fx101 > Forum Messages

Nov 5, 2013 Highly recommend staying on top of craigslist, etc. It's statistically unlikely that the person that stole it is a climber so they'll probably want to sell it. Possibly check e… View Message

Nov 5, 2013 Well... Gasherbrum V and Gasherbrum VI have never seen a first ascent. The latter involves a ton of continuous, committing climbing on vertical snow, ice, and chossy rock. The… View Message

Nov 4, 2013 It's *really* hard to impale yourself. Most mountaineering axes aren't even sharp. That said, it's nice to practice with a thick shell since the adze hurts. Crampons, on th… View Message

Nov 4, 2013 I had these gloves for two years. Insanely dextrous and pretty warm. My only complaint is that they got pretty cold as soon as a decent amount of snow got on them (the softshel… View Message

Nov 4, 2013 For the midlayer, hands down synthetic. There are extremely few down garments that can compete in breathability with a solid synthetic garment. Moreover, as you start to sweat… View Message

Nov 4, 2013 I've used the Arc'Teryx Atom LT extensively and it is hands down the best designed piece of clothing I've ever bought. No hyperbole. It's very light and somehow very warm. O… View Message

Nov 4, 2013 The SPOT is NOT a personal locator beacon! It is a satellite messenger with some limited emergency functionality. Way better than nothing, but nowhere near as 'bombproof reliab… View Message

Oct 15, 2013 This is one of those things where you have to make a judgement call on a case by case basis. In general, if you're remotely competent, you can just 'batman' (hand over hand)… View Message

Oct 9, 2013 I second the helmet being an important purchase. On really overhanging sport stuff with clean falls then you don't really need them... but on anything else they can save your l… View Message

Oct 8, 2013 FYI on hand-sized diagonals that are close to 45 degrees you can often do a partial layback by (if the crack is bottom left to top right) bringing your left foot into the crac… View Message

Oct 8, 2013 Nothing will replace a dedicated rock climbing shoe. Period. That said... you have some options for your other shoe (carry the rock climbing shoes in your pack). If you d… View Message