Big boy climbing gear

....... "busted my rope wrench"
Reason enough to be very proficient in "old school methods"


So I ascended today to take one more branch off a tree that I had already thought I'd finished but the customer wanted one more gone. Anyways, went up fine, made my cuts, done in a few minutes. Went to come down and checked my gear like i usually do before I put all my weight on it and noticed what you see in the picture, the spring is free an fmthe bird doesn't spring back up, I wasn't about to try and descend on it, 1 I'm still a bit new to this device and thought better of it, that it wouldn't function right if I started to descend and I'd come crashing down, 2 I don't like taking chances.
Fortunately I learned old school ways a and just tied a closed system blakes hitch and got down fine.
So, I do see the small hole on the side of the runner and am assuming there's supposed to be a pin/bolt There? I can't find a replacement, to top it off, this thing only has about 20 climbs on it, it as a new gift from a generous member here and I love the thing.
Click to expand...

It was a rope runner (not a wrench) and even though the owner didn't know it, the RR will descend normally without the spring.

I learned SRT and would have given up immediately if I had tried to start with a blakes and hip thrusting.

If I ever need a bail out due to equipment failure, I'll be fine getting down using a Munter hitch on a biner with an autoblock to back it up if I want to be 'fancy'.

I also learned to drive a Mustang before a Model A....was that wrong?
 
They both have 4 wheels and a steering wheel so ... no. It's not wrong that you learned Srt first but your missing a tool in your box. I learned tree work with an old sign crane before I learned good climbing skills.
I'm glad I learned climbing normally afterwards ....
 
@JeffGu
That's almost how it works... you don't start on something over 1000cc just because you can afford it.

I have been starting people on ddrt (when the hell did that change to mrs?) with a hitchclimber set up with a michoan and a foot ascender. Once they are confident handling the simple mechanical components, experiencing relatively easy ascents, and believing that they can actually do this it is time for lessons in various systems, belays, and how to tie some knots. Didn't you guys watch school house rock? Knowledge is power.

I did an impromptu ascent in flip-flops with a blake's on the tail of my old lady's rope to sit at about 30 feet and drink a beer with her last weekend. All my fancy toys were in the truck at the shop, but I keep a falcon SAR harness in my truck just in case.
 
SomethingWitty said:
...you don't start on something over 1000cc just because you can afford it.
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I think you may have misunderstood my analogy. My point was more along the lines of both a plastic Big Wheel tricycle and a motorcycle being capable of getting you from one point to another, with the tricycle being slower and a more primitive technology... not that a Yamaha R1 was a good choice for a beginner's bike.

I have nothing against showing people older, more basic techniques. It's the rather archaic assumption that the learning process needs to follow the historical development of the methods that bothers me. A key to learning things well is to start the student out on something within their comfort zone, and that will hold their interest. If we assume that SRT techniques are the future of climbing from a standpoint of safety, versatility and efficiency, then it would be natural to start there, not with a Blake's hitch and hip thrusting. SRT mechanical devices and techniques aren't any less safe than any other popular techniques or equipment, from what I can tell. What I can tell is that they have some serious advantages in regard to how comfortable they feel in use, and how much less fatigued I am overall when I use them. Therefore, I would rather teach someone a technique that they will grasp quickly and enjoy doing, than something as obnoxious as hip thrusting up a rope, pushing a knot around, and wondering just how long it's going to take to get ten feet up in the air.

I think I'd show them how to use a figure 8 next, and save that Blake's hitch lesson for a little later in the program. A hitch climber setup would be ahead of that miserable lesson. If SRT is, indeed, what all the hoopla claims... then there really is no logical reason not to start right there. It's not a superbike class crotch rocket with some inherent danger that vastly exceeds the old school stuff. In fact, I've never once hooked my Akimbo to the rope upside down. I've tied quite a few bad Blake's or sloppy VT hitches when I was tired, or in a hurry. I could make a reasonable case for mechanicals being less dangerous!

Anyway, my point remains the same... there's no reason to start anyone on a primitive system first, just because it was invented first. A structured learning program may very well include historical methods or technologies, but it doesn't have to follow the chronology. There is no logical reason to teach somebody how to shoot a .50 cal muzzle loader before letting them shoot a .22 rimfire, even if you want them to have that knowledge. The rimfire would be a safer, more pleasant starting point.
 
I have been so busy with multiple projects that I have not been paying attention to the status of the Akimbo in terms of commercial production. Can somebody fill me in on when it will become available?
 
ARLO said:
I have been so busy with multiple projects that I have not been paying attention to the status of the Akimbo in terms of commercial production. Can somebody fill me in on when it will become available?
Click to expand...

Probably a year or more after the RR2 so that RE can make their money.
 
Speaking of hitchhikers, one of my fellow climbers (Mark Linnell) came up with something cool at a climbing workshop last week. On long descents the VT above the hitchhiker gets pretty tight and is subjected to pretty severe abrasion. By installing a figure 8 on a short tether directly above the VT, the friction on the VT is greatly reduced and the descent is really smooth. This saves a lot of wear and tear on the prusik cord. I know this would be a lot of excess baggage on short descents, but when you are descending from way up in the top of an old-growth Doug-fir it makes a big difference.
 
Perhaps add a RW to the HH.

I have not seen this one in all the pictures of various RW combos (ie. ZigZags with RWs), but this might be a legit use case - if it actually works.
 
I'm 58 years old, 6'2", 200lbs (on a good day). As a new climber, I was initially trained on SRT using a sit-stand approach with Chest Croll, hand ascender and foot loop. This got me up into a Redwood, under the guidance of expert guides, no problem. On the descent, I used a simple ATC, but it ran too fast, so I had to integrate a second carabener for added friction. Since then, I've become more proficient on SRT with the RW, using a 4 wrap michocan and a 28" eye&eye 8mm Yale Veritas, and with a Pantin and a Haas (foot and knee ascenders). I prefer switching over to a either a Rig, or adding a Figure 8 to backup the RW, on long descents.

I've considered using the Croll in place of the RW for ascents, but changing into a descending system using the Rig can be rather tricky and a lot can go wrong, vs the quick escape option using the RW, with or without a Figure 8 backup. When relying on mechanicals, its important to consider the bite factor, as the teeth on the Croll and Pantin are not very rope friendly, especially compared to the less-invasive friction knots when shock-loaded.

As for DRT, I've had a week of basic training and am now more confident and proficient, on either a Blake's hitch or a hitch climber pulley, but I still prefer SRT as a primary way to ascend with a rope-walking set up. Once in the canopy, I see some advantages to using DRT on a lanyard or secondary tie-in-point, or even switching from SRT to a DRT system for descending, once I reach the canopy tie-in-point. As such, I see advantages in learning multiple techniques to not only help in tricky situations, but to provide multiple techniques and climbing options geared for positioning and to suit a variety of short-distance climbing situations.
 
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