How to Build a V-Thread Ice Anchor

You've just completed a spectacular ice climb. Everything went smoothly the entire way. But now you're three pitches off the deck and you don't want to leave anything behind on your descent. There is a way to do this and it is surprisingly simple.

The V-thread -- also known as the Abalakov anchor -- is a simple technique wherein one simply links two holes bored in the ice together and then threads a cord through, the cord is then tied-off and used as an anchor.

Following is a short video on how to do this with a single ice screw:



It's not a bad idea to back-up an ice anchor before rappelling. This article provides some tips as to how one might back-up a V-thread.

It's a good idea to practice this on the ground before employing it in a descent. Though this is conceptually simple, it can be difficult to line up the bore holes. This is definitely not something that you want to use for the first time in a raging snowstorm as it's starting to get dark.

--Jason D. Martin

Climbing and Outdoor News from Here and Abroad - 1/21/10

A Special Note:

The former president of the American Alpine Club, Mark Richey, is spearheading an effort to help the victims of Haiti's earthquake. In a letter to the climbing community Richey states that, "along with clean water, food and medical supplies, temporary shelter is desperately needed. Used tents, as long as they are functional, and lightweight sleeping bags are fine and of course new tents and sleeping bags from any of our outdoor industry friends would be ideal." To read more, click here.

Northwest:

--One snowmobiler has been killed and another badly injured in an avalanche in British Columbia's southern interior region. Sicamous RCMP said the slide occurred Monday as four people were riding in an area near Sicamous, B.C., about 500 kilometres northeast of Vancouver. To read more, click here.

-- A mile-long avalanche on Mount Hood toppled trees and left a trail of debris in its path Sunday, forcing skiers and snowboarders to navigate around the obstacle this week.The snow came crashing down on the northern edge of the Mount Hood Meadows Ski Area at about 7 p.m. The slab avalanche of snow and ice plowed down the Wy'East headwall and picked up thousands of tons of snow before it hit Clark Canyon. To read more, click here.

--It appears that Oregon is not the only state that is flirting with the idea of requiring personal locator beacons in the mountains. A bill that would require these devices for all travelers above treeline has been introduced to Washington's legislature. To see what the climbing community thinks about this, click here.


--Redpoint Climbers Supply -- the beloved Pacific Northwest climbing shop just outside of Smith Rocks State Park -- was robbed over the weekend. Everything from ropes to jackets were taken from the small store. To read more, click here.

--A well-known climber helped advert a cat-astrophe this week. Check it out below!



Sierra:

--Officials with Yosemite National Park report that 2009 was the busiest season since 1996. Kari Cobb with National Park Service reports that 3,866,970 visitors came to Yosemite in 2009, the highest level of visitation in the park since 1996. Cobb says that Yosemite first hit the million mark in 1954, and then peaked in 1996 with 4,190,577 visitors before starting a downward trend through 2006. For the past few years visitation has once again been on the rise. Cobb says that the recent increase in visitation may be in part due to the bad economy as more people stay close to home rather for their vacations. Free admission on three selected weekends each summer might play a role as might a recent Ken Burns documentary. To read more, click here.

--This year Inyo National Forest staff plans to increase snowmobile enforcement in areas where the vehicles are not allowed. Forest Service officials plan to use a plane, along with ground patrols this winter to monitor closed areas for illegal snow machine activity such as designated wilderness areas. To read more, click here.

Desert Southwest:

--A rock climber was injured after falling while scaling

part of Camelback Mountain Sunday. Phoenix firefighters took about 3-minutes to reach the man, who had fallen off the Praying Monk, an 80-foot rock tower that resembles a kneeling monk. The man was "free climbing" without ropes, lost his grip and fell about 25 feet, Spokesperson Scott Walker said. The 26-year-old man had serious compound fractures to both legs. To read more, click here.

Award Winning Filmmaker Danny Boyle

--Oscar-winning filmmaker Danny Boyle of "Slumdog Millionaire" fame has accepted an incentive offer from Utah worth nearly $2.8 million. His plan: Produce a movie in the state about rock climber Aron Ralston. The incentive for the movie "127 Hours" is the state's second-largest ever for a film. It was approved Thursday by The Governor's Office of Economic Development board to ensure Boyle didn't take his project, scheduled to start filming in March, elsewhere. To read more, click here.

Notes from All Over:

--A somber start to the holiday weekend as news of Vail's first avalanche related death hit Thursday. Although not technically on Vail Mountain, the 19-year-old snow rider found dead in avalanche debris accessed the back-country area just west of Belle's Camp in Blue Sky Basin. Another slide was reported last week in Mushroom Bowl, a back-country area just north of China Bowl, with no injuries reported. To read more, click here.

--Rescue operations for a mountain climber, who has been missing in the Central Colombian Tolima mountains since late December, have been suspended, the local rescue team announced on Monday. After 23 days of searching, "we are stopping the search because the dynamics of the operation only gave us until today," Jaime Diaz, coordinator for the Tolima Emergency Rescue Committee told radio station La FM. "We did a sweep from the peaks to the bottom of the mountain and we were unable to find Carlos Alexander Gil,"the official added. To read more, click here.

--A 50-year-old Huntington Beach woman died in a freak heli-skiing accident in Telluride, Colorado, over the weekend. Mary Scott King was skiing across a creek Saturday when she fell and got her helmet stuck between two rocks, and was pinned below the surface of the water. To read more, click here.

-- An experiment in Austria in which 29 live pigs were to be buried under masses of snow to study human survival chances in avalanches has been called off for fear of public protests, police said Friday. Animal rights groups condemned the experiment as "bizarre" and "macabre" and activists had started gathering in the Tyrol's Oetz valley, where the research was being conducted by the medical faculty of Innsbruck University and the emergency medicine centre at Bolzano, Italy. To read more, click here.

--Brayard Russell recently made the first ascent of the Painted Wall Icicle (M9 NEI 5+, 2 pitches, 150') in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. The ascent -- which is something that he has been trying to do for three winters -- took place just in time. The central icicle collapsed just days after his ascent. To read more, click here.

--Outdoor journalist Dave Pidgeon has written an interesting editorial on his blog about the use of webcams in the backcountry for safety purposes inside National Parks. To read the blog, click here.

Conditions Report - January 20, 2010

RED ROCK CANYON:

-- The local forecast is reportedly cloudy with a chance of rain for Wednesday and Thursday this week, with lows in the mid 40s.

-- Some good beta for peak 2304 can be found here.

--Forecast and average temperatures for Red Rock Canyon.

--Webcam for Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area.

--The late exit and overnight permit number for Red Rock Canyon is 702-515-5050. If there is any chance that you will be inside the park after closing, be sure to call this number so that you don't get a ticket.

--The entrance to the scenic drive had a parking area for those who wanted to carpool up until approximately April of 2009. That lot has now become employee parking and people who want to carpool are required to park at the lot outside the Scenic Drive exit.

--The scenic drive currently opens its gates at 6 in the morning.

--There are plans to change the fee structure for camping and climbing in Red Rock Canyon. To learn more about the proposed changes and to find out how you can help keep the fees as they currently are, please click here.

JOSHUA TREE:

-- An informative report for Joshua Tree's South Astro Dome and surrounding area can be found here.

--Forecast and average temperatures for Joshua Tree National Park.

--Webcam for Joshua Tree National Park.

NORTHWEST:

Table Mountain in the afternoon sun. Photo Credit Dyan Padagas.

-- Mount Baker had some surprising conditions on Monday. After a windy night and downed trees on Mount Baker Highway, the afternoon cleared up to sunny blue skies. This party also had a windy decent of Rainier.

AAI Avalanche 1 Course group, wrapping up the day on Sunday. Photo Credit Dyan Padagas.

--Forecast for the West Slope of the Cascades.

--Forecast for the East Slope of the Cascades.

--Webcam for Leavenworth and the Stuart Range.

--Sno-Park permits are available for purchase in Washington State. To purchase a permit and/or read more about them click here.

--Forecast for Mount Rainier.

--Forest Service Road Report for Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest.

--Mount Saint Helens, Mount Adams conditions and recreation report.

--Webcams for Mount Rainier National Park, North Cascades National Park, Leavenworth, and Highway 2.

--An up-to-date ski and snow report for the Northwest may be found here.

--Up-to-date Pacific Northwest ice conditions may be found here.

SIERRA:

--For an update on road conditions in the Eastern Sierra region. Follow this link to read more.

--For up-to-date avalanche and weather reports in the Eastern Sierra, click here.

--Webcams for Bishop, June Lake, Mammoth Mountain, Mono Lake, Tioga Pass, and Yosemite National Park.

ALPS:

--Chamonix and Mont Blanc Regional Forecasts may be found here.

--Webcams for Chamonix Valley, Zermatt and the Matterhorn.

ALASKA RANGE:

--The American Alpine Institute is now accepting applications for the 2010 climbing season. Please call our office at 360-671-1505 for more information.

--Forecast for Denali.

Nine Lessons from Rock Climbing

Recently this video has been making its rounds on the web. The piece is from a motivational speaking conference sponsored by TED -- a motivational speaker agency -- and features Matthew Childs, a former climbing guide.

Matthew Childs is a specialist in digital branding and interactive services. According to his biography, Childs seeks out new trends in competitive markets. As an advertising lead at Razorfish, he draws from extensive experience in the marketing world, having led Nike's global internal communications department. Before that, he was a writer and editor for Outside Magazine and Playboy.

In this video, the speaker relates nine lessons learned in rock climbing to the "real world." Though the video was created for non-climbers, Childs uses enough climbing lingo that it's likely that climbers will get the most out of his insights.



--Jason D. Martin

Basic Rock Technique

The Mountaineers Club has put together a very nice little video that provides some tips and techniques for the beginning level climber. The following video does a pretty good job with its description of:

• Face Climbing
• Edging and Smearing
• Downclimbing
• Steep Terrain
• The Mantle Technique
• The Bear Hug Technique
• Opposing Forces
• Stemming
• The Lieback Technique
• Use of a Backstep
• The Undercling Technique
• The Heelhook
• Friction Climbing
• Hand Traverse
  

In seven and a half minutes, the video quickly demonstrates each of the techniques. And while they don't go into depth on any one technique, the do present a nice overview for those who are just starting out.



--Jason D. Martin