Got that sickening call no one ever wants to get.

evo

evo

Been here much more than a while
Location
My Island, WA
I will fill in the details later, but I got a call early afternoon from my climber. He was in a tall douglas fir replacing a cabling system, changed from a SRT access to a second Ddrt system. Came down to switch back to the access line and rappelled off the end of his line, I measured where he left the wrench which he said he was close to at 49.5'
A few bumps and bruises but all checked out and fine...
So so so lucky.
 
Wow, that’s no good! I’m glad that he’s not seriously injured though! Sounds like a great teaching moment for him, and the rest of your crew.
 
No doubt. I have a great responsibility in this even though I wasn't on site when it occurred. The slack and HUGE take away is that ALL SAFTEY procedures must be taken unless proven there is a safer alternative. period.

The factors in which it wasn't worse comes down to a broken gear loop, which likely got snag on something as he came down, hitting a couple of limbs, and landing on soft ground away from the buttress roots.

Still slack jawed.
 
you don't get many mulligans on 40'+ falls. He's lucky to be remaining in the world of the breathing. Been hearing similar stories lately. One way to remedy the situation here is to climb with a 200' rope. But that's not going to work on the west coast. Let us know how you handle the safety fix.
 
southsoundtree said:
For me, every rope gets knots, top and bottom, every time. The top end makes it easy to quickly find the top end, and if the bag gets dumped out, it already has a knot regardless of which end gets used.
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I have assisted w/ many Work Climb events at TCC’s.
Norm Hall taught me years ago, that all climbing lines should have a proper stopper knot (double over-hand; not just a figure-8).
I’ve had numerous climbers complain, after the ground crew put a stopper knot in their line.

However, I have seen a world class climber & a “tree tech” run out of rope on their descents.
Both caught the problem; climbed back up; reset & finished the decent.
 
southsoundtree said:
For me, every rope gets knots, top and bottom, every time. The top end makes it easy to quickly find the top end, and if the bag gets dumped out, it already has a knot regardless of which end gets used.
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You’re right of course.
The temptation to take it out when it keeps getting stuck when you're pulling it through is too great sometimes.
 
i climb without a stopper knot and i am very aware of the pitfalls/situation and will put one on when my rope is short.
i think with srt its „safe enough“ because you constantly check your rope length, ddrt with short ropes in bigger trees, might be smart to use the damn knot.
 
Very scary, I hope he is ok. Even when someone feels uninjured that day, an injury can show up the next day or even beyond. I hope that doesn't happen here.

I have stopper knots on the end of every line, and that was drilled into me from the beginning. I know it can get in the way at times, but this is exactly why it is a rule, no matter how conscious you think you are of the end of your line, it only takes losing track of it once to make a serious mistake.

The other thing about stopper knots is to place then a few feet up from the end of the line, instead of right at the end, especially with something like a figure 8 which can shake it self open. (and why that knot shouldn't be used as a stopper...)
 
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27RMT0N said:
Very scary, I hope he is ok. Even when someone feels uninjured that day of, an injury can show up the next day or even beyond. I hope that doesn't happen here.

I have stopper knots on the end of every line, and that was drilled into me from the beginning. I know it can get in the way at times, but this is exactly why it is a rule, no matter how conscious you think you are of the end of your line, it only takes losing track of it once to make a serious mistake.

The other thing about stopper knots is to place then a few feet up from the end of the line, instead of right at the end, especially with something like a figure 8 which can shake it self open. (and why that knot shouldn't be used as a stopper...)
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Precisely stated ! ! !
 
I can't remember a time of it getting jammed. Surely it has at some point. I don't work many species prone to it, I would guess.


If you're bagging your tail, it's extra important.

I knot both ends of rigging lines, too. Every rope, every time.

Too many of these stories. Sometimes it's the pile of brush that someone lands in that saves them.


A guy fell within a mile of my house during this last year.
 
southsoundtree said:
I can't remember a time of it getting jammed. Surely it has at some point. I don't work many species prone to it, I would guess.


If you're bagging your tail, it's extra important.

I knot both ends of rigging lines, too. Every rope, every time.

Too many of these stories. Sometimes it's the pile of brush that someone lands in that saves them.


A guy fell within a mile of my house during this last year.
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what does the knot in the rigging lines do? also in case your rope is too short?
 
That is very scary and I am glad he is okay. This leads to a debate about knots which I have opinions about. In this case a knot would have been the proper solution to having too short of a rope.

I think the solution to this sort of accident is not knots but simply by using longer ropes appropriate for the job.

I have concluded that knots in a climbing line that safely reaches the ground is more of a safety hazard than anything. Anything that restricts a safe and controlled descent to the ground at anytime is a hazard and a knot in your line is that. It will absolutely get stuck and not allow exit from the tree when you need it. If you have a long enough rope, thankfully, it will not get shorter during a climb so there is zero chance that it will be too short later in the climb.
As you pass through redirects and change TIPs, rope length needs to be checked each time.
This is easier in SRT, in MRS obviously the tail end of the rope needs to be at the climber and the belly of the rope needs to be able to reach the ground.

I am anti knot on the tail but very pro using long enough ropes. If the rope is long enough, I see absolutely no need for a knot, as it is introducing problems that WILL happen when you least want problems. You are bound to run into a nest of bald facd hornets and that knot WILL jam in a crotch 50 feet above you and you WILL have to go up to release it before you can come down. That is an unacceptable risk IMO. A clean path to exit the tree should be maintained at all times and knots impede that ability.

If for some reason you are climbing with too short of a rope for the job, than knots in the tail are of course, appropriate. In my opinion, that means that a mistake has already been made in the planning of the job and at that point you are improvising with less than adequate gear for the job, which happens and knots can mitigate that mistake. Knots are for lanyards bassically not for climb lines.

Communication with the ground is important and the ground should immediatly communicate with the climber that the rope is not reaching the ground, in which case tie a knot or put more rope in the system. The climber should verify that the rope touches the ground not only before the climb but anytime the TIP is changed or a redirect eats up some rope.

I worked with a guy that insisted on putting knots in my rope. I would pull up my tail and there would be a knot in it. I kept on taking it out and sure enough it would appear again! pulling tail and keeping a clean flow through the tree is hard enough with out obstructions and tangles.
 
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