OK- So I was a little bored tonight trying to study for exams and found this website and link

http://health.howstuffworks.com/rock-climbing3.htm
Can you find the deadly mistake(s) on this page? It is always good to know that qualified professionals make websites like this. Makes me wonder what else I should not believe on the internet.


-pip

His harness is not doubled back at the waist or the left leg!!!!

What is wrong with the comments like "use a carabiner to attach the rope to the harness" ?

You don't normally do it this way, but it is an accurate statement. Its not dangerous or deadly. when rapelling, you do attach the rope to your harness using a carabiner indirectly. If you tie into a rope anywhere but the bottom you would do so with a carabiner.

If you said two locking carabiners then I'd say nothing. But using a single carabiner to attach to the rope is inadvisable because the biner could rotate, subjecting the force directly on the gate, potentially resulting in a failure with no backup. Unless you are trying to shave seconds off of a multipitch belay changeover, I see no reason not to tie directly in.

Rapelling (in a normal cautious fashion) subjects the tie-in to far less force than leading or even toproping, and would be unlikely to rotate the carabiner. Many people back up all rappels with an autoblock or prussic. There is also a way to tie into the middle of a rope without a carabiner.

But using a single carabiner to attach to the rope is inadvisable because the biner could rotate, subjecting the force directly on the gate, potentially resulting in a failure with no backup.

Go pick on other aritcles/websites that are obviously a lot worse ...

Sure there are some inaccuracies, but I would hardly call them deadly mistakes ...

I trust one locking biner to attach the rope to my harness. Heck most people are willing to trust one belay loop as well. You trust one rope don't you? These three pieces of equipment are generally trusted to be used without redundant back-up. Granted redundancy is good, but not considered necessary in these cases and hardly considered deadly.

The strength of a belay loop on a BD harness is something like 20kn. Ropes vary, but should be well in excess of the strength of a cross-loaded carabiner, which is generally something like 7kn at best. When rapelling or belaying you can visually or manually check the orientation of your carabiner, something I do frequently. This would be difficult while free climbing, impossible while falling.

So, you are introducing a potential weak link of 7kn into your system, the failure of which should most certainly be considered deadly.

Fun stuff! I have a rule- If I see something dangerous that another climber is doing I usually let it go, like clipping in with one locker instead of tying in. (On a TR) This keeps me from getting involved in a prolonged discussion about safety and personal choices.

If I see something DEADLY, something that might fail under body weight I say something right away. This saves me from filling out police reports about accidental deaths. If it turns into an arguement I leave the area because I do NOT want to be involved in their rescue and at least I tried to help. I have only applied this rule two times- once involved daisy chains clipped across the sewn section (400lbs to fail) and the other time involved a boyfriend who did not double back his or his 2 girlfriends harnesses. He was teaching them how to climb. I asked him to stop climbing or get professional instruction before 'guiding' again.

This picture on HowThingsWork.com falls into the DEADLY catagory. I wrote the author a polite email. I think deadly mistakes should never be posted on a "how to" page- no exceptions!


For those of you who could NOT tell immediately that his harness was not doubled back take a second look next time your friend says "Am I on belay?" Especially if she is already 15feet up that scramble start. This is a mistake you never want to miss.



-pip

Fun stuff! I have a rule- If I see something dangerous that another climber is doing I usually let it go, like clipping in with one locker instead of tying in. (On a TR) This keeps me from getting involved in a prolonged discussion about safety and personal choices.

If I see something DEADLY, something that might fail under body weight I say something right away. This saves me from filling out police reports about accidental deaths. If it turns into an arguement I leave the area because I do NOT want to be involved in their rescue and at least I tried to help. I have only applied this rule two times- once involved daisy chains clipped across the sewn section (400lbs to fail) and the other time involved a boyfriend who did not double back his or his 2 girlfriends harnesses. He was teaching them how to climb. I asked him to stop climbing or get professional instruction before 'guiding' again.

This picture on HowThingsWork.com falls into the DEADLY catagory. I wrote the author a polite email. I think deadly mistakes should never be posted on a "how to" page- no exceptions!


For those of you who could NOT tell immediately that his harness was not doubled back take a second look next time your friend says "Am I on belay?" Especially if she is already 15feet up that scramble start. This is a mistake you never want to miss.



-pip