just got a little hand vacuum pump from Ziploc that's compatible with the other zip-close vacuum bags - ya know to keep stuff fresher. $5 retail for the pump and 4 quart sized bags. Anyone used this on a.)road trips to keep food longer. how much does it extend freshness? or b.)to make a boil in bag dinner from your leftovers at home. I thought it would be worth $5 to see. Could be dirt-bag gold

Exactly. Ok, let me concede a point to you in this example (and maybe the only example where a screamer with a human belayer would actually be useful). scenario: belayer is tied tightly into the belay unable to move at all, and he/she is using a Gri-Gri. but in any other scenario, the force the belayer can absorb, even with slippage in a non-autolocking belay device, should completely negate any additional effect a screamer would have on the belayer itself. BUT! Let's pretened that we move the screamer to the first piece placed on lead, or a piece clipped to anchor itself. Since the climber has so little rope out, the fall factor becomes an issue for the climber (but still not for the belayer). Lets say the climber didn't clip a screamer onto the anchor or on the first piece, falls, and generates a factor 2 fall! Okay, now to anchor fails, and rips out! The belay will still not feel what the leader or anchor felt in this fall. A screamer on the belayer would still do nothing. get it?

a screamer on the belay is only useful in a rope-solo belay anchor. re-visit your physics classes on pulleys to see why the top piece, then the climber receive the brunt of the force

if you can climb fast, sometime the crack of noon club, or swing shift (3pm-ish) is a good time to start on crowded climbs. a lot of my fastest times on some longer stuff have been rolling out of bed at 11:30 in the morning!