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mgsmith88
Jan 20, 2011, 11:10 PM
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I am adventure director at a summer camp. We have an alpine tower, which is a tripod of wood logs about 75 ft up with a platform on top and climbing holds and various hanging obstacles. I am interested in setting up a line for lead climbing, pretty much for myself and a few other staff members. Does anyone have any experience creating one and can lend some advice? Distance between clip ins? Best materials?
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jt512
Jan 20, 2011, 11:26 PM
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mgsmith88 wrote: I am adventure director at a summer camp. We have an alpine tower, which is a tripod of wood logs about 75 ft up with a platform on top and climbing holds and various hanging obstacles. I am interested in setting up a line for lead climbing, pretty much for myself and a few other staff members. Does anyone have any experience creating one and can lend some advice? Distance between clip ins? Best materials?
"Adventure director," "alpine tower." Those are good.
Jay
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dugl33
Jan 20, 2011, 11:44 PM
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Your undertaking seems a little ill-advised. Maybe I'm wrong. Either way, some pics would help.
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benmoreite
Jan 21, 2011, 2:06 AM
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When you say alpine tower, I assume you mean this: http://www.alpinetowers.com/photos/atseries.html
If you do, I would say you should contact Alpine Tower and ask them about lead climbing. If its not one of their designs, well, I still say contact the course builder.
Otherwise, try contacting the ACCT (http://www.acctinfo.org).
You can also try contacting Project Adventure (http://www.pa.org). They sell these 
and these 
edit to make clicky
(This post was edited by benmoreite on Jan 21, 2011, 2:08 AM)
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tower_climber
Jan 22, 2011, 2:38 AM
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First of all:
Lead climbing, especially on a tower, is a dangerous activity that should only be undertaken by climbers with extensive experience with climbing and with the tower itself.
With that said, here is my advice. I have extensive experience with towers and their design particulars. It is possible to set up a lead-climbing route using the tower as a base for anchors.
I am not going to go over how to set up a system like this, because it is something that should be taught by ATI or a rep from ACCT. That is how I learned and the only way I would recommend going about it.
But before you even contact an official agency to talk about this, you need to realize several things.
First of all, none of the rope supplied with your tower is suitable for leading on. And I highly doubt that whatever camp you work for will allow the use of a personal rope.
Secondly, leading on a tower is something that is only recommended as a maintenance function, and then only if absolutely necessary. I have lead towers when the P-cord haul lines have come down, as it is safer than free climbing.
Third, you need to be very clear with your camp administration about what you're planning on doing. Alpine programs in general are huge insurance issues. Doing non-typical things on the tower might not be acceptable, even if only staff are using it.
Finally, be very careful about experimenting on the tower. 80% of the accident I hear about and see on towers and challenge courses are due to staff saying "we're bored, how can we liven things up?" This kind of thinking gets people hurt and can get people killed.
Seek qualified, in-person instruction before attempting any kind of leading on your tower. If you would like some contacts for training, PM me. I'd be happy to help.
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tower_climber
Jan 22, 2011, 2:40 AM
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Really Jay? I enjoy reading most of your posts. But if you simply have no idea about a topic there are options. You could simply not post in the thread.
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jt512
Jan 22, 2011, 3:23 AM
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tower_climber wrote: Really Jay? I enjoy reading most of your posts. But if you simply have no idea about a topic there are options. You could simply not post in the thread.
I exercised an option. No one says you have to like it.
Jay
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dindolino32
Jan 22, 2011, 3:58 AM
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My new boss at our climbing gym touts that she was a director of a ropes course in our local area. Even though she can say big words like 1. belay, 2. auto-belay, and 3. belay device, she has no real understanding of climbing, technique, or what makes something safe or unsafe. I don't want to assume too much, however the resume of ropes course seems lacking of.... experience. Certainly wouldn't trust anything that she has created or built.
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benmoreite
Jan 22, 2011, 3:13 PM
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tower_climber wrote: Really Jay? I enjoy reading most of your posts. But if you simply have no idea about a topic there are options. You could simply not post in the thread.
Whatever, I laughed.
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guangzhou
Jan 24, 2011, 2:24 AM
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Two different worlds for sure. What I wonder is, if you're so much more knowledgeable able safety and running a gym program, why is she manager and not you?
Managing and climbing are two different worlds too.
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tower_climber
Jan 25, 2011, 8:04 PM
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Because I'm worried that someone might read parts of my post out of context, I'll add in one more tidbit.
The tower construction itself is not appropriate for bolting in lead anchors. Do not attempt to attach anchors using lag screws. These screws and the wood construction of the tower are not rated to hold falls.
Bolting on holds with the lag screws is fine because the holds will never be expected to hold a fall. But an anchor is likely to rip the screw right out of the wood.
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dindolino32
Jan 30, 2011, 2:45 AM
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I have a full time job in the health care field that pays well. Her job entails managing the kids daycare and activities. This just happens to be in the umbrella of the rock gym. Trust me, I am not underestimating her climbing knowledge. She thinks that auto locking biners that no longer lock just need some WD-40 to fix it. Really they are just worn out from the kids using them for the past 2 years.
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