Nomic mods?

A number of climbers have asked about modifying the original Nomic to change the umbilical attachment point like the new generation. The following is from a post I made on a climbing forum last winter after the OR show in SLC.





One of the new features Petzl has incorporated into the newest Nomic and other tools coming out the fall of is a way to add an umbilical attachment leash without it being under your hand while climbing.

Basically what they did is drill a hole through the aluminum section the protrudes into the pommel and then mill some of the Delrin pommel away to fit sling material down both sides and out the pommel. What Petzl showed at the OR show was some pretty thin cord (2mm or something like it). Not enough for my liking, thanks. So I did the same with a thicker diameter cord that would take something more than body weight. I have been using 4mm cord that tests at 900#

Easy mod to do to the old Nomic with a hand drill and a file if need be. I used a hand drill and a mill. Much cleaner answer than what I have been using.

Original attachment




Cut Pommel



Additional 5mm hole drilled.



both sides are then counter sunk and a new cord added







New cord slotted in the pommel, "New" Nomic!








After looking at this more closely I find it hard to believe that the new Nomic pommels with the serrated "spike" won't retro fit the old tools.

While looking at the new tools (all prototypes) and taking them apart at the OR show my guess was the old Nomics will take both the new picks and the new Pommel. Although Petzl originally said no on both, my Nomic pick/hammer fit their newest Nomic (I actually fit it to their tool)...but like I said they were prototypes at the OR show. I'll have mine shortly and will up date this blog entry when that happens.

More on the use of 4 and 5mm cord.

From an earlier BD email exchange last winter when I asked about the issue of the small BD biner (worried about the sharp edged proto types that I was using. The new Production stuff has much better and rounded edges) on 4 and 5mm cord laced to Nomics with a BD Spinner umbilical.

Black Diamond said:
"Just tested this to 800lbs (single leg). No damage to the 4mm cord or our steel clip (production quality with more tumbling to the part); the bungee webbing breaks first. Then pull tested our steel biner clipped to 5mm cord, this went to 1600lbs before the cord broke."

I would also make sure to use a knot like a dbl Fisherman's in drop form instead of an Over Hand which is typical and much weaker (30% less or more?) in this application. And something like half of the original tensile strength of the rope! Easy bet the cord broke at the knot no matter what knot he was using. But worth hedging your bets here for several reasons. But 4mm seems a good compromise for size (getting it under the pommel or in your hand) and strength. Hanging on a tool is not a dynamic load. Fall far enough and require static cord and webbing to take the dynamic impact load and you'll blow through 5mm or the webbing easily.


Either way I think the newest leash attachment is a good improvement on the tools...and worth doing on the older ones if you are so inclined. It isn't much work and I don't see a down side.


For those that asked. New Nomic picks (if they are cut for the hammer) will fit the old Nomic heads with a spacer...a simple washer will work there for a spacer. If they are not cut for the hammer the pick will bolt right up as normal.

From the prototypes shown at OR this winter the Petzl hammer and adze will not work without cutting up your old head a tiny bit. They were prototypes but I suspect very close to what we will see as production.

The new Petzl in cut head is to further support the hammer and adze in use. I used a similar technique to support the CT Nomic hammer without cutting the aluminum tool head and got a lower profile and better balance as advantages.

More details and photos in the link below.



http://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/Number/947849/Searchpage/1/Main/73195/Words/new+nomic/Search/true/Re_New_Nomic#Post947849

Don't Go There?

Got an email from a woman who is about to start cycling to work. It's only a 4 mile commute each way, and she is more than comfortable with the distance. But between her own neighbourhood and her office isan area known to have high crime rates. She is concerned about passing through it, especially on her way home after dark. "I would not walk there alone. How do I know if it's safe to ride my bike?"




Personally, I feel far more comfortable cycling through questionable neighbourhoods than walking there or waiting for the subway/bus. But overall I live in a decent area. We have occasional shootings and bank robberies here, but none of the places I ride through feel too rough or dangerous. And while I've had a few uncomfortable encounters over the years, the bike allowed me to ride away and avoid serious conflict.Still, in the past I've lived in cities with definite "don't go there" zones. I had not thought of what I would do if I had to commute there by bike.




What determines whether you consider an area safe for cycling? Do you take special precautions in neighbourhoods that are known for high crime rates, or do you plan your route so as to avoid them altogether?

STH the SLC METRO ICE

Every time I am lucky enough to visit SLC I get a terrible urge and want to move there. If you wonder why...it is always sunny when visit and you can ice climb, ski and ride your road bike all in the same day if you were really ambitious. (well every time I've been here anyway ;) And there are a few locals that actually such things.







A bunch have asked I document some of the ice climbing here. I'm stuck in the airport with time to kill so here ya go. This is Stairway to Heaven in easy conditions and light for the grade right now on the first 5 pitches.(thankfully!)



Here is a quick look at what the locals do before going to or after work...the bastards! Make sure to dbl click to get some perspective. And this is just the "junk" ice around the city. Cool thing about OR? There are plenty of rope guns running around you can put to work;)













10 min approach with the highway below and up to 10 pitches later in the winter.

Yep, they are the chit..BD's new, "Stinger" monopoint.More coming on them shortly.

Happy Birthday to the Original Big George

Tomorrow is my father’s birthday, and we all have a hard time believing he is in his ninth decade.
Greeks in general have solved the problem of growing old, and it’s not the Grecian Formula. It’s the tradition of Name Days. Your Name Day is set by the saint you are named for and by that saint’s feast day which is set by the Orthodox calendar. Traditionally, parties are held, but no numbers are involved. I know my Papou and Yiya didn’t take the age thing too seriously when they arrived in America. Either they didn’t remember, or they didn’t want to remember their true ages. Papou was much older than Yiya, perhaps by twenty years. The gap grew larger as he aged, according to Yiya. He probably shaved a few years off for her. He was also younger for the insurance agents, and in 1930, he gave himself at least ten years off for the census taker.

When he was about eighty, he had to go take the newly implemented driver’s test at the DMV on Indiana Avenue. My Dad drove him down there and watched him scratch his head through a little window where he was taking the test. After a few minutes, Dad gestured at him to ask to go to the bathroom- then, oh so subtly I’m sure, Dad went into the bathroom with him, and they got the thing done. (Dad proudly recounts that “they” got a 98.) Next came the driving portion which involved a lot of orange cones. Papou hit every one. Fortunately, the inspector was a customer at Churchill’s, the family restaurant. Dad took him aside and told him that Papou would only be driving to St. Sophia’s, and his daughter’s house on Sundays, and could he please pass him. He did. At that point, Papou was wielding a Cadillac. He had a tiny garage so he hung tires on the walls to bounce off of when he parked. Dad says he often drove right over the curb into Aunt Catherine’s yard, and she would yell at him from her kitchen window. But he kept driving well into his eighties, and as far as we know, he didn't kill anyone.

My father is still driving as well, and still passing all the tests. He was born right here in DC where we have birth certificates and birthdays and eventually- with the advent of my mother, the American birthday tradition was established.
(My mother, by the way, solved the age thing her own way by joining in with Jack Benny and remaining firmly lodged at thirty-nine.)
Way back when, back in his childhood, Dad remembers his big present would be a five or ten dollar gold piece.he has given them all way now, but he wished he kept one. His favorite present, however, was the birthday gift that he bought himself at age eighteen: a used 1932 maroon DeSoto with black fenders. (So much for all the junk we bought him all these years)
We celebrate Dad’s birthday tomorrow- on April 18th, but I discovered a few years back that his birth certificate says April 17th. I said, “Hey Dad, look at this. You’ve been celebrating the wrong day all these years.”
And he said “Too late.”

Happy Birthday, Dad. Whenever.

All in all it was a good day

Went to Peru. . .

The Marriage Record for May Hale and George Armstrong did not include parental information.

The Death Record for May L. Armstrong (Miami County Health Dept. Book C-5 page 5, December 18, 1899) gives her parents as Albert Hale and Elizabeth Foutz. So she is NOT the daughter of Jacob and Rosanna (Wise) Hale. I didn't get a death certificate as it would have cost $10. I was fortunate that the clerk allowed me to look at the record. Afterwards, she said "for future reference" in case I needed additional searches, they are supposed to charge $35 per half hour for lookups, plus the charge for the certificate!

The Estate Packet for Christina Wise was found in the archives building! Got my hands dirty ;-) I "made copies" of all the documents in the file using my camera since photocopies were $1 apiece! Most came out quite well, with a few being a little soft in focus, but they can be read.

In addition to the people already named in a previous post, there are documents that mention William Wise and John Wise, though no relationships are given.

There was a statement (see image below) signed by Rosanna Hale (her mark) and witnessed by M. H. Grunden which fits in quite nicely with the census information found by Pseudo-Anonymous Gary earlier this week (which also prompted this overdue visit to Peru). In the 1900 census for Steelton Borough, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania (page 55B), Rosana Hale is listed in the household of Martin H. Grunden as widowed, mother-in-law.

There is no date on this document, but similar ones for William Kircher and Luella Culbertson were dated October 4, 1887. It reads: "Whereas, the assets in the hands of William Kircher, Administrator of the Estate of Christina Wise, deceased are insufficient to pay the claims allowed against the same in full - to avoid the additional expense of settling said estate as insolvent, I, Rosanna Hale, consent to accept, and hereby acknowledge the receipt of about eighty-three per cent of my claim against said estate, to-wit: Seventy-seven & 27/100 Dollars, in full payment and satisfaction of said claim. Witness M. H. Grunden. Rosanna x Hale, her mark."

Found the deed book entry where Peter Wise and his wife, Christina, sold their 180 acres of land on April 5, 1866 for $8,000.

On May 14, 1866 Peter purchased town lots 5, 6, & 7 in Gilead. On October 26, 1868 he purchased 5 acres of land that was bordered on the east by the town of Gilead.

Those two entries in 1866 were in one of the books I had skipped on my previous visit to the courthouse a month ago. The reason I had skipped over them was because in the 1870 census it still showed that Peter owned land. What didn't "click" though was the fact that in 1850 his real estate was valued at $4,000 while in 1870 it was only $1,000. Lesson learned: Check all records for the time period of your ancestor, not just the years you think there "might" be transactions.

However, I didn't find the records for the sale of the lots and 5 acres under the Wise surname. So I checked for transactions by William Kircher, the administrator of Christina's estate, and found the record of the sale of the five acres on April 15, 1887 and the sale of the town lots on September 10, 1887.

As a point of reference, this is a portion of the 1860 census for Seward Township, Kosciusko County, Indiana page 60. After looking at it for a while I can now see that it could be Mary A. rather than May A., but then again, maybe not.

Day 2 of the Season

After a day of rest, I decided to head back to Meadow Run and take on some more early sesaon punishment. We pulled into the lot and were greeted by Regina and Felipe a newer partner of Regina's that had only been on ice 2 previous days at the end of last season.

Phillipe and Regina enjoy some pre climbing nourishment

We spent the day on a new line to the right of Hemlock. It had a rock start up until the end of the route which has a short easier section of ice. Its seemed to bea nice warmup line and I think will make a nice addition to the numerous routes at this easy access crag. We then moved onto Season Finale which went pretty smooth, then Laura and I each took a turn on Main Pillar right which wasmostly verglas androck moves up toa final short pillar. Laura thentook alap on the Main Pillar left, which Regina and Phillipe were running laps on. Laura smoothed it. I finished my day by taking a run on Captain Caveman. Again the climb went smoother than expected. The final curtain isn't very well formed, which makes the exit moves considerably easier than when the curtain is low enough to get on. I took out most of the serious daggers and by next weekend it should be in good shape.

NOTE: The fixed draws on all Lower Meadow Run routes were nabbed over the summer, so make sure to bring draws if you're planning on doingthese lines.

Some Random Photos

Phillipe - third ice day ever

Regina enjoying her first day of the season

Wake up Timmy... Time to climb

Wandering Along

Monday, April 4th - - Upon leaving Copper Breaks State Park, I continued northwest in the general direction of Amarillo. My intended destination was Palo Duro State Park, which some claim is the second largest canyon in the United States (the largest being the Grand Canyon).



However, I tired of battling the wind which was coming from the north with gusts of 35-50 mph and turned south after about an hour of driving. Several other factors added to the decision to forgo Palo Duro at this time – my left leg has been giving me some problems making hiking on uneven, rough trails a bit problematic – the wind was not due to let up until later in the day – the overnight temperature was going to drop into the low 30s - and tonight Butler was going up against UConn in the Big Game! So Palo Duro would have to wait for another time.



Just east of Silverton on Texas Highway 256 a rest area at the top of a ridge provided good views of the road just traveled.





This simple wooden cross at the top of the ridge honored “Gran” and “Pop”.





And this is the view that was off to the right... looking north.



Looking northeast.

Yes, I stopped at a motel for the night. And was disappointed by the outcome of the game. Neither team played all that good but Butler played a little worse, dashing the hopes of everyone cheering for the underdog.