backing up a footlock

stevebullman

stevebullman

used my kong ascenders today for the first time.
actually its the first time i've really tried foot locking at all.
anyway, do you guys normally back up with something?
i was just ascending attached to the kong by a sling.
seemed safe enough though.
 
Personally if using mine i just take my footlock strop and tie a kleimheist around the centre part of the ascenders and my rope, if the cam(s) fail my weight loads the footlock strop and i go no-where, works for me. I think the way in which the knot works is known as a bachaman knot, but i may be wrong ??
 
Re: Bachman

This is the Bachman, but if using it as a safety backup it's cord should be attached to your harness d-ring so it holds your weight at center of gravity in the event of an ascender failure rather than catching you by the foot hanging upside down.
BACHMANN.GIF
 
Re: Bachman

There is a pic of the Bachman a bit down on this page:
Bachman
Rescueman, I guess you have more experience than I do(none) with this knot. Is it considered safe, any special characteristics worth knowing of?
I have never heard anyone tieing it around the ascender
handles before. Might change the characteristics since
the metal will be more flat than the backside of a carabiner?
 
Re: Bachman

</font><blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr />
Is it [Bachman] considered safe, any special characteristics worth knowing of?

[/ QUOTE ]

The Bachman hitch makes a great improvised handled ascender which is much easier to advance up the rope than a simple friction hitch.

It requires more wraps than other hitches since only half of each turn is around the rope and the 'biner doesn't offer nearly as much friction.

The danger of the Bachman is that, to grab, it must be weighted at the end of the cord. If you panic grab the 'biner, it will slide right down with you.

I've never heard of it being used on an ascender, either, since the ascender is a rope grab and the Bachman would make it harder to advance. If someone's worried about the ascender coming off the rope, then there is usually a carabiner hole at the top which, if used as the load-bearing connection, will capture the rope and prevent accidental disengagement.
 

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Re: Bachman

i was just looking at that other thread about the kong
i like the idea of using a distel above the kong and attaching it to the body of the kong. surely this is less likely to impede your foorlocking.
i did try a shunt attached to my harness but it didn't run up too good
 
Re: Bachman

Steve,
Use the search tool to find a thread called "Worth mention ..." (a couple of years old). You'll find a lot there on backing up a double ascender.

Sergio
 
Re: Bachman

Steve,

If you take a quick look at www.theabsolutearbcompany.com on the home page the photogarphs along the top, take a look at the far left hand photo and you will see how i back up my ascenders, and from additional postings it may well react the same way as a bachman but the knot is simply a kleimheist. Hope this helps, and with your self advancing distel i simply tie a marlin spike and clip into that if required. It keeps the krab captive much like the clove hitch
 
Re: Bachman

</font><blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr />
a thread called "Worth mention ..." (a couple of years old). You'll find a lot there on backing up a double ascender.

[/ QUOTE ]

That thread has some good ideas, but most of the discussion was about doubled rope technique. From what I can see, the pics in this thread (I wasn't able to open all of the attachments) show single rope technique. As some of the posts in "Worth Mention..." point out, backup systems may not be interchangeable between DdRT and SRT.

Mahk
 
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