Rim Lit Climber

Banff. Most people will know of the mountain film festival. You may not know it is also the most prestigious adventure photography award in the world. And this year it was won by Auckland-based Australian Marty Blumen. That's the Grand Prize you understand. The best photo bar none. 1900 submissions from 20 countries. And Marty's Rim Lit Climber took the top prize.

"It's the equivalent of winning an Oscar."

What is Going on with our Glaciers?

Furthermore, if we consider case 3(b) in which the 2008 value for ELA is an outlier datapoint of the 30-year mean (with a 95% level of confidence), we find the ice-mass change for class C glaciers approaches that suggested by the parameter k = 0.67; therefore, j < 1 for all class C glaciers in area 2.

Nah, just kidding, it's a lot easier to understand than all that.

All about avalanches

The problem with many avalanche books is they bombard the climber with too much information – 90% of which can't be used to make a decision about whether to climb a snow slope or not. I have an avalanche handbook that is 190 pages long, contains loads of pretty diagrams and is written by a guy who clearly knows his stuff. But it is pretty much useless. I come away thinking there are twenty reasons a slope could avalanche and one of them is bound to get me and I shouldn't even so much as think about standing in snow. Furthermore, I need to be able to make concrete decisions. It's no use telling me a slope isn't as ideal as it could be – I need to know if I should be climbing it or not.

Reverse Curve Picks – Design and Sharpening

Originally, this was going to be a short description of how to sharpen your ice tools. However, it makes sense to also include ice pick design for those about to buy a technical ice tool.

Author: Glenn Pennycook

Transition from Glacier to the Climb

Pretty much every year people die or get seriously hurt when they climb steep snow slopes roped together without placing protection. One climber slips and drags their partner off the mountain. The reaction from the climbing community is usually that “climbing roped together in such a manner is fool hardy and poor technique.” Which may be true. But first, the commentators were not in the climbers’ boots, and second, making the transition from roped glacier travel to climbing the steep snow slopes rising from the glacier is often complicated by the nature of the terrain.

Author: Glenn Pennycook

Climbing 'Billy no mates' style
It could be said that I’m a bit of a loner, and to some extent this is true. I enjoy the company of others whether it be at the crag or in the mountains. However, I equally enjoy the added challenge, increased awareness and the feeling of solitude gained by heading into the hills alone...

Author: Gareth Morgan

Rope Solo: How, Why & Why Not
...This article is not really intended as a guide on how to rope solo, but more as a review of my own experiences with trying to do it. I hope to open a few minds and give some insight into a subject that ain’t really that accessible. If someone else out there thinks this is for them, cool. If you think its madness, cool...

Author: Andrew Young

Snow Anchors
...There are many snowstakes in use currently that would not be strong enough to handle the upper end loads that a snowstake could be placed under. Some of the techniques that are in use at present ... do not let the users derive the maximum strength from their placements...

Author: Don Bogie

The Art of the Bivouac
... All fine in theory but the practical problems are obvious. We are either going to be carrying monster packs with sleeping bags, roll mats, stoves and bivy bags or we are going to experience freezing nights without sleep and be wrecked for the next day. I'm sure you've all heard the saying, that a climber who carries bivy gear will bivy. ...

Author: Glen Pennycook

Climbing Ropes
Too much information right? And it gets worse - if you read a manufacture's rope specifications from their website the measurements of impact forces, stretch and diameters don't strictly follow the simple relationships outlined above - many aspects of rope manufacture are tweaked to suit the type of climbing the rope is designed for.

Well, at risk of telling you what to do, lets get some perspective...

International Grade Comparison Chart
Comprehensive table and detailed description of existing grade systems

www.americanalpineclub.org

Hypothermia and Frostbite
... Hypothermia is a major killer of people in the outdoor...

Prepared by NZAC. This leaflet is based in part on a brochure produced by the Minister for the Environment, Government of Canada.