Jamie

how about half hitches and natural rigging. it's been done it for years, it works and costs no more than the rigging rope. jamie

Rich, have you thought about your IRATA ticket, your plastering experience may go well with fireproofing. A company called Hertel do lots of industrial lagging and pipe insulation. do that on the ropes and you may be onto a winner. Try Rigg access for a forum about IRATA and abseiling stuff. Jamie

Trees rock and structures, search for my irata thread Jamie

i like my wee 353g up a tree, not as good as a 200t though. nice and light Jamie

sorry i forgot the picture its not the best picture if you look closely you can make it out Jamie

its an old picture, the bottom 2 are back splices, search teh samson guides for a back splice. easy to do, i never really follow the instructions i make it up as i go along as it isnt load bearing ever. i use them as they are neater than knots Jamie

What al said, petzl rigs are a bit more predictable i found but still 'jerky'. they dont wring the rope out like a prussic though. you'll still get wet, you'll still slide around. the only way to stay dry and clean is to stay at home Jamie

Everyone who has spent a lotta time up trees seems to be saying the same thing, stay on top. going under is a waste of effort. Jamie

I'd say get them, better to have them than not. you'll always find a use for them. even my pointless marlow splicing needles get used (not whipping needles, the large one is 2' long). Jamie

8 years ago i tried my first 16 strand splice and gave up, 7 years ago i did my first doublebraid. once you get your head round doublebraids they are a piece of cake Jamie.

I find i just, stand up, lean back onto a pole strop and spike away, no special technique, no choked wraps, jst a bit more balancey Jamie

What is it you do Al? I've tried the rig one handed but dont find it safe doing that in the slightest. especially as the ropes i was using were slightly painty. Jamie

The rig is a great bit of kit, I have used one almost everyday for the past year. like everything it has its problems but its way more user friendly than an ID. like the gri gri it will twist ropes as the rope goes through two turns entering the cam over the braking surface. I dont think it can be used safely one handed. it can go up easily, not as easily as a croll though. Its great for setting up hauling systems, much less friction than a correctly loaded stop. In SRT i'd use a rig anyday over a gri gri. just my views jamie

why ptfe? Jamie

a guy died in the north sea in the last year. He had dropped througha hatch with a standard rope protector as it passed the edge his ropes were slack and gently rubbing on an edge as he walked around. he reweighted the ropes and they snapped. sharp anything and ropes are never a good mix. Like Balfour Beatty Say (weather they act on it) 'no job is so important you cant take the time to do it safely'. Take care Jamie

i did mine with SAC they are now based outside Edinburgh, at the Bush estate i think Jamie

spot on. only want a few meters. i have a few ideas rattling around in my head while i spend my days rigging. Jamie

back to my point. where can I get the 6mm ocean vectran from. got a few weeks back in the trees when my rail bridge finishes for christmas. it'll be good to play in the warmth of the trees. jamie

Simple question. Is Ocean Polyester a class 1 or class 2? where is good to get the 6mm stuff? Jamie

where are you getting the 6mm stuff? Jamie

Poor guy. Wish him a speedy recovery. Jamie

Doing the IRATA way there are 3 basic ascender rescues and a few descender rescues. bearing in mind rope access uses two ropes, a working line and a backup line so you can ascend / descend their backup line if need be. the descender ones are simple. 1.get above them, descend to them, 2.clip into them, 3.lower them onto you and remove their descender. 4.decend to ground using an additional braking carabiner. Ascend rescues, there are three, beast, counterbalance and snatch. i'll describe them as if you are coming down to the casualty on a seperate rope system. Beast 1.descend on a seperate rope and change from decending gear into ascending gear, 2.clip into them, 3.start climbing until their croll goes slack, 4.install descender and change from croll to descender this one is super tough on the legs as you are climbing with 2 people. counterbalance, 1.descend to casualty, 2.tie into casualty, 3.attach a hand Ascender (jammer), shunt, prussic above casualty on their rope, 4.stick a carabiner through the bottom hole / prussic loop 5.thread a sling / footloop through the carabiner on jammer etc and clip it into their d ring, 6.stand up in footloop / sling, this equalises your and their weight, 7.grab their harness and pull up 8.still pulling up, disconnect their croll and lower onto your harness 9.descend to ground Snatch 1.Descend to them, 2.clip into them, 3.attach ascender above you with a carabiner on the bottom hole (a shunt or prussic would work too) thread the rope through carabiner (a pully on this makes it easier). 4.Attach a second ascender (robbed from the casualty) and half the footloop length (or use a slingor a pantin. 5.Use this mechanical advantage to start climbing 6.when their line goes slack remove their croll, 7.remove your extra gear and descend. hope that helps. there are additional IRATA rescues but they are variations, i wont decribe them as you are unlikely to encounter an aid climb, deviation, rebelay or loop up a tree. Jamie

I think you should go, you may even get some palm tree work over there. Jamie

hey all, i started off using tubular fids i got about 6 years ago from proclimber. My splicing started as i was living with a cold cold girlfriend and blistering my hands splicing was more entertaining, but thats a bit off topic. back to fids. i like tubular fids for double braids until the last step tucking the core back into the throat. my toolkit comprises of a number 1 cross screwdriver sharpened to a point as my marlinspike, a set of tubular fids, a wire fid (one of nods and a home made job). some sissors, a knife, a tape measure a sailmakers palm a set of needles and a fistful of dynamite. oh and a markerpen, some whipping twine and tape and a lighter and some tunes. oh and some instructions and some time. then a lotta practice. jamie

if they are in a croll a simple method is to attach a footloop through their d ring, pass it through a jammer above them and step down hard in the footloop. next grab their harness and lift, as you do this open the croll and then lower onto you. thats a counterbalance rescue, minimal gear and simple. Jamie