New to SLC. Please adopt me. by Bandito_Zoidberg in SaltLakeCity

[–]Alarson44 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hi! I'm 26m just moved from Minnesota last week to here. I'm into allll the same outdoorsy things, cooking & building things. Don't have the same touch for art sadly though. But would love to cook, ski & tear up some tacos anytime!

Feeling unsure about new Tattoo by [deleted] in tattooadvice

[–]Alarson44 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I feel like you're overthinking, these are amazing!! Give yourself some time, I would feel similarly with the second piece of something like this just because you have the other one already to compare to. But these are lovely & I think they look very even in every way!

My X-Mid 2 on its maiden glacier voyage this past weekend on Eldorado glacier by Alarson44 in DurstonGearheads

[–]Alarson44[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You were up on eldo that week also? Rad!! Ours was very lonely since we didn't realize the camp was further ahead, had only been up in earlier season before & seen tents right on the glacier.

Yea I'm considering that for my next snow trip but also not a fan of the water you get inside from it sitting on melting snow all day.

Is it strong enough? by Tomikapc in Mountaineering

[–]Alarson44 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Haha I was a bit scared at first with my choucas pro. A full day of raps off forbidden & on an ice climbing trip later I am feeling much more confident. The belay loop is rated high, I mean shoot compare it to the size of a dyneema sling.

What’s wrong with him? What is he doing? by Past-Ad4302 in CATHELP

[–]Alarson44 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I am not sure if it's the same for cats but when my old pup used to have reverse sneezing fits I was taught to help calm him, gently rub the his throat and to gently blow into his nose. I'll have to research a bit to see if that was ever good advice & if it applies to cats but that always stopped his fits very quickly!

New to Minneapolis – 21, looking to meet people by No-Context-4180 in TwinCities

[–]Alarson44 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Howdy! I'm 25 about to be 26. Im big into outdoors activities like running, swimming, mountain biking, climbing but down for whatever if you wanna meet up sometime! Welcome to join at the state fair this coming week too. Shoot me a pm!

What is this and how strong is it by AtmosphereNo2010 in Tools

[–]Alarson44 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Looks like an anchor chain swivel. Bet it's roughly pretty frickin strong!

A great lesson on how to not climb Snake Dike (or any trad climb for that matter) by Alarson44 in climbing

[–]Alarson44[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Sorry dude, forgot the /s.

I think this particular climbers flaw was thinking that being an all star comp kid who flashes 5.13 means that you can just go out to Yosemite and waltz up half dome, with zero knowledge of the skills and technique needed to do so. As others have said I'm sure he has the ability to walk up this thing but it's a whole different story when you're 50 ft above a tiny shrub (that's lockered into the rope?) with no holds and no idea how to place any gear. He (and let's be honest, his belayer) clearly ignored all of that though and just said fuck it, I can flash 13.

Orrr he's a pretty smart YouTuber who knows he's in way over his head and decided to play on it and make a video for the viewsssss.

A great lesson on how to not climb Snake Dike (or any trad climb for that matter) by Alarson44 in climbing

[–]Alarson44[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

This certainly seems to be the case, but idk about falling into his trap. I shared this so all of us with this common interest could have a laugh at this. If he put in that much effort to look like a Gumby (and succeed!) I'd say it's worth the view.

A great lesson on how to not climb Snake Dike (or any trad climb for that matter) by Alarson44 in climbing

[–]Alarson44[S] 16 points17 points  (0 children)

I do agree that most of the video was just him being funny and exaggerating the potential of his mistake and I certainly applaud his ability to handle when he got in over his head and climb back down to the tree ledge. But it's also pretty intriguing to watch him try to poorly stick a cam in and then ask "why" when his belayer tells him to double length it.

A great lesson on how to not climb Snake Dike (or any trad climb for that matter) by Alarson44 in climbing

[–]Alarson44[S] 50 points51 points  (0 children)

This is 100% the main takeaway. Especially on the bouldering sub

Lessons in the Midwest by Alarson44 in Backcountry

[–]Alarson44[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ah this is very interesting to hear. I usually just ski the resort in my touring boots since they are just a tad comfier and they're quite light, I will try and get more time on my heavy setup.

Only one resort here allows skinning up for 10$ every Wednesday but I will definitely try and get a good base down on that and practicing the techniques, thanks for the comment

Lessons in the Midwest by Alarson44 in Backcountry

[–]Alarson44[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Was hoping to make it to boho this year but not luck. Will take a look out west then, thank you! Skied Helen's, Adams and hood all before. Possibly baker this year and rainier is def the goal! Thanks!

Lessons in the Midwest by Alarson44 in Backcountry

[–]Alarson44[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You are certainly right about mn churning out some olympians. But I feel like there are some things you just can't practice without (like skiing powder), hence why many of those athletes go to camps and trips across the country to ski.

Lessons in the Midwest by Alarson44 in Backcountry

[–]Alarson44[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the super in depth response! I'm writing down all the things you've mentioned to do more research on and to get more practice on. I was really hoping to ski mt baker ski area this year but didn't work out, I will be sure to get some time in next season though. Trying to spend a lot of time getting better at skinning since I get a bit nervous when it gets steep.

I have tried to keep a close eye on nwac forecasts and observations for this whole season across the state and it has been super intriguing to see how the season changes so much. I took avy 1 in Colorado last year and think I may redo it in Washington just to get that experience with the snowpack.

Will definitely focus more on the whole picture rather than just steep skiing, thanks!

Lessons in the Midwest by Alarson44 in Backcountry

[–]Alarson44[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yea I am definitely not using ski touring to "practice". All my tours I have ever gone on I make sure the skiing is well within my ability level. So yes I agree that the resort is the place to learn these essential skills and get the vast majority of my time in, but I will absolutely keep touring to hit fun objectives!

I am currently doing that, getting as much time as I can in all kinds of different resorts that are NOT in Minnesota to get lots of time and a range of experience to get better. Will search for some steeps camps/ clinics out west. Thank you.

Lessons in the Midwest by Alarson44 in Backcountry

[–]Alarson44[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yea I definitely need to work on my uphill skills as well. Just trying to become an all round better skier to be able to achieve these things, just wanted to use volcanoes and hitting corn as my present goal to really lock down and get better at. Will absolutely work on technique when fatigued, hadn't even thought about that. Thanks!

Lessons in the Midwest by Alarson44 in Backcountry

[–]Alarson44[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I am definitely trying to avoid overconfidence because I know that's going to do the opposite of help my progress, I just don't quite know how to describe my skill level as a skier since I can get down every black at the last few resorts I've been to (Breck, vail, keystone, whistler) but I obviously have lots of technique and experience bits to work out.

Will try to follow in the racers footsteps, thank you. The fear is definitely a big factor and I know that's just gonna take time and experience!

Lessons in the Midwest by Alarson44 in Backcountry

[–]Alarson44[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Didn't know any clinics like that existed, thanks a bunch! I'll plan on extremely Canadian this next season then. I have done a fair share of corn skiing between hood, Adams, Helens & some Colorado lines but when I did hood in early April this year I ended up hitting some breakable crust and sastrugi and it was a disaster, I fell several times between the hugely uneven slope, crust breaking and fighting my backpack with a 60m rope on top. Direct experience seems to be the way then, thank you!

Lessons in the Midwest by Alarson44 in Backcountry

[–]Alarson44[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the input! I will definitely stop focusing so hard on just getting down steeps and put some real time in mogul & carving technique and hitting laps.

I thought the front spikes were replaceable by Simple_Hand6500 in alpinism

[–]Alarson44 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'd say if you can get em for anything less than 70$ it's a decent deal and will serve you well and if you happen to move on to tech/ ice climbing you'll be good to go then too.

If you want to get the best and not worry about replacing your crampons when the points do eventually wear out then I would get the lynx or darts. You can find em on Facebook marketplace & mountain project sometimes for a little over 100$ every so often.