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Mark Bolam

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Everything posted by Mark Bolam

  1. Mark Bolam
    Ladders, SRT, DDRT, RWZZ, ACDC, ICBM. Whatever gets me to the boozer quickest is getting used! Bang an SRT line into a takedown, hang your ropebag off the line for a bit of weight and you can literally run up the stem on spikes just holding the stem with your hands as your hitch advances, no flipline required. Works best with fit girls watching.
  2. Mark Bolam
    I've quoted, been accepted, done the job, made good money then the happy customer has told me they've had other quotes that have been twice mine, and I don't think we're particularly cheap. Maybe the other quotes are cockups, the companies are shite and take too long, or maybe they quote everything really high and just make a great living from the jobs they do get. Which is quite a smart business model if you can make it work!
  3. Mark Bolam
    Some good stuff here lads.
  4. Mark Bolam
    You wouldn't sink the competition either. There are plenty of customers out there prepared to pay pro prices for pro work. Not everyone gets 12 quotes for a £200 job.
  5. Mark Bolam
    Absolutely. The cheapest price may well come from the most efficient and knowledgeable company. But it usually doesn't....
  6. Mark Bolam
    I can see both sides to this, but I think more and more that people getting in door knockers or the cheapest quote wins brigade get what they deserve. I feel sorry for the trees, like.
  7. Mark Bolam
    Hahahaha, the old 'mate of mine' story!
  8. Mark Bolam
    I don't know mate, I've got my fingers crossed.
  9. Mark Bolam
    Results list as well please!
  10. Mark Bolam
    That's not exactly perfect Steve, but you're miles away from Huck's Pot Noodle guy!
  11. Mark Bolam
    Same as Joe. All the bits I took off are definitely dead now, anyway.
  12. Mark Bolam
    'Coming across' a knot after loading it is certainly a new one on me, but It doesn't surprise me.
  13. Mark Bolam
    Bight. B.i.g.h.t.
  14. Mark Bolam
    I never joke about knots.
  15. Mark Bolam
    There is no one else I can think of as a better candidate for testing 'hand protection' than you Joe...
  16. Mark Bolam
    You were obviously born to this Darrin. I have realised most of the advice we've given has been a bit smart-arseish. 'You should have done this instead blah blah blah', rather than advice on the problem in hand. Mallet/soaking can do the trick, and I'm glad it worked. I've brutalised ropes over the years, hammering screnches through knots etc., but as Pete McTree commented you do need to careful about rope integrity afterwards. I've lost a couple. One 13mm XTC that a tractor jerked my stuck Transit out of a field in the dark, and a 16mm Portland braid that we (mainly Rich Rule) had rigged down probably thousands of tonnes on (fishermans on a steel crab).
  17. Mark Bolam
    Bowline can jam like buggery with a winch Marc. Half hitches are pretty golden, like. Why do you hate the stick trick? Hate is a very strong word you know?
  18. Mark Bolam
    Always a winner here mate. Alpine always seems easier to free up than a bowline as well.
  19. Mark Bolam
    Honnold is indeed a machine.
  20. Mark Bolam
    We've all seen gym rats and rugby lads reduced to tears by tree graft, there is no substitute for technique, experience, and actually doing the job. That said, I've always found any type of training helps a lot, combined with work. Dips and chins are my favourites now. I've always neglected leg work, need to sort that out because any ascents over about 15' are always SRT now. As for size and weight it's pretty immaterial IMO. If you're good enough you're the right size.
  21. Mark Bolam
    I'm pretty sure our local Tesco has more disabled bays than there are disabled people in Kent.
  22. Mark Bolam
    The other harsh truth is that arb isn't a great long term career choice for the majority.
  23. Mark Bolam
    Also genuine PAYE rates always seem to look poor in relation to the genuine SE rates people discuss.
  24. Mark Bolam
    Class.
  25. Mark Bolam
    You would like to think so. The Wyevale near me has a massive line of connies planted directly underneath 11kv overheads. It must cost UKPN a fortune when they come through every few years.

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