Near miss (fall)

R

rentachimp

Location
Swansea, UK
I was climbing today with a rope and a adjustable lanyard.

I was up about 50ft in a multistem Sycamore (Acer) My rope got jammed in a crotch, so I clipped my lanyard on the front bridge and descended to free it, only to find that one leg on the Vt had become unclipped.

So the hitch unravelled and I dropped but luckily my stopper knot got jammed in the micro-pulley I was using to advance the hitch.

My life was saved by a micro pulley and a stopper knot.

Always use a stopper knot!
 
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perhaps thats a case where a cinching knot is better than a splice, less likely to accidently slip off the krab when doing changes

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Yeah; I prefer the double fishermans or munter hitch myself, but my new boss bought eye-to-eye tenex instead.

Ah well; know its limits a litle better now
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YOu can seize or whip the eyes to make them snug. Shoe lace and a constrictor knot will get the job done too.

I'm so glad that you can share this story with us. The other outcomes are not good.
 
Scary. I wonder if those black thick rubber bands that people use on the carabiners (or a lot of electrical tape) might prevent one eye from slipping off the biner between those changes.

Really good to hear you're alright, and can learn from the experience.

jp
grin.gif
 
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only to find that one leg on the Vt had become unclipped.

So the hitch unravelled and I dropped but luckily my stopper knot got jammed in the micro-pulley I was using to advance the hitch.

My life was saved by a micro pulley and a stopper knot.

Always use a stopper knot!

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Renta,

Stop using the ridiculous knot that is the VT.

You say you are relatively new to treeclimbing right?

The VT is an advanced treeclimbing hitch which should only be used if at all by climbers who have been climbing daily for a few years on a safer knot like the distel or swabish, blakes or english prussik

The Vt is a very sublte knot that requires a lot of on rope experience before you can begin to understand the nuances of rope selection/carabiner configuration and tying dressing, setting and observation of this knot.

I went through a period a few years ago of trying to persevere with the Vt, I found it to be wanting.

It is certainly a poor knot choice for a novice treeclimber.

Glad to hear you are ok, try the distel tied off with double fishermman's to cinch them up to the biner. You will feel a lot safer with this knot or the Blakes which allows you to easily change the distance from knot to bridge.

What exactly were you using the munter for?
 
That's good news that you weren't hurt... moments like that you just don't forget.

On my old harness I fashioned a bridge out of some PMI caving rope, it was tied to my harness tie-ins with anchor hitches. I've had good luck with anchor hitches on lanyards but I didn't count on the way caving rope holds that particular knot.
I was in the very top of a big 70' magnolia installing a lightning ground system when I looked down to see less than 1/2" of tail on one of the knots... it was just about to go. The knots both had more than 2" when I put the harness on. I was lucky to notice it before it failed.

Now I find that I just automatically check knots and connections several times a day... it made an impression.
 
Im glad your OK renta...





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only to find that one leg on the Vt had become unclipped.

So the hitch unravelled and I dropped but luckily my stopper knot got jammed in the micro-pulley I was using to advance the hitch.

My life was saved by a micro pulley and a stopper knot.

Always use a stopper knot!

[/ QUOTE ]

Renta,

Stop using the ridiculous knot that is the VT.

You say you are relatively new to treeclimbing right?

The VT is an advanced treeclimbing hitch which should only be used if at all by climbers who have been climbing daily for a few years on a safer knot like the distel or swabish, blakes or english prussik

The Vt is a very sublte knot that requires a lot of on rope experience before you can begin to understand the nuances of rope selection/carabiner configuration and tying dressing, setting and observation of this knot.

I went through a period a few years ago of trying to persevere with the Vt, I found it to be wanting.

It is certainly a poor knot choice for a novice treeclimber.

Glad to hear you are ok, try the distel tied off with double fishermman's to cinch them up to the biner. You will feel a lot safer with this knot or the Blakes which allows you to easily change the distance from knot to bridge.

What exactly were you using the munter for?

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Im confused how the knot selection is the problem here, While the VT is a subtle advanced knot to use, I dont think it is the reason for the lanyard coming undone. ensuring that splices or knots are cinching is the safe bet in this case
 
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Im confused how the knot selection is the problem here, While the VT is a subtle advanced knot to use, I dont think it is the reason for the lanyard coming undone. ensuring that splices or knots are cinching is the safe bet in this case

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Yeah, more human error on my part. It was a big, awkward crown reduction and I was tired and a bit flustered as I've not done many of them. Forgot to check the hitch when swapping over from the side D's to the front bridge and learned my lesson the scary way.

It was an eye to eye yalex prusik, by the way.
 
Sounds to me that when you transferred the lanyard across to your centre, you obviously had to open the krab - this was when one end of the VT popped off without you realising it.

I avoid this by using a petzl amd ball lock. I hate ball locks, but this krab works well here; you can rotate the krab so the hitch and pulley are in the bottom of the krab. This way, nothing can come off when opening. With a typical three way gate, the prusik can push down and activate the gate this way. But with a ball lock, this action doesn't exist.

Use the right horse for the right course.
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Glad you're OK! I wouldn't recommend you use a buntline for security of PPE - too easy to loosen. I use a scaffold knot that chokes the krab.

Take care!
 
Great lesson, glad you came out of it ok. I would hate to see your big face disappear off the board! Awesome that the stopper knot did its work. Must have sucked big-time while it was happening though.

I use a Knut on my lanyard. When I first set it up I was curious to see what would happen if one leg of the hitch came off the krab. Tested it low of course, the hitch held me with only one leg attached. Must be other servicable closed hitches that will also hold if one leg comes off. Something to consider anyway.
-moss
 
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