I've been intrigued by this discussion; I'm not about to tell anyone what they should or shouldn't do, it's entirely up to them, but my personal opinion is that ladders suck, and I (and the people I regularly go caving with) hardly ever use them.
I'm so used to SRT that the business of wearing my SRT kit throughout most trips just isn't an issue, so the comment 'With a ladder you'd get the whole party up the pitch before the first SRT person had gone (sic) his harness on' is totally irrelevant to me – I'd have it on anyway.
Again, it's probably a matter for opinion, but I find that – generally speaking – there's far more faffing involved with ladders than there is with SRT, and one further point: I can usually make my own judgement about the safety of the rigging of an SRT rope, but I have severe qualms about risking my life to someone who may or may not know how to operate a lifeline.
I'm so used to SRT that the business of wearing my SRT kit throughout most trips just isn't an issue, so the comment 'With a ladder you'd get the whole party up the pitch before the first SRT person had gone (sic) his harness on' is totally irrelevant to me – I'd have it on anyway.
Again, it's probably a matter for opinion, but I find that – generally speaking – there's far more faffing involved with ladders than there is with SRT, and one further point: I can usually make my own judgement about the safety of the rigging of an SRT rope, but I have severe qualms about risking my life to someone who may or may not know how to operate a lifeline.