Stefan Posted May 26, 2004 Share Posted May 26, 2004 Is this true? A two mile rope used in a rescue? Or....just a common journalistic mistake that happens all too frequently? Korean rescue on Denali Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iain Posted May 26, 2004 Share Posted May 26, 2004 I think that is just poor journalism. Most rescue lowers do not exceed 600ft. They are run through stations progressively down the mountain. Ropes longer than that become difficult to get in place. 2 miles! Maybe I'm wrong but that seems pretty ridiculous. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bug Posted May 26, 2004 Share Posted May 26, 2004 There was a 1700 ft rope from 17,000 down the rescue gulley when I was there a couple years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iain Posted May 26, 2004 Share Posted May 26, 2004 Wow well I may stand corrected. That's still a bit less than 10560 ft. That amount of rope in 11 mm would be approaching 600lbs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rbw1966 Posted May 26, 2004 Share Posted May 26, 2004 Steve Schneider set up a rap line down el cap when he did his trifecta way back in the 80's or early 90's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bug Posted May 26, 2004 Share Posted May 26, 2004 "We were just lucky that this person had fallen above Denali Pass," said mountaineering ranger Gordy Kito, who led the rescue. "Another 15 or 20 minutes, he would have had a 1,500-foot ride, rather than 400-foot ride." Il was semiconscious and could not move after his fall, Kito said. His fellow climbers wrapped him in layers of down clothing and descended to camp at 17,200 feet to find help. But deteriorating weather kept them from returning with emergency provisions and prevented a high-altitude rescue helicopter from reaching him. Friday afternoon a five-person rescue team reached Il, devised a rope system and fastened him onto a "sked," a combination litter and toboggan, Kito said. Using two ropes, they lowered Il to the high camp five hours later. The dangers of altitude and frostbite made it clear Il would have to be moved to a lower elevation soon, Kito said. Rangers decided to lower him to their camp at 14,200 feet using a rope almost two miles long. That rope is 1700'. Two miles is a journalistic gaff. The rescue gulley stretches from 17000 to 14000. At most, the rope would be 3000' and that would only make it harder to manage overall. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klenke Posted May 27, 2004 Share Posted May 27, 2004 If the vertical drop of the gully was 3,000 ft, then the only way the terrain distance could have been almost two miles (10,000 feet) is if the angle of the slope was 18 degrees. That's not improbable. It would be a shallow angled gully for climbing purposes but still pretty steep for rescue lowering. It is certainly a gaffe, though. Where would enough rope come from to make a two-mile long combination? You'd need something like 30 100m ropes tied together to make a two-mile long combination. 30 is a lot of ropes to be lugging up the mountain just for a rescue of one man. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mothboy88 Posted May 27, 2004 Share Posted May 27, 2004 Where would enough rope come from to make a two-mile long combination? Sandy Pitman's porters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cj001f Posted May 27, 2004 Share Posted May 27, 2004 Hmm. 1% rope stretch on a 10,000 ft rope would be 100ft. Don't they normally use cables for such things? I know a number of the 50's Eiger rescue used 1-2,000ft cables. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bug Posted May 27, 2004 Share Posted May 27, 2004 The 'rope' on Denali is used like a cable on a winch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jedi Posted May 27, 2004 Share Posted May 27, 2004 Two mile rope! They have cable cars from 14K to 17K now? Damn European influence!! Silly journalist, they're so crazy. What would the rope weigh? 70gm/m at 10,400'? I'll tell ya. too heavy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dru Posted May 27, 2004 Share Posted May 27, 2004 Two mile long rope. Perfect for top roping Mount Dickey. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jedi Posted May 27, 2004 Share Posted May 27, 2004 O that would be great! When the climber sits on the rope, The rope stretch will have them loosing half a pitch. hehe he Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rbw1966 Posted May 27, 2004 Share Posted May 27, 2004 Better not fall down low or you're going to crater. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dru Posted May 27, 2004 Share Posted May 27, 2004 I don't believe on a two mile long rope that the entire rope would stretch if loaded. More like the end nearest the climber would stretch and the amount of stretch would decrease with some function of distance from the climber. The belayer might not even notice the climber had fallen.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rbw1966 Posted May 27, 2004 Share Posted May 27, 2004 I can't imagine trying to yard in the slack. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr.radon Posted May 27, 2004 Share Posted May 27, 2004 The Russian para team set fixed lines up Rescue gully two years ago and over Denali Pass! Anyway I used the rope to aid in solo descents on a summit try and on summit day. the ropes were +50M ropes fixed together, just laying in the snow. They could have just used a two rope system running down the mountain to 14K, more then likely they descended R-gully since its a straight shot to camp and set up a line like the Russians did. I raised an eyebrow at this quote too. Sounds like they overheard a joke and thought it fact? Here is a picture from the entrance to the gully on the Russians line. (they were so cool to camp next to, free live music) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robert Posted May 27, 2004 Share Posted May 27, 2004 I don't believe on a two mile long rope that the entire rope would stretch if loaded. More like the end nearest the climber would stretch and the amount of stretch would decrease with some function of distance from the climber. The belayer might not even notice the climber had fallen.... I think also that the self weight of the rope would cause quite a bit of stretch prior to any load being applied. Most of that stretch would occur on the top half of the rope. This of course assumes that the friction of the rope on the slope is not greater than its own weight. I agree that the belayer would never know that there was a fall. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EWolfe Posted May 27, 2004 Share Posted May 27, 2004 Two mile long rope. Perfect for top roping Mount Dickey. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terminal_Gravity Posted May 28, 2004 Share Posted May 28, 2004 I don't believe on a two mile long rope that the entire rope would stretch if loaded. More like the end nearest the climber would stretch and the amount of stretch would decrease with some function of distance from the climber. The belayer might not even notice the climber had fallen.... I think also that the self weight of the rope would cause quite a bit of stretch prior to any load being applied. Most of that stretch would occur on the top half of the rope. This of course assumes that the friction of the rope on the slope is not greater than its own weight. I agree that the belayer would never know that there was a fall. Rope weight, colossal friction, fallen or not fallen climber...all those would pale in comparison to the wind loading of a nice stiff breeze. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bug Posted May 28, 2004 Share Posted May 28, 2004 I don't believe on a two mile long rope that the entire rope would stretch if loaded. More like the end nearest the climber would stretch and the amount of stretch would decrease with some function of distance from the climber. The belayer might not even notice the climber had fallen.... I think also that the self weight of the rope would cause quite a bit of stretch prior to any load being applied. Most of that stretch would occur on the top half of the rope. This of course assumes that the friction of the rope on the slope is not greater than its own weight. I agree that the belayer would never know that there was a fall. Rope weight, colossal friction, fallen or not fallen climber...all those would pale in comparison to the wind loading of a nice stiff breeze. THe winds are usually mild on Denali. That's why they can have a two mile rope laying around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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