Cavechat.org

Thanks, but I'm kinda thinking along the lines of a blown concrete cave system with the look and feel of the real thing, i.e. sumps, wall climbs, squeezes, large rooms, bouldering, flowing water, etc. For some reason, I can't find any here in the U.S. they're popular as heck in the UK. As a couple ...

The term Sketch From Memory is more understandable than Grade Something-or-Other. It does not require a separate explanation. When I started caving, I saw some maps with a survey grade and did not know what it was. When I learned that the grade indicated how the survey was done, I was disappointed. ...

Just use a text editor. You can combine the survey files or keep them separate and add to the MAK file. The Compass files are human-readable plain ASCII.

Be aware that the manufacturers' specifications are greatly exaggerated. What is called "optical resolution" is actually stepping or scanning resolution, which is better than the optics. Most of the reviews on the web simply repeat the manufacturers' claims. I have an Epson 4990, which was...

Or to put it another way, is a section of PMI Pit Rope loaded with 230 lbs of caver & gear in Golondrinas at the bottom of the drop under any more "strain" than the same scenario in say Neversink? No, the entire rope will be loaded the same, except the top section will will have the a...

As of Wednesday afternoon, Jan 9 it is still there, complete with serial numbers! I am surprised that Adobe has not slammed the door shut. But then, is it possible to put the programs back?

The Climb Tech ascenders appear to be the same as the Fixe Capitan without the cam stop or the Brasovia ascennders.

It does not really matter. Use whatever knot you like to tie.

BTW it is just Butterfly, not Alpine Butterfly, according to Wright and Magowan who invented the name in 1928.

The ascenders were in individual plastic bags that I threw away. I would have kept any labels on them. The workmanship is good. Some money might have been saved by keeping the stamping shapes plain. There are no reinforcing ribs, cam stops, or stamped lettering. I can't analyze the alloys used.

My understanding of US law is that all imported goods must be marked with the country of origin. The Climb Tech gear has no country of origin markings, implying that it is US made. When I wrote the review, I was looking at the ascenders in my hand and comparing details. I neglected to give my overal...

This might be the information you are looking for. However teeth are only one factor when it comes to whether or not an ascender slips. As a counter example, Alpine Caving Techniques recommends a toothless device - the petzl shunt - under extremely icy or muddy conditions. But the Shunt is not an e...

I got one each of the Climb Tech products last week. When I saw this question come up, I compared the Climb Tech ascenders with the current Petzl models. The cams of both brands have aggresive teeth and a mud slot. The CT teeth are slightly longer. The CT cam face is longer. i don't have a scale, bu...

Wanted: "Techniques de la Speleologie Alpine" by Dobrilla and Marbach. This is the 1973 first edition. The 2000 third edition is the current version. I want the older edition.

One more question. Does this information change if the image is embedded in a pdf file? Or what if there was no cell reception at the time the picture was taken? I made a PDF out of 3 JPG files with Acrobat 6. I closed the PDF, opened and closed a different PDF, then extracted a page from the first...

Does the layman or even average person have the capability to look at photos like this and determine the embedded info? Easy. Many cameras (most? all?) put a hidden block of EXIF information in JPEG files. This includes all the camera settings including GPS if that feature is turned on. The values ...