Buck Short Revolution Folding Knife | Mountaineering or Climbing

Buck produced this climber’s knife in collaboration with mountaineer Peter Whittaker. The 436DPL Short Revolution overcomes some of the weaknesses of the usual lockblade folder and keeps the important perks.

The 2.7 ounce knife opens to a full length of 6 5/8″ with a platinum anodized aircraft aluminum handle big enough to grip like a full sized knife. The 2 1/2″ stainless steel blade comes with a combo serrated edge, the most efficient for working with rope. Closed, the nearly full length tang doubles as a strong carabiner, allowing the knife to be securely fastened to a wide range of gear. Opening the knife rotates the tang into the handle, giving this folding knife strength that most folders lack.

Instead of calling it a folder, the maker describes this knife as a rotating fixed blade knife that uses the handle as a sheath. Maybe it’s not quite a fixed blade knife in terms of strength, but it’s a step up from the usual lock blade folder design and way ahead of the other folding carabiner styles.

One handed opening is obviously an important feature if you expect to be hanging out in the high country. Before you buy this lifetime warranted knife, however, consider a light fixed blade sheath knife that’s already open and won’t ice itself shut.

Clean climbing

Clean climbing is a style of rock climbing that avoids damage to the rock by eschewing the drilling of bolts and the hammering of pitons. The style became practical with the invention of clean protection: nuts in the 1930s and spring loaded camming devices in the 1970s. The 1970s also saw the introduction of the Leave No Trace concept, which, among similar ethics for other outdoor activities, stipulates that climbers should follow these clean climbing notions.

Clean climbing is the preferred style of climbing in most parts of the United Kingdom where it is more commonly known as traditional climbing (trad); British climbers tolerate bolts and pitons on only a few cliffs. In other parts of the world it co-exists with sport climbing.

Clean climbers can carry and place protection by hand, removing them just as easily and cleanly.

Pitons and bolts are rarely used (almost exclusively in aid climbing) due to the damage they cause to the rock. This ethic has evolved such that on most modern climbs, any bolts and pitons installed are left in place (known as "fixed") for all future parties to use, in order to prevent multiple damaging placements.

Clean climbing differs from Sport Climbing, a popular form of climbing in many parts of Europe and the United States (as well as other countries), in that protection for Sport Climbing is provided entirely by fixed bolts, and clean gear is rarely used. Sport Climbing typically involves shorter routes (usually 100' in height or less) focusing on overhung, strenuous movements, and does not require the considerable skill of placing and removing clean protective gear.

Some routes are partially bolt protected and partially gear protected. These are most commonly referred to as "mixed protection" routes.

The debate between Traditional, or Trad Climbers, and Sport Climbers continues to this day over what the acceptable usage of bolts for protection is. Most Traditional climbers believe that bolts should not be used on any route where clean protection is possible, in order to preserve the rock. Some sport climbers believe that all routes should be bolted completely so that gear placement skills are not necessary to attempt the climb.

The general ethic is very dependent upon the area in question and varies widely by region. Generally speaking, the traditional ethic holds in most areas, and bolts are not used for protection unless there is no other option.

Left to traditional clean climbers, major UK climbing areas—Malham Cove, for example—could have been climbed and still remain clear of expansion bolts. Despite this, bolting was permitted by the BMC on this Site of Special Scientific Interest

campus board

A campus board is a training tool that has been widely adopted to improve rock climbing performance. Typically, a user ascends or decends the campus board using only their hands. Campus boards can take a variety of different forms and may incorporate a variety of materials. As one example, a campus board may comprise horizontal thin slats or rails of wood attached to an inclined board in a ladderlike configuration. However, some implementations may utilize bolt on climbing holds or sections of pipe. A campus board is generally set at overhanging angle of inclination that is between vertical and 20 degrees. One consideration for selecting the angle of inclination is the avoidance of any interference that may result between the user's legs and the campus board or wall.

The campus board was invented by Wolfgang Güllich in 1988 while he was training for a new route, Action Directe, which required extreme dynamic finger strength. The first campus board was hung at a university in a gym called The Campus Centre. Hence the term "campus" has been applied to the name of the training board, training method, and style of climbing, or "campusing" in which only the user's hands and arms are used.

There are a variety of training approaches that may be used with a campus board. As one example, a user may alternate the use of specific fingers to increase finger strength when ascending or descending the board. As another example, upper-body strength may be increased by utilizing large lunges between specific rails or holds of the campus board. Reactive training may be used to increase muscle recruitment by dynamically moving between the campus board rails simultaneously with both hands. Training on a campus board may result in better performance due to the improvement of motor training, increased finger strength on a variety grips, and greater power and lock-off strength of the arms. However, it should be appreciated that many top climbers do not utilize campus board training, nor does campus board training necessarily translate directly to improved performance on the rock.

In general, campus board training should only be attempted by climbers who already have a threshold level of strength, as the physical intensity of campusing can easily result in injury. While there is no right time to begin a campus board training regime, some have followed a general approach which requires the user to first be capable of bouldering at least V5, or climb at least French 6c

Boulder

In geology, a boulder is a rock with grain size of usually no less than 256 mm (10 inches) diameter. While a boulder may be small enough to move or roll manually, others are extremely massive. In common usage, a boulder is too large for a person to move. Smaller boulders are usually just called rocks or stones. The word boulder comes from Middle English "bulder" which was probably of Scandinavian origin such as dialectal Swedish "bullersten" meaning "noisy stone" (Imagine a large stone in a stream, causing water to roar around it) from "bullra" (to roar, cf. Dutch "bulderen", with the same meaning) and "sten" (stone).

In places covered by ice sheets during Ice Ages, such as Scandinavia, northern North America, and Russia, ice has moved and formed granite boulders, also named glacial erratics. One of the largest is used as the pedestal of the Bronze Horseman in Saint Petersburg, Russia.

Some noted rock formations involve giant boulders exposed by erosion, such as the Devil's Marbles in Australia's Northern Territory, the Wairere Boulders in New Zealand, where an entire valley contains only boulders, and The Baths on the island of Virgin Gorda in the British Virgin Islands.

The climbing of large boulders often requires developing special abilities, and has given rise, since the late 19th century, to the sport of bouldering.

Blue ice (glacial)

Blue ice occurs when snow falls on a glacier, is compressed, and becomes part of a glacier that winds its way toward a body of water (river, lake, ocean, etc.). During its travels, all of the air bubbles that are trapped in the ice are squeezed out, and the size of the ice crystals increases, making it clear.

In some areas, earthquakes have raised the blue ice above the ground and created formations much like large frozen waves.

The blue color is often wrongly attributed to Rayleigh scattering. Rather, the ice is blue for the same reason water is blue: it is a result of an overtone of a OH molecular stretch in the water which absorbs light at the red end of the visible spectrum.

Runways

Blue ice is exposed in areas of Antarctic where there is no net addition or subtraction of snow. That is, any snow that falls in that area is counteracted by sublimation or other losses. These areas have been used as runways due to their hard ice surface which is suitable for aircraft fitted with wheels rather than skis.

Action Directe (climb)

Action Directe is a famously difficult sport climb in the Frankenjura, Germany.

It has been climbed by ten people.

The first ascent (FA) was by Wolfgang Güllich in 1991, who climbed the route using a 16 move sequence. Simpson and Koyamada used a different sequence with only 11 moves.

The repeat ascents were by:

* Alexander Adler on 9 September 1995.
* Iker Pou on 7 June 2000.
* Dave Graham on 21 May 2001.
* Christian Bindhammer on 14 May 2003.
* Rich Simpson on 13 October 2005.
* Dai Koyamada on 15 October 2005.
* Markus Bock on 22 October 2005.
* Kilian Fischhuber on 25 September 2006.
* Adam Ondra on 19 May 2008.
* Patxi Usobiaga on 24 October 2008.

Despite being generally recognized as the world's first 9a, Güllich actually gave the route a UIAA grade of XI, which corresponds to 8c+/5.14c.

It was the first recognised route of the grade, and is considered by many to be something of a benchmark for the grade. It is also famous for its style, involving long dynamic moves off single-finger pockets. Wolfgang Güllich invented the campus board to train the very specific technique needed for this route.

Black ice

Black ice is ice frozen without many air bubbles trapped inside, making it transparent. Black ice takes the color of the material it lies on top of, often wet asphalt or a darkened pond. Its difficult-to-detect nature makes it a significant hazard to drivers, pedestrians, and sailors.
On Roads

Black ice, also known as "glare ice" or "clear ice," typically refers to a thin coating of glazed ice on a surface, often a roadway. While not truly black, it is transparent, allowing the usually-black asphalt/macadam roadway to be seen through it, hence the term. It is unusually slick compared to other forms of roadway ice.

Because it contains relatively little entrapped air in the form of bubbles, black ice is transparent and thus very difficult to see (as compared to snow, frozen slush). In addition, it often is interleaved with wet road, which is identical in appearance. For this reason it is especially hazardous when driving or walking because it is both hard to see and unexpectedly slick.

Bridges and overpasses can be especially dangerous. Black ice forms first on bridges and overpasses because air can circulate both above and below the surface of the elevated roadway, causing the pavement temperature to drop more rapidly. This is often indicated with "Bridge May Be Icy" warning signs.

Black ice may form even when the ambient temperature is several degrees above the NTP freezing point of water (0°C) if the air warms suddenly after a prolonged cold spell that leaves the surface of the roadway well below the freezing point temperature.


The term black ice is sometimes used to describe any type of ice that forms on roadways, even when standing water on roads turns to ice as the temperature falls below freezing. However, this use of the term black ice is not included in the American Meteorological Society Glossary of Meteorology.

A similar hazardous condition can also occur when diesel fuel spills onto a road surface because the lighter fractions evaporate quickly to leave a greasy slick which is difficult for oncoming drivers to spot in time to prevent skidding.
Ice skating

In New England, "black ice" refers to a clear type of pond ice that forms in very cold weather. Black ice has the appearance of thick, slightly cracked glass laid on the water, and its transparency reveals the darkness of the pond beneath: hence the name. Black ice is very hard and smooth, making gliding easier, but stopping slower and more difficult.

Thin, clear ice also has acoustic properties which are useful to tour skaters. Skating on clear ice radiates a tone whose frequency depends on the thickness of the ice.

Maritime black ice

Black ice is a danger for cold-weather fishing trawlers. As ice forms on its superstructure, a boat can become top heavy, and in rough weather this unbalanced extra weight may capsize it. Thick layers of black ice can form rapidly on boats where they encounter a combination of air temperatures cold enough to freeze seawater and rough seas that splash seawater over the entire boat.