Excuse the list format but I thought I’d cut and paste from a gear list a friend drew up for an expedition we undertook with small group from the Exploration Society of Southern Africa (of which we are both members) in 2003 to Mount Mera (6475m), one of the highest of the “trekking peaks” in […]
Avalung – an awesome survival story
Nature, in its unbridled glory, can be a bit dangerous. And travelling across snow always has an element of risk that you might be carried away and burried by the stuff you’re walking on.I’m not going to pretend to be an expert on the slopes. But this is the most awesome video I’ve seen for […]
Smartwool or Icebreaker Merino?
Think of a dumb animal for a second. Okay, I’ll bet it was a sheep! After all, how much intellectual prowess does it take to hang around in a field all day eating grass. They can’t even think for themselves and follow each other around like, um, er, sheep. Sorry to say this but sheep […]
Mallory’s Gear Was Lighter Than Modern Kit
Talk to people about the legion of climbers racing up the world’s 8000 meter peaks and you’ll likely get a comment that it’s easier now because of modern clothing and equipment. In fact most climbers these days think it’s safer to climb on Everest now than it was in the age of Edmund Hillary and […]
The $183 Climbing Rack
Backpacker Magazine has set itself a task of assembling the cheapest safe climbing rack it could.They came up with rock shoes, a harness, belay device, helmet and locking carabiner for $183 that were then tested climbing around the places including Joshua Tree.This is their selection: Shoes: Rock Pillars Snake – $80 Harness: Singing Rock Zenith […]