nicholas_rab1 Posted May 20, 2004 Share Posted May 20, 2004 So, just for fun, a little story from the past weekend. I was up backpacking in the Sierra's this weekend, hiking out of Hetch Hetchy. Our 2nd night in we were camping around 8000 feet, near a river with snowbanks on both sides. I went out at sunset with my fuji and a tripod, and was walking on a fairly steep snow embankment that dropped into the river. The tripod's legs were extended with the camera on it, but the legs were all together in one bunch. As you can guess, I slipped and started sliding for the river. Instinct took over and I started using the tripod and camera as one would self-arrest with an ice axe (tripod under my body, both hands with all my weight on one side of the camera, dragging the other side into the snow to slow me down.) I stopped several feet before the water, shook off the camera, and continued to use it for the rest of the trip. No problems, just a slightly bent hanger where one attaches a strap. Love that camera! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bacsa Posted May 20, 2004 Share Posted May 20, 2004 :o) I bet you would not tell us if you'd have destroyed the camera! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nicholas_rab1 Posted May 20, 2004 Author Share Posted May 20, 2004 No, if it had been destroyed I would be selling it on Ebay as 'mint' :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bacsa Posted May 20, 2004 Share Posted May 20, 2004 Hey, I just noticed that you were the one complaining about MF prices, not too long ago. Now I understand your complaints:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nicholas_rab1 Posted May 20, 2004 Author Share Posted May 20, 2004 Not me! I was responding to that guy. If I keep treating my gear like this though you will see me start complaining. Maybe I should move to a Holga. Either that or a Nikon F3. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peter_muller1 Posted May 20, 2004 Share Posted May 20, 2004 Nicholas:Same kind of thing happened to me near Nevada Falls about 30 years ago...went sliding on a sheet of ice down toward the river/falls and only my tripod and attached Nikon F stopped the slip. The Nikon's still working, and no, I won't sell it on e-Bay! Damned near saved my life.Yosemite...what a place! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weston_harries Posted May 20, 2004 Share Posted May 20, 2004 Which gitzo model was it? I'm considering getting a 1028. I'm sure it would be enough to support my gsw, but I'm not so sure about my heaviest 35mm setup, which is an om-2, winder, and tele, weighing about 5 pounds (the body mounted rather than the lens with a collar). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nicholas_rab1 Posted May 20, 2004 Author Share Posted May 20, 2004 I am using the 1128. I think the 1028 might flex if you try to stop yourself when it is icy, otherwise for spring conditions it will probably work just fine. Seriously though, I debated the 1128 & 1027 for months. I decided to go with the 11 and I have been extremely happy with it. Of course, I probably would be really happy with the 1027 as well. The 1028's smallest legs were just too small for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim_jensen Posted May 20, 2004 Share Posted May 20, 2004 Expensive, but worth it! I am imagining the bidding on that "ice axe" as you slid toward the water. I wonder how high the bidding would have gone before you reached the brink. Pretty high I guess. But we will never know, will we? A similar situation I read about was a carpenter sliding down a roof. He saved himself by sinking the claw of his hammer into the roof. Cost of hammer = $20.00. Cheap "ice axe". Great story, Nicholas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mclaine Posted May 20, 2004 Share Posted May 20, 2004 Nice story! My tripod has saved the day too. Last summer a friend and I pitched our tent on the summit of a remote peak in the south west wilderness of Tasmania. We took a gamble on the weather staying fine, but around midnight the wind rolled in. Bucketloads of wind. The kind you have to crawl around in. Our high quality alpine tent was pitched well, but the pegs just weren't up to the task, and when they popped out, the wind blasted them off the mountain. Things were getting quite nasty when I crawled out to see what could be done. Matt held the tent up from the inside, trying to prevent the poles from snapping, while I jammed one leg of my Manfrotto about 18" into the soft alpine soil on the windward side. I crunched down on it with my boot and drove that thing in, until it wouldn't drive in any further. Now I had a bombproof anchor to hitch all the windward guys onto. The tripod kept the tent up for another couple of hours, until the guys started snapping one by one. That was time to pack up and get down from there to a valley. I managed to retrieve the tripod, all except for the rubber foot, which is still embedded 18" into that summit's soil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidv1 Posted May 20, 2004 Share Posted May 20, 2004 Note to self: Do not buy used Fuji from Nicholas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael_winokur Posted May 25, 2004 Share Posted May 25, 2004 I just bought a gitzo 1348. I noticed in the instructions a warning to take the camera off the tripod for transport. May be they had you in mind ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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