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No matter the size, devoting time  to planning and preparation up front could prove to be one of the most critical elements of a trip. I often start researching my trips weeks, months, and sometimes years in advance. Team safety and overall enjoyment often rely on the three main stages: 1.) Research, 2.) Organization/Planning, and 3.) Final Preparation.

Research

Research involves searching for information and gathering useful data that can be subsequently organized to help ensure the trip goes smoothly and as safely as possible. Like any good researcher, we should always confirm our sources are reliable, and from multiple sources when possible. Plan to confirm all research again during the Final Preparation stage because conditions, access, and other details may change over time. Those missed last minute changes are the ones that can hurt the most.

Evernote is a good cross-platform software tool that I’ve been using to support my research. Evernote facilitates the consolidation and organization of text and image clippings from websites, trip notes, task lists, and other relevant information in a centralized location. It can be sync’d between virtually any device such as a Mac/PC laptop, smartphone (ex. iPhone, BlackBerry) and all the data is available via a web application on their website.

Good sources of information general trip information can include:

1. Physical Maps – Best source of information for trail access, distances, elevations, etc. The best maps are usually known by the locals so it is sometimes best to call prominent gear shops or guide services for recommendations before purchasing.
2. Google Maps (ex. Satellite photos of your area) – Often provides a different perspective to where you’ll be traveling.
3. Google Earth – If you’re so inclined, Google Earth can give you a realistic fly through of the actual terrain you’ll be encountering. The images may be out of date in glaciated terrain, but when creating a route plan it’s often valuable to get a feel for the area’s topology.
4. Websites – Local guides or guiding companies websites, summitpost.com, mountainproject.com, etc. are all exceptional resources for trip research.
5. Photos – Google searches often turn up photos from personal Flickr or Picasa accounts from different sections of a route. When used carefully and wisely, these can serve to create visual handrails for your navigation plan.
6. Other Climbers/Guides -
7. Local Park Agencies – Call and ask your questions. Park staff probably know the terrain better than anyone.
8. Land Use Agencies – Make sure you understand the land use policies and be responsible stewards of the land you’ll be using.
9. Trips Reports – The same websites mentioned earlier often have extensive and detailed trip reports that provide valuable information.
10. Guidebooks – Sometimes the best guidebooks can be difficult to find through traditional web searches, like maps, call the local shops and guide services.
11. Magazines, Journals – Often a great source of inspiration for trips.

So sometimes I like looking into and investigating different climbing gear or situations because I’m curious, sometimes people ask me or email me a question, sometimes I see some sketchy stuff out at the cliffs and sometimes something happens out in the field that I end up hearing about and decide to spend some time looking into it to maybe answer some questions, or maybe even end up posing more.

Investigating joining two slings together and how strong they are is a combination of all of the above. I had kind of been wondering about all these skinny slings on the market; I had a student send in a comparison on different methods of joining slings together asking which way was the best; and there was an incident with John Sherman where he had a sling on his anchor break when he used two slings girth-hitched together—luckily no one was hurt. For details on John’s incident you’ll have to sift through info HERE.

Therefore, all of these things prompted me and my crack crew of QA Engineering guys to throw a quick list of experiments together and do some testing. Please note: This is NOT intended as a in-depth investigation into John’s recent incident, rather just as information related to the joining of two slings together in general. So grab yourself a beverage of choice, because this one could get a bit long-winded.

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