Rappelling Advice

Here's lots of good advice from Will Gadd on how to rappel safely. I liked this quote:

"I suspect that the reason so many climbers view rappelling as dangerous is that so many climbers rappel dangerously. In caving very few people die rappelling down into the cave;"

When To Use Lightweight 'Biners

Black Diamond discusses the differences in 'biners and when to use lightweight 'biners vs regular weight ones. For example,

"It's true the Oz is a super-light biner at one ounce (hence the name), but is it the right choice for your sport climbing draws?  Sure, if you're doing a multipitch sport route in the Canadian Rockies, or going for a hard, 22-draw onsight, go for it.  But for a workhorse sport climbing carabiner, it's probably not the best choice. Why? In order to get the weight out of these lightweight biners, manufacturers are removing material, and though ultimately all carabiners are strong and meet all CE requirements, less material can mean a few things.  The smaller size makes is slightly harder to clip. There can be less material in the spine, which makes it more susceptible to bending if loaded over an edge, and there oftentimes is less material on the rope-bearing surface, which means whippers are harder on your rope."

Fire Rainbows

I have never seen a "fire rainbow" - more properly called iridescent clouds - but they sure are purty. More info here. 

The More You Travel, The Less You See

After 23 years and 500,000 miles of travel, Gunther Holtorf says, "The more you have traveled, the more you realize how little you have seen." More info here.

“Monkey With Hair”

Yesterday I was climbing the arch at VE St. Paul, and a little girl said, “He looks like a monkey with hair.” I probably looked like this to her.

Kloofing A Gorge

A variation of canyoneering, kloofing is jumping into pools of water instead of rappelling.

"Trail description:

This route is more of a swim than a hike. The main attractions include spectacular canyon scenery and lovely waterfalls. The highest jump on this route is 14m. It's for the brave, as daring leaps of seven or eight metres down waterfalls are compulsory. You must be willing to swim in cold water and not be afraid of heights. Remember, once in, the only way you're going to get out of this section of the Riviersonderend mountains is via some gravity-defying jumps and scrambles."

I Am A Fan Of Red Bull

I don't drink the stuff, but I do buy it and then throw it away so they will continue to sponsor activities like this.

A Calf Jam Is The Crux

A video tutorial on climbing off-widths.

Leavittation: How To Climb Offwidth Cracks from Randy Leavitt on Vimeo.

It's Not What We Do But What We Eat

So sitting around watching TV is fine. Just stop eating those chips.


"While we've always assumed that humans' ancient ancestors must have been more active than today's modern Westerners -- with our office jobs, our cars and our TV sets to keep us sedentary -- new measurements of actual energy expenditure are surprising. They show that people in traditional foraging societies do indeed participate in more physical activity, but that their total energy output is almost identical to that of today's pudgy Westerners."

Revelations

Besides the cool name the Revelation Mountains in Alaska has, it is mostly unclimbed. Climbers have discovered it now, as this trailer for a new movie shows.

A few years ago, there was a film about Richard Proenneke and how he built a wooden cabin and lived near these mountains for 30 years. Here’s a snippet of that film.

How Many Bears Does It Take To Fill A Dumpster?

In this case, it took 3 bears. That was quite bold of this woman to put a ladder in the dumpster while the mama bear is nearby.

Why Is “A Long Walk Up” Mt. Blanc So Deadly?

An attempt by an American to explain why so many climbers are hurt or killed on Mt. Blanc which is basically just a “long walk up.” I wonder how much of it is the easy accessibility of the mountain and this:

“Europe takes a really different approach to risk and death in the mountains than we do here. Europeans are far less risk-averse. Chamonix (the French town at the base of Mont Blanc) is where extreme skiing was born. The fatality rate there just wouldn't be tolerated by land managers here."

Maybe You Need A Better Coach

If you had this kind of coach, you could accomplish anything.

“Pierre wants to know how to bodyboard, it's a sort of dream for him, make his self part of the nature and feel free in the ocean. Fortunately, he meet THE COACH ! thanks to his legendary learning method, Pierre discover all the secrets of bodyboarding champion, even how to seduce sexy models who walk on the beach!”

THE COACH from Ocean Roots on Vimeo.

How To Get Better Faster

Advice on how to find the magic bullet and be a better climber, faster. I like this quote:

“So how do you get better faster?  There's a simple answer.  You don't.  That is, not unless you make some drastic changes and stop doing what you're doing…

Just this week I was asked ‘How do I climb harder problems?’.  My answer (I'm not the most understanding to dumb questions when I'm training) was ‘Stop trying to climb hard problems.’ After the mix of embarrasment, hurt, and ‘wow, this guy is an ass’ faded from his face, I offered one more bit of advice.  ‘Spend your time in here learning HOW to climb.  Climb the easier problems perfectly.  All of them.  After that, the next level will come easy.’”

Climbing The Matterhorn In Flip-flops

Are popular climbs in the Alps too crowded? This article discusses various ideas for limiting the number of people who climb in the Alps. But one thing they don’t want to do is charge climbers for permits. Even though there is a very casual attitude to the potential dangers:

“The alpine rescue services regularly complain bitterly that they have had to pluck people off the mountains who really had no business being up there.

On Switzerland's Matterhorn, in recent years, tourists have been rescued whose footwear turned out to be only gym shoes or flip-flops.

‘There is a danger in what we call the herd mentality,’ said Mr Hasler. ‘One or two people alone might look around, and turn back, but when people see lots of other people up there, they think they are safe.’”