(Part 2) Best products from r/alpinism

Buy regular US standards he probably does have a "good diet." My extremely fit cycling mentor mentioned above also had a "good diet."

That's actually part of the point. People with "good diets" and who exercise a lot [quite fit] can still have heart attacks, producing the logical question of what exactly is in this "good diet" and how does that differ from populations were heart / atherosclerosis related illnesses are nonexistent?

Check this book out or listen to some of his talks, it could change and unquestionably lengthen your life.

https://www.amazon.com/How-Not-Die-Discover-Scientifically/dp/1250066115/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1484214545&sr=1-1&keywords=how+not+to+die

Watch 10 minutes of this and tell me if you think it was worth your time ... Comments at 3:15

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0Eg0WL6NCE

Camp Muir on the south side of Rainier is a great destination - it's all trail, rock and snowfield, so no crevasses, and you get up to 10k feet in altitude. Mt Adams by the south route is another no-ropes mountain climb, though conditions may warrant crampons and you either have to camp at the trailhead the night before or at 9,000 feet (and it's extremely strenuous going from trailhead to summit in a day), so you need camping gear for that. Those are the two highest points in the state you can get to without roping up.

Then there are nearly limitless good scrambling peaks. Peggy Goldman's "75 scrambling routes" would give you plenty of ideas and route information, and this good map layer shows many of them with a little bit of detail: https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/viewer?t=p&ie=UTF8&msa=0&z=9&hl=en&mid=z2BgmjyQkEBo.kaZfuP9TTMXo

I'd check out that map and if you want to learn more the book doesn't cost all that much:
http://www.amazon.com/Washington-Scrambles-Best-Nontechnical-Ascents-ebook/dp/B00MR2KCW0/ref=la_B001KM8WBG_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1454185803&sr=1-1 Summitpost will also have info on nearly all these routes for free as well.

For backcountry:

Take AIARE level 1. AAI, as well as a bunch of other outfits, offer this class.

resources for backcountry travel:

• WTA is good for understanding permits, directions to trailhead, etc. Will sometimes have trip reports that are useful for bc skiing as well, but not the sites focus.
  
• TAY is one of the main areas to watch for trip reports, bc skiing news in WA, and a good place to potentially find partners
  
• NWAC, avalanche forecast center.
  
• FB Groups can be a good place to find partners
  
• Guide books - Martin Volken's book (best overall), his older one specific to snoqualmie pass, and a new snoqualmie pass one from Matt Schonwald.

Lightweight multi-purpose gear like a tarp, foam pad, cordelette, tape, and knife are all extremely useful in an outdoor emergency. If you haven't already, you might want to take a WFR course. You'll gain hands-on experience using the gear mentioned above in a variety of applications.

Also, check out Laurence Gonzales' book Deep Survival. It makes the case that survival in a wilderness environment has almost nothing to do with your gear and everything to do with your mindset and skill set. In other words, the more you know, the less gear you need.

My go-to kit includes the SOL sport utility blanket, the foam pad/frame of my Cilogear 30/30 pack, a small, lightweight climbers knife, and a bare bones custom built first-aid kit from Wilderness Medical Training Center.

Hope this helps!

You may want to try some heart rate monitoring - it has been very helpful for me. I got a Scosche Rhythm+ which pairs to my iPhone (running Cyclemeter, though many apps work, including Strava).

It is relatively inexpensive, you can wear it on your wrist, arm, leg or just about anywhere, and runs for over 8 hours on a charge. I don't obsessively monitor, but using it on runs and hikes has improved my ability to self-assess intensity. Before it was a wild guess, but now that I'm calibrated it is an educated guess. I surprised myself with how often I was in high HR zones - no wonder I could hammer as hard as others, but couldn't maintain it.

Why are you planning on buying a boot that from your own description doesn't fit you? Try on other boots to find one that fits you properly. I've heard Scarpa are a bit narrower (I think?) so that might work better for your heel. For context I generally wear a size 9 in most shoes, 8.5 in 5.10 Guide Tennies, and the Nepal Evo in 42 fits me perfectly.

Alternatively if you still really want to get this (ill fitting for you) boot you could try something like these patches, they might fill just enough space in the heel to prevent slippage, but I think you'd be taking an unnecessary risk buying these boots.


EDIT Didn't embed the link properly for the ENGO blister patches that might help with the heel slippage, here's a link: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003URZNW0?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=ox_sc_sfl_title_35&smid=A3HQ8X1YSFB544

I've seen other similar products too, and I haven't used them so can't speak to how well they'll work, just an idea.

Read Mountaineering: Freedom of the Hills. It's one of the best books on alpinism that exists. Very detailed.

I love my Marmot Precips with a lightweight pair of thermal underwear underneath if it's cold. Not super warm, but cheap and layerable and ive done -20c without complaint.

Btw I find the best thing to patch rips in your weather layer is Jeep softtop repair kit.

https://www.amazon.com/Gear-Aid-Aquaseal-Repair-Convertible/dp/B00TJVCPGI

Freedom Climbers tells the story of the great Polish mountaineers of the 70s and 80s (Kukuczka, Kurtyka etc). Amazing!

Maybe not absolute max effort, but try hard. The important thing is to do the assessment in a way that's repeatable so you can track your progress later.


They sell pullup bars that fit your doorway and you don't have to mount or screw into your wall for $16 on Amazon. I'm not saying buy this exact one, but just as an example, look at this one:

I'm just a keep-it-fast full-auto-snaps shooter, and have really liked my Panasonic TS3 point-n-shoot... small, tough, dust/wet-proof, decent enough pics and video...

I also really like shooting with my GoPro! I really like the simplicity, and the convenience of being able to mount it in different ways. I often use timelapse to shoot us climbing just to (hopefully) get a single good shot from a "3rd-person" perspective, ie NOT ass or top-of-head like usual :)

Tripod-wise I just use a Gorillapod Original...

I have a Canon Eos M which I bought with great ambition and the hope of better video, but Magic Lantern for the M still seems problematic, and I'm not yet keen to babysit the thing everywhere... but I'm trying!

(I really want one of those Peak Designs Capture Pro clips but I just can't make myself spend $80 on one...)

Yeah, but the synthetic upper is fabric; I'd expect it to breathe better than a solid layer of plastic :-) OTOH, I've only worn double-plastics a couple of times, and both times it was so brass-monkeys cold that sweaty feet really weren't an issue.

Reading the Amazon reviews for the Sorels, I see that one reviewer specifically comments on the lack of sweaty feet. They also claim crampon-compatibility, though I'm guessing that would be C1 crampons at most.

[US Armed Forces extreme cold vapor barrier boots, on the other hand, which I have used, will make your feet sweat like bastards. And they're very uncomfortable to walk in for any distance because the uppers rub on your calves. Good for standing around in the cold and amusing bystanders, but that's it.]

There doesn't seem to be any deaths (it's in Portuguese).

Annapurna is also the first 8000 meter peak to have been climbed back in 1950. If you've never read the book Annapurna, I highly recommend it. It's from Maurice Herzog's perspective (not very objective - other books out there put some doubt into some of his perspective), but a good read non the less. Most of the guys putting up big ascents in the 70's - 90's grew up reading this book and it's the original rock/ice/snow porn for the mountain man.

I've been toting the same abused Canon Rebel XT up routes for about 4 years now and it's taken every kind of abuse you can imagine. It's been completely submerged in water 3 times, dropped from 10-15 feet twice, scraped up plenty of squeeze chimneys, survived sand dunes, etc. and it still takes great photos. I also almost dropped it off the top of Ancient Art when the strap came unlooped on one side while I was belaying - I barely caught it between my head and my neck before it took a 500 ft. fall. That was one of those, "are you in a safe spot!?" moments haha. Usually I just throw my old (almost equally abused) 50mm on there, but sometimes I use the old 18-55 kit lens that came with it. I've accepted it's eventual mortality, but I'll still be sad to see the little guy go when it's day comes. I have a normal manfrotto tripod, but if I plan on doing any tripod shooting on technical outings I usually just bring this guy along and it works like a charm.

The Games Climbers Play (https://www.amazon.com/Games-Climbers-Play-Ken-Wilson/dp/0897321987)

I read it growing up but can't remember much about it. Would be interested in rereading.

Honestly, any hard shell case can be paired with a cheap camera leash. Punch a hole yourself or even use the charging port and you're good to go.

For less messy amazon links you can extract the part after "/dp/" in

https://www.amazon.com/How-Not-Die-Discover-Scientifically/dp/1250066115/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1484214545&sr=1-1&keywords=how+not+to+die

and make it:

https://amzn.com/1250066115

BEEP BOP

Plz send any recommendations via PM