srt set up

[Jamie]

The whoopie as a foot loop works great. i spliced a huge eye in my first foot loop which worked but my foot kept slipping out. this way you can crank the whoopie down and your foot stays put.

 

Jamie

[DrewB]

duck on handled ascender

 

Whilst this is quite neat and compact ive decided that its actually quite dodgy. Putting 2 ascenders real close to each other and so far away from you has POTENTIAL problems. as you move upwards with each step, there comes a point where both ascenders are close to your waist and at this point if you slipped you could have up too 1.5 m (roughly) of slack to be taken up. I reckon the forces generated by this may be enough to strip the rope or worst case, cut through the rope. The use of the double braid rope (tachyon) probably doesnt help-it really shoulkd be a kernmantle rope so that the strength is all in the core. Im thinking that any srt ascent using a handled ascender(ascension,futura,basic,etc..) really should have some form of chest ascender(croll,duck,vt,etc..) to ensure that a fall arrest situation is not produced. Its the same in footlocking but at least ther you have a hitch with the ability to slide and dissipate the forces. anyone else?

[D Mc]

Im thinking that any srt ascent using a handled ascender(ascension,futura,basic,etc..) really should have some form of chest ascender(croll,duck,vt,etc..) to ensure that a fall arrest situation is not produced.... anyone else?

 

I think that is some excellent deductive reasoning. The middle ascender in a three ascender system is the key to safety. If you correalate it to our more traditional tree climbing styles, we never back up our friction hitch because we know that no matter what awkward position we get in to, it is not coming off the rope. There needs to be this same level of confidence in SRT.

 

In my opinion, the perfect middle ascender has not been developed as yet. The Croll is very smooth in its operation but does not meet the criteria of safety in its attachment.

 

I have used the Unicender in the center position and it works very well but is far more complex than is necessary for this purpose, though its camming-type grab has been shown to be very rope friendly compared to toothed ascenders.

 

If the criteria of safety and function were met with a properly designed central attachment, the backing up of the upper ascender could be eliminated, as it would only be functioning as a handle for advancement.

 

Dave