The Mt EverClimb (I see what you did there and I’m not impressed) Continuous Climbing Rope is exactly what it sounds like: an exercise climbing rope with no end. How do you know when you’re done ? When your hand gets sucked up into the machine and mangled. The piece of shit gym equipment costs a staggering $8,000 — which seems a little steep for something I’ve already figured out how works on the inside (a little person on a stationary bicycle hooked up to a bunch of pulleys and levers). Of course, I’m just being spiteful because my arms aren’t strong enough to allow me to hang from a rope, let alone climb one. “But I thought you were a pirate!” Oh I’m a pirate alright. “A butt one?” *wink* Product Site via Exercise Machine of the Day [geeks.thedailywh.at] Thanks to Mark, who agrees a fireman’s pole you can slide down forever would be infinitely(!) cooler. No shit it would be!

The rest is here:
Looks Tiring: A Never-Ending Climbing Rope

Seen here pretending to be more than two feet off the ground , 13-year old Hibiki Kono made himself a vacuum powered wall-climbing suit so he can escape the asylum and avenge his parents’ deaths. Ooooor climb a brick wall while people take pictures. Using a pair of 1,400-watt vacuums he purchased at UK retailer Tesco, Hibiki Kono hooked them up to a couple of large suction pads, and proceeded to ascend a vertical surface with the contraption strapped to his back and arms. Well damn, future Mr. Dyson — you’ve got inventor written all over you! Also, “I have sex with appliances”. Let me guess: you had too much Sunny-D and passed out with your shoes on again. Hit the jump for a video of Hibiki and his magic suit in action.

See the original post:
13-Year Old Makes Wall-Climbing Vacuum Suit

When you’re climbing outdoors, you inevitably end up facing some of your biggest fears, whether it’s heights, dirt, or pooing in the wild. Here are some tips and tools on how I dealt with three of my phobias. 1. Mosquitoes Yes, there are mosquitoes in the wild! Tons at Lover’s Leap, where I went to test my climbing gear, especially near the little stream of water that runs along the path to the crags in the early evening. Outdoor Research has gaiters &mdash durable leg warmers that go over and strap under your shoes &mdash that are treated with insect repellent. Gaiters also help keep dirt and pebbles out of your shoes. Mosquitoes are often at the campsite, too. Since a lot of climbers ditch the tent in an effort to minimize weight, taking a bug bivy with you is also a good idea. 2. Heights I’m not normally scared of heights, but I have to admit that hanging out on the edge of a 400-foot-tall cliff and trying to look down to see how my climbing buddy was doing whilst being held in place by one flimsy rope was a little freaky at times. Since positive self-talk (it’s ok, breathe, you’re not gonna fall) was not really working, I thought of my own calming down method &mdash I found tiny flowers and leaves in the rock’s cracks and pretended they were my dog Ruby. “Hi Ruby,” I’d say, and suddenly my fear was replaced by a warm, fuzzy feeling. “What are you doing here?” I know it sounds crazy, but try it. It works. 3. Getting lost This may not be a realistic fear unless you’re going way into back country, but the thought of not being able to head straight back to base camp after a long day of hiking and climbing is pretty daunting. I was with a trustworthy leader who knew his way around the Leap, but if you’re trekking out on your own, you could take the Bushnell Backtrack &mdash it records your starting point and then constantly directs you back to it with arrows and mileage. Of course, this could be totally futile if roads are windy and sparse, or if there are rivers and bears and stuff that get in the way of a direct path home. But it hooks easily onto a carabiner and for $80, it’s not bad. (I also recommend this product, by the way, to people who can’t locate their cars in mall parking lots.) 4. Pooing in the wild The only thing I have to say about pooing in nature is that it’s fun! Try it. Just remember to wipe, and take your dirty paper with you after you’re done.

Here is the original post:
Common outdoor climbing phobias and how to combat them

On a recent trip to Lover’s Leap, a prime time climbing spot in South Lake Tahoe, my friends and I did a camping food taste test. Camping foods = dehydrated meals that come in resealable pouches that can be used to carry, cook, and eat the food in. Backpacking foods were pioneered in the 50s, when a company called Richmoor needed to find a way to keep Boy Scouts well-fed in the wilderness. They’re no gourmet restaurant meals, but after a long day of climbing and hiking and being dirty, we were grateful for warm meals and pleasantly surprised by some of them. AlpineAire Foods Hurry Curry Chicken vs. Backpacker’s Pantry Pad See You with Chicken vs. Mountain House chicken breasts with rib meat & mashed potatoes The instructions for Hurry Curry Chicken were to add 2 cups of boiling water into the pouch (don’t forget to take out the oxygen absorber) and let sit for 10-12 minutes. Easy. We did that simultaneously with the Pad See You , which required 2.5 cups of boiling water and a 13-minute wait. 10 minutes later, we started up the MH chicken breasts , which only take 2-3 minutes in the pouch. Since we boiled water using a JetBoil &mdash which literally made the freezing cold Tahoe lake water boil within two minutes &mdash the whole three-course dinner for six took only 15 minutes to make. The five of us who taste-tested these meals could not agree on one that was *the best.* Personally, I thought the Pad See You was not bad &mdash I’ve had worse Asian food in San Francisco that was actually cooked by a person in a wok. Angela thought the Hurry Curry was a winner &mdash it did taste a lot like dal, and in fact, if it came on a dish with naan and tikka masala I could have been fooled too. Most surprising and controversial was the chicken breast with mashed potatoes. The chicken was well-seasoned and tasty, and the mashed potatoes tastes like chives and garlic &mdash delicious! &mdash but I couldn’t kick the thought that these were all artificial flavors. Matt almost ate the entire two-serving meal within minutes; meanwhile, Tommy thought it was just gross. Backpacker’s Pantry organic spicy omelet vs. Mountain House scrambled eggs with ham BP’s spicy omelet was a little bit labor-intensive &mdash it actually required us to cook it in low heat in a greased pan after mixing the stuff with water. The ingredients are all organic &mdash organic mozzarella, organic peppers, organic tomatoes, organic pasteurized dry whole egg &mdash but the taste was just okay. At least we knew it was marginally healthy… Mountain House’s scrambled eggs were a just-add-hot-water type of deal, and came with precooked red and green peppers. Sure enough, it looked like fluffy scrambled eggs, but it tasted kind of like cardboard. The ingredient list included stuff like xantham gum, sodium tripolyphosphate, sodium erythorbate, and sodium nitrite, which don’t really sound like food. Next on my list to try: Natural High ’s chicken enchiladas and Backpacker’s Pantry’s chocolate cheesecake . Yum!!

Read this article:
Backpacking food taste-off