Gravity is for Other People
Feb. 27th, 2011 05:58 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
clovehitchedI know in theory how to "jug up" (that is ascend) a rope, using a pair of slings rigged as prusik hitches. It's not something I have actually done in practice.
There are some nice tall trees just round the corner, where the lowest branch is far too high to climb using conventional methods. I decided it might be something to do of a Sunday to go and play with ropes on them, just in the interests of developing my rope skills and messing about.
It didn't go quite as planned - there are pictures:
Getting the rope up there took a few attempts.![[personal profile]](https://s.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
zoeimogen and I weighted the end of some accessory cord with a carabiner and tried to sling it over the branch. This is harder than it might seem. Once we managed it, we tied the climbing rope to the end and raised it over the branch, using a locking carabiner to secure it (pull on one side and it doesn't move - pull the other and the whole lot returns to the ground - getting my expensive gear back if we cocked this up was a prime consideration).
The actual jugging bit proved quite easy. One cord attached to my belay loop at my waist, the other has stirrups for my feet. Stand up in the first and raise the other one. Then let that take the weight and raise the one connected to my feet. Each time I swap I gain 20-40cm. It didn't take long to reach the branch.
Um, now what? Eventually I managed to swing my leg over and haul myself up. It was undignified and it grazed my arm. My intent had been to stand up and rig an anchor system above me so I could then rig a block and tackle system and bring others up, but I found myself too frightened to stand up, so after some deliberation I decided to rig an anchor above me, set it for retrieval, and abseil to the ground.
So far so good.
Thing is, that sling I'd used to tie msyelf to the branch while I was terrified is now weighted and I can't take sufficient weight off it to release myself. At this point I am stuck. Also, my ropes are in a bit of a mess (but not tangled - still, they started to become tricky to keep track of. Some practice required there methinks.)
I spend about 20 minutes trying to raise myself up enough to release the sling. I even consider asking Zoe to go and get a knife to cut it. Eventually I manage to climb back onto the branch, but even then when unweighted the sling is wedged tight. Finally I am able to lean out at a bit of an angle and release the sling. Success!
Once that was done, abseiling back to the ground took about 5 seconds. I pulled the rope through and once it was free, tugged on the retrieval cord to get my anchor back. Then we went home.
Zoe's younger daughter, watching the proceedings, declared that it was "not quite 127 hours, perhaps 127 minutes". Still, the only thing I contemplated cutting through was a replaceable nylon sling, and I didn't need to do that in the end. While I was never in any danger, being tied to a branch 6 metres up and being unable to extricate myself was an interesting learning experience though! Next time I suspect I'll be somewhat more competent in keeping track of my various bits of rope and cord.
Also posted at http://auntysarah.dreamwidth.org/251042.html - you can comment here or there.
There are some nice tall trees just round the corner, where the lowest branch is far too high to climb using conventional methods. I decided it might be something to do of a Sunday to go and play with ropes on them, just in the interests of developing my rope skills and messing about.
It didn't go quite as planned - there are pictures:
Getting the rope up there took a few attempts.
zoeimogen and I weighted the end of some accessory cord with a carabiner and tried to sling it over the branch. This is harder than it might seem. Once we managed it, we tied the climbing rope to the end and raised it over the branch, using a locking carabiner to secure it (pull on one side and it doesn't move - pull the other and the whole lot returns to the ground - getting my expensive gear back if we cocked this up was a prime consideration).The actual jugging bit proved quite easy. One cord attached to my belay loop at my waist, the other has stirrups for my feet. Stand up in the first and raise the other one. Then let that take the weight and raise the one connected to my feet. Each time I swap I gain 20-40cm. It didn't take long to reach the branch.
Um, now what? Eventually I managed to swing my leg over and haul myself up. It was undignified and it grazed my arm. My intent had been to stand up and rig an anchor system above me so I could then rig a block and tackle system and bring others up, but I found myself too frightened to stand up, so after some deliberation I decided to rig an anchor above me, set it for retrieval, and abseil to the ground.
So far so good.
Thing is, that sling I'd used to tie msyelf to the branch while I was terrified is now weighted and I can't take sufficient weight off it to release myself. At this point I am stuck. Also, my ropes are in a bit of a mess (but not tangled - still, they started to become tricky to keep track of. Some practice required there methinks.)
I spend about 20 minutes trying to raise myself up enough to release the sling. I even consider asking Zoe to go and get a knife to cut it. Eventually I manage to climb back onto the branch, but even then when unweighted the sling is wedged tight. Finally I am able to lean out at a bit of an angle and release the sling. Success!
Once that was done, abseiling back to the ground took about 5 seconds. I pulled the rope through and once it was free, tugged on the retrieval cord to get my anchor back. Then we went home.
Zoe's younger daughter, watching the proceedings, declared that it was "not quite 127 hours, perhaps 127 minutes". Still, the only thing I contemplated cutting through was a replaceable nylon sling, and I didn't need to do that in the end. While I was never in any danger, being tied to a branch 6 metres up and being unable to extricate myself was an interesting learning experience though! Next time I suspect I'll be somewhat more competent in keeping track of my various bits of rope and cord.
Also posted at http://auntysarah.dreamwidth.org/251042.html - you can comment here or there.
