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.
image: https://www.loopnews.com/
A company in the Vancouver WA area specializes in creating replacement tent poles for most any brand and size of tent.
Check ‘em out: Tent Pole Technologies
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