Alpine Tips
LED “keychain” lights
Micro LED lights are handy to have around the camp, in your emergency kit, in the car glove box, in your chalk bag zipper pocket . . . They’re inexpensive, so might as well buy a multi pack.
image: https://www.amazon.com/Finware-Keychain-Flashlight-Batteries-Included/dp/B01GVJFBUW
Tiny ultra-light, single-bulb LED lights might look like a toy for a keychain, but they’re useful for far more than that. Get a few of them, they’re cheap!
They cast enough light to easily follow a trail in pitch dark, or find that rappel anchor heading down from a longer-than-planned alpine day.
Consider putting a shoestring on it, or it’s going to get hopelessly lost. A shoestring lets you to keep it comfortably around your neck, even when you’re sleeping. You could also girth hitch it to a loop inside your tent. Use it as an in-tent light rather than blasting your tentmate with your face-melter 300 lumen climbing headlamp.
Get one that has a switch to turn it on without holding constant thumb pressure on it - not all lights have this feature.
Make a “lantern” in your tent - turn on a microlight, put it on top of a water bottle, and then either tape it or put a sock over it to hold it in place. The light will diffuse through the water, casting a soft romantic glow over you and your smelly climbing partner.
Keep one in your first aid or survival kit for day hiking - no need to carry a heavy flashlight as a backup on hikes when an LED light will probably light your way out in an emergency just fine.
Buy a bunch, keep them in various places. Tape one inside your helmet if there’s room. Does your chalk bag have a zipper? Put one in there. Car glove box? Sure.
Here's an Amazon link to get 5 for just $9. If you have a few extras, give them to your pals.
Fix your broken tent poles
Do you have a broken tent pole? No problem, there’s a Northwest company that can fix it for you.
A company in the Vancouver WA area specializes in creating replacement tent poles for most any brand and size of tent.
If you need this service, give Tent Pole Technologies in Vancouver WA a call.
Contact:
tentpoletechnologies.com
Use a “sparker” for lighting stoves
There’s one tool that you can always rely on to light your camp stove. And it's not a lighter or matches.
Lighters and matches don’t always work when damp or wet, and can break or malfunction – especially the cheap ones. Lighters can be less effective at altitude. Even if your stove has a built in igniter, they can be uncooperative; it’s best to have a backup way to light it.
A sparking device, aka “firesteel”, will always light your stove (gas or butane) or help make a survival fire. They have no moving parts, work when wet and at altitude. Weight, about 50 grams, cost about $20.
The simpler sparker models have a striker and a sparker, while a more upscale version has a small bar of magnesium included. Shave off a few bits of magnesium, add a spark, and you get a burst of almost 2,000 degree C flame.
The Swedish company Light my Fire sells high quality sparkers; a solid addition to your 10 essentials kit.
Sterling rope technical manual
What are the two chemicals you should always avoid getting on your rope? If a rope is wet, is it less strong, and by how much? Can I safely mark my rope with a Sharpie pen? Learn all this and more from the experts at Sterling, in their technical manual.
Think you know “the ropes”? The Sterling Rope Company has a great 16 page technical manual (.pdf file). Check this link and learn a few tricks.
(It's a 6 MB file, be patient on the download, it may take a few seconds.)
Learn about . . .
The difference between S twist and Z twist
Details of rope construction
The differences in manufacturing process between a static and dynamic rope
The five requirements of UIAA rope testing
The dramatic loss of strength that happens to a wet rope
The two chemicals you should ALWAYS avoid getting on your rope
The Word on marking your rope with permanent (Sharpie) pens