Climbing system

[Aaron R]

Hi all

 

I just wanted to know the name of the type of rope system i use as i never can remember. 

 

I use  2 main ropes each generally on 2 separate anchor points 

 

The rope goes around the union and back to my harness.  I use this on both ropes.

 

Am i right in saying that it is a MRS?

 

 

 

Whatever this system is called am i able to use an ascending device on this particular climbing style.

 

This was also the way i learnt on my courses .

 

Many thanks Aaron 

Edited March 22 by Aaron R

[Gordon S]

Hi,

 

Yes, you use MRS (moving rope system) this is also called DRT (doubled rope system)

 

The alternative is SRT (single rope system)

 

hope this helps 

 

Gordon

[Aaron R]

Thsnks Gordon

 

Am i able to use a foot or knee ascender on mrs ?

 

Tia

[Doug Tait]

Definitely, hard work using arms, hip thrusting or footlocking. Foot ascender makes a big difference for me.

 

Surprised you didn't get to try using a foot ascender during the course.

Edited March 22 by Doug Tait

[Aaron R]

It definitely does take it out of you after a few hours lol.

 

Thanks again 

[Doug Tait]

Just now, Aaron R said:

It definitely does take it out of you after a few hours lol.

 

Thanks again 

 

A few hours! Spoken like a younger, fitter chap than I.

Personally I measure the tiredness in metres ascended rather than hours!

[Aaron R]

Im trying to hang onto my youth but its not working so well . Knee and foot  ascender looks the way to go .

 

I always thought they were only for srt .

[kram]

An ascender is just a rope grab, it essentially does the same as a prussik. With moving rope, theres another advantage that you can hold the slack end of rope up by your tit and stand on the loop - it works well. Good in a short tough overhanging spot where you cant get a foot on the tree and its not worth fitting ascender.

 

For the purpose of an ascender it does not form part of your PPE, in that, if it let go, it would not affect your safety. For that reason I use a cheap £10 amazon offering and a short sling as a foot loop. It has a near smooth cam so works but wont bite in or damage rope.

 

The "proper" boot mounted ascenders often have sharp teeth to bite into the rope, which I dislike - good for alpine use on icy ropes but unnessasary in tree work.

 

Generally you only need one ascender on DRT and if acending may be better of swapping to SRT to reduce rope wear.

 

Now to swap to SRT you dont need any extra fancy gear. If you already have your rope up high tie a running bowline to make an anchor. Use a prusik as normal and an ascender to move up - but you wont be moving up on a single prusik alone.

Edited March 22 by kram

[Dan Maynard]

I think MRS is the modern name, yes.  At one time people talked about SRT and DRT (double rope) but two things cause confusion, namely you only had one rope in DRT, and the two anchor/two rope climbing. You might also see the abbreviation DdRT for Doubled Rope.

 

4 hours ago, Aaron R said:

Im trying to hang onto my youth but its not working so well . Knee and foot  ascender looks the way to go .

 

I always thought they were only for srt .

 

Definitely get at least a foot ascender and see how you go. You need to put it on before you go up the tree, I owned one for a few years but it didn't help at all in my climbing bag. Now I wear it on any reasonable tree, after a day climbing my legs are tired but I don't need physio on my shoulders like I used to.

 

I also have a knee ascender but only set that up on longer hauls, not essential. I'd also suggest looking at SRT to save effort but don't change everything at once.

 

Only other point I'd make is I agree the ascender is not PPE, but if you buy a good one eg Harken Ninja then it has a very light grip on the rope and so doesn't need much tail below you to pull the rope through as you slide the foot up. Knee ascender you can set up cheaply yourself, or buy HAAS which just works but they have got surprisingly expensive.

[manco]

i heard theres a version of the MRS thats for part timers and only weekend use. is it called the SLAg.