Sunday, March 29, 2009
Late Night Groceries
Feeling rested and wakeful after an evening nap, I went to the Porter Shaws around 11 pm to stock up on some edibles. It's incredibly busy there during weekend afternoons, so this is a good strategy. I've become an aggressive and reasonably skilled Boston driver, but it still amps up my blood pressure when I'm sitting there patiently, ticker on, and someone zips in. If you confront them afterwards, people always play dumb. I think I'm not menacing enough (read: scary and beefy enough) to warrant an actual apology. In any case, I remarked to the cashier that all the customers I had seen were either mumbling into cell phones, strangely disheveled men drinking out of suspicious looking tall cans with incredibly inappropriate puffy winter jackets, or overly amorous couples. "Yes," he replied. "There aren't too many normal people out at this hour." Ouch. But I found some lime-flavored tortilla chips finally. And I'm not too sad...like Dumbledore, I'm happy to see there's still a little love left in this world...
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Ah, Americans...
Three things amused me about Americans today:
1) This story about US Senators and their musical-chairs/claw my way method of choosing offices:
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1887870,00.html
2) The fact that a judge in Pennsylvania got into trouble when he sent a 14 year old kid to jail for year because he stole a bag of chips. The fact that he was taking kickbacks from the owner of the jail probably did not help his case.
3) This comment about the tremendous capital costs of nuclear reactors: "France has 104 kinds of cheese, but only one kind of nuclear reactor. America has only one kind of cheese, but 104 kinds of nuclear reactor." It's too bad, because if nuclear power plants didn't cost an arm and a leg to build, they'd be a pretty good power source. Even people who have them in their backyards are coming around. Sadly, though, huge cost overruns, confusion about where the waste will go, labor and expertise shortages, and the huge lead time to actually building a plant mean that they're probably not going to be a solution to our energy problems. Of wind, "clean" coal (whatever that is), solar, energy conservation, and praying for mysterious aliens to come and solve our problems (like they did for the Mayans and Egyptians, or so I'm told), I think you can guess which one is the cheapest.
You know, I was reading something about economic forecasts recently. I can't remember *which* dour-sounding finance minister prognosticated that, sadly, economic growth just wasn't looking too sharp this year, but predictably, bonehead commenters on the CBC.ca forums found a way to make an insightful comment or two. One idiot in particular commented that if we didn't have such a materialistic society, that if we disabused ourselves of the notion that economic growth must be positive, and if we returned to "humane values," whatever they are, we'd be better off. Obviously, I think he's out to lunch. First of all, populations are growing. Economics may have been my worst grade in undergrad, but it seems to me that if we don't have positive economic growth, then that means we have to feed more people with less. Well, whether you believe that or not, you can still argue about materialism--my second point. What's the proposed solution here? That we put away all of our cars, TVs, computers, supermarkets, etc., and go live in the woods? I hate to break this to you, but the woods would get crowded pretty quickly, and you might not like living there. A few hundred years ago, people didn't have all these things, there were a lot less of them in general, died of horrible diseases much earlier, and in my opinion, were a lot worse off. Turning back the clock is not the answer! Now, maybe we can cut back a little on how many cars we have, increase the amount of public transportation we use, and so forth. I'm all right with that. But the idea that materialism is this immoral gluttonous sin is very puritanical, I think.
Finally, the call to "humane values" sounds a lot like saying "if only Johnny were nicer to Bobby, we'd all be better off." It's nonsense. If I pretended I'm a game theorist (I'm definitely not), then I'd say that if everyone cooperated all the time, then the incentive for a lone individual to cheat would go way up--things would be moving away from equilibrium. I read a fascinating story in Scientific American recently about new thinking about altruists and cheaters. As I mentioned, if a group has to find a way to keep the number of cheaters limited, or the defectors will overwhelm the resources of the group. So how do the altruists keep the selfish cheaters out? It turns out that, actually, cheaters have quite an incentive to punish other cheaters (no matter how hypocritical that sounds). If you're the only cheater in a group, then it's in your best interest to make sure no one else becomes a cheater. As a corollary, altruists actually have an interest in allowing a small number of hypocritical cheaters to exist. Of course, no model is perfect, and this one is no exception. What, for example, happens when the small group of cheaters gets out of control? A mob protection racket can soon escalate into an extortion racket. One answer may be to look at the bigger picture: it's not just individuals competing, but also groups competing; more altruistic groups may fare better than ones rife with cheaters. These ideas don't seem to be mainstream yet, but I find them interesting nonetheless.
http://econ.ucalgary.ca/node/351
On a more climbing-related note, I'm doing slightly less worse in the bouldering gym now. (That was horrible English, but having never taken an English class in university, I have a legitimate excuse.) I'm a little of afraid of going back to Rumney because I'd flail all over, but fortunately, it's kind of cold and definitely very wet at the moment, so I have a month or two to ease back into things.
1) This story about US Senators and their musical-chairs/claw my way method of choosing offices:
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1887870,00.html
2) The fact that a judge in Pennsylvania got into trouble when he sent a 14 year old kid to jail for year because he stole a bag of chips. The fact that he was taking kickbacks from the owner of the jail probably did not help his case.
3) This comment about the tremendous capital costs of nuclear reactors: "France has 104 kinds of cheese, but only one kind of nuclear reactor. America has only one kind of cheese, but 104 kinds of nuclear reactor." It's too bad, because if nuclear power plants didn't cost an arm and a leg to build, they'd be a pretty good power source. Even people who have them in their backyards are coming around. Sadly, though, huge cost overruns, confusion about where the waste will go, labor and expertise shortages, and the huge lead time to actually building a plant mean that they're probably not going to be a solution to our energy problems. Of wind, "clean" coal (whatever that is), solar, energy conservation, and praying for mysterious aliens to come and solve our problems (like they did for the Mayans and Egyptians, or so I'm told), I think you can guess which one is the cheapest.
You know, I was reading something about economic forecasts recently. I can't remember *which* dour-sounding finance minister prognosticated that, sadly, economic growth just wasn't looking too sharp this year, but predictably, bonehead commenters on the CBC.ca forums found a way to make an insightful comment or two. One idiot in particular commented that if we didn't have such a materialistic society, that if we disabused ourselves of the notion that economic growth must be positive, and if we returned to "humane values," whatever they are, we'd be better off. Obviously, I think he's out to lunch. First of all, populations are growing. Economics may have been my worst grade in undergrad, but it seems to me that if we don't have positive economic growth, then that means we have to feed more people with less. Well, whether you believe that or not, you can still argue about materialism--my second point. What's the proposed solution here? That we put away all of our cars, TVs, computers, supermarkets, etc., and go live in the woods? I hate to break this to you, but the woods would get crowded pretty quickly, and you might not like living there. A few hundred years ago, people didn't have all these things, there were a lot less of them in general, died of horrible diseases much earlier, and in my opinion, were a lot worse off. Turning back the clock is not the answer! Now, maybe we can cut back a little on how many cars we have, increase the amount of public transportation we use, and so forth. I'm all right with that. But the idea that materialism is this immoral gluttonous sin is very puritanical, I think.
Finally, the call to "humane values" sounds a lot like saying "if only Johnny were nicer to Bobby, we'd all be better off." It's nonsense. If I pretended I'm a game theorist (I'm definitely not), then I'd say that if everyone cooperated all the time, then the incentive for a lone individual to cheat would go way up--things would be moving away from equilibrium. I read a fascinating story in Scientific American recently about new thinking about altruists and cheaters. As I mentioned, if a group has to find a way to keep the number of cheaters limited, or the defectors will overwhelm the resources of the group. So how do the altruists keep the selfish cheaters out? It turns out that, actually, cheaters have quite an incentive to punish other cheaters (no matter how hypocritical that sounds). If you're the only cheater in a group, then it's in your best interest to make sure no one else becomes a cheater. As a corollary, altruists actually have an interest in allowing a small number of hypocritical cheaters to exist. Of course, no model is perfect, and this one is no exception. What, for example, happens when the small group of cheaters gets out of control? A mob protection racket can soon escalate into an extortion racket. One answer may be to look at the bigger picture: it's not just individuals competing, but also groups competing; more altruistic groups may fare better than ones rife with cheaters. These ideas don't seem to be mainstream yet, but I find them interesting nonetheless.
http://econ.ucalgary.ca/node/351
On a more climbing-related note, I'm doing slightly less worse in the bouldering gym now. (That was horrible English, but having never taken an English class in university, I have a legitimate excuse.) I'm a little of afraid of going back to Rumney because I'd flail all over, but fortunately, it's kind of cold and definitely very wet at the moment, so I have a month or two to ease back into things.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Reflections on the Ice
When I first joined the HMC in the fall of 2006, I was a complete rookie. I had climbed once or twice before, and knew that the outdoors had some rocks and trees in it, but not much else besides. One day, I mentioned to a grizzled veteran, who shall remain nameless, that I was thinking of buying some ice tools. No, I hadn't yet tried ice climbing, and yes, it was impulsive and ill advised, but I was sure I was going to like it, and in any case, buying expensive climbing gear is, I assume, a little like ordering up an expensive hooker...fun at the time, but possibly a little shameful upon further reflection. Well, I was wrong. The first week I tried ice climbing, I was absolutely terrible and somewhat miserable, generally flailed about in an unflattering, uncoordinated way, and nearly got myself killed on a foolish climbing adventure. Oops.
Fortunately for me, angels, ministers of grace, or an invisible lucky charm have allowed me the great fortune to become addicted to this beautiful, somewhat dangerous, and yes, uttely pointless form of climbing. I now relish the breathtaking beauty of the impossible-looking shapes ice can take on and the spray of the perfect swing as much as the diciest sport-like dime-edge mixed climbing move. And, for the first time, I've realized that, on pure ice, it's my mental toughness which is the limiting factor, and not my endurance or technique. With that in mind, I am finally making the transition from timid follower to foolhardy leader. But foolhardy or not, there's just something ineffably visceral and meditative about being more or less alone, perhaps a long way from a good screw, up on lead. Unlike in real life, where an unholy combination of excuses, big corportations, and self-delusion can shield one, perhaps permanently, from any self-responsibility, in ice climbing, every swing, every kick, and every decision matters, immediately. It's a nice feeling.
It's been an eventful season. I led some WI 4s and tried Fafnir (WI 5) twice with Brian Schroeder. The latter resulted in one dropped tool, a bunch of snarled ropes, sailor-grade cursing, and a lot of fun. I got in over my head on a WI 4+ in the Adirondacks, ran it out tremendously, risking a (deadly) groundfall on some dicey moves, but pulled it off. I got to climb with some (obviously talented) beginners like Will Skinner, Lauren Onofrey, Jonathan Cox, Josh Zagorsky, and Karen Lovely, among others, and share some of their enthusiasm and energy. I also broke Jonathan Cox's neck, but, fortunately, only slightly (sorry about that one). Safety is a primary concern of mine, I swear! I've thought a lot about taking personal risks on lead. At one point in the season, a particular paradox came to mind: when the climbing gets hard, one gets more and more tired, but wants to place more and more screws, itself a tiring operation. But I now know the answer: often, one will simply back off, but occasionally, if the stars are aligned, the leader is feeling great, and all fear has been temporarily left behind, one can "go for it." But there is no room for doubt, fond feelings for one's soft, supple organs, or loved ones (if any). In that way, it is much like free soloing in general.
I followed a range of New England classics, linking up Fafnir and the Whitney-Gilman Ridge in mountain boots (tough mixed climbing and hiking down in the dark), backing off a very thin first pitch of Remission on Cathedral Ledge, and flailing over Super-Goofer's (in very difficult, thin and horribly candled conditions). Bayard Russell, Jr., Kevin Mahoney, Mark Synnott, and Sean Isaac, all excellent guides, were of invaluable help and taught me a few things about climbing ice and mixed terrain efficiently. I even managed to top-rope an M8- cleanly, which is quite an achievement for me. Together, we also did a very challenging Dropline, an incredible Repentance, which is quite possibly the best ice climb I've ever done, and a surprisingly easy Omega, in what would surely some of the most exciting moments of any aspiring climber's career.
The highlight of the season was when Kevin Mahoney and I headed out to the Canadian Rockies. Things progressed from relatively easy and warm weather to incredibly hard and cold weather over the course of two weeks. We ventured out into the Ghost, red-lining our rental 4x4 on logging roads full of stumps and in deep snowdrifts (with acrid results for the transmission), and climbed some classics: Malignant Mushroom (an easy WI 5 if there ever was one), Wicked Wanda (a complete sandbag at WI 4+), and The Sorcerer (also a sandbag at WI 5, and one of my first rather committing routes--no WI 5, as far as I know, should involve climbing an unprotected 30 foot traverse, 30 feet of extremely funky thin ice, followed by 70 m of highly sustained, overhanging climbing; maybe that's what "not quite in" means). I did my first WI 6 climbs: the incredibly aesthetic Whiteman Falls in a sulfurous slot canyon; the ultra-classic Nemesis on the Stanley Headwall, in two rope-stretching, forearm-torching 70 m pitches; and Curtain Call. Curtain Call was particularly memorable, despite being something of a failure from an objective climbing perspective. It was below -30 F when we left the car, and the ice was not only incredibly overhanging, but also explosively brittle. After simul-climbing some easy terrain, firing the crux, and climbing almost to the belay, I dropped my tool and we bailed off, with little feeling left in our extremities. I later found out that even Kevin, a superman if there ever was one, found it dicey, and it was the hardest thing he had ever led in such cold conditions. Something similar happened to us on the Weeping Wall, but instead of being incredibly cold, it was uncomfortably warm, and the ice was rotten to the core.
So it's been an incredible growth year, not only for my personal climbing, but also for the HMC. More people than ever are showing up to meetings, people are full of enthusiasm, and intro trips are jam-packed every time. The Intersession trip to the Adirondacks in New York was particularly eventful for me, as I unwisely chose to organize much of the logistics. A record-setting contingent of some thirty people crammed into a surprisingly luxurious, but rustic, ACC cabin and had amazing ice climbing and skiing adventures. Our members told an unhealthy number of (mostly apocrphyal or inaccurate) stories while unhealthily exceeding my most conservative estimates for daily bacon consumption. I learned, from various unreliable sources, the following: if one wants to "score points" with girls, one should not only listen to them on dates, but memorize apparently useless trivia about them for unexpected use on later occasions; the poor quality of certain cheap libations is an insignificant barrier to, well, anything; and that the members of the HMC are generally of uncommonly trustworthy quality. I can't wait to see what the future holds.
Fortunately for me, angels, ministers of grace, or an invisible lucky charm have allowed me the great fortune to become addicted to this beautiful, somewhat dangerous, and yes, uttely pointless form of climbing. I now relish the breathtaking beauty of the impossible-looking shapes ice can take on and the spray of the perfect swing as much as the diciest sport-like dime-edge mixed climbing move. And, for the first time, I've realized that, on pure ice, it's my mental toughness which is the limiting factor, and not my endurance or technique. With that in mind, I am finally making the transition from timid follower to foolhardy leader. But foolhardy or not, there's just something ineffably visceral and meditative about being more or less alone, perhaps a long way from a good screw, up on lead. Unlike in real life, where an unholy combination of excuses, big corportations, and self-delusion can shield one, perhaps permanently, from any self-responsibility, in ice climbing, every swing, every kick, and every decision matters, immediately. It's a nice feeling.
It's been an eventful season. I led some WI 4s and tried Fafnir (WI 5) twice with Brian Schroeder. The latter resulted in one dropped tool, a bunch of snarled ropes, sailor-grade cursing, and a lot of fun. I got in over my head on a WI 4+ in the Adirondacks, ran it out tremendously, risking a (deadly) groundfall on some dicey moves, but pulled it off. I got to climb with some (obviously talented) beginners like Will Skinner, Lauren Onofrey, Jonathan Cox, Josh Zagorsky, and Karen Lovely, among others, and share some of their enthusiasm and energy. I also broke Jonathan Cox's neck, but, fortunately, only slightly (sorry about that one). Safety is a primary concern of mine, I swear! I've thought a lot about taking personal risks on lead. At one point in the season, a particular paradox came to mind: when the climbing gets hard, one gets more and more tired, but wants to place more and more screws, itself a tiring operation. But I now know the answer: often, one will simply back off, but occasionally, if the stars are aligned, the leader is feeling great, and all fear has been temporarily left behind, one can "go for it." But there is no room for doubt, fond feelings for one's soft, supple organs, or loved ones (if any). In that way, it is much like free soloing in general.
I followed a range of New England classics, linking up Fafnir and the Whitney-Gilman Ridge in mountain boots (tough mixed climbing and hiking down in the dark), backing off a very thin first pitch of Remission on Cathedral Ledge, and flailing over Super-Goofer's (in very difficult, thin and horribly candled conditions). Bayard Russell, Jr., Kevin Mahoney, Mark Synnott, and Sean Isaac, all excellent guides, were of invaluable help and taught me a few things about climbing ice and mixed terrain efficiently. I even managed to top-rope an M8- cleanly, which is quite an achievement for me. Together, we also did a very challenging Dropline, an incredible Repentance, which is quite possibly the best ice climb I've ever done, and a surprisingly easy Omega, in what would surely some of the most exciting moments of any aspiring climber's career.
The highlight of the season was when Kevin Mahoney and I headed out to the Canadian Rockies. Things progressed from relatively easy and warm weather to incredibly hard and cold weather over the course of two weeks. We ventured out into the Ghost, red-lining our rental 4x4 on logging roads full of stumps and in deep snowdrifts (with acrid results for the transmission), and climbed some classics: Malignant Mushroom (an easy WI 5 if there ever was one), Wicked Wanda (a complete sandbag at WI 4+), and The Sorcerer (also a sandbag at WI 5, and one of my first rather committing routes--no WI 5, as far as I know, should involve climbing an unprotected 30 foot traverse, 30 feet of extremely funky thin ice, followed by 70 m of highly sustained, overhanging climbing; maybe that's what "not quite in" means). I did my first WI 6 climbs: the incredibly aesthetic Whiteman Falls in a sulfurous slot canyon; the ultra-classic Nemesis on the Stanley Headwall, in two rope-stretching, forearm-torching 70 m pitches; and Curtain Call. Curtain Call was particularly memorable, despite being something of a failure from an objective climbing perspective. It was below -30 F when we left the car, and the ice was not only incredibly overhanging, but also explosively brittle. After simul-climbing some easy terrain, firing the crux, and climbing almost to the belay, I dropped my tool and we bailed off, with little feeling left in our extremities. I later found out that even Kevin, a superman if there ever was one, found it dicey, and it was the hardest thing he had ever led in such cold conditions. Something similar happened to us on the Weeping Wall, but instead of being incredibly cold, it was uncomfortably warm, and the ice was rotten to the core.
So it's been an incredible growth year, not only for my personal climbing, but also for the HMC. More people than ever are showing up to meetings, people are full of enthusiasm, and intro trips are jam-packed every time. The Intersession trip to the Adirondacks in New York was particularly eventful for me, as I unwisely chose to organize much of the logistics. A record-setting contingent of some thirty people crammed into a surprisingly luxurious, but rustic, ACC cabin and had amazing ice climbing and skiing adventures. Our members told an unhealthy number of (mostly apocrphyal or inaccurate) stories while unhealthily exceeding my most conservative estimates for daily bacon consumption. I learned, from various unreliable sources, the following: if one wants to "score points" with girls, one should not only listen to them on dates, but memorize apparently useless trivia about them for unexpected use on later occasions; the poor quality of certain cheap libations is an insignificant barrier to, well, anything; and that the members of the HMC are generally of uncommonly trustworthy quality. I can't wait to see what the future holds.
BD Cobras vs Petzl Nomics
Among ice climbers, the debate over which ice tools are the best is an overdone classic, like the debate between mono- and dual-points, Hamlet, or hard-boiled eggs. With my capacity for shameless soapbox philosophizing clearly exceeding my capacity for self-restraint, I now see fit to throw my unwanted opinions into the fray. So, here goes. But before I start, I want to limit the discussion to (legitimate) technical ice tools. So don't pester me about mountaineering tools, those sketchy looking Euro-aid hooks, stuff you might find at Home Depot, or any other nonsense (yes, that includes anything dirty--this is a family-rated blog, thank you very much). Those silly tools which are super thin and look like they were stamped out of a cookie cutter--ugh.
When I first started climbing, I started with the (silver) BD Vipers. Those things are nice. People used to say they were the best tool, period, and I can see why. They swing nicely, they don't weigh too much, and they have a nice hammer to cam into cracks if you're into mixed climbing (I don't want to hear about it if you aren't. That's your own darn fault.) I tried the updated orange version recently, and it seems very similar. Then there's the BD Reactor, which seems to feel much like a leashless version of the Viper. And recently I splurged unnecessarily and got myself a pair of BD Cobras. Now these things are nice. They have a nice swing too, are very light, and it seems like the weight distribution is pretty good. But unfortunately, I'm not one of these Cobra fanatics who will say that they're the perfect tool. First of all, I should allow for full disclosure: I climb pretty much anything hard in Petzl Nomics (more in the next section). Second, I think they swing nicely, but are kinda wobbly. I've heard people say they put on the bigger hammer (not the micro one it comes with) to give it a more solid swing. If I used them more often, I would totally do that too. Third, I don't quite like the upper grip that much. Without any tape up there, it's quite slick, and I've also heard that on skaty mixed holds, using the upper grip can make you pop off. Ouch. Finally, they use the annoying BD Laser Pick. Now of course, those are meant for swinging into ice, and not brutal New England crack-torquing. And I haven't had one break. But I've heard they definitely do break, and that could be a bit of a problem if it happened when, say, you're a little run out on lead. There's always the Titan pick of course, although I have no information on those at all. So I think they're a good tool, but I much prefer the Petzl Nomics.
The Petzl Nomics. So agressive. So black. So expensive. Ah, well, I still love these things. I think I might like the BD tools more if I knew how to swing them properly. It's interesting, because as the front tooth gets more and more worn on the Petzl Astro picks, the character of the swing changes subtly. I think it's a bit more of a "triceps hack" with the Petzl tools and more of a "baseball flick" with the BD tools, which, together with my complete ignorance of leashed tools (don't even bring those things up again), may explain why I didn't learn how to flick my wrist very well until relatively recently. It's that, or I'm just very dumb. Actually, it's probably that. Well, in any case, I think the Astro picks are incredibly strong. I've done some Very Mean things to them. I remember inserting one about a third of the way up on the pick, and mantling up on the handle hard, and nothing happening this season. I've never heard of them breaking. They do get rather dull in the hard New England rock, but that's what files are for. I like the upper grip a lot. I used to use it only for mixed climbing, with the idea that they might be somehow less stable on ice, but with my newfound love of hooking and various leashless tricks, they've come in super handy. I've found that wrapping road bike tape with electrical tape at the top and bottom makes a nice replacement for the griptape that comes with the tools. Petzl will sell you some highly overpriced garbage tape, but I (obviously) recommend against this. I like the extra thickness on the upper grip, because when you're pumped, even a slightly different pump is a welcome relief.
Now, I had heard that Petzl was going to come out with a hammer version of the Nomic. That's probably my number one complaint about them. Ever tried to hammer in a piton with the back end of the Nomic? I recommend against it. The metal up there is rather soft, and if you do it too much, you could sort of mash together the metal of the pick and the tool, making it impossible to change out the pick. That'd be bad. They also don't climb low-angle ice very well and have no spike. They are definitely not an alpine tool. In fact, it's easier to hold the tool upside down, using the teeth on the upper part of the tool as the "spike". It's a little insecure, though. And, the other thing I noticed is that they seem to get "stuck" in the ice more easily than the BD tools. It's probably a consequence of the more agressive pick angle (except compared to the BD Fusions, which are terrible on ice anyways). I'm getting better at knowing which placements are good and which aren't, so I overdrive my picks less and less, so this doesn't bother me as much as I used to. Of course, if you overdrive your picks too much, what ends up happening is that you get a tool stuck, so you overdrive the higher tool, so you can feel confident about pulling out the bottom tool. But wait, your higher one is stuck now, so you'd better drive in the next placement too...so that's why a judicious amount of hooking and a light touch are nice. But you gotta be careful and keep the angle right on the less secure placements, or you'll be wondering about a) the structural integrity of your tools after dropping them from a great height; b) the structural integrity of your skeleton after dropping it from a great height; and possibly c) why those life insurance salesman rejected you after you explained what sort of things you get up to on the weekend.
And the rumor about the hammered-Nomic: not true. Here's what I heard from them:
Finally, what does one do with spent picks? I'm open to suggestions. Kevin Mahoney said he got drunk one night and decided he would try to make throwing knives out of them, with limited success. Well, it's better than what mine are doing--nothing.
When I first started climbing, I started with the (silver) BD Vipers. Those things are nice. People used to say they were the best tool, period, and I can see why. They swing nicely, they don't weigh too much, and they have a nice hammer to cam into cracks if you're into mixed climbing (I don't want to hear about it if you aren't. That's your own darn fault.) I tried the updated orange version recently, and it seems very similar. Then there's the BD Reactor, which seems to feel much like a leashless version of the Viper. And recently I splurged unnecessarily and got myself a pair of BD Cobras. Now these things are nice. They have a nice swing too, are very light, and it seems like the weight distribution is pretty good. But unfortunately, I'm not one of these Cobra fanatics who will say that they're the perfect tool. First of all, I should allow for full disclosure: I climb pretty much anything hard in Petzl Nomics (more in the next section). Second, I think they swing nicely, but are kinda wobbly. I've heard people say they put on the bigger hammer (not the micro one it comes with) to give it a more solid swing. If I used them more often, I would totally do that too. Third, I don't quite like the upper grip that much. Without any tape up there, it's quite slick, and I've also heard that on skaty mixed holds, using the upper grip can make you pop off. Ouch. Finally, they use the annoying BD Laser Pick. Now of course, those are meant for swinging into ice, and not brutal New England crack-torquing. And I haven't had one break. But I've heard they definitely do break, and that could be a bit of a problem if it happened when, say, you're a little run out on lead. There's always the Titan pick of course, although I have no information on those at all. So I think they're a good tool, but I much prefer the Petzl Nomics.
The Petzl Nomics. So agressive. So black. So expensive. Ah, well, I still love these things. I think I might like the BD tools more if I knew how to swing them properly. It's interesting, because as the front tooth gets more and more worn on the Petzl Astro picks, the character of the swing changes subtly. I think it's a bit more of a "triceps hack" with the Petzl tools and more of a "baseball flick" with the BD tools, which, together with my complete ignorance of leashed tools (don't even bring those things up again), may explain why I didn't learn how to flick my wrist very well until relatively recently. It's that, or I'm just very dumb. Actually, it's probably that. Well, in any case, I think the Astro picks are incredibly strong. I've done some Very Mean things to them. I remember inserting one about a third of the way up on the pick, and mantling up on the handle hard, and nothing happening this season. I've never heard of them breaking. They do get rather dull in the hard New England rock, but that's what files are for. I like the upper grip a lot. I used to use it only for mixed climbing, with the idea that they might be somehow less stable on ice, but with my newfound love of hooking and various leashless tricks, they've come in super handy. I've found that wrapping road bike tape with electrical tape at the top and bottom makes a nice replacement for the griptape that comes with the tools. Petzl will sell you some highly overpriced garbage tape, but I (obviously) recommend against this. I like the extra thickness on the upper grip, because when you're pumped, even a slightly different pump is a welcome relief.
Now, I had heard that Petzl was going to come out with a hammer version of the Nomic. That's probably my number one complaint about them. Ever tried to hammer in a piton with the back end of the Nomic? I recommend against it. The metal up there is rather soft, and if you do it too much, you could sort of mash together the metal of the pick and the tool, making it impossible to change out the pick. That'd be bad. They also don't climb low-angle ice very well and have no spike. They are definitely not an alpine tool. In fact, it's easier to hold the tool upside down, using the teeth on the upper part of the tool as the "spike". It's a little insecure, though. And, the other thing I noticed is that they seem to get "stuck" in the ice more easily than the BD tools. It's probably a consequence of the more agressive pick angle (except compared to the BD Fusions, which are terrible on ice anyways). I'm getting better at knowing which placements are good and which aren't, so I overdrive my picks less and less, so this doesn't bother me as much as I used to. Of course, if you overdrive your picks too much, what ends up happening is that you get a tool stuck, so you overdrive the higher tool, so you can feel confident about pulling out the bottom tool. But wait, your higher one is stuck now, so you'd better drive in the next placement too...so that's why a judicious amount of hooking and a light touch are nice. But you gotta be careful and keep the angle right on the less secure placements, or you'll be wondering about a) the structural integrity of your tools after dropping them from a great height; b) the structural integrity of your skeleton after dropping it from a great height; and possibly c) why those life insurance salesman rejected you after you explained what sort of things you get up to on the weekend.
And the rumor about the hammered-Nomic: not true. Here's what I heard from them:
As far as the rumors of a hammer version of the Nomic,
there's no truth to this. We are coming out with two
new tools for classic mountaineering: the Summit &
the Sum'tec. The summit will have a textured rubber
coating the entire length of the shaft and the Sum'Tec
will have an adjustable trigrest hand rest that can be
moved to any position along the shaft. Both are
beautiful new tools and we are very excited to have
these launching soon.
Let us know if you have any further questions.
Sincerely,
Petzl America
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Training Zone
Well, after getting back from my Canadian Rockies trip, I'm back into sport climbing mode. So while I don't have any climbing adventures are planned at the moment, I'm back into bouldering for a while at Metrorock. A lot of the ice is pretty baked up north, and if it isn't already, it will soon be the yuckiest time in New England for climbing anyways. I did see some pictures of Hannah & Co. at Waimea (Rumney) recently, but I saw there was a big icicle in the background (where it's always wet in the summer). I couldn't help but think somebody ought to be drytooling his or her way up to that hanger...one of my big goals is to become a competent mixed climber and I always feel inspired when I look up at stuff like that. For this summer, I want to try and do some 5.12s. I know core strength and endurance are two of my weaknesses, so I'm taking this opportunity to target those. It's always so much easier to target strengths than weaknesses during training, so I have to try and be disciplined about it. I hadn't been to Metrorock (or generally rock climbing) for about six weeks before last week, so I am constantly sore these days. But that's part of the fun of training for climbing, right? I think a good intermediate goal for me would be to boulder V5 or V6 in the gym in the next few months. I think I'm at the point where I've learned a lot of the easier stuff about climbing. So everything's hard now. :) I know I say I'm sick of winter, -30 F days, and screaming barfies right now, but soon, you'll probably hear me saying how much I want to go lead a dead vertical WI 5 and finally get over my sweating palms and pounding heart... But there really is nothing like the perfect swing, little sparks of ice, or a bomber Stein pull...
In other news, as of the very first round of March Madness, I was doing pretty badly. Fortunately, I seem to be doing a bit better now. As someone who knows almost nothing about basketball, I am confident I should be win our lab pool. How complicated can it be? Don't elbow or kick, dribble while you move around, and get the orange thing in the peach basket...
Here are two of my favorite pictures from the trip:
Red Man Soars (M6)
Whiteman Falls (WI 6)
More pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/36326863@N06/
In other news, as of the very first round of March Madness, I was doing pretty badly. Fortunately, I seem to be doing a bit better now. As someone who knows almost nothing about basketball, I am confident I should be win our lab pool. How complicated can it be? Don't elbow or kick, dribble while you move around, and get the orange thing in the peach basket...
Here are two of my favorite pictures from the trip:
Red Man Soars (M6)
Whiteman Falls (WI 6)More pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/36326863@N06/
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