Opposable Thumbs

karsten delap

February 8, 2018

I am in the middle of my New Hampshire ice climbing stint and the conditions have been amazing. There was a rain event that happened a week before I got up here and then it froze again. This made many of the climbs super fat!

I was psyched when I got up here with all the fat ice but at the end of day one of guiding I was behind my van and slipped in the parking lot on the ice sheet that covered everything. After a second of airtime I hit really hard; laid there for a second, then noticed a weird feeling in my thumb. As I looked at it I knew it was not gonna just take a band aide. I was holding crampons and one of the points had sliced through down to the bone.

I was able to get it stitched up and it was not to bad to climb with but manipulating carabiners and gear was hard with my right hand. So I tried to keep most of that work to my left hand. It is interesting the things you notice with a bad thumb. The climb Repentance is mostly left handed placements and there is one hand jam that also happens to be a left hand.

I ended up only ripping out 2 of the stitches over the last 7 days. So it is healing fairly well all things considered.

…Through all this I have learned opposable thumbs are pretty key to our climbing ability!

karsten delap

December 20, 2017

Van Life

karsten delap

December 20, 2017

#vanlife …

So I have done it. I bought a van. Built it out. and now have to post about it. That is what you do right?

I purchased the van in mid September off the lot. Sold my Fourwheel Camper, and had to build it out as fast as I possibly could since I stay in it for my job quite often. So here are some photos of the process.

I bought it from a Freightliner dealer in South Carolina. It is a 144 wheelbase with high roof and 4×4.

The first trip I did in it was to the New River Craggin Classic and I had just gotten it so I used NRS straps and put my grandfathers old recliner with a small table and a crash pad to sleep on. It worked, but I was psyched to get back and start doing the mod.

And so the process begins:

For insulation I used rattle trap on as much of the paneling as i could and then used reflectix and then thinsulate.

Cutting a hole in the top of a brand new van is a big gripping. I went with the Max fan due to its ability to be opened in the rain. I used plywood for the interior build out. I stained it with a poly stain that keeps most of the original color. The walls are 1/4 inch with everything else being 3/4 inch.

I put in butcher board for the counter top and went with a hand pump for water and sink. I also insulated this well so that it will be less likely to freeze while I am shredding the nar. The vehicle came with an auxilary battery but I went ahead and put another under the drivers seat. I also added one 80w solar panel to the top from RB Components. I then had Jason over at OGRE (a local shop) make rock sliders, a rear bumper, and install a front bumper from Backwoods Adventure Mods. He also put all the rescue and led lights on!