How'd it go today?

I went up about twelve feet today using a split tail with a Blake's hitch. It was pretty tiring.......I wasted a lot of energy on failed attempts using a Prusik that was just too hard to advance.
 
Third day on generator power and wood heat. So no real biggie for me, this deer camp has a flush toilet and shower. :D

Spent the last few days keeping some heat going at other folks houses with the genny or construction heater.

Times like these make you wish you had a Herman-Nelson sitting around. Take a house from freezing to "bake a cake" temp in less than 20 minutes.

Back at er in the morning.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
RD, Sorry to read about your power. Haven't lost it here surprisingly.

Loaned my generator to a friend in Hastings who has been out for a couple days now. 1/2 that County (Barry) is without power as of today.

Hope they get you fixed up asap.
 
Thanks Fiddler, one of the worst ice storms I have seen.
A lot of it has to do with the continued single digit temps at night. This ice isn't melting so any wind or snow causes more failures.

Hoping to get a slight thaw sooner than later. Sun was out today but at 15 deg nothing was melting.

Oh well family and friends are being looked after, so all in all not a bad day.
 
To continue the Eiger thread, if you haven't already seen it, Google Uli Stecks record breaking climb. I am just flabbergasted every time I watch that.
 
Uli Steck has been on my mind lately. I watched that northface speed solo documentary the other night on YT. F'ing wild. The Swiss Machine. That guy can train.

The Eiger is wild and captivating.
 
How a peson can move up those vertical faces of rock while wearing crampons and using two pick axes is beyond me. One little slip and it's all over. No doubt that there is technique behind his madness, but....
I recall reading about Uli having problems on Everest, some Sherpas wanted to kill him, something about him and another climber interfering while they were fixing ropes, they said. Apparently it was a bad scene that occurred, the Sherpas became quite heated, like a hundred of them.
 
That back up heat in like an ice storm lots of things can be used .For example many years ago I found a 6 panal infrared propane heater at a garage sale for like 12-15 bucks and mounted it on an old auction find hospitol cart .That pot licker will drive me out of my garage and run about none stop on reduced heat for several days on one 20 pound bottle of gas .As on last count I think I have 10propane bottles .

During winter I try to keep 20-25 gallons of gasoline on hand and at least a half dozen jugs of propane in addtion to a supply of firewood .Here it is Christmas day and I haven't even lit the stove yet this year .
 
We took the train that goes up the eiger and into the tunnels in the mountain. It stops at big window/outlooks way up the mountain and you get out and look at the mind blowing exposure below these windows. That is some seriously crazy shite to be climbing up there.

And cold?? Down below in the valley it was 80-85 degrees F but up there and up on top of the adjacent mountain, it was wicked cold and windy. There were these crow-like birds flying around up there, though. Hard to believe they were thriving in those cold, barren conditions. Anybody know what kind they are?
 
You are probably right, Al. Wow, it is very inhospitable up there and they acted like living there was a walk in the park. Impressive.
 
woodworkingboy said:
How a peson can move up those vertical faces of rock while wearing crampons and using two pick axes is beyond me. One little slip and it's all over. No doubt that there is technique behind his madness, but....
Click to expand...

It's all a mental game. Like a good friend and an even better tree climber was telling me, climbing, be it trees or mountains or rocks, is a huge mental game. If you're freaking yourself out, thinking about falling and death and all that, you're gonna trip yourself out and not be able to climb to your full ability. But if you thinking this is easy, I've done this a million times, I've got this, then you're a lot more confident in your abilities and therefore you can push yourself to do things you'd never really do. It's easy to talk about, hard to actually put into practice, but it really works.

Just keeping yourself calm and cool and collected helps a ton.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
woodworkingboy said:
How a peson can move up those vertical faces of rock while wearing crampons and using two pick axes is beyond me. One little slip and it's all over. No doubt that there is technique behind his madness, but....
I recall reading about Uli having problems on Everest, some Sherpas wanted to kill him, something about him and another climber interfering while they were fixing ropes, they said. Apparently it was a bad scene that occurred, the Sherpas became quite heated, like a hundred of them.
Click to expand...

It was pretty insane, the Sherpas tried to kill all 3 of the western climbers. I believe Uli when he says they never touched the SHerpas fixed ropes. Watch Uli climb. He needs no fixed ropes on the Nordwand, never mind a 50 degree snowslope.

The whole Everest thing is insane. Climbers have been left to die with other climbers stepping over them without even a glance. The mountain is a rubbish tip.
 
SouthSoundTree said:
Randy, that is a great start. Now onto a modern system. Are you teaching yourself? Any friction saver/ tube?

Leg power for propulsion!
Click to expand...

Yes, I'm teaching myself.......watching all the videos I can find, reading, studying, etc.

I'm using a fiction saver, split tail, with a Blake's hitch. A VT and tender is what I'm thinking about, that and footlocking.
 
cory said:
To have climbed the eiger 3 times is quite a huge feat afaik, is your friend a beast??
Click to expand...

Not any more.
He was a very good climber in the 70es, then was in a bucket lift that fell over, broke his back, got completely out of shape and had to have no less than 4 bypass operations.
Not much left of his former self today, sadly.
He taught me a lot about climbing, back then.
 
mastermind7864 said:
Yes, I'm teaching myself.......watching all the videos I can find, reading, studying, etc.

I'm using a fiction saver, split tail, with a Blake's hitch. A VT and tender is what I'm thinking about, that and footlocking.
Click to expand...


Its the slow season right now. Do you want to borrow a rope walker set-up (basically a foot ascender, and a modified foot ascender and with a foot loop)? I have a second one that I haven't even set-up and put into service. Jerry B has a great double line rope walker video <iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/5-_GUggGMmM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> that says it all. I climb SRT, which is super useful for me. A HitchHiker and rope walker is wicked and relatively cheap for a production climber. Maybe more than you want to spend right now. Maybe I should say "invest". If you dig on climbing trees, its an investment in health.

If you do want to borrow, just pm me your address and I'll put it in the mail soon.

What trees are you climbing?

Remember to bounce test your Tie In Point, if you have any doubt, and even if you don't have a doubt.

A tied prussic cord is not quite as streamlined, but its adjustable for different amounts of 'being snugged up' or loose, and allows more versatility for different hitches than a fixed length eye-an-eye. Way cheaper, too. The Tree Climber's Guide is a good reference, and likely available used. Tree Climber's Companion is good, but less in-depth.
 
1/2 in rope is where you need to start. Easier on the hands which reduces fatigue. ( I hope you have some decent grippy gloves)

Like anything else it is all about practice, practice & maybe practice a little more.

Happy xmas :)
 
I just finished up my 5 mile walk through the neighborhood and I didn't see a single kid out playing with a new toy.

Wow.
 
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