Ingenious Mountaineering Gadget

[Haironyourchest]

Just stumbled upon this. A very clever gadget for certain applications - but not really  something I'd be keen to experiment with. Just figured I'd share it.

 

 

[Jcarbor]

Looks like a great idea, but I don’t like the idea of trusting it, whats it like in wet or icy conditions? If it ever goes wrong then good by.

[MattyF]

Looks like asking for trouble !

[jfc]

I think Peds wrote about this on another thread. Some suggested using it for solo rigging to get the rigging rope off a piece and back up to the climber. I wouldn't fancy using it, just couldn't trust it 100%.

[Haironyourchest]

2 hours ago, jfc said:

I think Peds wrote about this on another thread. Some suggested using it for solo rigging to get the rigging rope off a piece and back up to the climber. I wouldn't fancy using it, just couldn't trust it 100%.

Yeah! That's a great application! I saw some other gadget that was a essentially a battery powered Frog clip, remote activated to disingage. 

[AHPP]

Fuck that.

[peds]

Like all gadgets for ropework and climbing and everything, if used improperly then you might die. But use them correctly, as the designer intended, and you'll probably live. 

[Yorkshire Brummie]

Think AHPP has summed up my thoughts really [emoji50][emoji15]Maybe just get a longer rope.....

[peds]

1 hour ago, Yorkshire Brummie said:

Maybe just get a longer rope.....

In the mountains, carrying the weight of twice as much rope has the possibility of slowing you down so much that you don't achieve your objective, keeps you out longer than you intended, and exposes you to all sorts of risks. It seems counter-intuitive, but leaving behind all of the usual safety gear can actually make your outing quite a lot safer, if the ethos of "fast-and-light" is used appropriately.

The fact is, the longer you spend up a mountain, the greater your chances of dying... it's simple maths. Anything you can do to shorten the length of time spent in the mountains, whilst still keeping the same goal, will increase your chances of coming home alive. Reducing the weight you carry, and thus reducing fatigue, can help with this. 

That said, fast-and-light is not a substitute for good old-fashioned experience, which can only be gained by spending lots of (dangerous) time in the mountains. 

[AHPP]

15 hours ago, peds said:

In the mountains, carrying the weight of twice as much rope has the possibility of slowing you down so much that you don't achieve your objective, keeps you out longer than you intended, and exposes you to all sorts of risks. It seems counter-intuitive, but leaving behind all of the usual safety gear can actually make your outing quite a lot safer, if the ethos of "fast-and-light" is used appropriately.

The fact is, the longer you spend up a mountain, the greater your chances of dying... it's simple maths. Anything you can do to shorten the length of time spent in the mountains, whilst still keeping the same goal, will increase your chances of coming home alive. Reducing the weight you carry, and thus reducing fatigue, can help with this. 

That said, fast-and-light is not a substitute for good old-fashioned experience, which can only be gained by spending lots of (dangerous) time in the mountains. 

8mm twins or 9/10mm single and a 5/6mm retriever half. Possibly more weight but much more utility. I agree about speed but you balance it against safety. Prussiks on variably wet/frozen rope is too far off balance for me.

And just imagine tugging at it when against the clock, in encroaching darkness, looming cold etc. You'd get angry and get something stuck.

And if it does get stuck, 100% of your rope is stuck. If you pull through a doubled abseil and it gets stuck part way down, you can cut what you've got and keep going.

Not for me.