
BLACK DIAMOND PRESENTS: HARD SENDS WITH SEB BOUIN—VIDRA LA VIDA (9B/+)
Add $99.00 more to quality for free Shipping!
$0.00 USD
When I rack for a multi-pitch trad climb, I rack like this:
If I need to place a cam, I grab one, place it, clip it and go.
I saw him fiddling at all of these cam placements and was wondering what in the world was going on up there—he's taking forever farting around with gear—maybe it's because he's so strong he doesn't get it—but for me, I need to place the piece and keep moving before I flame out. So as I'm seconding his pitches and having to deal with this unfamiliar conglomeration of slings on slings on cams, etc—I'm wondering:
I mean nylon on nylon or Spectra on Spectra, etc—sounds like bad juju to me—and I'm not talking about girth hitching anything here—just looping it through.
I get to the belay and ask my partner what's up with the method—and then it all clicks—ahhhh "old school alpinist," light is right, save a biner, etc, etc—and old habits are hard to break. Regardless, I got back from the weekend, explained the situation to the crew in the QA lab and we proceeded to do a few quick tests.
The Tests
We slung some 8 mm Spectra through a typical cam sling and did a few pulls in the tensile tester and a few drops in the drop tower. We compared the results to a cam sling only.
In 2012, filmmaker and photographer Ben Ditto, and professional climber Mason Earle equipped an immaculate...
In 2012, filmmaker and photographer Ben Ditto, and professional climber Mason Earle equipped an immaculate line in Tuolumne’s high country. But their attempts to free the route were thwarted when Mason’s life changed drastically. With the help of Connor Herson, Ditto and Mason found a way to keep the dream alive.
Watch and learn as our Field Test Coordinator runs you through a step by step...
Watch and learn as our Field Test Coordinator runs you through a step by step process of trimming and setting up any STS-style Black Diamond skin.
Every climber has a few lines they dream about. Whether inspired or haunted—or sometimes both—these...
Every climber has a few lines they dream about. Whether inspired or haunted—or sometimes both—these lines can push us beyond what we thought we were capable of, in turn teaching us who we really are. BD Ambassador Ethan Salvo recently restructured his entire life to focus on two climbs that pulled him into the void with only one way out … getting to the top. This is his story of sending Dreamcatcher and becoming the first Canadian to climb V16 in the same week.
BD Athlete Connor Herson spent as many weekends as possible in the Valley this spring...
BD Athlete Connor Herson spent as many weekends as possible in the Valley this spring during a grueling quarter at Stanford. The objective? Ground up, in-a-day ascents.
BD Athlete Joe Grant’s Epic 400-Mile Vision Quest in the San Juan Mountains.
Follow Hillary in this documentary film capturing her record-breaking ascent of Europe’s tallest peak.
BD Athlete Seb Bouin takes us back to his home crag of Pic Saint-Loup where...
BD Athlete Seb Bouin takes us back to his home crag of Pic Saint-Loup where he establishes the true king line of the cliff—Wolf Kingdom.
A film documenting the often-overshadowed bouldering of Yosemite climbing, where jedis like BD Athlete Carlo...
A film documenting the often-overshadowed bouldering of Yosemite climbing, where jedis like BD Athlete Carlo Traversi have spent years learning to harness the force.
BD Athlete Hazel Findlay shares her tips for returning to the climbing life for new...
BD Athlete Hazel Findlay shares her tips for returning to the climbing life for new mothers.
A film documenting the first flash ascent of El Capitan by BD Athletes Babsi Zangerl...
A film documenting the first flash ascent of El Capitan by BD Athletes Babsi Zangerl and Jacopo Larcher.
BD Athletes Babsi Zangerl and Jacopo Larcher share their story of climbing one of the...
BD Athletes Babsi Zangerl and Jacopo Larcher share their story of climbing one of the world’s most mythical trad routes.
BD Athletes Aaron Mulkey and Yannick Glatthard take the new Hydra into the backcountry of...
BD Athletes Aaron Mulkey and Yannick Glatthard take the new Hydra into the backcountry of Montana in search of steep ice and mixed climbing.
Follow Dorian Densmore and Mya Akins for a month-long, exploratory mission in the Chugach Mountains.
Two BD legends walk into the Valley. What happens next? Watch and see.