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sparky
Jul 20, 2002, 11:55 PM
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getting ready to take up my first pig, any tips?
[ This Message was edited by: sparky on 2002-08-07 18:35 ]
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krustyklimber
Jul 21, 2002, 1:53 AM
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Read through this forum... look for the "chongo's 2;1 ratchet" and the "far end hauler" threads.
Jeff
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apollodorus
Jul 21, 2002, 2:21 AM
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Bonatti Kong Block. It's got a bigger wheel and is stronger than most hauling pulleys. The integral jumar cam locks in the open position, and you can load and unload the rope without unclipping it from the anchors.
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hollyclimber
Jul 23, 2002, 12:30 AM
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Is this it?
What's the retail?
Kong Block Roll.
[ This Message was edited by: hollyclimber on 2002-08-04 09:09 ]
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smithclimber
Aug 1, 2002, 7:38 AM
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Yeah Holly, that's it. I HIGHLY recommend you check out the Petzl Protraxion. It does everything the Kong will, and then a few extra things. I have one and swear by it. Check em both out before you buy one.
Cheers
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apollodorus
Aug 1, 2002, 9:17 AM
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The ProTraxion looks like a great pulley. But, the rated working load is only 560 lbs (each side of the rope). This may seem like a lot, but when you get two guys counter-weighting a big bag and it's getting stuck under roofs, 560 is nothing.
The Kong Block pulley is rated for 3300 lbs, and the integral cam at 1100. This isn't quite enough for most rescue work, but is plenty strong for wall climbing.
So, I guess the thing here is that for serious, long wall climbs with multiple heavy pigs, the Kong Block or other heavy-duty wall pulley is going to be better. For a typical wall, the lighter weight and features of the ProTraxion probably make it the better choice.
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justsendingits
Aug 1, 2002, 7:28 PM
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Check out the thread on the Petzl warning for the Pro trax and the mini.--There has to be some basis for them to put a warning on the front page of there web site.
Also,I was told by 2 climbing shops(Yosemite mountain shope)that the Pro and the mini are no longer available.
R
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hollyclimber
Aug 4, 2002, 4:16 PM
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I have a mini traxion and it works fine for me, but I have to take another look at the warnings to make sure I know what the issues. I know there is also some discussion here, if anyone is curious.
hgb
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passthepitonspete
Aug 5, 2002, 9:22 PM
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Dr. Piton's
1:1 Hauling Tips
[The Championship Pig Wrestling Series]
Eight hundred feet up the mighty Southwest Face of El Capitan, a cry of frustration rang out from above.
"*@#$*!! I simply can't budge this pig!"
"Shut up and haul," was my practised reply, as I looked to remove the next piece of gear from the crack. Oh, there it was, fifty feet above me - Tom had "crack jumared" nearly the whole damn pitch on his giant homemade cams.
Meanwhile, the pigs hung next to me, silent and unmoving.
"I can't move it! It's just TOO HEAVY!"
I could hear the anger mounting in the Big Wall Theorist's voice.
Clearly, I thought, this was the fault of the operateur.
"You pussy!" I shouted up, "I'm twenty pounds lighter than you, and I've been 1:1 hauling those damn things for two freakin' days all by myself! If you think they're heavy today, you should have felt them yesterday....."
"And my hips are killing me!"
That did it. I exploded.
"Of course your hips hurt! They're supposed to hurt, you wanker! This is a Big Wall - it ain't no weinie roast!"
Sheesh.
"Shut up and wait," I sighed. "I'll be up in a minute....."
I pulled the rope through the Grigri on my harness, and advanced to the next placement far above me.
If you would like to see a photo of the very place this little episode occured, then please click here.
Note: When I finished cleaning the pitch, I hopped on the end of the haul line, and the two of us space hauled together. This is a normal thing to do on the wall, but it is far more efficient for the leader to be able to haul the pigs by himself while the seconder cleans the pitch. This way, no time is wasted, and the leader can take off on lead as soon as the seconder arrives, or even sooner if you are leading in blocks and the leader is prepared to take off solo.
It has often been said, "Climbing big valls is just a different kind of suffering." And nowhere is this truism more self-evident than while you are hauling.
Sure, you can set up a 2:1 Hauling Ratchet, and indeed you probably have been doing this already, but there eventually comes a time on every wall when you just get fed up with the 2:1, and you want to haul a bit faster using a 1:1.
Now intuitively, you might think that effective 1:1 hauling is merely a question of blood, sweat and tears, but nothing could be further from the truth! As you can see from the exchange above, this is not always enough.
Fortunately, there is a Better Way.
There is always a Better Way!
The purpose of this article is to teach you the Better Way to haul your pig up the wall, and to offer you a few Dr. Piton Big Wall Tips to assist you in your Championship Pig Wrestling.
This way you can keep the ship moving at all times, without having to wait for the seconder to arrive at the belay to assist in the hauling.
I wrote the rough notes for this post while on the wall and drinking my coffee here. I wanted to make sure I covered every detail.
So like, c'mon eh?
Hauling may be bad, but it doesn't have to be that bad!
Remember, I'm tremendously lazy. If it were that bad, do you think I'd climb big walls?
Sheesh.
Getting Set Up
The first thing you need to do is to figure out where you should set up your Compound Pulley.
[Note: When I speak of a "compound pulley", I mean your 1:1 hauling device that consists of a pulley and cam assembly, like a Wall Hauler or a Traxion.]
The best compound pulley by far is the Kong Block Roll, which hottieclimber has linked above.
Chances are, you will be standing on a ledge. While this tends to be comfortable, it is not necessarily the best scenario for hauling, since the haul line will run against the ledge, thus creating unwanted and much-hated friction in your hauling system.
In order to minimize this friction where the rope touches the front of the ledge, you must reduce the angle at which the rope bends across the ledge. The less bend in the rope, the less friction you must fight. This you achieve by setting up your haul device as high as you possibly can!
This is not always easy - frequently anchor bolts are placed by people who were not drilling on their tippy-toes, and you will find the anchor too low. Also, if you have a really heavy sow and/or poor anchors, then you will have to equalize anchors with slings or a cordalette, thus dropping your hauling point even farther.
If there is a big honkin' 3/8" bolt, then you may wish to hang your compound pulley directly from that in order to keep it as high as possible. Make sure you back it up with a sling to other anchors, and that there is no slack in the backup slings.
And don't put the compound pulley directly into the bolt - use a transient carabiner to maintain an extra degree of freedom.
Duh.
You never put anything directly through your anchor bolt, except the carabiner that you intend to leave there. This should either be a locker, or a D-carabiner [not an oval!] whose history you are sure of. There must be no question in your mind that your anchor carabiners are bomber.
The next thing you need to do is to eliminate clusterf*ckage. Tidy up your slings and daisies so you're not tripping all over them. Make sure your haul line bag is conveniently located at the "downstream" side of your compound pulley. Make sure everything is out of the way and that your work area is unobstructed.
You will be switching ends on the haul line on each and every pitch. Therefore you must have TWO rope protectors for each haul line, a rope protector being a two-litre pop bottle with only the bottom cut out [leave].
The benefits of switching ends on your haul line with each haul are twofold - firstly you depreciate your haul line equally at both ends, and secondly your rope is pre-stacked and ready to go.
If you are soloing, then you need only one rope bag per haul line.
But if you are climbing with a partner, then you will require *TWO* rope bags per haul line.
Make sure you have enough rope bags, as they are the key to clusterf*ck management!
You don't need anything fancy-shmancy for a rope bag, either. Just about any sturdy bag will do - you can sew on a clip-in loop on one side.
Take your bag and a piece of webbing to the shoe repairman in the mall. If you are an outdoor adventurer, he should be one of your best friends who will always cut you a deal because you bring him so much business making and repairing all your stuff!
Positioning Your Body
If there is not too much friction from the rope rubbing across the ledge, then you will be able to haul while you are standing on the belay ledge. In this case, you will be hauling with your Grigri. Make sure you have your Grigri mounted on your harness.
Do NOT haul with a jug!
Your Grigri is a far superior device to use since it allows you to put slack into the haul line even while you are weighting it. You will find out just how important this is when it is time to dock your pig.
Plus the Grigri is much more comfortable to operate - you can pull the haul line up through the Grigri easier than you can pull the haul line down through your jug.
The next thing you must do is,
TIE YOURSELF IN LONG!
I cannot emphasize how fundamental this is to proper hauling! If you are not tied in long, then you will hose yourself. Give yourself a break - if you are able to stand on the ledge then five or even ten feet of slack is what you should be using!
Do NOT rely on your haul line as your means of staying alive! Use a separate backup.
Generally speaking, you will tie yourself in long using the excess lead rope. If your pitch was a full ropelength and you do not have enough lead rope left over, you will have to tie yourself in using something else like your daisies, aiders and/or slings. But the lead rope is always best since it is the least clusterf*cked.
If the rope running across the ledge beneath you creates too much friction for you to be able to haul while you are standing on the ledge, then it is time to GET SERIOUS.
I will talk below about hauling when ledge friction is a problem.
For now, let's assume you have a decent ledge to stand on, and that your haul line does not rub against the outside of the ledge very badly.
Steel Your Resolve
Look, before you even start hauling, let's get something straight here, K?
This is going to hurt.
And it's going to hurt a lot.
You should expect your kidneys to be crushed, and your waist to become abraded!
If you are up here in some woosy-assed sport climbing harness that slices your body into ribbons, it's your own damn fault. Should you find yourself in this situation, you may deservedly imagine the mocking voice of Dr. Piton saying,
"I told you so."
If you are on a big wall, you must expect to suffer.
You must steel your mind.
SHUT UP AND HAUL.
Hauling From A Ledge
OK, you're on a vell-organicized ledge, and the clusterf*ckage has been minimized. Your co-efficient of wank is under control, and approaches zero.
It's now time to haul that damn PIG! Get your Grigri onto the haul line.
There are a few tricks and techniques that you can use to make your 1:1 hauling easier:
You must put your feet above your head! Yes, this is terrifying when you're thousands of feet in space! Get used to it. You haul with your legs, not with your arms. Get used to turning upside down and pushing down with your legs.
Make darn sure the waist belt is well-tightened on your harness!
Grab the tight part of the haul line beneath you with either your hands or a jug, and pull upwards and pull outwards with your hands as you push downwards with feet.
This effectively gives you a 2:1 mechanical advantage. Pulling outwards reduces friction where the haul line or even the pig rubs against the wall.
Use efficient body motion and make an efficient stroke. Make sure you are moving your body in the right direction!
Sometimes, you might want to haul by pushing your knees against the wall. When kneeling, you can also put the palm of one hand against the wall and lever off of it, too. Try different variations, like one hand pulling up on the haul line while the other hand pushes down against the wall.
Have a pullup bar or pullup sling handy so you can pull yourself back up. Don't use just your arms - make sure you press down on the ledge with your feet when you stand back up to make another stroke.
Stack the haul line into a haul line bag as you haul. Flaking your rope on a sling is for Big Wall Theorists, and begs a clusterf*ck.
Maintain complete control over your haul line at all times! You must NEVER allow your haul line to blow in the wind [where it could hang up on a flake fifty feet horizontally away, and then what would you do?!], and you must NEVER allow your haul line to dangle beneath your pigs where it is certain to tangle in your Catch Lines. This is not Big Wall Prophecy - this is Big Wall Fact.
Get MAD at it, dammit! Use some frickin' muscle! Heave up on that rope for all you're worth! This is no time for half-measures! Grunt and groan and show that pig who's boss!
Hauling From Beneath A Ledge
When ledge friction is a problem because the haul line rubs against the ledge, then it is time to GET SERIOUS.
You must get your lard ass below the ledge.
The first thing you must do is to tie yourself in WAY LONG with fifteen or twenty feet of slack.
Yeah, that's right - get BELOW the ledge! It's the only way you can overcome the friction.
This may not be an altogether pleasant sensation when you are dangling two thousand feet off the deck!
I never said it would be comfortable, for cryin' out loud.
Sheesh.
Get used to it! You are the idiot who chose to be here!
After tying yourself in long, put your Grigri onto the haul line, and rappel down until you are just beneath the ledge. It is from this point that you will begin to haul.
Needless to say, you are now dangling in space, so you will need to use both your Grigri and your jug. After each stroke, you will have to jug back up the haul line.
Everything else applies here, in that you must turn yourself upside down as you haul.
It is especially important to pull the rope outwards, not just to reduce friction on the haul line between you and your pig, but to reduce the friction on the haul line where it rubs against the ledge above you.
This means that you may be pulling outwards almost as much as you are pulling down. This may involve a sort of circular motion whereby you first pull out followed by a smooth transition pulling down.
Timing The Bounce
When you are hauling, you will discover an "inertial effect" whereby the co-efficient of dynamic friction is less than the co-efficient of static friction. This is to say, once the pig gets moving, it becomes easier to move.
"Get it?"
This means that where friction is a problem, you need to "take a run at it."
And this is precisely what I mean - you must RUN DOWN THE WALL as you haul the pig up! This is the reason that you must tie yourself in long.
Turn yourself upside-down and grab the haul line, and as you pull up, start running down! After you finish running down, you will have to jug back up.
Sometimes you will find yourself dangling free in space. In this instance you cannot run down the wall - instead, you will have to pull yourself hand over hand down the haul line.
You may find that your strokes are now about ten feet long. You will need to find the optimum place to operate, depending on the bumps and curves in the wall, and where your haul line rubs.
In order to make things easier on yourself, you can time the bounce. Even static ropes allow some stretch, and by "timing the bounce" I mean that you must get this rope stretch to work for you, and not against you.
What this means is that you must watch your compound pulley, and as you haul, carefully watch your pulley's oscillations. The oscillations will change, incidentally, as your pig approaches the haul station. The shorter the length of haul line, the higher the frequency of the oscillations.
So when I say to "time the bounce," I mean you must time your pull to pull down when you see your compound pulley oscillate outwards.
If you time the bounce right, you will achieve a huge mechanical advantage! This is not something that can be easily explained, and there is only one effective way to learn it -
Practise.
Troubleshooting
The pig won't move.
Here are some possible solutions:
You have hosed yourself. You are tight against either your daisy chain or your backup tie-in rope. Give yourself more slack. Check this first before you check anything else, as it is easy to do.
The pig is stuck under a roof. Desperate times require more desperate measures.
When the pig gets stuck, the first thing you should do is try pulling out on the haul line. I mean, REALLY PULL OUT! Pull for all you're worth!
Another Big Wall Tip is to lower the pig perhaps two to four feet, and take a run AS you pull out! This takes timing, practise and technique, but is often sufficient to get the pig to pass around minor obstacles
Keep trying the technique above - it may take you several attempts before you succeed. Try moving the haul line at different angles to see if you can free it.
If the bag is hopelessly stuck, then either your partner will have to free it, or you will have to rappel down the lead rope to free it yourself.
If you must free it yourself, then you bloody better have set up a Far End Hauler on your pig, or you will be cursing the day you ever set foot on the wall!
The Far End Hauler will form part of the upcoming presentation,
Dr. Piton's Championship Pig Wrestling Series,
a collection of RC.com Articles I am putting together with the help of Andrew [atg200], Bob [bshaftoe] and Hillary [climbsomething].
Git it now while the gittin' is good - it ain't gonna be free for long!
I am Dr. Piton,
and I have wrestled many a pig in my day.
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karlbaba
Aug 6, 2002, 1:25 AM
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Thanks for taking the time to lay it all out very clearly Dr. P. I kept waiting for you to leave something out so I could chime in with a bit of wisdom. But, you covered it all, proving you are a truly lazy bastard!
Here are some tid-bits for folks to consider.
If it's hot, put a bit of hard candy in your mouth so you don't get cotton mouth and suck down more water than you need. Jolly Ranchers and Atomic Fireballs are my favorite.
If you don't want to jug back up the rope after each pull, I clip two or three aiders together, hang em low and use them to get back up again. Sometimes I'll clip my daisy chain in to them somewhere if I wasn't able to tie in slack enought to reach as low as I wanted.
Your Haul bag needs a name. My longest living haul-bag's name is Dorf (pronounced with a German Accent)
Like Pete says, never give up. If it gets stuck, lower it a bit, pull it right or left a bit, go up and down until you time the bounce, orientation of the straps relative to the roof, and everything else just right and are redeemed. Don't discount the pulling up on the tight haul line while you pull down the other side. It works like magic
Perseverance is everything on big walls.
Peace
Karl
Karl
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drewcoleman
Aug 6, 2002, 10:15 PM
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Dr. Piton always has detailed posts. RIGHT ON MAN!!! Share the knowledge!
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apollodorus
Aug 7, 2002, 2:57 AM
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When PTPP shouts up vile epithets, it's slander. But printing and disseminating it at large is LIBEL!
And not only that, he forgot to tell everyone that the haul rope will catch on rivet heads on traversing pitches, requiring the cleaner (ME) to lower midpitch on the Gri-Gri and take big-air swings to grab, tug and free the rope. It's not polite to crank on the haul rope when it's stuck on the sharply mushroomed head of a rivet. Not even when it's your partner's haul rope. PTPP did not crank on the rope that time, by the way.
My hauling tip is to go NASA: a solar panel, a big motorcycle battery, a gear motor and a capstan. The numbers all work out. You only need about a 2x2 foot panel to charge the battery up during the two/four hours the leader is fooling around with "equalizing heads" and "tieing off stacked beaks" and other nonsense. As a bonus, you can put on a laser light show for the Winnebagoists at night with all that excess energy ("Pa! What izzit, pa? Them's aliens???")
As soon as I can find a flexible photovoltaic solar panel, I'm making it into a portaledge.
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justsendingits
Aug 12, 2002, 6:17 PM
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PTPP,need help,how do I pass a knot through the hauler,using a 1-1 haul? Sheesh!! like I know that a prusik is involved eh!!--Thanx
R
[ This Message was edited by: justsendingits on 2003-01-09 18:53 ]
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passthepitonspete
Aug 12, 2002, 9:38 PM
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The Traditional Way to pass a knot using a 1:1 hauling system is as follows. Note that I did not say pass the knot through the hauler - rather you will be bypassing the hauler.
Here's how:
Bring the knot up to the 1:1 hauler as close as you can without jamming it.
Next, you use either an inverted ascender or prusik to hold the weight of the load beneath the 1:1 hauling device.
You must put the holding device far enough below the knot that you have enough haul line between the knot and the holding device that you can re-insert your 1:1 hauler.
Next thing is to back up the haul line by tying it into something! So after you remove the tension on your 1:1 hauler and put some slack into the haul line, you tie the haul line into your anchor as a backup.
After it's backed up, you can remove the 1:1 hauler from above the knot, and put it on below the knot.
Here's the catch - you must lower the position of the 1:1 hauler. You will typically lose two or three feet in this operation
That's the Traditional Way.
But fortunately, there is a Better Way.
There is always a Better Way!
The Better Way is to slap your 2:1 Hauling Ratchet onto the haul line, and cross the knot in about fifteen seconds flat, without losing any height or having to rerig anything.
Duh.
Just make sure the Zed-Cord on your hauling ratchet is at least ten feet long, and have two ascenders handy to jug the Zed-Cord enough to lift the knot past the 1:1 Holding Ratchet in your system.
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justsendingits
Aug 22, 2002, 8:39 AM
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Dr.P.--Whats the best way to get the weight on to the acender,or prusik,if I do not have the gear for the 2-1 ???I have a Petz wall hauler,you know the one they bought from Rock Exotica.--Anyway,I take out the pin,pull the teeth back while weighting the rope, and slowly lower it on to the jumar.
Is there a " better way" to unload the 1-1 if you don't have the gear for the pully's for the 2-1??Could I use biners instead of pully's for the 2-1???
Cheers
R
[ This Message was edited by: justsendingits on 2002-08-22 01:45 ]
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passthepitonspete
Aug 22, 2002, 9:01 AM
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Hey Rich,
The way you describe is about the only way I could figure out to do it without the Zed-cord.
If you are going to have to cross a knot, I would certainly grab yourself at least a ten foot hunk of five to seven mil cord that you can use for the Zed-cord.
For the purposes of crossing a knot, you are right - you can substitute carabiners for the pulleys. You will have extra friction to overcome, but you're a big lad!
Hope you make it to Yos. before I leave at the end of September, mate!
Cheers,
Pete
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justsendingits
Aug 22, 2002, 9:21 AM
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Ya, using biner's for the 2-1--due to lack of pully's would work fine,even for smaller guys.You would only have to haul it a few feet.It's not like climbers are weaklings eh!!!
And I don't want to hear your spew about how weak you are,I schleeped loads with you before in exchange for beta.For a skinny lad,you shure can hump loads up the choss!!
Having finance problems,(puttung a solo rack together)will not be able to come out to the valley until Oct.--Would loooove to watch you do Scorched earth!!!!
Cheers
R
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passthepitonspete
Nov 3, 2002, 8:56 PM
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For reasons I do not completely understand, I somehow failed to mention that if you are NOT using the Kong Block Roll for your 1:1 hauling needs, then you are doing things the "Traditional Way".
Note that whenever Dr. Piton uses the word "traditional", he really means "stupid".
This is what the thing looks like,
and you can click here to read Gary Storrick's shtick on the Kong Block Roll.
You can click here to see an actual on-the-wall photo of my Kong Block Roll incorporated into a 2:1 Hauling Ratchet.
Kong Block Rolls are not unlike hens' teeth in that they are difficult to locate, but the thing only costs about $30 U.S. more than a Wall Hauler and it is well worth the effort to find one.
I am Dr. Piton,
and Chongo has taught me well that doing things the hard way is the sport of fools.
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copperhead
Jan 3, 2003, 8:57 AM
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Quote:
Note that whenever Dr. Piton uses the word "traditional", he really means "stupid".
REALLY?
You should be careful when you refer to the methods of many experienced Valley climbers as “stupid.”
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apollodorus
Jan 3, 2003, 10:22 AM
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Dr. Piton has surgically brought many to the top. His methods, concepts and PROVEN theories leave little for desparagement in the face of ACTUAL practice.
I challenge anyone to say that Dr. Piton's methods are wrong on the wall.
Everything he does works. (He can make a mistake, OK, fine, but that was ONCE!)
If you want to wall up, you'd better check out Dr. Piton's Better Way, because it WORKS.
Dr. Piton can take a totally Gumby up not one, but TWO hardcore walls, and not bail. And not only that, do them in style with coffee and croissants.
I know. I was the Gumby.
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copperhead
Jan 3, 2003, 5:54 PM
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Quote:
I challenge anyone to say that Dr. Piton's methods are wrong on the wall.
Are you sure you want to say that?
Quote:
Everything he does works. (He can make a mistake, OK, fine, but that was ONCE!)
It only takes once to die.
In all fairness, I really should wait until he gets back to bring this stuff up.
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elcapbuzz
Jan 4, 2003, 7:22 PM
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Quote:
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Everything he does works. (He can make a mistake, OK, fine, but that was ONCE!)
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I don't want to turn this into a "flaming war"...... BUT.....
Pete is human. Humans make errors. I'm sure Pete will agree with me on this.
If he doesn't.... I will remind him about the whole rack of pins he dropped on Sea of Dreams. (Ok, that was once) How about the entire pig that was scattered (Pete's flawless system, failed) at the base of El Cap a few months ago. I heard it came close to hitting someone.
I've said it before. Pete is a GREAT wall climber. He has unselfishly posted more beta than anyone on this site (so far).
But..... let's put things in perspective.
He is not GOD.
We are all equal in this world..... and we equally make mistakes.
Cheers, Ammon
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timpanogos
Jan 5, 2003, 4:53 AM
Post #23 of 63
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Registered: May 17, 2002
Posts: 935
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To the likes of Ammon and Bryan (i.e. very experienced big wallers):
Ammon said, ”I've said it before. Pete is a GREAT wall climber. He has unselfishly posted more beta than anyone on this site (so far).”
Ammon’s “so far” statement intrigues me personally. I think Pete’s intention is to leave a trail of beta (the index is a good start) that could lead other gumbies like myself from start to successful completion of a big-wall.
One positive aspect of Pete’s “God like” personal here at RC.COM, has been to keep much of his indexed threads fairly focused on the topic. For example I will gladly delete this post to keep the thing on topic – so the next gumby can focus on trying to wade through Pete’s posts and pull out the meat.
It would have been nice for me to have had a step by step, and here is why, precise spoon feed, text like presentation on the system that he uses – It’s been a much harder academic pursuit to try and visualize, draw out, rig up, and try to understand what the heck is up – but maybe that has been a boon for me – as it has made me have to internalize and make sure I understand the various parts of the system – so as not to die.
Of course I’m all ears, if there are subtle flaws in Pete’s system – or perhaps there are parts of the system that really are personal preference – which other input will help others to also adapt a base system to their own needs/preference. And better yet if that base system – is a very complete, even complex system, which helps us to understand the potential pro’s and con’s of modifying that system; for speed, for cost, for whatever, as long as the underlying knowledge of the principles are their, so that we can apply risk management to our own levels of acceptance.
Maybe it would be well for you guys to get with Pete on a personal bases, and discuss how the vast amount of effort he was put into this can be respected and yet also allow for a true forum of analysis of state-of-the-art aiding systems.
Almost as verbose as Pete, but just my 2 cents worth.
Chad
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alpinelynx
Jan 5, 2003, 5:29 AM
Post #24 of 63
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Registered: Aug 11, 2002
Posts: 280
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there isn't only one way to do things and what one person envisions as the 'better way' may not be the 'better way' for another. Personally, I research research research a topic in order to understand how it works. The purpose? Knowledge is power and, I don't really want to die climbing. The more I know about something, the more secure I feel when something heinous arises.
However, I am a fan of the elegant and simplest solutions to problems. Engineering feats are cool, but not my style.
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apollodorus
Jan 5, 2003, 5:30 AM
Post #25 of 63
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Registered: Feb 18, 2002
Posts: 2157
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Get the Yates Wall Harness, or at least steal all the foam from your couch cushions and duct-tape it into your sport harness' waist loop.
You need to be able to turn upside down and push off the wall to haul effectively. If your harness doesn't have the padding, you will be hurting. Nobody's kidneys are strong enough.
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