Re: quality gear lists?

Mike Nelton wrote:
> I do allot of solitary winter climbing/hiking where of course the
> margin for error is slim.
>
> Am trying to find top of the line gear.
> I notice there really doesn't seem to be any consensus on the net as
> to exactly what that is.

That's because there's a lot of room for different styles, requirements 
and techniques.  Mixed climbing in Scotland may well prefer a completely 
different set of gear to icefall climbing near Banff (i.e., Scotland is 
not nearly so cold, much, much wetter, more variety of situations, 
different protection possibilities, longer walk-ins, etc.).

There are times and places where a short, bent shaft pair of matched 
tools with tubular picks will be far and away the best thing you could 
use (like a steep waterfall pitch), and others where they'd be 
completely useless (soloing a relatively straightforward snow gully, for 
example).  Some routes require equipment that will do a variety of 
different things reasonably well, others can use a single "purist" approach.

Also different people prefer different approaches.  For example, really 
light tools are easier to carry, but harder to get placements for in 
really hard ice where something chunkier can work better: you choose, 
you lose, but different people prefer one approach over the other, so 
depends on you, there's no Single Right Answer.

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch                    University of Dundee
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637   Medical Physics, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177              Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net [EMAIL PROTECTED]   http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/