Read climbing tips at Mazamas Tip of the Week

[JohnGo]

http://mazamas.org/your/adventure/starts-here/C423/

 

The Mazamas Tips of the Week page is up, in a new easy to navigate format. Check out over 170 climbing related tips, all sorted by topic. Topics are:

 

General mountaineering

Rock climbing

Snow climbing

Belay and Rappel

Backcountry skills

Gearhead’s delight

DIY – gear making and modification

First Aid

Route planning and navigation

Food and nutrition

 

A few comments:

 

1 – These tips are geared towards the beginner or intermediate climber. So you crafty veterans, don’t snicker at the “right way to tie into a harness” or “tips on a hip belay”. Having said that, I bet most everyone, regardless of their experience level, will glean a few nuggets. There’s certainly some more advanced level information here as well, like “the wrap 3, pull 2” anchor.

 

2 – Credit for outside sources. Some tips use images and quotes from others. Wherever possible, I’ve tried to give appropriate credit. If you have a correction for a referenced source, let me know and I’ll change it.

 

3 – Please keep discussion of particular tips or methods out of this post. Some of you will want to debate the various pros and cons of some of the tips presented. I’m happy to do this, but this post might not be the best place for it. PM me and I will respond. If you see something that’s blatantly (or lethally, in your opinion) wrong, I’ll consider removing or revising a posted Tip.

 

That’s it for the disclaimers. Please have a look and tell me what you think. If you have a personal website or blog and want to link to this, thanks!

 

John

Mazamas tipmeister

 

[billcoe]

3 – Please keep discussion of particular tips or methods out of this post. Some of you will want to debate the various pros and cons of some of the tips presented. I’m happy to do this, but this post might not be the best place for it.

 

Hi John: Bill here. No can follow through on that request because the tip on the 5 gallon bucket which you gave Pete is FRIGGAN AWESOME dude. I haul those things around occasionally and opening them can be a bitch!

 

Those guys stashed one out at Trout Creek with coffee makins' and all kinds of things in it, having this opening lid will up the ante 100% for stashing gear out in the woods so the wildlife doesn't chew on it.

 

I have 2 lids on the way.

 

Haven't looked at the Mazama site yet, but I'm sure it's great. I had to say thank you, and didn't want to do it on another forum!

 

Later

[JohnGo]

Hi Bill,

 

Thanks for the good vibes! The gamma lids are great, no? (At home, I even keep a 20# bag of rice in them. Most practical. I will add this tip to the Mazamas page soon. Here is a link to the original post:

 

http://www.rockclimbing.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=1712218;#1712218

[dan_forester]

That bucket deal is pretty neat. Mazamas website is looking good, too.

[Bug]

Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS) - a quick field check

Acute Mountain Sickness (aka altitude sickness, or AMS) can bring you or a teammate to a halt with various mild symptoms such as loss of appetite, headache or nausea – or lead to more severe problems like cerebral or pulmonary edema. Here’s a quick field test to determine if a member if your climb team needs to descend.

 

Ask the AMS affected person to stand in a flat, safe place. Have at least one other person standing alongside to catch them if they start to stumble. Have the AMS “patient” stand with their feet together (insides of the boots touching) have hands at their sides, and finally close their eyes. If they can hold this position for 10 seconds without a stumble or fall, they are okay to continue. If they stumble, have them head down, pronto.

 

This tip was taken from from Rock and Ice magazine