Broke My TIP and Fell While Climbing SRT

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Chris,
I'm glad that you are alright. I think about this scenario often, and myself and another ground worker often (almost always) do the 2-guys-jumping-on-the-rope thing before I start my ascent.

The Wraptor makes these ascents much smoother and I think safer. We recently tried one and it takes all the start-and-stop of regular footlocking, or pantin/croll/etc. you name your system, it bounces more than the steady climbing drill technique the Wraptor provides.

Would it have prevented your fall? Maybe. Does it make the third 100' ascent of the day way better? Hell yeah!

Glad you are okay, don't cut corners when it comes to safety. Check your line with a buddy!

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Using the Wraptor in a fall like that........wonder what the odds are of getting a face full of Wraptor?
 
Good to hear you're OK, Chris!

Please accept an observation about a ground anchored SRT. I don't think this has been posted yet, and, it's NOT "the double load problem".

If a ground anchored SRT TIP fails and catches the next limb five feet down, then, suddenly there is ten feet of slack in the rope. So, a five foot drop in TIP equals a ten foot fall. Is that right?

Don't get me wrong! I'm an avid proponent of the gound anchored SRT - just and observation. I, really, like your bino point!!! I now keep a tiny monocular in my throwline kit - always available to examine the TIP. If I can't SEE the quality of the TIP from the ground, I'll reset it.

Again, glad you're ok and thanks for this thread it will make us all safer.

-Jack
 
Chris, that's good news that you're OK. I was guessing that 10' fall onto a static rope would be pretty harsh. It would've been fun to track your heart rate before, during and after the drop.

I used to trust small tips in white oak from the ground but not anymore. I had a 5" rigging anchor blow out this Spring with a pretty light load. When I went to clean up the break there was a deep inclusion on the top of the union. I'm thinking the angle allowed the rope to work out onto the branch a a couple of inches but still... 5" white oak.

I don't usually accept a TIPs that have the rope over small stubs. Seems like usually they hold just fine but if they DO break, the consequences are potentially nasty. It's great for practicing throwline, I'm getting fairly good at dropping one right through little twiggy crotches without catching stubs... I really like throwline. I wish someone would pay me to just go around and set ropes in trees.

I keep binos with me all the time, mainly for examining TIPs.


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That is exactly true, Sean. When combining strands the strength adds and the stretch divides. Meaning, a rope with two units of stretch and three of strength becomes a system with one unit of stretch and six units of strength when it's paired.

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To me, that's counter intuitive but it makes perfect sense when I think about it. In rock climbing you want as much rope out as possible when you fall because more rope is more shock absorption ... but it follows that if you doubled that rope you'd have half the absorption.

9:00AM and I already learned something cool.
 
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Using the Wraptor in a fall like that........wonder what the odds are of getting a face full of Wraptor?

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It's happened to Paul, the guy that invented the Wraptor. I think it left a pretty big impression but it was the sudden stop that bothered him, not the unit. Maybe he'll chime in.
 
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Chris,

It was scary to see you take a 10' fall, but very reasuring to see the SRT system withstand a load. I'm glad you were ok.
From now on we will make sure our TIP is on a safe branch, and give a test pull before asending. We will try not to make that mistake agian.

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Hey Porter, glad you could comment on this accident. With you being there and having a first hand account of what it looked like from the ground, you get a different perspective than what I had while falling.

Like you said, the SRT was never in question. It worked the way it was supposed to work. It was totally my fault for not paying closer attention to my TIP.

DON'T let this mistake scare you from climbing, because it was all preventable.
 
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That is exactly true, Sean. When combining strands the strength adds and the stretch divides. Meaning, a rope with two units of stretch and three of strength becomes a system with one unit of stretch and six units of strength when it's paired.

It's unlikely that a rope is going to fail, unless it gets damaged, so...I'd rather take a whipper on my Tachyon tied with a ground anchor than the same setup using a doubled rope.

My climbing ropes are the brightest colors to provide contrast. Seeing the rope make a deviation where we expect a straight line should give a warning that the rope is going around a bark flake, stub or small branch/twig.

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I see what you mean Tom and Sean, though my KMIII has less strech than a 24 strand Tachchyon or a 16 strand ArborMaster which is what my DdRT piggy-back system is set up as. I would still rather take a fall SRT than DdRT.

Tom, give me a call when you get a chance please. I think TMW gave you my cell #.
 
I can relate to this, I just took a whipper a while back...rope burn on my hands has finally healed.

Glad it wasn't worse for ya and hopefully it reinforces a greater level of safety for you and your crew. Sometimes we need these experiences to catch our complacency.
 
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Using the Wraptor in a fall like that........wonder what the odds are of getting a face full of Wraptor?

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What are the odds of a fall like that? Especially, given its preventable nature, if one takes proper precautions.
 
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