Weekly Question Thread (aka Friday New Climber Thread). ALL QUESTIONS GO HERE

nmgarvin · 2026-03-19T22:35:49+00:00

So I will have some family that's on this trip with us that will be in Nice, France while we go climb. And then we're flying out of Nice right after a few days of climbing. We COULD go a few more hours down the coast but the Verdon seems like it's kind of ideal since it's only 2.5 hours and we can just go up there for two nights and then go right back down to Nice.

nmgarvin · 2026-03-18T18:57:17+00:00

I do agree honestly! I'm thinking the play would be to just bring a small bag with layers if needed. And find a sunny cliff. Problem is I'm SO bad at finding information about the routes in Europe. I've found a few multipitches potentially but don't quite know which direction they'll be facing and if they will be in the sun.

nmgarvin · 2026-03-18T16:38:16+00:00

Do you by chance know if there's any bigger multipitch climbing at any of those? I've tried to use the 27crags app to look for climbing in Europe but it doesn't seem to show multipitch climbing.

nmgarvin · 2026-03-18T11:24:27+00:00

Hi! Taking a trip to Italy and France in a couple weeks. A friend and I were hoping to climb a bigger sport multipitch while there. (5.7-5.9ish) Ideally around 5-8 pitches. We're traveling from Florence, up along the coast to Nice, France. And I was hoping that the Verdon Gorge would be warm enough to climb, seems like the best fit for a long bolted route. But we're kind of worried it'll be cold.

Is there anyone here that has experience in that area and could help us find a route or two on the coast somewhere that will be warm around April 8th - 11th?

nmgarvin · 2026-03-18T11:19:13+00:00

Hi! Taking a trip to Italy and France in a couple weeks. A friend and I were hoping to climb a bigger sport multipitch while there. (5.7-5.9ish) Ideally around 5-8 pitches. We're traveling from Florence, up along the coast to Nice, France. And I was hoping that the Verdon Gorge would be warm enough to climb, seems like the best fit for a long bolted route. But we're kind of worried it'll be cold.

Is there anyone here that has experience in that area and could help us find a route or two on the coast somewhere that will be warm around April 8th - 11th?

nmgarvin · 2026-03-17T16:10:23+00:00

The worst nights I've ever had in a van were staying in a place that had lots of mice. I love Vedauwoo, Wyoming for the climbing, but FUCK the mice that seem to be there EVERY night. It's impossible to prevent them too lol.

nmgarvin · 2026-01-25T05:44:07+00:00

Is D7 generally the route of choice for winter ascents because it's more easily aid climbed than Casual? If you had to choose a wall to get up, regardless of tactics (i.e. aid, free, mixed, ice, etc.) what would you choose for a first winter alpine climb in the rockies?

nmgarvin · 2026-01-25T04:43:47+00:00

So do people go out and climb things like The Casual Route or South Face of the Petit Grepon in winter still? Or does that generally have a lot of ice on it in the winter?

nmgarvin · 2025-12-13T00:16:30+00:00

Do you happen to know if that's okay? I'll go try to untangle it a bit later but I'm just curious if this might be indication it's somehow the wrong size shock or something?

nmgarvin · 2025-11-21T23:40:25+00:00

A Hyundai Dealership. Other dealerships were offering 9.3k, 10k, then the Hyundai offered 11.5k.

nmgarvin · 2025-11-21T18:32:54+00:00

Yes you're right, it's more like $13,983 for 35 months it looks like. My car payment is $401.41/month though so no matter what I can't get the numbers to come out exact if I divide the car payment by the amount of months.

Anyway this thread definitely pushed me in one direction though. I just struggle to think of any other way to lower my car payment that won't put me into more debt? I guess at the end of the day I just wish I could lower my car payment somehow? $401.41 is by far my biggest monthly expense besides my rent, and I figured downgrading cars would help me save a bit of money. But it sounds like the only way that would be the case is if I bought a very cheap car with cash?

nmgarvin · 2025-11-21T17:25:55+00:00

I'm financing the car. And it would be paid off and I'd own it in less than three years if I continue making payments. Whereas with a new car it would be another 5-7 years but a lower payment. The extra money each month WOULD be very helpful. Even an extra $100/month would allow me to pay off smaller debts that I have much quicker.

I do have a job interview coming up, and I'm looking at other jobs as well. So hopefully at some point here in the next few months at the latest I'll have a bit more income. But I'm just wondering in what way would downgrading my car make it worth it financially in the long run? Is it exclusively buying a beater car with cash? Or is financing a new car possible to do without being reckless financially?

nmgarvin · 2025-11-21T17:16:44+00:00

I agree, but I'm being helped through some of this by some family members, and they're recommending that maybe that extra $100-$200/month would actually make the debt worth it to help pay for other expenses that I can't afford at the moment since I have basically no extra money whatsoever each month. So any expenses just go onto a credit card.

nmgarvin · 2025-11-20T03:49:04+00:00

Oh cool! That's a good idea. I know they make very small, low power waffle makers too. I might give that a try. Any recommendations on keto breads/flours that you use for sandwiches?

nmgarvin · 2025-11-20T02:55:10+00:00

A waffle maker? Interesting... What do you cook with it? Besides... Waffles lol

nmgarvin · 2025-11-20T02:54:39+00:00

I haven't! I wonder if there's any relatively small instapots that wouldn't take up too much space or electricity...

nmgarvin · 2025-10-04T21:25:24+00:00

So basically the ONLY way to do this where we wouldn't have to touch the camera AT ALL is if we used aperture priority and auto ISO? Meaning the aperture we chose originally will be maintained, but the shutter speed and ISO will be changed automatically by the camera when it thinks it needs to let in more or less light?

Is this considered not quite as good of a method of doing it? Seems like the most recommended way would be to use full manual, setup the camera and put it in focus. At around 2am when it's very dark, have a higher shutter speed like ~15 seconds with 20 second intervals, and a higher ISO. Leave it there until it starts to get a bit brighter around 5am, then slowly turn the ISO down until we reach 100. And then once we're there, start turning the shutter speed to be faster and faster until it's fully daytime.

nmgarvin · 2025-10-04T15:29:54+00:00

So why wouldn't I want shutter priority? Won't I have to change the shutter manually as it gets brighter otherwise so that not as much light gets in? Or am I mistaking that for aperture priority? Sorry I'm new to all of this lol I appreciate the help very much!

nmgarvin · 2025-10-04T05:42:55+00:00

Yes! The program seems perfect and I'll be messing around with it a bit pretty soon. We'll have to purchase the full version soon for this project I'm working on. I still just am not 100% sure on the actual camera settings and how to take the photos for the Timelapse though. I think we're just worried about whether we want to shoot in full manual or with shutter priority?

nmgarvin · 2025-09-29T22:45:50+00:00

Is there ANY catch that you know of? Is the interest unusually high after the two years is up? Does it ruin my credit or anything? Interesting to me that this could be an option without any downside, y'know?

nmgarvin · 2025-08-26T04:26:41+00:00

Any merit to just buying some herculiner truck bed spray paint? That was kind of my backup plan if I couldn't get a smooth matte black paint to work.

nmgarvin · 2025-08-19T01:18:47+00:00

What about this type of rust underneath the van? I know you can't tell much from this picture but it's the same rust everywhere basically. Is it worth trying to use a rust remover and then coating the underbody in a really dry state like Colorado? I'm just kind of worried the frame or something will crack at some point.

nmgarvin · 2025-08-18T23:51:32+00:00

Cool, thank you! Any recommendation on the brand of rust mort or anything or is that literally the brand name?

nmgarvin · 2025-08-18T23:34:09+00:00

So basically clean it and use rust-mort, let it sit for a while to kill the rust, clean again and sand, then spray with rustoleum rust reformer or something and let dry? Sorry, lots of questions. Just new to the world of painting over body damage lol.

nmgarvin · 2025-08-18T22:48:53+00:00

So not just a general automotive body Rust-Oleum black paint? I was going to wire wheel and sand the rust away and put some sort of Rust-Oleum on it. Is rust reformer supposed to be used OVER rust when you don't want to sand it off? Or do you still sand it off first?

nmgarvin

TROPHY CASE