Deep and dark...

Flex Abednego said:
Twice since I started srt I've become distracted setting up and adjusting ascenders etc only to realize 30+ feet up I'm not attached at the harness. No Bueno! Gave me the shakes hanging on while I wrestled to attach, which because I run a short bridge was fairly difficult.

Phew! That feels good to get off my chest
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Yikes:loco:! Always do the sit test Flex : ) Happy to hear you figured it out in the air my brother
 
Flex Abednego said:
Twice since I started srt I've become distracted setting up and adjusting ascenders etc only to realize 30+ feet up I'm not attached at the harness. No Bueno! Gave me the shakes hanging on while I wrestled to attach, which because I run a short bridge was fairly difficult.

Phew! That feels good to get off my chest
Click to expand...

So, was it only like a knee ascender and a foot ascender that was holding you up or something? Plus maybe a weak tether to an SRT chest harness, maybe?

I still use hitch based systems; I don't possess any fully mechanical ascent/descent devices as of yet. I guess my confession would be that in my earlier times of learning to climb I've had it happen that I'd put my systems together and ascend. Once I got as high as I needed to go I'd remove a Gibbs type ascender that sits at the top of everything, and sit back into my hitch.

One time, because I was tying my hitch the same way I always had, I did not load it up and test it on the ground before ascending. At the top of the tree, the hitch did not bite when I tried to sit back into it. I still had my knee and foot ascenders on, so I did not take any kind of a drop, but I had to lanyard in and re-tie my hitch.

After that incident, I always connect my Rope Wrench or Hitch Hiker based systems to my harness all by themselves, and load them up with my body weight a few times to be certain my hitches are acting as they should, before I add in my other, secondary devices. A byproduct of doing this testing on the ground is that my main system is already attached to my harness before I take my first steps up the rope.

Also, the only real defense against a distraction causing an error in any procedure is to repetitiously run a checklist at multiple points in the process. It can be really quick, but it is the repetition that will catch the possible error. An especially important time for that kind of thing is just before you start up a chainsaw to make a cut. Making sure to be tied in twice before a cut warrants being a bit obsessive compulsive. Also, when making a change to your climbing systems, to be certain you're adequately tied in before disconnecting key components.

I've run too long again; thanks for listening.

Tim
 
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Mental checklists or systems sound like a good discription to me Tim. I hold myself to certain "rules" I set for myself like double checking my new support rope/point before I detach from what was just working.

I frustrate people at times when I won't answer till I have checked things. Or when I won't bounce back and forth between joking and doing some more technical work that takes my focus.
 
merle_nelson said:
I frustrate people at times when I won't answer till I have checked things. Or when I won't bounce back and forth between joking and doing some more technical work that takes my focus.
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I'm betting that the people who get frustrated are not climbers, and that they do not fully understand what is at stake, because they have not tried to do this stuff themselves, ever. Am I close in my guesswork?

Tim
 
Ha, yep!!!

In the book, Chuck Yeager (?), he mentioned how he and other test pilots would be drinking buddies and get together down at the bar on a regular basis. When one of them died they would not say his name again..... I guess we all have to figure out ways to deal with what we must face in life.

I limit my input and force my focus. I'm sure lots of people can handle far more distraction.
 
merle_nelson said:
Mental checklists or systems sound like a good discription to me Tim. I hold myself to certain "rules" I set for myself like double checking my new support rope/point before I detach from what was just working.

I frustrate people at times when I won't answer till I have checked things. Or when I won't bounce back and forth between joking and doing some more technical work that takes my focus.
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Someone's talking to me from the ground and I'm like, "just shut up for a second." I don't mean it rude, but if they don't know me well, they get bent
 
ARLO said:
Hanging your lanyard on your Caritool, then forgetting to switch it over to your D-ring when you flip the end around the trunk, clip in and lean back.
When I finally noticed it my throat got real dry because I realized that I could have easily died that day. After that I resolved to never again hang my lanyard from my Caritool.
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I did that once, I was tied in twice but still went for a hell of a tarzan swing when the caritool broke.
 
merle_nelson said:
I like teams where you have a second climber that is your main ground support. Just yell "Saw!" "Fuel!" "Rope!" or whatever, and at a run, the correct thing appears.
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I've been lucky enough in the past to have worked on crews composed entirely of climbers, and often they don't yell at all - everyone on the ground just knows what is needed next and why, and it's there headed up the tree before the call goes out.
merle_nelson said:
I frustrate people at times when I won't answer till I have checked things.
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Worked with 1 climber who would whistle a little tune when he got nervous up in the tree. When we heard it we'd all snicker a little on the ground, but we also knew to stop clowning around and be ready to go.
 
Jeff said:
I've been lucky enough in the past to have worked on crews composed entirely of climbers, and often they don't yell at all - everyone on the ground just knows what is needed next and why, and it's there headed up the tree before the call goes out.

Worked with 1 climber who would whistle a little tune when he got nervous up in the tree. When we heard it we'd all snicker a little on the ground, but we also knew to stop clowning around and be ready to go.
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"Just anticipating your will Sir. " I've had the privilege of working with a few guys such as you describe. 'I need a, oh thanks.'
 
ARLO said:
Hanging your lanyard on your Caritool, then forgetting to switch it over to your D-ring when you flip the end around the trunk, clip in and lean back.
When I finally noticed it my throat got real dry because I realized that I could have easily died that day. After that I resolved to never again hang my lanyard from my Caritool.
Click to expand...
I heard a story from someone that just fell 15' because of that. Busted wrist as a result. I asked the climber if they would have double checked if much higher than 15'. They said probably not. Scary. I am so glad the climber is still alive.
 
I guess I just always clip my lanyards to the life support rated rings on my harness out of habit now. In that way I only have to unclip the 2nd side and toss it around a branch and reconnect it on the other side of my harness.

These cautionary tales are always helpful for reinforcing good habits and getting one to change or rethink an approach that may cause a problem.

Tim
 
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