The Outdoors Guide

One of the most difficult and most critical things to know outdoors is if something you find is edible. Mammals, fish, and birds are safe, as long as you avoid their glands. Plants are a completely different story. There are so many varieties that the average person doesn’t have, or know, the keys we know for animals. This article will help you recognize the more common plants that can irritate your skin, make you sick or outright kill you. NOXIOUS PLANTS These plants won’t kill you—but they can surely hurt you. They can hurt you, even when you are not looking for something to eat. You might simply be walking through the woods or clearing a campsite at the end of the day. They look like any other plants but can give you blisters, rashes or generally irritate your skin. POISON IVY Appearance Poison ivy can take the form of a shrub or bush, or it can grow as a vine along tree trunks or limbs. It can be found in most of North America in both open fields with bright light and i...

We often focus on training the body, to pull on smaller holds, control wilder swings, and make bigger dynos. But we rarely take the time to bring the mind up to speed, simply assuming that a stronger body can make up for any mental shortcomings by making hard climbs feel “easy”—so that we don’t have to address how negative self-talk holds us back. This works to a point, but when you’re at your limit, you also need to build mental muscle, so that both body and mind are clicking along in synch. Dark clouds filled in as my friend Eli and I arrived at the last difficult pitch of The Honeymoon Is Over, a 1,000-foot 5.13 on the Diamond on Longs Peak in Colorado. The climb begins at 13,000 feet and has four pitches of 5.13 up overhanging granite with flakes, tips laybacks, and tiny edges. After six weeks of obsessive work and with the three hardest pitches redpointed, I was so close! Then, snow began to fall. We hung at the anchor, wiggling about to keep warm. “We’ll wait it out,” I told El...

When the weather’s good and the rock is calling, it’s easy to tie in and rush into climbing. However, think about the belay first. If you’re belayer’s not safe or stable, neither are you—whether you’re sport, trad, single-, or multi-pitch climbing. No matter who’s holding the rope—total newbie or hardened vet— setting up the belayer to deliver a secure, safe, reliable catch will not only prevent leader and belayer injury, it will also help the leader move faster and more efficiently. CRAGGING WITH A FLAT BASE To keep the belayer from slipping and potentially pulling the leader off, examine the route’s base. If it’s fl at, the belayer should stand underneath the first piece, letting the rope run smoothly, without any jerking or short-roping that could pull off the leader. If there is a significant weight difference and the leader could fall, consider anchoring the belayer down. CRAGGING ON UNEVEN TERRAIN If the belay is uneven and the leader is solid on the terrain, the belayer cou...

If you are to rock climbing, this article will help you identify, plan for, and mitigate the hazards caused by sketchy bolts. When we encounter a bolt, we have no idea whether it’s good, bad, or just ugly. The reality is, bolts can fail due to metal fatigue, oxidation, improper placement, or hidden internal processes like stress corrosion cracking (SCC), in which tiny fissures form in the metal due to chemical reactions. While the design and construction of modern bolts make this a rarity on, say, routes from the past decade, older bolts with smaller diameters can fail. Identifying these bolts can help you assess the risk in clipping and making that next move. I’ve been rebolting for 30 years, and have replaced almost 1,000 bolts. Some old bolts looked great, while others have broken with a fl ick of the rope. Knowing the difference can save your life. Bad Bolts A bolt can be bad either because the rock is bad, the bolt is bad, or if it really isn’t your day, both are bad. To a large...