Close to Death

[treeclimber1]

wow thats scarry $HIT,GLAD YOU OK.Man the rope bridge make me a little nervous. im old school 20+ years just sarted withe rope bridge hope it wasnt a mistake now im thinking of way to back it up in case. maybe some kind of strap. rope definitely looked worn

 

[HÖLLENREICH]

On the manufactures papework for that type of swivel. It clearly has a big black X through the picture showing rope tied right to it. People that want to misuse things tend to pay the price. You've had your freebie, now use a pulley, or rounded edge.

 

[roxy]

Glad you are OK. Guess we should all take it as a reminder to check and simply replace stuff, even if it "could last a little longer". Guess I'll replace the friction cord on my lanyard now...

 

[Blinky]

Tod Skinner, a world class climber, died when his thoroughly worn harness failed as he was descending Leaning Tower in Yosemite. Stuff breaks when it gets worn out... and it won't necessarily give a warning.

 

[Norm_Hall]

I thoroughly exmanined the cordage last nite. It's very obvious that it was cut. IG and I checked out the Petzl swivel and I pointed out to him the sharp edges on the black part. I am certain that's what cut the cord. Looking at the bridge under a 10X magnifying glass, you can see clean cut fibers. It should have been visible to the naked eye.
Also, it's a case of the wrong fiber for the application. Technora will abrade itself when the fibers rub together. While extracting the tapered filler, fiber particles were coming out, and the inner fibers were very badly abraded. All the urethane coating had worn off. Technora has poor flex fatigue as well.
This pic is of the removed (cut) bridge with the inner buried fibers. It's pretty noticible how clean cut it is. There were only 2 pulled strands. The rest were completely cut or partially cut.

 

[Norm_Hall]

This pic has the bury strands pulled out. It's just the outside fibers. Very obvious to see clean cut strands and fibers.

 

[countryboypa31]

Wow, that makes you think through your bridge type and connector. I use a swivel as well, i'll have to take a good long look at it. Thanks for the info Norm. Glad your safe IG

 

[Norm_Hall]

These are the inner strands. Notice how abraded they are.

 

[Norm_Hall]

These are the inner strands separated. Notice the pieces of fiber near the center of the paper.

 

[Norm_Hall]

Last pic. This has the outer halves side by side. Very obvious to see the clean cuts.

Conclusion: the strands/fibers were cut from a sharp edge, which led to the cordage parting.
It's also the wrong cordage for this application. Had the bridge been replaced with a manufacurers part, this would not have happened.

Lesson learned: have a complete understanding of the cordage being used and if it fits the application. Just because a cord has a phenomenal charring point and breaking strength doesn't mean it'll work in all applications. Always check with the manufacturer. It's your life.

 

[Rocks_and_Trees]

How did the inner strands become so abraded I wonder. IG, how old, or how long was the bridge in use before failure?? I'm so glad to hear you walked away from this. I use various cordage for my bridges, but replace them often. This will certainly make me take more notice of bridge wear and manufacturer's specs.

 

[HÖLLENREICH]

[ QUOTE ]
Conclusion: the strands/fibers were cut from a sharp edge, which led to the cordage parting.
It's also the wrong cordage for this application. Had the bridge been replaced with a manufacurers part, this would not have happened.

[/ QUOTE ]

Wow! ...

[ QUOTE ]
On the manufactures papework for that type of swivel. It clearly has a big black X through the picture showing rope tied right to it.

[/ QUOTE ]

...from the warning paperwork it came with. It would cut the rope over extended time and use .

 

[familytree]

I ran into a guy at my local vermeer dealer that was using this exact set up today. I warned him of the potential danger, he scoffed at me saying he wasn't paying more money when it wasn't really an "issue". I showed him the Treebuzz thread on my phone and gave him some of my extra cordage from my bag and told him to have a nice day

I doubt he will be in much trouble though. He wears his spikes too much to be worried about hanging around on his saddle

 

[Crazy_Jimmy]

Ha Ha!

 

[HÖLLENREICH]

uuggg!! I was blind sided. (thanks MA)

FT think of it as thining the heard if they wont read and listen. Ever notice all the young dumb bucks are shot by the hunter.

 

[familytree]

You bring up an interesting point but if I know the potential failure and don't say anything and the bridge gives out and he dies I mine as well have killed him myself. I couldn't live with knowing something like that.

All it cost me was a couple mins of my time and a couple bucks worth of cordage. What he does with them is up to him.

 

[HÖLLENREICH]

I said read and LISTEN. After that you've done all you can.

 

[IGTreeWorker]

[ QUOTE ]
I dont buy it. Theres more to the story than whats been told. I seriously doubt a bridge would just fail like that, and if it did, its obvious the user didnt ever bother to inspect the bridge or it would have been removed from service long ago.

[/ QUOTE ]

I know my daily basics, and I check my gear before every climb. Every weekend I take the gear home and do a thorough inspection. Once I calmed down after that it happen I was clearing my stuff and I found my old bridge that I replaced it with the bridge that just failed. It did'nt look worn out that much because it was very dirty, I cleaned it out and I saw the cover was worn and it was worn out exactly at the same point where the other one tore.

 

[IGTreeWorker]

Another Pic

 

[IGTreeWorker]

The last picture that is technora from the inside and the cover is HRC and one side is cut because I cut it to replace it. Thanks for all your input.