Back ups...........again

lacky

lacky

Before anyone suggests I spend time searching and reading past posts, please know I have read them all. That is why I am confused. I have learned a ton of stuff from all the reading and for that I thank everyone who has contributed, but I do have a couple of specific questions.

1. When I footlock my doubled rope with a dualcender - do I need a back up?

2. SRT - My normal set up is distel hitch w/ micropulley for slack tender attached to center D. Left hand petzl ascender with foot loop to left foot. Pantin on right foot.
Questions - Do I need a length of webbing from petzl ascender to harness. Is that all I need?

Again, thanks to everyone for your past posts. The knowledge out there is amazing.

Chris
 
There are very few regulations or standards in the arbo industry that state anything about backups being required. For decades tree climbing has gone on with nothing more than a rope and a snap...single locking until just a few years ago. Over time some practices and accepted procedures have changed.

Back in the late 80's I read the first edition of On Rope and was taken by the different ways of moving up and down rope. One thing that made perfect sense to me was to have two attachment points for ascent and some sort of backup for descent.

There have been accidents when people use mechanical ascenders and the ascenders are given the blame. I have wondered many times if the same accident would have happened had the climber used a hitch. Most of the time I think so. This has lead to a fear of mechanicals and an acceptance of htiches that isn't in balanc...in my opinion.

In competition more backups are required for some reason.

In the workplace none are required that I know of.

Adding a tether from your handled ascender to your harness gives you another layer of safety. Why not add it? There are plenty of cords and webbing available that are compact and shouldn't get in your way.

A good way to attach the tether is to clip through the top holes, above the cam, and then clip the tether to that biner. some climbers clip to the bottom of the handle, which works, but I don't think it is as good as going through the top hole. If you were to use a milled ascender like ISC's or forged like CMI's, the shell/handle is much stronger and attaching to the bottom hole could be acceptable.
 
It is my belife that as long as you have two points of contact at all times, or are sure of youre skill at climbing you will be fine. Dont fall into the trap of " What ifing ". We all know the type. "What if, what if, what if. What if youre daddy stuck his pee pee in a pound? You would be a bull frog." Trust youre self and youre knots/hitchs.
 
It's not backing up a climbing hitch. This is for ascending a doubled rope, footlocking. No prusik, just ascenders with a tether... which you could argue is unsafe in its own right, but that's another topic!
 
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