chriss

I'm not scared. I just can't keep up. chris

I am looking to go rockclimbing one day this weekend, providing the weather holds. Maybe some easy routes around Leavenworth? Have rope and gear. Need partner who doesn't mind my general weakness and poor skill level. chris

It's a 4" long radius elbow DWV (drain/waste/vent) fitting from Lowes. I believe it's ABS. About $1 each. Old crampon strap on the instep and a webbing/velcro strap on the leg, with a extra piece of plastic for comfort. 6oz each. I've seen a few of the cut-up ski boot rigs. Kind of heavey and didn't have the support I wanted. I needed something to keep me balanced front/back. Seems to help. chris

To help me ski in leather boots. damn photos

Fern, Did you get the guidebooks you were looking for? I have 4-5, the state book and some others. Most are older, 80s-90s, but the routes haven't moved to much. chris

Local to me. WA, as in cascadeclimbers. chris

Are those available locally? chris

Fern is right. Off Belay # 31 1977. chris

If your only tool is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail - Maslow.

Missed? Don't think so. I planted the pick of the tool in a 2x4. Drapped the webbing over the "sharp" corner of hammer and hit it with the hammer side of a claw hammer. Had the support the tool to hold it still. The webbing wanted to come off the tool as well. Maybe 6-8 swings and I was most of the way through. Hit the webbing every time. Maybe not exactly square because the tool and webbing moved after each hit. Same set up with the tool in the board to cut the webbing on the pick. Laid the webbing on board and tryed to put the pick and adze through the webbing. Dented the board through webbing but no cut. chris

yeah, try it...it takes forever I was faced with this same situation last month and sawing it over the top of the pick took quite some time. It took less than a minute to cut through 1" tube webbing. Maybe 20 passes. I also tryed pounding the webbing as you describe. It also worked. The hardest part was supporting the tool with the webbing draped over it. Laying the webbing on a board and hitting it with the pick didn't work at all. The pick wouldn't penetrate the webbing. Hitting with the adze did nothing as well. My pick tips aren't that sharp at all but I had no trouble cutting on the top edge. chris

That picture shows the holes a little to close together. To get the maximum amount of ice in the "V" portion of the V-thread the 2 screw holes need to be approximately 1.5 times the length of the screw used apart. Use a 22cm screw to drill, holes should be 30cm apart. Of course, if you believe the ice is better deeper, put the holes closer together. As always, depends on conditions. chris

With all the sharp stuff used to climb ice, why pound a sling with 2 hammers? I think the top edge of my pick is sharp enough to cut a sling with just a few passes. chris

While I know of no climbing prayer, there is always St. Bernard. St. Bernard is the patron saint of climbers and skiers. If you're catholic, that is. chris

Use laundry soap to remove organic material; oils, food, grass stains, etc. (like shown in the commercials). Then add vinegar (acetic acid) to the rinse cycle to remove minerals; sweat salts, dirt, etc.. Add it to the little cup for the rinse cycle like you would bleach. Partners will thank you. chris

How is the road to Monte Christo? Mountain Loop Highway? thanks chriss

From the link mentioned above, "During my work for the DAV (German Alpine Club), during 32 years, I investigated many old ropes from time to time, when I received them from climbers and mountaineers, who wanted to know whether their rope was still good. Some of these ropes were 15, 20, 25 and even 30 years old. They were tested by a UIAA-approved test laboratory. The result: All ropes hold minimum one fall on the Dodero-test-machine, most of them more than one fall; and no rope broke in the knot, always at the orifice." chris

Rumor http://www.caimateriali.org/Eventi/Torino/rotturacordeschubert.html Skip to the last 2 paragraghs. Then go back and read the text. chris edit for typo

2GJR100, I would start with contacting Mammut, a swiss rope company that was around in that time period. Google it for more information. Good luck. chris (edit for typo)

I too fit some to my BD screws. I took the file to the cheap aluminum knob and not the expensive load bearing screw. Just deepen the slot in the knob. Can use the dremel here. Takes a couple of minutes. Draw back is the clip hole in the screw is not that big to begin with and the knob takes up some of the space. chris

That last picture looks like Choppo's Chimney? But thinner than I remember. chriss

"Easy clip ups", Rimers Ranch. Just outside of town. Couple of hours away. Enchanted Rock. LBJs hometown, Fredricksburg. Whole Earth Provision Company used to be the source for gear and guides. chris

au contraire, How quickly we forget the SMC Camlocks and CMI's Kirks-Cams. There were plenty of companies looking at cams then. Lowe even hand a springloaded cam out. They all sucked (maybe to harsh) or they would still be in production today. chris

The 2 biners used as "break bars" are for the friction. The 2 biners used flat, have the gates positioned on opposite sides. They use 2 carabiners so that you wouldn't be side loading the gate on a single. Lockers are not much stronger than non-lockers for this type of loading. And 2 lockers used this way actually make this worse. If you want to use only 1 biner, just twist the rope a few times around the solid side of the biner and rappel on that. More wraps more friction. It will twist the rope pretty bad though. chris

Switchblades do have 1 great flaw. But that's not it. The secondary points are to far back. This doesn't give enough stability to the placement. Having the secondary points touch the ice helps. Don't take this to hard. But, that modification looks like a cut rope waiting to happen. Putting a point thru a rope is one thing. Swinging a horizontal blade is another. chris