Outside climb

[guest]

I am curious how to approach an outside climb. I have no real climbing experience other than ladders on the inside of towers. Its a sweet jump near my hometown.

Opinions on exits woule also be nice!

[guest]

Walk up to it slowly, so's you don't scare it off.
Put your rig on, with your pilot chute red-to-go, (stowed).
Put on your gloves, climb the sonofabitch.
If you have one of them slider thingy's, be sure to climb up at least 800 feet or so.
If you've taken off the slider, climb up at least 300 feet.
Either way by the time you get there your arms will be tired.
So then just turn around and GO!

[guest]

Nice Response. I nearly fell off my chair laughing (20" alt. slider down, pc stowed).

What kind of climb is it Justin?

[imported_mknutson]

A good friend of mine (Slim), used a 3' quick draw. This is a 3 sling with a carabiner on each end. he hooked one to his harness, and would hook one to the ladder when he wanted to rest.

[hr]
[font color=#9999FF]
Thank You
Mick Knutson :D
[a href=/cgi-bin/gallery/imageFolio.cgi]
[img src=/cgi-bin/gallery/randthumb.cgi?Antenna align=left border=0]
[/a] [link:www.blincmagazine.com|BLiNC Magazine]
"Everything you ever wanted to know about BASE Jumping, but didn't know whom to ask."

[hr]
* [link:www.blincmagazine.com/cgi-bin/forum/dcboard.cgi?az=user_register|Registered with BLiNC?]
* [link:www.basejumper.net|FREE Web Based E-Mail @ BASEJumper.net]
* [link:www.blincmagazine.com/newsletter.shtml|Newsletter]
* [link:www.blincmagazine.com/store/|Store]
* [link:www.blincmagazine.com/review/|Product Ratings]
* [link:www.blincmagazine.com/weather/|Weather]
[/font]

[guest]

Problem being is there is no ladder :)

[guest]

Can you climb up the outside what i mean are the outside beams close enough to use as a sort of ladder i have done one like it in oz and it feel's f#cking dodgy but safe and i'm a short ass good luck

bsbd feral

[crwper]

On all the small antennas I've visited -- I have yet to jump one, but I've climbed several hoping to jump -- there is a ladder, but it's sort of part of the structure, like this:

http://www.blincmagazine.com/forum/u...er/antenna.gif

I wear a climbing harness under my rig, with everything "ready to go". I keep a leash on the harness in case I want to rest, or so I can get everything set up at the top using both hands.

On one of the antennas I've climbed, there was a steel cable running up the middle of the side I was climbing. On some others there is a rail going up the middle. These are, I assume, used as safety devices by people working on the antennas. With the steel cable, I thought I might as well clip into this as I was climbing, since it had stoppers every 50 feet or so. This was a mistake in that it offered me a false sense of security. If I had fallen even half way up a section of cable, I would have fallen about 27 feet onto about 2 feet of spectra leash. In climbing terms, this is known as a factor 13.5 (27/2) fall. Since a factor 2 fall onto nylong rope is generally considered to be pretty harsh on the gear, I can't imagine the outcome of a factor 13.5 fall onto spectra except that I probably would be severely injured or killed by the fall anyway. The moral of the story is, unless you have an ascender you can attach to the cable, it's probably not worth the time to clip in on the way up.

Michael

[guest]

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON Jun-18-01 AT 09:21 AM (PST)[/font][p]Hey Michael:

You can fix the Fall factor problem by using a Petzl Zyper-Y instead of a spectra leash. It's a shock absorber designed for the via ferrata (basically the exact same fall scenario you are confronting).

See: http://www.petzl.com/sport/sportuktest/sport.html

Then click the link for "via ferrata."

--Tom Aiello
tbaiello@ucdavis.edu

[crwper]

I've checked out the Petzl site a couple of times now, and as near as I can tell the Zyper-Y is kind of a re-usable version of sewn shock absorbers, basically changing a static catch into a dynamic one. Does that sound accurate?

I thought a better idea, at least where it's a cable running up the ladder instead of a rail, would be to use a Jumar. I haven't tried, but I think the Jumar will hold the cable, and it would be very quick to move it past the stops. Has anyone tried this?

Michael

[guest]

I've tried both setups. I found that the teeth of a regular ascender (designed for rope), generally do not hold the cable very well. I was very unconfident in it's ability to take even a very short fall. Also, I found that pushing the ascender up the cable was a serious pain. I have used a rescue ascender (made for cable), which made me a lot more confident (I suppose that the real workmen are using a similar device), but I still had the problem of pulling or pushing it the whole length of the cable.

The Zyper-Y configuration let me move much faster, but still gave me the mental confidence boost of having protection. Plus, I do think it's safer (than a rope ascender) in the event of a fall.

If you don't want to shell out for a Zyper-Y, you can create your own using a Yates Belay Slave and a 6' length of dynamic climbing rope. You could probably use another belay device (an ATC style device ought to work ok, as well as an eight set up like a rappel--not through the small eye, as that might lock off), and might even be able to get away with using gym line or static line for the cord.

I won't go into specifics of constructing this pseudo-Zyper, as I believe that anyone who understands the system ought to be able to recreate it, and anyone else ought not to try. I'd still recommend that everyone just buy the real thing, though.

You've also started me thinking about using Screamers (sewn shock absorbers) in the place of the Zyper. Have you tried that setup as well? It wouldn't be re-usable, but it would probably catch the fall (and really how often are you going to fall off a ladder, anyway?).

--Tom Aiello
tbaiello@ucdavis.edu

[crwper]

I've got a Charlet Moser shock absorber (similar to the Screamer), but I've never taken a fall on it, so I don't really know what its parameters are. Since it was designed for mountaineering, rather than via ferrata, it's quite likely designed to take only a factor 2 fall, and spread that out over the length of the zipper to protect dicey placements. I would be cautious about using it to absorb a fall which could be greater than factor 10, since that might lie outside its design parameters.

Michael

[guest]

I've taken exactly two falls onto Screamers (both on sketchy ice screws). In both cases, the Screamer did not tear all the way through the shock absorbing stitching (and the screws held). I've talked to the folks at Yates, and they say that if you clip two (or more) Screamers end to end they should activate in sequence (not simultaneously). So, getting a set of Screamers to take a serious load ought to be a simple matter of hooking more Screamers into the chain. Of course, this may leave you with a 30 foot long chain of Screamers (obviously unusable in our situation).

--Tom Aiello
tbaiello@ucdavis.edu

[guest]

Guy's take a look at this web site. <http://dbisala.com> I am the tower construction business. We pretty much rely on this company.

Be carefull using rope grab's on the cable safety climb's. They might help.. But probably not in most cases.

c-ya

[guest]

If you "really" want to climb this thing and you think you can but it's dicey enough that you might fall or you will certainly need rest then there is a climbing technique called "Simul-Climbing" that should fit your bill (two people tied together climbing at the same rate with some seperation). You will need a partner. Basically, two people are tied together with a climbing rope (20-30 feet of separation will likely work for this occasion). I recommend a real harness but if you want to tie into your rig somehow, well that's up to you. You can use runners and carabineer to protect yourselves along the way but its a nightmare to keep swapping gear all the way up. Instead of using gear, use the structure and the path that you and your partner climb to provide the protection in case of a fall. So, as the leader climbs - you must plan your climbing pattern around the steel such that if you or your partner falls then the rope will be wrapped around something to keep both of you from falling to the ground. I know it sounds nuts but look at the company you keep. And really, if you look at your structure it might be fairly straight forward to accomplish. Check out the book "Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills" for some climbing, anchoring and rescue techniques that all base jumpers could benefit from.

Good luck, and like I said, only if you "Really" want to climb this thing.

M.B.

[crwper]

I can't think of anything on the small antennas I've visited which would serve as natural pro. Can you elaborate?

Michael