Video: rigging

[graham]

Graham, I really don't want to get into an argument about this. Let's agree to differ ...

Fair enough, Simon. Until relatively recently, we had Jack Coleman's original ladder from Poulnagollum in the UBSS Museum. I'm fairly sure that the rungs were ash. Can't recall about the creosote, all I remember is that was still a bit muddy.

 

[bograt]

People tend to overlook the humble fig8, in my mind the best training descender for single drop undeviated pitches less than say 50ft, once its on a novice it is very difficult to be fiddled with, the rate of descent can be controlled by a trainer off rope, gives the trainee confidence on the rope without having to think about 'complicated' techniques, ideal for beginners or one offs!.

I would agree with all those points vis-?-vis the fig 8, and like a lot of cavers of my generation I did my first abseils on one decades ago. Then one day at the top of Geology Pot in Giants I was delegated to lifeline duty using a fig 8; after the first caver had reached the bottom of the ladder and untied the rope I was astonished to find that it changed into a twisted heap which was a pain to unravel. This was repeated on each descent. I figured that twisting the rope up in this way couldn't be doing it much good (that may be an assumption on my part of course and perhaps a rope expert could comment) so I have not used a fig 8 since.

I never advocated using fig8 for lifelining on ladders, for that I used a stitch plate; put a newbie into a diapur harness with a chest crab to keep them upright , clip them onto a rope with a fig8, someone at the bottom to control descent, no probs.

P.S., Ash has a straighter grain than Elm and so is more reliable, and sisal is more handleable than hemp, linseed oil is kinder to the ropes and rungs than creosote, although it needs applying more often. Don't forget your splicing spike to attach the ladders together!  :tease:

 

[CatM]

Rack - uses: descender, problematic for mid rope rescue.

Please elaborate. I have done plenty of mid-rope rescue practice using racks and fail to see where there is any problem (or rather, how it can be "worse" than a simple/stop).

In fact, when I came to do a rescue practice on a heavy person using a stop, I found it nigh on impossible because I physically couldn't depress the handle. Next time I had to remember to put in a krab to convert into a simple before loading it.

Incidentally, whilst I appreciate that stops do have advantages in their versatility, as a *descender* I much prefer a rack over a stop/simple. Use an omni, and take a pulley and spare jammer and jobs a good'un.

 

[cap n chris]

Casualty tandem abseiling flip/flop passes of rebelays is easier with Stops or Simples rather than racks; it's not impossible with a rack but you might want to have a play.

 

[cap n chris]

Re: Grivel twin-gate carabiner....

... the concern about a failure mode caused by grit/gravel trapped between the gates had also occurred to me and to my shame I have not yet got around to testing this out to see what happens; I shall make a point of doing so soon and will report back.

I have since had a play and tried to make this happen; it does not appear to be an issue since the likelihood of it actually happening while on rope, AND for it to go un-noticed, is freakishly improbable.