Moving to Madison soon, so how would you guys rate Wisconsin? I did quite a bit of fishing there growing up, which was fantastic, but what about everything else? Hiking, homesteading, skiing, etc. I've heard are all pretty good there.

>HELLO
>I DON'T LIKE THIS
>HELLO
>WHAT DO YOU WANT? WHAT DO YOU WANT?
>I HAVE A KNIFE
>... where's my knife?

“When the rope is off, you can’t afford to slip,” explains free solo climber Austin Howell. Austin Howell was a rock climber for 12 years, 10 of which had been primarily as a free-soloist. He was the kid that climbed the tallest tree in hide and seek never to be found. He took up rock climbing at an indoor gym in college. After college, he worked day jobs that called for him to climb 300-foot cell towers, often in harsh weather. He became a proficient lead climber, requiring him to go long stretches between safe points.

Unhooking the rope for the first time for Austin was not an epiphany; it was practical. He was half-way up a steep rock face, felt weighed down by the heavy bag of bolts and the ropes on his back, and simply unhooked himself and passed the gear to his climbing partner.

“Soloing in one way is the most obvious way in the universe,” he explained, speaking proudly of John Muir in 1888 climbing Cathedral Peak. “Essentially he free-soloed that cliff to the top of it, and free-soloed it back down.” For centuries, Pueblo people had built houses into the sides of tall cliffs without any safety devices. Carabiner and belays didn’t arrive until 1933.

“Subjectively there’s nothing safe about it. There’s risk and there’s consequence. The consequence is very obvious,” he said.

One month after talking with Blue Ridge Outdoors, Howell, age 31, fell 80 feet to his death on a free solo climb at Linville Gorge.

I’m looking at doing some camping in northern NM this winter and don’t have the chedda for a 0degree bag. Is the darky bag worth? I have got the three season but never got issued the black bag only ever heard stories

I can’t get past this point on the trail. It’s like a 3 or 4 meter foot vertical drop with nothing to grab onto but the rope. I tried to do the thing where you put your feet on the wall and go down backwards but they slipped on the rocks and I only managed to keep myself from falling by holding hold onto the rope with pure panic strength, then I turned back.

Is it simply a skill issue or is there a technique to it? I’m also usually the only one on the trail, so I’ve never seen anyone else do it either.

Has anyone else felt that after spending most of your daily life, and daily routine in a city that once you get out into nature, theres a type of "disconnect"?

I can't really explain it, but I felt a type of anxiety it wasnt real bad but it was a feeling of alertness and of a sort of survival instinct kicking in that I completely forget about when i am in the city.

I also feel really powerless in a way since I had this thought of "well this is life and earth in its truest and rawest form" like I know that if I got dropped off in the middle of those woods my life would be miserable since I wouldnt have clue what to do. Much less would in any capacity would I be capable of surviving (and thrive) long term. I wouldn't even know how to dress myself. or even be competent to hunt anything probably until after a couple of weeks....

is this some sort of sign that I am living life the "wrong" way by living in a city? that city living is a sort of parasidic lazy way to live?

So I have been looking for hiking boots that double as everyday leather boots too. Been looking at the jim green collection. And I am torn between a razorback, a normal AR8 and a tyre wedge AR8.
> The normal AR8 are nice, with a good sole, but they are a bit chunky
> The tyre wedge AR8 are lighter, but I am unsure if the sole is good for hiking
> The razorback is probably the best one for hiking, but it looks perhaps too "outdorsy"

Ignore prices btw

Best way to /out/ in winter is ski touring.
Prove me Wrong
>most efficient form of mountain transport
>Fun as fuck on the downhill
>Cost of touring setup and avy gear keeps the poors out
>High fitness and skill requirements keep the /in/lets out
>Faster, easier and more fun that snowshoes on the way up
>Powder skiing on the way down
>No trails needed to get up the mountain, meters of snow cover all bush and vegation so you can pick whatever path you want
>no rock fall
>snowpacks are incredibly complex and interesting to learn about
>spatial distribution of snowpack variability in mountains makes for constant intellectual game of knowing where risky/bad snow is and avoiding those areas
>like hiking, but with way more thinking, and more independance
>great workout
>powder skiing

Why the fuck don't you ski tour anon? Don't tell me you're a flatlander...

How do we solve the tourist issues in western national parks?

Anyone into prospecting/panning/using similar tools to get shiny things while you're /out/? I recently bought a kit and tried it out yesterday, seems like a fun hobby. With the currency at all time lows it might even be lucrative.
Might head up into the White Mountains this weekend and try my luck.