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Chockstone Forum - General Discussion

General Climbing Discussion

 Page 1 of 2. Messages 1 to 20 | 21 to 31
Author
What to do when nature calls....
...
13-Jun-2005
10:21:22 PM
What happens if I'm scared out of my wits about the next pitch and I get an attack of the runs... what to do?


By the way, how do girls tackle this issue, as I'm a female and I figure girls and guys might approach this 'taboo' (?!?) topic differently.
Single portaledges with rainfly deployed can provide sanctuary.
I don't know because I have not asked, but I would expect that mountaineering women use wide mouthed bottles to help the process.


mousey
13-Jun-2005
11:17:24 PM
riiiightio...
1) to make a poop tube- get some of the grey stormwater pvc or similar from a hardware store, length dpends on how longyou need to relyon it for...about 1- 1 1/2 ft is a good start. glue an endcap on one end (clean with the red stuff, dollop and twistwith theblue stuff) and a threaded cap on the other(top) end. have a kepper cord for the lid, and attach some 3/4" climbing tapewith gaffer, just like you would do on a drink bottle.
if you have a little bit more dosh, use BSB irrigation pipe instead of PVC, its way stronger and asier towork with (when i worked in an irrigation shop many years ago i utilisd my staff discount with the stuff and constructed pneumatic spark plug cannons (with awsome electronic solenoid triggers) with this stuff- its indestructible)
ok- now getsome shite paper,some brown paper baggies, and either lime or kitty litter or something to dehydrate the poopy and overpower the smell. shit into the paper baggie,sprinkle the powder etc over it, roll down the top, chuck it in the tube and put the lidf on tight.
for peeing, just use a wide mouth lexan or something, make sure you mark it well as the pee bottle!!!!
for females, there are nifty little doodywhoppys, kind alike a pilots O2-mask, that (apparently!!) with a bit of practice can be used as a funnel into the pee bottle.
i imagine it would be much easier if you do the duty standing on your ledge.

as for being discreet, for the mostpart you're gonna have to just get over it and chance it that your partner might justsee whatyou're made of!! sorry, but honestly you havent got mush chance of privacy at a half naked hanging belay....

hopefully by the time you get to do walls, you will know all this, andn be in the company ofsomeone who has a lot of experience at crapping in a tube (amoung other climbing specific talents)....

maxots
14-Jun-2005
7:22:05 AM
we just shat in a bag, put it in another bag and then put in in a screw top tub we had, a whole poop tube is a bit much for australian "big wall"s where youve only got one shit to go!

as for privacy, hope you are good freinds with your partner (and never take someone of the opposite sex that your interested in, having someone shit within a metre of you is not romantic!

cheesehead
14-Jun-2005
7:44:23 AM
Some points to consider:

1) if you're alpine climbing, when you get up the contents of the toob will be frozen, so there is no pent up nastines. The second person to the tube in the morning cops it (though the rim has been warmed for them)

2) Offer to carry the portaledge on the walkout. You friend will be amazed and grateful until he realised the toob is left.

2b) if this doesn't work, clip the toob to your rucksack with
1) gaffa tape on the toob
2) a plastic keyring 'biner
3) the price tag kimble on your rucksack.
Any one of these failure points could hopefully result in the loss of the dreaded toob.
* Upon no circumstances should you 'sand bag' your mate with the tube - ie, clip it to his pack when he's walking. That's just not cricket, and you'll probably be beaten too much to ever climb sport and make a magazine front cover again.

3) Upon returning to Guthega from a week in Blue Lake, find something serious to employ you under the bonnet of the car. You life-entrusting friend is eventually left with the charge of emptying the toob at the public toilets. Then some wannabe liftie has to clean the toilets afterwards


Eduardo Slabofvic
14-Jun-2005
9:51:37 AM
For Alpine routes in Europe, you could take along a couple of sturdy paper bags. Empty the contents of your bowel into the bag, then with great precision, drop the bag on the following group of Germans (there is always a party of Germans on every route), whilst saying something like “remember Dresden, you bastards”. Of course I would never do such a thing.

Robb
14-Jun-2005
10:10:45 AM
a few years back on el cap , didnt have the resources or time to build a tube so i just bought a stuff sack from mountain shop and duck taped it up.
did it in a big paper bag , then scrunched it up to fit in a plastic ziplock then into the stuff sack. only on the wall for 3 days and worked a treat. no messy emptying the bag/tube when i got down just threw it out. we lso inspired some of the other parties we passed with our crafty design.
in regards to etiquette on the wal in front of partner - usually provides great content for later stories. great for a good laugh - especially when you accidently miss the bag.

LittleMac
14-Jun-2005
10:23:55 AM
An excellent thing to do if you are going to be using the tube for a few days etc is to take along a small amount of lime (don't need much at all) and sprinkle it into the individual shit bags. This tends to absorb the moisture and curb the stench a little bit. Also reduces the mess in the tube from spillage.

Best of luck and Good Shitting.

mousey
14-Jun-2005
10:47:18 AM
ti- maxots has a fine point...if you fill a poop tube on an aussie wall then you need to change your diet urgently!
cheesehead- liftys do not clean toilets, the cleaners clean toilets! however, you have just condemned youself to be the subject of an ARSEnal of pootube related pranks while we're at blue lake! :D

LittleMac
14-Jun-2005
11:09:33 AM
It's more like learning to colour really, instead of lerning to draw within the lines, you need to learn to learn to shit within the square. All good fun really.

tmarsh
14-Jun-2005
11:10:46 AM
PVC drybags are a substitute if you're only going for a few days. Sealing tight enough to keep water out is the same thing as sealing tight enough to keep things in. You wouldn't want to be hauling it though, as it would get abraded pretty fast, with disastrous consequences.

Some Americans I once met had a thing for some kind of waxy paper kinda like the stuff you might get something wrapped in at a deli. They would crap on a square of the paper - say 60 x 60 cms - and then wrap it up like a burrito. Burrito and all went straight into the poo tube. Given that they seemed to eat burritos for breakfast, lunch and dinner, there was a certain symmetry to the whole thing.

tim
gfdonc
14-Jun-2005
12:23:39 PM
Firstly, I'm surprised M8 hasn't posted yet. He must be away on another extended field trip or somesuch.

I echo most of the above, but you can save yourself mucking about with PVC tubing by checking around for suitable screw-top storage - I found a lightweight tall storage container at K-mart for cheap, reinforced with gaffa tape, hey presto! Almost cheap enough to be disposable.

As for privacy, you could try an old tent fly as a makeshift skirt if you're desparate .. I dowanna think about this any more ..

steph
14-Jun-2005
1:58:49 PM
Never had this problem so far cos I haven't needed to go half way up a multipitch yet. Only experience I've had is bush toiletting (wonderfully discrete compared to a portaledge). However I just finished reading a book called "Big World" by Clair Brownsworth and she quite adequately describes a poo from a portaledge which she's sharing with her new boyfriend. Basically you dangle your butt off the edge incase you miss and do it into a bag with your eyes shut praying your climbing partner is doing the same. Not the most attractive thing. Never heard of the poop tube till this thread and it sounds a little gross but to each their own...

But seriously, the books an awesome read even if you're only looking for ledge-pooping info. :p

Robb
14-Jun-2005
3:31:14 PM
its actually illegal in some places (eg yosemite) to throw your shit off. quite right too- the odd person still does and it makes a mess at popular walls like el cap.
big fines by the rangers if you are caught.

tmarsh
14-Jun-2005
3:34:11 PM
On 14/06/2005 steph wrote:
> However I just finished reading a book called "Big World"
> by Clair Brownsworth and she quite adequately describes
> a poo from a portaledge which she's sharing with her new boyfriend.

Is it just me, or does Brownsworth sound like a euphamism? eg "can you look the other way - I'm busting for a Brownsworth"

tim

Robb
14-Jun-2005
4:17:09 PM
excellent call tim - ill certainly be using that term in my vocab from now on.
potential usage -
"time for a Brownsworth"
"fancy a brownsworth" - almost sounds like a lolly brand
"nothing as satisfying as a brownworth after a long hard day (or before a long hard day)"
"off to the local cafe for a brownsworth" - no point in damaging my Royal Doultonn now is there

steph
14-Jun-2005
4:43:10 PM
On 14/06/2005 tmarsh wrote:
>Is it just me, or does Brownsworth sound like a euphamism? eg "can you
>look the other way - I'm busting for a Brownsworth"

poor chick. but yea i think i'll use it in future...

IdratherbeclimbingM9
14-Jun-2005
5:27:54 PM
gfdonc said
>Firstly, I'm surprised M8 hasn't posted yet. He must be away on another extended field trip or somesuch.
Yep your right, but I'm back (temporarily) and it seems the questions have been answered very well by others before me.

A couple of extra points worth considering;-
* see thread http://www.chockstone.org/Forum/Forum.asp?Action=Display&ForumID=1&MessageID=10533 then view its associated messages.
* Timing ! The discreet can time the affair for when the other team member is at the next belay. Simply trusting them to turn their back is another option, after all you have committed to a wall with them so to some extent you cannot escape the shared experience, which works both ways.
* Holding on ! nmonteith simply 'holds on' for up to four day wall climbs prompting BA to say On 27/05/2004
>Monty, does that mean you're full of shit when you climb big walls?
* Being careful of what is eaten. (Read maxots trip report if in doubt).
* The use of a little (about 2cm depth) dehydrated lime (available in builders supply type hardware stores) in a poo tube works well. Even in a sealed container it draws the moisture and 'shrinks' the contents as well as killing the fumes. It does not need to be in the individual paper bags.
* Ahh, paper bags ... bigger sturdy ones are easier to use. Its the only thing that McDonalds have in their stores that I like to use!
*Moisturised baby wipes are a hygenic hand cleaning item to have after the event also.
* Hex reckons
>Howbout cutting a 10 inch-diameter-REINFORCED-circular-hole in the floor of the 'ledge ....... good way to check da view too ...
'butt' (pun intended) I am sure he would not advocate simply dropping your bowel contents into oblivion below ...

I used to use a full on pvc poo-tube, but decided its too heavy / overkill. Taking gaffer tape and cutting a slot in an empty water bottle then posting the paper bag and taping the slot is a better way, which I learnt from an earlier thread on this site.


>what happens if I'm scared out of my wits about the next pitch and I get an attack of the runs... what to do?
Take spare undies and extra water for cleaning up.

>By the way, how do girls tackle this issue, as I'm a female and I figure girls and guys might approach this 'taboo' (?!?) topic differently.
Single portaledges with rainfly deployed can provide sanctuary.
I don't know because I have not asked, but I would expect that mountaineering women use wide mouthed bottles to help the process.

As an afterthought I have found dehydration to be a sufficient issue to help minimise the hassles a great deal!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
kieranl
>a substance that turns the pee to jelly, reducing the risk of leakage.
Sorry but I do not know the product, ... though it rings vague memory bells. I usually have sufficient water bottles that they get recycled in that manner and if clipped in a smaller haulbag under the main haulbag are robust enough to withstand the punishment.
kieranl
14-Jun-2005
5:40:30 PM
For pee storage I believe you can use a substance that turns the pee to jelly, reducing the risk of leakage. I just can't think where I saw that particular gem of info. Perhaps M8 can enlighten us.
I also had a friend who used the "hold on" option for days at a time on mountain trips. If someone is using that strategy, make sure to beat them into the toilet when you return - they will be in there for some time.

sabu
14-Jun-2005
10:01:57 PM
heehehehe or make flushing and gushing sounds while they're hanging in their harness!!!!
i saw i girl on a bus in China who need to go soo badly she was crying... very tempting to say that little word "flush", i would have been beaten to a pulp though. i elected not to say it and instead be able to WALK out of the bus!!

cheesehead
14-Jun-2005
10:28:46 PM
>>By the way, how do girls tackle this issue, as I'm a female and I figure
>girls and guys might approach this 'taboo' (?!?) topic differently.
>Single portaledges with rainfly deployed can provide sanctuary.
>I don't know because I have not asked, but I would expect that mountaineering
>women use wide mouthed bottles to help the process.

Apparently particular Nutrogena bottles can be cut to make perfect 'chick funnel' for pee bottles - a great way to make some serious money* on alpine and bigwall trips.

I just remembered that Metolious sell a poo-bag system. Esentially a dry-bag with certain chemicals to break down fecal matter and amonia-based fluid. Check out their catalogue, Ti.

JCP - I meant 'Wanna be lifties', 'cos I know you guys are above all that.

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