This looks like a nice abseil

Pitlamp

Well-known member
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bos_FCt4sxg

I wonder how they stop the rope from glazing. Those hollow rack bars can't be the best for heat dissipation, surely?
 

langcliffe

Well-known member
Wouldn't a hollow bar have a reduced capacity for retaining heat, and a greater surface area for losing heat? He also abseiled very steadily, and didn't stop on the rope long enough to give it time to glaze.

Mind you, I'm probably stepping into the realms of ultracrepidarianism here...
 

Kenilworth

New member
I believe Amy Hinkle, who used to post here a lot, has slid off of El Cap. Having stood on it, I don't feel interested in rappelling off. Seems exceptionally pointless, but no doubt it's some fun and something to boast about.
 

Chocolate fireguard

Active member
langcliffe said:
Wouldn't a hollow bar have a reduced capacity for retaining heat, and a greater surface area for losing heat? He also abseiled very steadily, and didn't stop on the rope long enough to give it time to glaze.

Mind you, I'm probably stepping into the realms of ultracrepidarianism here...

Ultracrepidarianism eh?

I'm no expert on the language, but I'm sure there is no such word.
 

mat

Member
Chocolate fireguard said:
langcliffe said:
Wouldn't a hollow bar have a reduced capacity for retaining heat, and a greater surface area for losing heat? He also abseiled very steadily, and didn't stop on the rope long enough to give it time to glaze.

Mind you, I'm probably stepping into the realms of ultracrepidarianism here...

Ultracrepidarianism eh?

I'm no expert on the language, but I'm sure there is no such word.
Ultracrepidarianism is the habit of giving opinions and advice on matters outside of one's knowledge. The term ultracrepidarian was first publicly recorded in 1819 by the essayist William Hazlitt in an open Letter to William Gifford
 

Chocolate fireguard

Active member
mat said:
Chocolate fireguard said:
langcliffe said:
Wouldn't a hollow bar have a reduced capacity for retaining heat, and a greater surface area for losing heat? He also abseiled very steadily, and didn't stop on the rope long enough to give it time to glaze.

Mind you, I'm probably stepping into the realms of ultracrepidarianism here...

Ultracrepidarianism eh?

I'm no expert on the language, but I'm sure there is no such word.
Ultracrepidarianism is the habit of giving opinions and advice on matters outside of one's knowledge. The term ultracrepidarian was first publicly recorded in 1819 by the essayist William Hazlitt in an open Letter to William Gifford

I can't be bothered to look it up, but I'm sure that can't be right.
 

Fulk

Well-known member
At 66 g/m, 2650 feet would weigh ~53 kg or 117 lb; I imagine they had at least two coils, carried by separate people*, to get it up there. Didn't the guy abbing say '3 and a half hours (or something) to get up, 7 minutes to get down'?

*Or maybe a dobbin.
 

mikem

Well-known member
800+m (half a mile) of rope, but take a longer one...

langcliffe said:
Wouldn't a hollow bar have a reduced capacity for retaining heat, and a greater surface area for losing heat?
You have almost doubled the surface area & halved the volume of the bars, so yes, they won't build up heat as much, but it will still get as hot if you go fast (same amount of friction).

On another thread from years ago Amata mentioned using hollow bars:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2403825/Into-void-Daredevils-complete-worlds-biggest-abseils-dropping-3-000ft-face-El-Capitan-Yosemite-National-Park.html

Mike
 

Fulk

Well-known member
If I heard correctly and he did indeed say 7 min to get down, that's nearly 400 ft / min ? which I would say is quite fast (Jib Tunnel in 45 sec . . . ).
 

mikem

Well-known member
That's why they used the jammer to take the weight off whilst threading the descender & passing the edge.

He passed the jammer at 2 mins 30 & reached the floor at 10 mins 30, so nearer 100 metres (330ft) per minute (although it must have been slower than that to start with & faster towards the end), Amy et al took twice that time. The question is whether the device was hot enough to melt through the rope if it had got stuck...
 

mrodoc

Well-known member
The hard part is going back up the rope after the abseil. I was told if you are first on the rope it is rather disappointing when number two gets on it and you find yourself losing a considerable amount of height owing to the amount of stretch in the rope.  Also of course you bounce!
 

mikem

Well-known member
See Sirwang's post about setting up: 11mm rope in 5 loops & carried mile to bottom, 5.5mm in 2 loops to top so they could haul the main line up (other groups have used mules). 3 to 4 hours to prussik back up, but has been done in just over an hour...
https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.reddit.com/r/climbing/comments/6h7q5l/mfw_ive_got_to_flake_out_a_3000_ft_rope/
 
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