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necessities, novelties, and plain uselessness


carolyn

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PAGE tops are a necessity

 

If you live in Canada, or Minnesota, plastics, or double boots anyways, ARE the right boot, Alex. A friend of mine got a frostnipped toe on Night N Gale last year in leathers (Scrapa Freneys) and it was only -15 out. If you are gonna be out in the cold all day you want the warmth of double boot.

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Here in the cascades I find that about 95% of my summer mountain climbing is in leather boots, sneakers or rock shoes.

 

Always plastics in the winter though.

 

Climbing Night N Gale might be asking for it in the Freney's if you ask me. No offense to your partner.

 

When I want to climb light then I make my partners carry my gear. [big Drink]

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He forgot his plastics so had to wear my leathers. [big Grin] Only one toe got turned purple and black. He lost the nail but not the toe.

 

It was kinda funny watching him write in pain on the drive home as the toe thawed out, and self medicate: bowl-o-green, 15 minutes, T3 with codeine, 15 minutes, bowl o green, 15 minutes, Aspirin etc.

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quote:

Originally posted by Dru:

He lost the nail but not the toe.


Speaking of necessities, novelties, and plain uselessness, where do toenails fall in this categorization?

 

Seems like all they do is get in the way and hurt in rock shoes and boots etc. Is there something you can paint your toe with after a nail falls off so another one will not replace it?

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quote:

Originally posted by chucK:

quote:

Originally posted by Dru:

He lost the nail but not the toe.


Speaking of necessities, novelties, and plain uselessness, where do toenails fall in this categorization?

 

Seems like all they do is get in the way and hurt in rock shoes and boots etc. Is there something you can paint your toe with after a nail falls off so another one will not replace it?

I'm thinking that the nail protects the sensitive tissue underneath (keeping it sensitive) and that the sensitivity on the tops of your toes allows you more cognition and therefore better response to what is going on with your feet.

In short, it makes you more balanced and coordinated in the foot department.

Just my thinking.

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quote:

Originally posted by Attitude:

 

My rack and harness gear for trad:

 

3 tied slings - single, double, triple

belay gloves (Home Depot)

2 hero loops (6 mm perlon)


Just ran across this post which proves once and for all that I am not the same person as Attitude.

 

1. I do not lead trad. How the hell would I know what gear goes on a rack? All's I do is take it off and hand it back to the person who put the gear in.

 

2. I would never, ever wear gloves when handling a line with a person on the other end of it.

 

But more importantly, not it has been proven once and for all that I AM NOT ATTITUDE.

 

Sorry to all who do not care for taking up bandwith. I am now done with this.

 

[rockband]

 

[ 10-05-2002, 02:44 AM: Message edited by: allison ]

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Alex,

Thanks for putting so much thought into the post and offering your suggestions. (attitude...thank you as well...very helpful!).

 

I guess I have accumulated a majority of the necessities. A few more things are in order this winter...new pack and sleeping bag! [smile]

 

I have a hard time deciphering between whats a necessity, novelty, and useless when it comes to actual climbing gear (not clothing, camping equipment). For example...you need qd's to lead. I buy a handful of them. Do some mock leads...and THEN learn how much better it would be to make your own qd's. Now I feel like Ive just wasted x amount of money, because I will eventually want to buy slings and biners to make my own instead. Or, learning to use a prussik as a back up on rappell...buying numerous sizes/lengths of cord to see what works best. Only to later find out how much better an autoblock works. I will spare you with the numerous other examples of how I have wasted money thus far... [Roll Eyes]

 

I guess a lot of it is learning by trial and error to decide what you like/what works best for you. I dont always have a more experienced person to climb with and try their gear. So, its kind of up to me to gather the information from what ever resources I have and hope I can make the best decision before I make a purchase.

 

And, I can understand how you would rack up a HUGE cc bill on prodeals! [smile] I made a deal with myself when I started working at the store that I would ONLY spend the amount I make there. Ive stuck to it and it works well. It probably prevents me from buying too many useless items.

 

[big Drink]

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I agree with an earlier post..... buy the expensive personal gear that your partners probably dont have in your size. If you are relatively new to trad climbing and your partners dont have the proper gear then they are probably not the proper partners.

 

when youve done enough climbing you will know what gear you want and where you want to use it.

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Hey Carolyn!

 

You aren't working for "mountain bucks" are ya?

 

[MR T]

 

I like Haireball's advice and would further say that for ice climbing and cold mountain climbing and really for most stuff except for minimal snow mountain routes, leather boots suck ass and plastic is the way to go. I've wasted more money on La Sportiva's and each new round of supposedly great leather boots and finally gave up. They suck. No matter what you do, your feet get wet and cold and they don't seem to hold up (scree cuffs blow out, rivets come off, etc.). In fact, a few years ago when I was framing a house in Vail in the winter I wore my old Asolo 101's exclusively and they worked great!

 

So I would also say to just load up on biners. Nobody has enough and they often go on sale. Plus, individually they are cheap so you can say each day, hmmm [big Drink] or a biner? My rack show that I've been doing this for a while since I almost always went for the [big Drink]

 

Look for used ice gear (screws, axes, crampons), it rarely wears out, people often just churn it to get this years model or because they wised up.

 

Buying your own rope ain't a bad idea, especially if you aren't very sure of the care your partners take of theirs.... The Edelweiss Stratos 9mm extra-long double ropes are a great way to go (do they still make these?) since if you can only find one person to climb with you can still make a full rap. Plus you can use just one for glacier travel and they supposedly don't get cut over edges. [Wink]

 

Get the most comfortable harness you can find too, everybody's opinion is different so use your time in the shop to find out. Hang in them in the store with all your gear on. You will KNOW FOR SURE then!! [big Grin]

 

As for belay/rappel tools, I am not fond of those air jammer pieces of crap. They use the one thing between you and the long drop as a sacrificial friction surface. Namely, your main harness biner! Plus they are really tough to deal with when the rope is frozen (that never happens by the way...) Get a tool like the Kong Robot that uses just the tool and not your biner as a friction surface! The tool is made for that, your biner is not.

 

Thanks for the PM by the way. Send me another if you would like more ideas. And don't forget to [rockband] to the Suburbs!

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"Mountain Bucks"?

What am I missing? Whats that? [Confused]

 

Im going to participate in starting my own 'thread drift'...

quote:

Originally posted by DavidW:

If you are relatively new to trad climbing and your partners dont have the proper gear then they are probably not the proper partners.

Im not sure if I agree with this statement.

 

I think I understand where it is coming from...not encouraging one to 'self teach' trad skills. THAT I can agree with. Its important to make sure there is someone you can follow and practice with to learn good/safe technique.

 

However, because my partner does not have the gear or the experience himself, doesnt mean I shouldnt be climbing with him. As long as we have people who are able to evaluate our progress and give us feedback on a regular basis, I dont think there is anything wrong with going it on our own.

 

In an ideal world, a 'newbie', like myself would be climbing with a more experienced person all the time. Its just not realistic though. My guess is that most climbers gained a bit or a majority of their experience thru exploring on their own (reading, asking questions, hands on practice, etc).

 

I cant afford to hire a guide everytime I have a question or want to move a step further. I cant climb with my mentor or a more experienced climber each time I head out on the rock or ice. So, what is one to do?

 

sorry if any of this sounds defensive. Not meant to be. I just get frustrated when someone throws a roadblock in front of my desire to learn.

 

Thoughts on the subject? ANyone relate to when they first started out?

 

ANyway....

Scotch-a-go-go...I might have a sat or two free this month, if the weather cooperates and your interested in getting some climbing in before the lull. I also start running the ice tower at Midwest (I know , not your fav place [Wink] ) this wkend. Stop in and say hi if you have a chance. I'll email you with more info on it, if ya like.

 

Oh ya! And those suburbs! [laf] I work "there" too (bartend). One show was ENOUGH for ME! [Wink]

 

[ 10-09-2002, 11:04 PM: Message edited by: carolyn ]

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quote:

Originally posted by allison:

quote:

Originally posted by Attitude:

 

My rack and harness gear for trad:

 

3 tied slings - single, double, triple

belay gloves (Home Depot)

2 hero loops (6 mm perlon)


Just ran across this post which proves once and for all that I am not the same person as Attitude.

 

1. I do not lead trad. How the hell would I know what gear goes on a rack? All's I do is take it off and hand it back to the person who put the gear in.

 

2. I would never, ever wear gloves when handling a line with a person on the other end of it.

 

But more importantly, not it has been proven once and for all that I AM NOT ATTITUDE.

 

Sorry to all who do not care for taking up bandwith. I am now done with this.

 


You coulda just cut and pasted that stuff off of the mounties webpage perhaps?
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