What is with all the gear people haul
about with them these days? Lately, I've seen people on simple snow
climbs wearing helmets - whaddya think, the sky's gonna fall on ya?,
carrying half a dozen pickets - useless in May snow, and really,
learn to climb snow without them, hauling around a dozen carabiners,
ice screws, snow flukes, slings, prussics, all manner of useless gear
to kick steps up a 45 degree snow slope.
All these people have two things in
common, their technical ability sucks, and they are trying to make up
for their lack of skill with a surplus of equipment. Ninety percent
of the time, the equipment is incorrectly employed, making them less
rather than more safe, and, they either don't make their objective,
or take so long to make their objective, that they increase their
risk of being involved in an epic.
What to do? Dump the gear, pull back
on the bigger objectives, get your skills honed and dialed, and go
back to tackle the more technical routes when you can climb them
safely and cleanly.
A simple snow climb, an ice axe is all you need
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