WorcsWuss

That's the idea I've got. Use the same principal on my shooting tweeds and my wife's musto buckdens, so see no reason why it shouldn't work on the rest of my stuff... when I treat myself to some new saw trousers they'll get scotch garded before I wear them..... In my head this is a GOOD PLAN!

I don't think Barrie does either.... It's on IV isn't it......?

I think I put that wrong Ewan, the hitch grabs fine but to descend I found it easier to tip the wrench back onto the hitch to release it to reduce the friction in the system, made the descent much smoother. Just releasing the hitch leaving the wrench engaged was a bit jerky, the tip of the wrench pulled down to the hitch. It may be that this is the right way to do it anyway.... I think you're right about the tether, another 100mm might be what's needed (unless of course I'm doing it right already in which case i'll stick with this 20cm one) Quite like the idea of one of these to clip into to tend the hitch, rather than anything round my neck. Chest harness - Octo

I was disappointed with Ted, no where near rude enough!!

Agreed. With a silky.

I bought cans of scotch gard and water repellent aerosols today, going to try them out on all my gear. Should prevent those awkward stains as well......

I've only heard good things about them from people who own them. I know that's usually the case but they do seem to be great little cars....

I thought the same, that's one of the advantages of Adam's whippell set up on the hc pulley.... The eyes will snug round a bit further on the rock-o crab, it's the widest one I had spare in my box.... Nice krab actually....

Very true. I think if you can evidence the provenance of a non CE spliced eye to someone who knows exactly what they're looking at then there shouldn't be any reason to fail one out of hand.... I should say a splice with only partial known history shouldn't be climbed on anyway.... I wouldn't want to hang my life off something which I couldn't be sure had been done properly anyway

One of these.... Lyon tape sling (rescue) 20cm | F R Jones and Son with a few wraps of gaffer tape followed by two layers of heat shrink. It's completely rigid and actually quite a good length, only slight complaint is the sling's a bit wide for the RW but it fits ok.

So this is what I'm going to try next. The only change will be the beeline for 8mm OP.... Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Porte du soleil was the last place I drove to, I remember it being very easy to get to and very pretty as we got to the last couple of hours of the journey round lake geneva. That would be brilliant mate, that's the sort of region I'm after....

So I popped my RW cherry today, despite the snow. It was a bit cold and I had a friend with me who is just starting out rec climbing so I didn't get to fiddle about that much, but here are my initial thoughts. SRT in general for access, WOW! From setting a line randomly in the tree to simply getting off the ground, it's a revelation! My set up needs a lot of refining but I'm happy with my feet and the rope walker I have set up, it is quite literally like climbing a ladder. I got the wrench tending ok with my strop thrown over my shoulder. I think I'm going to swap the hc pulley for an isc fixed one I have spare instead, it's basically a less sexy pinto but I think it will be a better arrangement. I'm also going to try some different cord, probably OP, I found my beeline a bit stiff on the edelrid static, it wasn't very forgiving. I think I need a longer tether as well, I found the short one stuck the wrench to the hitch and I had to use the wrench to descend, which felt clunky. Is that how everyone else does it or do they release the top of the hitch itself in the same way as ddrt? I'm going to get a top harness attachment to tend the hitch, the strop over the shoulder was fine until I got to an awkward crotch I needed to get through and wanted to use my strop. Be interesting to try it on a take down, it's a whole lot more cumbersome than the choked line and fig 8 i use as a lifeline alongside spikes and strop at the moment so it probably won't catch on for me in that respect. For up and down working round a crown I think ddrt is still going to be my preferred technique, but for things like lifts, or even pollards, I reckon it's perfect, quick up, quick down, onto the next one.... Exciting stuff!

The problem is it's very easy to see whether a knot is tied properly, but how can the LOLER man put his name to a splice which could look like I'd done it on the inside....? It could be the best splice in the world, but without a piece of paper stating that someone is responsible for the integrity of it, signing off the sheet means that if it fails and one of us ends up brown bread, he will be the one to be dragged through court....

I'll start things off with twenty quid Adam....

I really like having the car there. It gives an opportunity to travel around a bit, if the snow or weather is crap where you are, get up early and drive a hour somewhere else! What I'm after is just an empty chalet I can rent in it's entirety rather than per person. Don't need a chalet girl and because we'd have the car it doesn't need to be particularly close to anything. Just needs to be clean and cheap!

I've driven to most parts of the alps in the past, Italian, Swiss, Austrian and French. I find Austria a bit of a jaunt but doable with an overnight stop. Switzerland would suit best, even with the kids I reckon a long day is feasible. I would rather watch big brother than go through an airport, particularly with kids, snowboards etc. And I'd rather eat sick than watch big brother....! Last time we did Switzerland we flew, but it took forever anyway. Drive to the airport, fanny about there for hours, fly, fanny about, minibus. Expensive and time consuming. DEFINITELY going back to driving!

Cheaper than that! but thanks!

As above really, the snow today has reinforced my desire to hit the mountains and I fancy a chalet, preferably within an easy drive of the UK, to take the family away to. So if anyone has any recommendations or suggestions please let me know! Many thanks! Simon

And caravans.....

How many have you worked on.... As a proportion of the total manufactured? Presumably you haven't had to fix the good ones..... Just the mistreated ones....

It always amazes me how people slate the freelander. They have generally either never owned one or did but didn't take into account what it really is! My old man's had a few. Won't have anything else now. He swapped his last Sport for an F2... First one he had was an x reg 1.8. We had no problems with it. Pre-facelift 1.8's overheated because the thermostat didn't open soon enough. This was only a problem if it was driven hard from cold. Later ones had a different thermostat to combat this and if looked after are absolutely fine. Off road they're brilliant. They lack ground clearance but make up for it with agility and light weight. They'll leave anything Japanese and most other land rovers for dead over anything they can physically get over. The lack of low box and a car like 1st gear make them a bit awkward to tow with, but that said, we tow the combine header with our td4 van. Like all vehicles there are good and bad points. The 1.8 is not the pick of the bunch but for the money they're still a great truck. Not a hardcore mud plugger or tow vehicle, but to pull a 750kg trailer and get across wet ground, as well as zip up the motorway in comfort and reasonable economy the freelander takes some beating. Don't be put off!

That's turned out some lovely planks rob, great colour....

So it was you who beat me to it then.... I was still checking my facts!

RW arrived this morning.... Going to tackle the tether this evening. It's a beautiful thing, I'm in love already.....