Agreed, but they are much more effective in limestone. In the conglomerate, despite the promising crack it was just the top 50-100mm that actually came off...Plugs & feathers are a powerful way of rock splitting, done right
Well, not really. We have a fair amount of cave entrances that are owned by non-profit land conservancies. The location Saturday is owned by a conservancy, that has 37 properties, with 170 caves. They allow access, through a permitting system. Some locations have daily limits, or seasonal restrictions, but are otherwise "open" to cavers or hikers. www.saveyourcaves.org (SCCi)Evening, JAshley, (a bit off topic, but) your post suggests that you have access problems in the States. Is that so? And how bad is it?
Not sure if that's in jest or not, but I think it's a nice system.I like the idea of lifetime membership with a key!
Looking promising down there Pete! Excellent work!Strung together a bit of footage from digging last night.
Very surprised to hear that Phil, did you get the short frame with 2 hyperbars like I have? I've tested that thing down to 6mm covered in fairy liquid and still got a perfectly controllable descent out of it. Admittedly most of my use is on fat ropes, but standard 9mm (even Petzl push) hasn't been a problem at all so far. If anything I sometimes want it to go faster on thick ropes (obvs without hyperbars) and have considered getting the long frame version as well.Rigged the west route of Eldon Hole on my first ever use of a rack (BMS 'micro') instead of my Kong Banana - terrifying. Came back up the south route and vowed never to use it again. After testing it off the fence with my Raumer Handy included, I was somewhat more reassured, so dropped the north route this time and de-rigged it - lovely!![]()
Why the change from a bobbin? Especially if you're still passing rebelays?Short answer, no! I got an almost-unused one from someone on here, but it turned out to be the long-frame version with only the top hyper-bar! The descent was smooth, if scary, as the rope felt completely in the wrong place for security, but it was unlocking at rebelays that was the problem - I kept dropping onto my long cowstail and had to climb back up to free it. Eldon Hole was echoing to my swearing, though that's not unusual on any trip - they're used to it by now.
Al showed me a better method of soft-locking first before the hard-lock (jammed behind the nuts at the top), which was way more firm, but adding the Handy back in fixed eveything. To be honest I was a bit depressed having to make that redundant, as it's my favourite piece of kit. As for the length, I guess I could always saw the spare two inches off the top of the frame and re-tap it - it's pretty huge for my needs, which tend to be of the tight, awkward type of abseiling![]()
I mean why the change from a bobbin to a micro-rack? Especially considering the passing of rebelays. Why not just replace it with another bobbin?Because the rivet that holds the safety catch in place on my Banana has loosened, and so the catch can open to alarming amounts even when 'closed'. Other than that it's fine, but this bit isn't really repairable, sadly. The stainless bobbins have still got plenty of life left in them.
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