Photos by hans

"Is it just me or does it help a sh*t load to have some or alot of enginuity [sic] in you to be an aid climber. Everything about it has some sort of Physics and simple engineering in it. Any of you guys engineers?" -simzboarder

This shot was taken at the end of three days on the Regular NW Face of Half Dome in the summer of 1995. We packed up as the sun went down, hiked out, and drove all night, arriving home just in time for me to shower and flunk an Organic Chemistry exam. It was well worth it, and I didn't want to be a doctor anyhow.

Here I've rigged my Kong adjustable fifi with the slipperiest 6mm cord I could find. The colors should make it easy to spot amidst the tangle. Note that I've rigged the fifi to hook and unhook from the left, using my weak hand. In this configuration, the far end of the cord will be sticking either up or out, making it easy to grab to shorten the cord. On the harness end, I've tied a double-overhand knot on a loop. This will be used to attach the cord to the harness. On the far end of the cord, I've tied a double overhand knot to keep the hook from sliding off the end. Girth-hitched to the small hole is a piece of 3mm cord. The girth hitch is cinched tightly to the hook with an overhand knot, and makes the pull cord always stand proud. I've tied the end of the cord with a doubled figure of eight knot to make it easy to grab. Note that the grab loop is small enough not to be able to catch on the hook.

This is a Kong Adjustable fifi hook, tied to the strap that connects my leg loops and passing up behind the wraparound straps.