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That's why you would never catch me on a rope without at least a pair of loops of smaller diameter rope that I could tie into Prusik knots and self-rescue. Thos
by planteen 8y ago
That's why you would never catch me on a rope without at least a pair of loops of smaller diameter rope that I could tie into Prusik knots and self-rescue. Those pieces of rope are almost weightless. There's no reason not to have a pair with you when you get on rope.
- maxerickson 8y agoFeatured in a James Bond stunt: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8FDX6_BSas8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8FDX6_BSas8 (The clip is from "For Your Eyes Only" but has music from some other bond film dubbed over it)
- TeMPOraL 8y agoWow, apparently you can pull yourself up by your own bootstraps!
- mirimir 8y agoWhy not tie an Alpine Butterfly in advance? Isn't that more secure than Prusik or Klemheist? Or does it weaken the main rope too much? Or are you saying to use a pair of Prusik knots to self rescue, by climbing the rope?
- JshWright 8y agoYeah, the parent comment is talking about using a pair of Prusiks to ascend (or to at least make loops you can use to stand). An Alpine Butterfly can't be moved, so it's not especially useful in many applications.
- takk309 8y agoTry getting a prusik system set up when your tie in point is in the middle of your back as most construction harnesses are set up. It makes it much harder to self rescue. Side note, one of my favorite ways to get up a rope when hanging in free space is to walk the rope. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAzXYVdskFE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAzXYVdskFE
- module0000 8y agoAlso, in those times when you need a prusik, there is a less-than-tiny chance you are hurt. EG: you're trying to place your cam, and instead you take a 40 foot drop before your last cam arrests your fall by sending your body directly into the face. Prusiks are more difficult to tie(and ascend!) when your hands are coated in your own blood, etc.
- takk309 8y agoI have, thankfully, never had to try to tie a prusik with my hands covered in blood. If you had to do that, it sounds like a brutal fall.
- planteen 8y agoYeah for sure, injury changes things. You see rock climbers needing rescue often enough when they could have self-rescued by a pair of Prusiks and ascending the rope. I've heard of a rock climber using an ATC (rappel device) as an ascender, by kicking off the wall and moving the rope up a few inches. They were near complete exhaustion when they got up to the top - Prusiks would have made the job so much easier. Of course a pair of ascenders/Jumars is best, but add some weight. Most people (outside of cavers) don't plan on climbing up a rope with single rope technique, so it's not something that is practiced very much. I'm not really sure why. I'd be super nervous as a climber if I only could go one way on a rope. I guess alpinists practice it some for self-rescue out of a crevasse. Cavers use the rope as a nylon highway, so you know how to switch from rappel to climb, climb to rappel, and how to pick-off an injured party from the rope (all of those in space, where you can't take your weight off the rope at all).