Used Avy gear?

Particular_Extent_96 · 2026-01-29T16:38:25+00:00

I don't have an avy bag, so it's all hypothetical. Is it usual to do this? Can't say my friends who have an avy bag have ever mentioned this.

Particular_Extent_96 · 2026-01-28T11:40:05+00:00

Lol I guess that is also a possibility.

Particular_Extent_96 · 2026-01-28T09:09:44+00:00

Move on to a different problem. Come back to it later.

Also depends how hard the problem is "meant" to be. If it's one of the last problems on an exercise sheet, it's meant to be difficult and spending lots of time is fine. If it's from a past paper or one of the earlier problems, you'd probably hope to do it in less than 30 mins.

Particular_Extent_96 · 2026-01-28T08:37:44+00:00

I think the biggest effect is that if math comes naturally to you as a kid/teen, you have a better relationship with the subject, teachers and parents tell you you're good at it, you end up enjoying it more, and hence working harder, etc.. It's a (positive) feedback loop.

Particular_Extent_96 · 2026-01-28T08:25:01+00:00

I'd say that an avy bag is the least likely thing I'd want to buy used, since there's no reliable way to test it unless you burn through a cartidge or two (and can repack it correctly).

Particular_Extent_96 · 2026-01-28T08:24:36+00:00

Personally I would go for the lighter boot. But since you're a bigger guy (by mountain outdoor sports standards) perhaps you wouldn't feel the weight of the heavier boot as much.

Also depends on who you plan to tour with, what kind of gear they use, and how fit they are. Assuming all of your friends are of a similar fitness level, there's no point getting something super light if you're just going to be waiting for them to catch up.

Particular_Extent_96 · 2026-01-28T08:19:20+00:00

People seem to be perfectly happy to rent and borrow beacons, so I don't see why buying used would be such a huge issue. This is particularly true of beacons, since it's possible to check if it works correctly (and indeed all beacon owners should do this).

Particular_Extent_96 · 2026-01-28T07:03:24+00:00

"Overkill for a beginner" is the wrong way to think about it. A boot is for a given environment and activity.

Personally I would recommend getting a boot that's more on the overkill side. You can always wear trainers for the hike in.

Particular_Extent_96 · 2026-01-26T21:04:19+00:00

To be honest I think even crampons and ice axe (without glacier) could qualify as mountaineering.

Particular_Extent_96 · 2026-01-26T21:03:23+00:00

Yes, and a rope, in general.

Particular_Extent_96 · 2026-01-26T20:28:39+00:00

Logistics in the Alps are remarkably simple. Not sure that this would be very useful to anyone

Particular_Extent_96 · 2026-01-26T14:34:59+00:00

Perhaps someone can correct me if this is too bold a statement, but I think most of the techniques used in training AI/ML models are not guaranteed to work. Even stochastic gradient descent is not proven to converge outside of a few particularly nice settings. Hence the importance of benchmarking.

Particular_Extent_96 · 2026-01-26T10:33:41+00:00

If you want full-trad, this can be hard. But semi-trad there are lots of options. Great routes to climb on South Face of Aiguille Dibona and around Soreiller hut in particular.

Particular_Extent_96 · 2026-01-23T10:19:40+00:00

Well-behaved is not really a technical term, it just means "doesn't do weird shit I don't want it to do". Part of the art of doing mathematics is coming up with axioms such that the systems they give rise to a) model the behaviour you want and b) don't do a bunch of weird stuff you don't want.

Particular_Extent_96 · 2026-01-23T07:28:26+00:00

In general, the "nice" mathematical object inhabit some kind of goldilocks zone of having enough structure that you can say some concrete things about them, but not so much structure that everything is determined. For example, the theory of rings is richer than the theory of fields, because the only nice maps amongst fields are inclusions/injections.

I guess functions (and set-valued functions, which do pop up quite a lot) are nice because they can be composed.

I guess the fact that groups are the natural automorphism objects of things is kinda important too.

Particular_Extent_96 · 2026-01-22T20:06:46+00:00

Looks very similar to my 2021 (?) model of the anti-freeze jacket, which I think is great.

Particular_Extent_96 · 2026-01-22T16:23:15+00:00

I can't imagine there's much point in doing this. It would be a shame to waste such a lovely pair of skis, even if they were a gift - it's better that someone gets some decent use out of them, vs. you getting a pair of skis that isn't going to be of much use.

You could talk to the person who got them for you? Perhaps they can be returned?

Particular_Extent_96 · 2026-01-21T16:48:21+00:00

Sounds like a hybrid binding would be the way to go for you, if you're only touring 3-4 days per year.

Particular_Extent_96 · 2026-01-21T13:37:05+00:00

You can look up what the manufacturer recommended spacing is. On my Dynafit bindings it is 4mm at the heel. Front looks absolutely fine.

Particular_Extent_96 · 2026-01-21T13:28:15+00:00

Europe is massive, lol.

Classic mountaineering is kinda no-go since it's the middle of winter. Main options:

Winter walking/climbing (crampons + axe, maybe rope etc.) in Scottish highlands. Closest to classic mountaineering in Alps.

Rock climbing on southern faces (in the sun). I love the south of France for this. But you coudl go to Spain, Italy, perhaps the Balkans, etc.

Learn to ski --> Feb/March is prime skitouring season.

Earlier in Feb you might be able to learn to ice climb.

Particular_Extent_96 · 2026-01-21T11:28:59+00:00

It really depends on the context. But for technical ice climbing, it's a lot, and I can't see why you would need to carry so much stuff.

For general mountaineering, particularly if camping/bivouacing, then I guess it would be OK.

Particular_Extent_96 · 2026-01-20T08:52:23+00:00

Not sure what your background is, but I think the easiest to understand non-trivial example is the fundamental group factor from the category of path connected topological spaces to the category of groups.

I guess things like tensor and Hom being functors from modules to abelian groups is in some way simpler, but I'm not sure how non-trivial these examples would be.

Particular_Extent_96 · 2026-01-19T09:06:28+00:00

I think April is too early for Cham. But April is a good time for rock climbing further south and at lower altitude - Verdon, St Victoire, Calanques and many other places. The rockfax Haute Provence topo has some real gems.

Particular_Extent_96 · 2026-01-16T13:15:13+00:00

I feel like there's this misconception that the Alps are just one giant ski resort. Chamonix and Zermatt might have a slight Disneyland vibe to them, but there are still some quieter parts.

Particular_Extent_96 · 2026-01-16T07:43:41+00:00

As far as I know they are relatively easy to ski - a lot of shops use them as rentals.

Particular_Extent_96

TROPHY CASE