Anyone in the Halifax area interested in aid climbing?
....Do I hear crickets?
Come on. Aid climbing would be a great way to gain more experience with your rope work and develop more trust in your gear placements. I am talking about clean aid of course. I am not about to risk a lynching by knocking stuff in with a hammer!
I use the Russian Aider system rather than the webbing ladder type of aider more common in the West. To learn more about Russian Aiders visit: http://www.gearreview.com/russian_aid.asp Trango does not make them anymore. Trango had stopped production by the time these started to become popular. Although Fish http://www.fishproducts.com/ is planing to produce them once they find a source for titanium hooks, there is currently no one producing Russian aiders in North America. I made my own using the instructions found at: http://www.rockclimbing.com/forums/view ... 584#347584 I spend a week or so sewing, and then took them to a cobbler to backup the stitching at key points. The nice part about making the gear yourself is that it is very inexpensive.
I would love to get out with an experienced aid climber, but I can only think of two people in Nova Scotia who fall into that category, and one of them is rumoured to have stopped climbing. Maybe there are some other closet aid climbers out there who I do not know about. Otherwise, anyone who knows how to place trad gear, repel, and has some basic rope knowledge would be welcome. If you have a car you would be doubly welcome. My wife will probably let me go climbing if it does not inconvenience her, but if I take the car and leave her stuck at home all day without transportation, she is libel to get miffed.
Anyone interested?
Teth