Exciting read of Fredrick Strang’s K2 Expedition! Thanks Base Camp Magazine for sharing my review!
Month: July 2017
Gear Review- Petzl 2017 Sirocco Climbing Helmet
The arrival of the updated ground breaking Petzl Sirocco this summer may be my most anticipated piece of gear news this year! I enjoyed hundreds of days climbing rock and ice along with a decent amount of ski mountaineering in my original Sirocco that I reviewed back in 2013 here. Needless to say I was pretty stoked to get my hands on a media sample of the 2017 model earlier this Spring and have since enjoyed over 30 days of both cragging and alpine climbing in this new model and I can say with complete conviction that Petzl has taken something great and made it even better!
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Earlier this Spring I explained some of the basic differences between the outgoing model, the new 2017 Sirocco, and the current Petzl Meteor III helmet in this video:
Now I would like to dive into some of the details that make this the ultimate climbing helmet in my opinion, starting with the most obvious specification…
Weight
Anyone that reads my gear reviews knows I can obsess a little about weight. I love counting ounces and trimming weight in every category I can. The original Petzl Sirocco was indeed a game changer weighing in at only 6 ounces (170 grams) for my M/L size. My home scale shows the new model weights 6.125 ounces (172 grams). The closest competitor in regards to weight is likely the Black Diamond Vapor Helmet which comes in at 7 ounces (199 grams). But weight should really be secondary to…
Protection
This was actually what sold me on the first incarnation of the Petzl Sirocco, the fact that it exceeds EN-12492 certification and meets UIAA-106 standards! In fact Petzl helmets were the first climbing helmets that meet this higher standard!
Whoa… wait a minute… what the heck does all that mean?
Let me break it down.
Simply put, Expanded Polypropylene (EPP), the main material used in the construction of both the outgoing and the new 2017 Petzl Sirocco helmet has an excellent “energy absorbing” quality to it along with being quite rugged and durable. Essentially the difference is this helmet will transfer less energy to your melon (and neck) in the case of a hard hit.
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The EN certification most helmets meet puts that amount of force at 10 kN but the Petzl Sirocco is tested to only transfer 8 kN. This is roughly 450 pounds less in force. This could mean the difference between suffering a more serious injury in a hard hit than when wearing a helmet that might “feel” more durable but transfer more force to the climbers head and neck. Skip to 1:20 in the below video to see this stress testing in action. (video is of 2013 model but physics point are the same)
In addition to the reduced impact force Petzl helmets are tested for “side impact” as well… something not yet required to pass a more general CE standard. As a climber, Wilderness First Responder, and Mountain Rescue Service member, I have seen a fair share of head injuries, some minor, some quite major, I can say that the entire head deserves protection… not just the top!
Finally in terms of “protection” one should note that the new design covers 2-3 cm lower on the back of the head… a common spot of injury in both ground falls and “rope behind the leg” leader falls.
Bottom line is the new 2017 Sirocco offers greater protection to your head than the previous model without gaining a single ounce!
So what about the next important consideration in a climbing helmet?…
Durability
Originally essentially a “one material” build Petzl has made to significant structural changes to the Sirocco design. The first is found inside and is an crown injected with expanded polystyrene (EPS).
This material adds some ruggedness and durability to what at times could feel like a fragile construction material (the expanded polypropylene that some folks assumed was “Styrofoam”). While expanded polypropylene has excellent protective qualities it could show wear after a few seasons of hard use. My 2013 model has quite a few dings from random ice hits and possibly packing it in my pack a little too close to sharp crampons. Despite the dings I never felt the performance of the helmet was compromised, but the addition of a denser material under the crown makes it feel like this construction will have a longer life than the original Sirocco. Further research actually indicates that EPS actually has even higher energy absorption properties than EPP and is less durable than EPP, which is probably why Petzl added…
Durability x 2!
Petzl also added a poly-carbonate crown on the top of the helmet, the same great material that covers the whole shell of the popular Petzl Meteor III helmet. This hard yet light plastic will certainly fend off small hits of ice and rock and increase the service life of the helmet.
Having considered the most important considerations like weight and durability it’s time to look at some other performance characteristics… like…
Breath-ability
The 2013 Petzl Sirocco was the most ventilated helmet I’ve ever owned, and the new 2017 model is no different. The design of the ventilation holes have drastically changed but by my estimate the ratio of material to “open space” is roughly the same. The 2013 model had 24 ventilation holes and the new model also has 24. As you can see from the comparison photo the older model had longer thinner vents and the newer model has wider more square like vents. If one was to measuring the difference in actual performance between the too I imagine it would be a pretty close tie. This brings us to some more “stylistic” changes…
Profile/Color
The 2013 Petzl Sirocco had a noticeable “dome” shape. That combined with the (offensive to some) orange color probably steered quite a few potential Sirocco wearers from donning this lid. Petzl has managed to drop the “peak” of this lid by one full centimeter. They’ve also changed the design to have a nice taper and removed the “dome” aspect all together.
We also now have the option of two colors, white and black! My sources say the white color will not be readily available until late Fall but that black model is available on Backcountry and Amazon along with our local climbing shop International Mountain Equipment!
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To be honest I never minded the 2013 shape or color… but I do like the look of the new model more! There is just a couple other things to mention before we wrap this up…
Minutiae
Worthy of mention is the wider helmet/goggle strap. The 2013 model could easily accommodate ski goggle straps up to about 2 inches in thickness. The new headlamp/goggle strap can accommodate a 3 inch goggle strap.
Not a big deal in my opinion because none of the goggles I have ever owned have a strap wider than 2 inches but maybe some out there have goggles with really wide straps? More noticeable is the orientation of the helmet strap is now reversed with the elastic cord latching towards the bottom vs the top like on the 2013 model. This is a small but welcome improvement as I often fumbled with fixing a headlamp or ski goggles on the helmet while I was wearing it, to the point where I usually resorted to just taking my helmet off (adding risk) to attach my goggles or headlamp… this change for the 2017 Petzl Sirocco model allows me to easily add a headlamp or ski goggles without removing my helmet… this is actually important minutiae!
A small update has been made to the innovative magnetic chin strap clip… the magnet can be removed for those who climb in areas with high iron contents. Care needs to be taken that the magnet does not attract too much “magnetized dust” as if it get’s gunked up it can impede its function… With the magnet removed the chin strap functions like a traditional clip.
The thin harness straps are still super adjustable and allow the helmet to fit just about any head shape out there. The small mesh/foam pads inside are still removable for occasional washing… I tend to throw them in the wash once or twice a year to get some of my “grime” out of them…
Summary
I’m not sure what more I can say here… I love this helmet. Seriously my only complaint is that Petzl decided to keep the same name. The 2013 Sirocco was great. The 2017 Sirocco is even better and pretty drastically different. Constructed of three materials instead of just one, totally different profile/shape, different ventilation scheme… it just seems like this re-design would have been worthy of a new name, or at-least a (Plus or Two) added to the name similar to the GriGri legacy… which by the way I reviewed in detail the newest Petzl GriGri+ here if you are interested.
If you are in need of a new climbing helmet or looking to upgrade, might I highly endorse this helmet for you? You can purchase it from the retailers below and doing so will help support my efforts at provided detailed reviews like this for years to come!
Buy on Backcountry.com
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See you in the mountains,
Northeast Alpine Start
This item was provided at no cost but the opinions expressed above have not been influenced in any way. Affiliate links help support this blog
Tech Tip- Flipping A Plaquette (And Giveaway!)
Climb long enough and eventually you will rappel past the next anchor and need to climb back up to it. Or you will rappel past a tangle in your ropes assuming it will untangle itself from those bushes when you are below (it didn’t). You might also end up needing to ascend the belay side of a top-rope to assist a nervous (or stuck) climber or rescue an injured lead climber. For these occasions you’ll be glad you know how to “flip a plaquette” from belay/rappel mode into “guide” mode. In this configuration your belay device functions as a reliable improvised ascender.
The first thing you’ll obviously need is a plaquette style belay device. There are many out there to chose from but these are my current favorites:
Black Diamond ATC Guide Belay Device
These and quite a few other suitable models can be found on Backcountry.com HERE.
The above short demonstration video shows the steps of flipping a plaquette while rappelling on an extension which happens to be the simplest situation. Let’s go over the more complex method first.
Flipping a plaquette when it is directly off your belay loop
There are a few scenarios where this might be a good solution. First, you are rappelling directly off your belay loop and realize you’ve passed your anchor. Second, you are belaying a climber on a top-rope system and they need assistance. Third, you’ve caught a leader fall but the leader is injured and needs assistance. So let’s break down the steps.
- While maintaining a brake-hand tie an over-hand bight a couple of feet below the device and clip this to your belay loop. This step is important because step 3 carries with it some risk if one is not careful.
- Clip a locking carabiner to the “ear” or “anchor point” of your plaquette and attach that to your belay loop.
- Carefully open the belay carabiner in a manner that traps the rope in the narrow side of the belay carabiner while removing the belay carabiner from the belay loop. This is best accomplished by rotating the belay carabiner so the narrower side is pointing away from you.
- On moderate low angle terrain you may be able to start walking/climbing back up while pulling the slack through your device which is essentially in “guide” mode now directly off your belay loop. If the terrain is steep you can add a friction hitch above your device and extend it to a foot loop.
Flipping a plaquette when it is extended off your belay loop
Since extending your rappel device away from you has lots of advantages more and more climbers are defaulting to this option. Yet one more advantage to extended rappel systems is the fact there is literally just one step to flipping the plaquette and you do not need to open the rappel carabiner at all!
- Clip a locking carabiner to the “ear” or “anchor point” of your plaquette and attach that to your belay loop.
- Ascend as in step 3 above.
So that’s it! You now know how to flip a plaquette and get yourself out of quite a few possible situations that undoubtedly will pop up over your long adventurous climbing career! Thanks for reading!
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References/More Info
The Mountain Guide Manual– pages 11-12
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Tying an Auto-Locking Munter Hitch
Continuing my almost weekly Tuesday (not always Tuesday) Tech Tip series this week I’m sharing how to build the Auto-Locking Munter (ALM) hitch. In last weeks post I shared how to tie a Munter Hitch (MH) directly onto a carabiner, a skill useful for any climber. This skill is a little more specialized and its usefulness can certainly be debated. I’m of the camp that believes more tools and options can be a good thing, if one is cautious as to when and why to apply such a skill. Let’s watch the video and then take a look at some scenarios where this skill can be useful and also address some of its limitations.
Now let’s take a closer look at this skill and where it might be helpful (or make matters worse). The first thing I’ll get out of the way is my mispronunciation of the hitch. “Munter” is correctly pronounced “Moon-Ter”. I apologize for my error and hope you’ll forgive me.
Another point that might seem important to some and minutiae to others is the lack of emphasis I place on tying the hitch with the load strand along the spine of the carabiner, which would essentially make the overall carabiner/hitch system able to withstand a larger amount of force. This author, along with some others whose comments can be found at the various referenced links I’ll include below, believe that the carabiner/hitch system will be able to withstand any potential load without carabiner failure. In fact I would argue if the system saw the amount of force that would make this load strand orientation important it would likely exceed the holding strength of a MH anyways, so I have decided to leave this out (except for this lengthy explanation as to “why”). By all means, if you strive for perfection you can spend some time mastering getting the load strand along the spine.
Carabiner Choice
We should mention that the MH, and therefore the ALM, work best with large pear shaped carabiners. My favorite two carabiners for this hitch are the Petzl William Screw Lock Carabiner and the Petzl Attache. I prefer screw gate lockers when building MH/ALM’s because various auto-locking carabiners’s can slightly slow down the process and I’ve always liked Petzl’s “red unlocked indicator”.
Usefulness
Next we should discuss the usefulness of the ALM, a skill some have claimed is more a “guiding” tool then something a recreational climber should employ. To that I argue if you’ve already been using the MH (because it’s a great tool) then I think it is not a far stretch to add this adaptation of a hitch you are already using to your tool belt… with some understanding of the problems it might create. Let’s start with the “good” first.
There are many situations where I’ll choose a MH over my plaquette belay device (Black Diamond Guide ATC, Petzl Reverso, GiGi, etc). Moving quickly in alpine terrain, converting a basic “biner” belay on low angle slab to a more secure option, iced up winter ropes; all can be good situations to use the MH. Generally speaking these are situations where I am not expecting a second to even take a fall. From here there are a few things that can occur that can make converting the MH into an ALM a handy skill to have.
The Un-Expected
Your new partner who said he could easily follow 5.x struggles hard at the crux and calls to you that he can’t get through the moves. You start regretting not using your plaquette so that you can quickly build a 3:1 raise and give him a little “help” through the crux moves. Luckily you know the ALM and have a 3:1 built in a few seconds giving him the tension he needs to get through the tougher moves and carry on with the climb. It should be noted you will lose some efficacy in the haul system as the ALM does create more friction then most plaquettes.
The Expected
Perhaps the pitch is 5.5 slab running up to a 5.9 thin bulge crux right at the end… you go with a quick moving MH and right before your parter starts moving through the crux you slip the 2nd locker into place and have just created a more secure belay… or maybe you just wanted to get a great shot of her stemming up the final corner and the ALM offers a bit more piece of mind while you lean out over the belay ledge to get the angle right…
The Improvised
You can use an ALM directly off your belay loop as part of a rope ascension system. A flipped plaquette, Petzl GriGri, Petzl Micro Traxion Pulley, or actual ascender will make rope ascension MUCH easier but this is a potential solution if you find yourself without any other tools. If you practice this at all IRL you’ll probably quickly decide to always carry a more efficient means of “progress capture” for rope ascension.
Concerns
The biggest issue with the ALM is the complications that arise if you find yourself in need of lowering your partner after they have loaded the ALM. The worst case scenario would look something like this… You’re climbing an overhanging route and decide to use the ALM while your partner follows the last pitch. He botches a sequence under the roof and ends up hanging on the rope 5 feet from the wall due to the nature of the climb. The ALM has done its job and is easily holding the climber, but now what? There is a great ledge just 20 feet below the climber and if you had been using a classic MH you would simply lower him back to the ledge (or ground) to try the climb again. You could haul, but a 3:1 even with better efficiency than an ALM would be near impossible to hoist a 180 pound climber who is free hanging… a 5:1 might work but lowering seems so much quicker and less complicated. In this situation a quick block and tackle may take enough stress off the load strand to allow you to remove the 2nd carabiner that makes the MH an ALM allowing you to lower them back to the ledge. Even without a simple load transfer a small locking carabiner without a notched gate can likely be removed from a loaded ALM with some aggressive wiggling but an understanding of load-transfers (or the fore-sight to perhaps use a different option in overhanging terrain) would be prudent. A tested friction-hitch back up would be a wise addition here before removing the 2nd carabiner.
Summary
Like most climbing skills the Auto-Locking Munter is an option and not a solution for every situation. I find it useful a few times a season and think it’s a good tool to add to your kit. You should practice it quite a few times in non-life threatening situations before using it 600 feet up your next route.
Comment below! Was this Tech Tip new to you? Old news? Want to see more? Thanks for reading!
See you in the mountains,
Northeast Alpine Start
More Info/References/Reading:
https://www.climbing.com/skills/auto-blocking-munter/
https://www.climbing.com/skills/munter-magic/
https://www.mountainproject.com/forum/topic/107449883/tech-tip-auto-locking-munter-alm-dos-and-donts
http://www.karstendelap.com/2012/05/09/lockingmunterhitch/
https://www.mountainproject.com/forum/topic/108253899/garda-knot#a_108254353
Cliff Rappelling
Yesterday I took Dianna and Annie on their first outdoor rappelling adventure in scenic Pinkham Notch for Northeast Mountaineering. The weather was stellar and both of these thrill seekers took multiple rides down the 140 foot west face and the shorter overhanging south side, each time becoming more comfortable with the process and exposure. Here’s a quick clip of their adventure!
The Waterfall and Cliff Rappelling adventures Northeast Mountaineering offers can be an excellent way to have a little adrenaline rush while learning a little bit about a fundamental skill of the broader sport of climbing. I wouldn’t be surprised if I don’t see Dianna and Annie back here for a rock climbing adventure in the near future!
Book any lesson on http://www.nemountaineering.com and use promo code “DavidNEM” to be entered in a monthly raffle to win a free guided day of your choice!
See you in the mountains!
Northeast Alpine Start
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Waterfall Rappelling, right before Flash Floods and Tornadoes!
Following Antonio’s 16 pitches of climbing on Cathedral I re-scheduled his alpine climbing day to Monday based on the weather forecasts indicating some severe afternoon weather. It was with a little irony that by freeing up that day my boss asked if I could cover a Waterfall Rappelling adventure so he could attend Marc’s Guide Manual Clinic yesterday.
Avoiding getting caught above tree-line in a thunderstorm was therefore traded with standing in a river at the top of a waterfall. A closer look at the updated weather models though indicated the disturbances would not start until about 1 PM and I felt we could run our 6 guests through the course and be back at the cars before it got to hairy.
Everyone in the group got to rappel at least twice while I closely monitored the sky. It’s difficult to hear thunderstorms approaching over the roar of a waterfall but around 12 PM I felt the air change, the temperature drop, and an updraft develop. We had one pair returning to the top to conduct their third and final rappel when I heard the first boom, followed by a few big fat cold raindrops that lasted only a few seconds, then a second boom. I radioed my co-guide Peter that we were shutting it down and we packed up and casually hiked out reaching the parking lot in a light rain. 2 minutes later driving on Route 302 through torrential downpours I knew we pulled the plug at the right moment.
These storms would intensify over the next 8 hours and actually trigger at least three tornadoes in western Maine, just 15 miles west of North Conway! Thankfully no one was hurt through there was some property damage. I confess I am fascinated by extreme weather and to me this whole weather event was great to witness. Maine averages 2 tornadoes a year so three in one day is quite historic!
Tomorrow’s weather looks a lot nicer for an alpine objective so Antonio and I will likely be heading up high somewhere!
See you in the mountains,
Northeast Alpine Start
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