Carrying rope

[cutitup]

I climb with a split tail system and, like everyone else, use my rope as a second lanyard while butt hitching and "try" to carry the rest so I have it ready for "the great escape" should the need arise. My problem is I can't seem to find a satisfactory way to attach my rope to my harnes yet keep it reasonably accesable. So far I've tried a large 'biner and that let's the rope fall loose and get's awful close to my gaff's. I've also used a short piece of loop sling girth hitched around the coil the clipped to the harness. That works well but's a bit slow to be used for regular climbing. Any ideas? Thanks.

 

[Banned by Squirrels]

If I had a need to climb with a big hank of rope I would use a back pack.

 

[sotc]

guess im no help, i dont "carry" my rope. welcome to the house!

 

[thattreeguy]

ok i may be a lil slow this mornin,
are you saying besides the lanyard you tie in to a false crotch on the trunk
and youre worried about having your rope dangling loose in front of your feet,
ok well in an emergency how would you go about undoing a halfway coiled rope

 

[NeTree]

Perhaps a smaller dedicated line just for self-rescue? Something on the order of 6 or 7mm?

 

[CurSedVoyce]

A loop runner holds coiled rope real well with a biner.

 

[gf beranek]

"A loop runner holds coiled rope real well with a biner."

Ditto that.

 

[CurSedVoyce]

Or I can rephrase that to "old worn loop runners" that I would not use for rigging anymore (frayed or what knot) holds coiled rope real well with a biner
Just make sure that's all you use it for
Well, you could store electric cords with them....
I am sure there are more than one or two uses

 

[thattreeguy]

a loop runner is great for that , but his "great bailout " would be thwarted by rope being secured in loop runner,
try doing it 1 handed
i let my rope hang

 

[cutitup]

Thanks, guy's! I do use the loop sling method and it holds the rope well, just a bit slow. As far a carrying the rope goes I'm surprised that more of ya don't carry it. It has some advantages insofar as if you go up one route and come down another or move about the canopy it's much easier then to keep pulling the whole length around. Plus the fact that, with my luck, whenver I 'bomb' away I always seem to hit my @#$$! rope no matter where I try to move it too!

 

[Dave Shepard]

One climber I worked under used a small "tactical" rope bag attached to the harness. It was a much more compact and light weight bag than a normal canvas bag. In a bail out scenario, the rope "should" feed right out of the bag.

 

[darkstar]

Carrying the rope was always standerd pratice for me.
My climbing line got bombed once , its was very very scary.
Mostly i just got into the habit of it equipping rock climbs solo.
If the rope below gets stuck on anything you screwed.
Same for doing tree work solo.
I found the line mans coil to be pretty sufficient, but a rope bag would seem to deffinatly be the way to go.

 

[Treeslayer]

180' of black widow in the little bag.

 

[cutitup]

Yeah, What Darkstar said!! A rope bag - that's why you guy's rock! I knew there had to be something obvious and easy! Time to go seek out just the right rope bag I need now.

 

[SkwerI]

Not trying to sell you on anything, but one of our forum members developed and marketed his own brand of rope bag a couple years ago. They were exceptionally well made and designed, but eventually it got to be too much. He spoke with the people from Wesspur who are now handling the manufacture and sale of the 'HC' rope bag.

If you have an hour, here's the original thread on the topic.
http://www.gypoclimber.com/showthread.php?t=3922

 

[Knotahippie]

If I was gonna' sling a rope, I'd lay it in hanks, over a knee or a branch first.

 

[CurSedVoyce]

Then there's the ol slip knot quick release method, just don't get it hung up on a branch

 

[TC3]

Is it just me, or does anyone here ever wonder if there's a bit of overkill in the 'safety' department ? (no pun intended)
There's a can of worms, ey ?
Haul 8 lbs. of bulk around with you ev-er-y time you climb for the event of your life.
To me, it's like carrying mace or pepper spray in my hand 24-7 waiting to be attacked.
Sorry.
I'm sure I misunderstood the question.

 

[cutitup]

Well,TC3, no offense taken but in my case I often work alone. Or if I'm lucky I have my son helping me. He's quite helpful but doesn't have the 'muscle' to help me if I really need a strong hand. So as far a being safety consious I probably should'nt be working alone or using 'boy's' as groundies. So I just try to boost the odd's and work as safe as I possibly can is such situations. In a rec climb or at other times I my 'loosen' up a bit. I change as the situation changes.

 

[DMc]

Cutitup, Welcome to the House.

Working by yourself does create a special set of circumstances that need to be addressed. In most cases your excess line should be able to be handled in a normal fashion as long as its length is not excessive for the tree you are working on. With no groundcrew it is up to you to analyze your cuts in regards to your rope location to avoid entanglement. Take the time if necessary to move the tail out of the way.

Your initial question of bucking down a spar where your climbing line is choked off for an escape (what are you using for a descending device in that situation, by the way?) you are correct to be concerned about excess rope in the drop zone. Anybody who has experienced the weight of a free falling log or large branch hooking and snagging their climbing line on its way to the ground will appreciate why this is a concern. The other concern is just smashing your rope where it lays in coils on the ground.

On big removals I will often hang my rope off my hip in coils. Coiling the rope and hanging it from your belt is really quite simple. By taking a bite of the rope, wrapping the bite a couple of times around the coils then taking the bite through the top of the coils and clipping it onto a carabiner. It will stay put but shake loose when you need it.

Dave

 

[thattreeguy]

you could keep your rope in a small deployment bag on your hip as well

 

[cutitup]

Thanks, DMc. Yes you understand from where I'm coming from. And BTW I'm using/carry a figure eight for my desending device. And my climbing line is around the spar with a running bowline. Which is, of course, in addition to my lanyard.
While I've never had the "pleasure" of having my climibing line pulled - at least not very hard - by a falling piece I have had several times my line smashed while lying on the ground

 

[Bermy]

a loop runner is great for that , but his "great bailout " would be thwarted by rope being secured in loop runner,
try doing it 1 handed
i let my rope hang

Ditto...

I am assuming we are talking about sectioning a stem???

When sectioning, I have my climbing rope choked below the lanyard, its clipped back into a bent gate crab on my hip so that keeps it out of the way of the spikes, the free end dangles.

 

[CurSedVoyce]

I don't work alone. So the groundsman gets the job. Now granted my new rope took a hit the other day (somebody was not watching) but close to the end so I got lucky.
And Che.... When I am about 75 - 100 feet up, if shat happens, that line is my way down to aid if shat happens.
Very important to be safe out there. I would rather play it safe, than have Katy explain to the kids where and what happened to daddy.

And I really like the "Black Widow" idea. Rob and I have been hashing where we could get that small line he used in the military. Thanks for putting that out there. 7000# line at 1/4 inch would be a great emergency repel line. Just make sure you test your wraps on your figure 8 before you use it and better wear some gloves!
Guess Sherrill has it.

 

[blewgrass]

first time i spiked up a tree by myself i pre-rigged my belay device to my climbing line in case i lost my nerve or anything happened. pulled a few feet through my atc attached to my saddle bridge and then ran the rest around my hip to the back of my saddle and clipped through a biner. still had a puddle of rope on the ground that might take a hit but i was ready to tie those few feet around the spar and rap if i had to quickly.