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cap n chris
Well-known member
Paul, you forgot the most common noobie/numpty SRT non-fatal/injury mini-epic-error of all - prusiking up to the knot and being hung up, tantalisingly beyond reach of the ground and with everyone else in the group below you, beyond earshot to talk you through the solution*.
* Piss easy, too; unless you've only spent twenty-nine-and-a-bit minutes "learning" SRT in which case you'll probably still be stuck on your jammers for the next hour, hoping you don't fall victim to orthostatic intolerance/harness induced pathology.
* Piss easy, too; unless you've only spent twenty-nine-and-a-bit minutes "learning" SRT in which case you'll probably still be stuck on your jammers for the next hour, hoping you don't fall victim to orthostatic intolerance/harness induced pathology.
darren
Member
I think your all being a bit harsh.
Going up and down a free hanging rope takes relatively little practice or skill. I taught my 10 year old daughter to do it in 10 minuets in my garage.
Being 10 and unaware of the risks and dangers she can defiantly be described as confident, whether she could be described as skilled, safe or competent is another matter.
Oh and I won't let her attache herself to the rope, abseil without me holding the bottom of the rope, detach herself from the rope or do SRT in caves. Driveing a car is also out of the question although see assures me she has been watching me closely for 10 years and knows what all the pedals are for.
It all depends on what you mean by competent.
Going up and down a free hanging rope takes relatively little practice or skill. I taught my 10 year old daughter to do it in 10 minuets in my garage.
Being 10 and unaware of the risks and dangers she can defiantly be described as confident, whether she could be described as skilled, safe or competent is another matter.
Oh and I won't let her attache herself to the rope, abseil without me holding the bottom of the rope, detach herself from the rope or do SRT in caves. Driveing a car is also out of the question although see assures me she has been watching me closely for 10 years and knows what all the pedals are for.
It all depends on what you mean by competent.
cap n chris
Well-known member
Competent?
Easy.
Able to do it in a cave, relatively fluidly and efficiently and without being a danger to yourself, or others and all without your Dad holding the rope or clipping you onto it and generally checking you're not wearing the harness upside down etc..
I don't think you're familiar with me when I'm harsh. So far it's all very friendly and chirpy.
Incompetent would be something along the lines of: taking over an hour to descend 200' and then requiring over 2 hours to ascend the same pitch and needing to be rescued three times en route, as well as being hauled up half of it. i.e. a pretty normal trip for someone with twenty-nine-and-a-bit minutes of training.
Easy.
Able to do it in a cave, relatively fluidly and efficiently and without being a danger to yourself, or others and all without your Dad holding the rope or clipping you onto it and generally checking you're not wearing the harness upside down etc..
I don't think you're familiar with me when I'm harsh. So far it's all very friendly and chirpy.
Incompetent would be something along the lines of: taking over an hour to descend 200' and then requiring over 2 hours to ascend the same pitch and needing to be rescued three times en route, as well as being hauled up half of it. i.e. a pretty normal trip for someone with twenty-nine-and-a-bit minutes of training.
Roger W
Well-known member
Getting the very basics of SRT can be done in a very short time. I was introduced to abseiling on one of those management training courses, where I was strapped into the harness by the instructor, the rope was threaded through my figure of 8, I was told to control my rate of descent by holding the rope 'like so,' and was then invited to hop off the edge of an 80' cliff...
OK, the rope went straight down, I could walk down the cliff until I came to the overhang they didn't tell me about, I arrived at the bottom wantng to do it all over again...
But if there had been a knot halfway down the rope, or if the rope only went 80' down a 100' cliff...
There is a big difference between 'being able to do it' and being competent.
OK, the rope went straight down, I could walk down the cliff until I came to the overhang they didn't tell me about, I arrived at the bottom wantng to do it all over again...
But if there had been a knot halfway down the rope, or if the rope only went 80' down a 100' cliff...
There is a big difference between 'being able to do it' and being competent.
bimble
New member
Hi JakersHD I'm in SW Wales and presently I go out occasionaly with a few mates,From mid September on I have a little more free time available and would be happy enough to take you around a couple or three caves in the black Mts &surrounding area.Don't be too perturbed by the amount of accidents waiting to happen on a rope because there is enough available cave (in the British Isles )never to have to use one......and maybe a few that just need one or two and the use of a wire rope ladder for climbing.Get used to the underground environment first.Find your strengths and weaknesses...you may be better at squeezing and short climbs in which case you would be better suited to the more horizontal cave(not much rope)but plenty of bruises.If SRT is your aim then lean your ropes(I'm presently undertaking that task piece by piece)you're young and I would imagine pretty fit and agile and if you're keen then I'm sure there would be plenty of cavers who have years of experience and varied techniques who would be happy to instruct.Do several caves with little or no equipment see if its your sort of environment.Take it from there.The offer stands,you can pm me for a chat.
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