Rappelling

[iain]

I'm just messing with ya. I'm all for moving quickly but I do put a good eye on things before I hang my life on them you know. I just think about Randal Grandstaff each time I set up a rappel. You can't get much more solid than that guy and he got the chop because he prob. overlooked something in his setup.

[texplorer]

I think that Tex and Fejas are displaying the same sort of cavalier attitude that leads to accidents. I personally don't give a turd if you eat dirt because you messed up in your desire to hurry back to your car, but you endanger others. Imagine, if you can, a person weighing 180lbs falling on top of you from 100ft. You'll wish they had have spent the extra 5 seconds double-checking their rap system when you get your wheelchair.

 

Regarding your helmet slam, one of the most common causes of major injury in climbing related accidents is the absence of a helmet. I ALWAYS wear my helmet.

 

I understand your concerns doolittle. I am very aware that rapping is one time when there is really no backup. But, what is cavalier to you is simple and a reasonable risk to me.

 

Not to be nit picky about it but how is that helmet you are talking about going to save you when the 180lb guy falls on you?

[sk]

I think that Tex and Fejas are displaying the same sort of cavalier attitude that leads to accidents. I personally don't give a turd if you eat dirt because you messed up in your desire to hurry back to your car, but you endanger others. Imagine, if you can, a person weighing 180lbs falling on top of you from 100ft. You'll wish they had have spent the extra 5 seconds double-checking their rap system when you get your wheelchair.

 

Regarding your helmet slam, one of the most common causes of major injury in climbing related accidents is the absence of a helmet. I ALWAYS wear my helmet.

 

I understand your concerns doolittle. I am very aware that rapping is one time when there is really no backup. But, what is cavalier to you is simple and a reasonable risk to me.

 

Not to be nit picky about it but how is that helmet you are talking about going to save you when the 180lb guy falls on you?

I climbed with tex some durring his eugene days, and I would crag with him again any ol' time. I would not plan on a major route with tex. I move too slow and I am too methodical, and he would expect me to swing leads and I am a whimp. he is prolly the boldest, best climber that I personaly know. I have learnd so much from him. but I do not climb like him. but what I learn from him I then balence that with my own comfort level.

[slothrop]

Yes Ian, I F@#$ed up that time. That has nothing to do with rapping except that I was off of that ridge about 2 minutes faster than slothrop and 2 minutes faster out of danger.

 

Nah, I wouldn't have been on that thing in the first place.

 

Props to you, Tex, for climbing hard and having your shit dialed. Anyone who's rapping the 30 pitches they just climbed obviously doesn't need a lecture on how to rappel safely. I don't really care how you gain those precious extra seconds, because I'm more conservative than you and will do things differently.

 

Relax and enjoy that 2-liter, man.

[icegirl]

ason's point, IMHO, and I agree, is that lowering off chains is most certainly not safe. You degrade the material that you are counting on to keep you off the deck.

 

The last time I went to Vantage, we found "Rap Anchors" that were so chewed through from people lowering off of them that 50% of the original material was missing. I call that unsafe, rather than inconvienent.

 

I was taught this from the get go. If anyone doubts this, take a look at the beiner you used after you've spent a day TR'ing it. If it was a colored anodized one, I guarantee you'll see some missing color where the rope was. The first time I saw this it was a bit sobering, thinking about how many people I've seen TR'ing on the chains. Keep in mind (before you spray) not just the nylon that wears on the metal, it's all the bits of dust and such that give it a sandpaper effect (look at the bottom of the bucket next time you wash your rope

[layton]

I have seen a partner rap off the end of a rope, I have also seen a partner set up a rap without actually threading the ropes through the anchor. Thankfully, both times, no one got seriously hurt.

 

Wonder who that was (both times). Said mystery partner did however realize his/her mistake on the 2nd reference. Mystery partner also fell like 2 feet onto a ledge on the 1st referece (although still 3 or 4 pitches up).

I know this person and wouldn't reccomend climbing with him/her

[backcountrydog]

its funny how so many people see that chain links wear from lowering off of them yet when people put in anchors, they fail to arrange the chains in a manner that can make maintaining the anchor so much simpler. there are basically 3 types of link that can make up a chain anchor. 1)the chain itself (closed links)

2)open links (which look like a link of chain that overlaps and needs to be beatin closed after linking the chain or bolt or both to it)

3)steel links that screw open

when i put an anchor in i always arrange it this way

bolt hanger--open link--length of chain--screw link

doing it this way allows for a very easy replacement of the business end of the anchor. people will always get lowered or tr directly off the chains (it seems) thus causing the dangerous wear of the lower link. having the screwgate link in the bottom allows whoever the ease of just unscrewing the bottom link and replacing it w a new one instead of having to bring bolt cutters up to cut off the bottom chain link that so many people seem to have as the 'business' link. plus u can put a larger screw link into the chains so if u want to put a 7/16 screw link into your 3/8 chains it will last that much longer. even w this setup i still never tr off the anchor. they werent meant for climbing, oxidize your rope in a nasty way, and all u have to do is clip 1 biner into the system ABOVE the bottome links and u can TR off that and still have your ropes threaded thru the chain, thus relieving the last person on the climb from 'thread duty'