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General Climbing Discussion

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Carrying Your Approach Shoes Up A Multi-Pitch 20-Mar-2006 At 10:47:41 AM The Keeper

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Yes, the C4 wear is rapid - not much one can do about that given the nature of the rubber - essentially a trade off. I'm on my second pair and they are down to no tread - which means that if you add moisture to leaf litter, rocks, whatever you will become familiar with the nature skiing - perhaps even clear-cutting a few trees on the way down - grim. The toe rubber design is what irritates me the most - it will be interesting to see how the different design with the 5.10 Guides works - maybe not given earlier thread comment. The walk-off would have to be 'really' short for me to use my regular climbing shoes - just as grim with moisture with 5.10 plus no padding. I hopped off a boulder in the Ibex Valley - about 3 ft or something - thinking it was a clear landing only to be surprised by a stealth rock with crest - I landed one foot on it - last time I will do that -
I should have downclimbed the darned thing but it seemed clear and such a short roo hop. I have since upclimbed this V0 highball and downclimbed it all in better style and my feet are happy with that.

Walking around barefoot in the western subarctic boreal forest is maladaptive - we are talking a carpet of pine and spruce needles plus wild rose thorns and the former in particular will leave your feet looking like the exterior of a porcupine. I guess Aussie is different - but I recall my Blue Mtns. guide mentioned he had been bit in the foot by a rather ornery and nasty snake - hmm after seeing on the tele what Taipan can do to your brain cells - I think I would prefer just about anything I can get ahold of between the fangs and my valuable flesh! Maybe not an issue at Araps but in the jungles of Queen'sland?

My experience with the alpine boots you won't have to be packing 'em because you will be wearing them - -30C in the southern Rockies has a way of reducing your day pack load to stay warm with the exception of any and all antifreeze for the inards. You need to be part llama for alpine in any case - a rack of ice screws and all of the other stuff is a haul
unless you are sport ice climbing right off a crag alongside the Trans Canada Hwy or something.

The leader can carry his own bloody stuff (including vegemite!) - being a mule can get you into problems and not only in Bali - but I am willing to carry a couple of VB tinnies and maybe a couple of chunks of moose jerky.

Best investment I ever made for multi-pitch - an Arctyerx windstopper jacket - worth it's weight in gold - particulary for those cold and windy (and maybe post-rain) multi-pitch outings on the Chief at Squamish and elsewhere.

Bought one of those Metolius hydradation systems that attach to back of harness but thing was a bit of a pain - thrashing around in a chimmney caused compression and leakage - in the end they don't carry enough to make me happy. My day pack as two
mesh pockets in the back which will take two one litre Nalgene bottles clipped at the top to bag with a couple of those mini (non-loading bearing) Black Diamond mini biners so they don't depth charge anything below.