General > Practical Knots
low-risk climbing ideas, rope harness etc.
Lelandbug:
Yo all,
I was thinking (don't worry, if you think only a kid would come up with this, I am a kid, just a smart one :) that it would be cool to make a rope harness for climbing up to the top bar in a swingset, to fix the swings which have been looped over the top and knotted so they are impossible to use. It seems like a pretty good idea, and might even work for accessing tree branches. I have a pretty basic idea of how the harness will work, with some double or triple butterfly knots, but I don't know what kind of cinching knot I could use. I was thinking maybe I could set up two prusik knots and use them pretty much as the normal climber would. Any ideas?
It's obviously not too risky, as it's only up about 10 feet up, but also if anyone has something to say against suspending your whole body above the ground with just a rope, then please do so.
Dan_Lehman:
Firstly, the suggestion that "only 10 feet up" means that there is no danger
must be chucked out of belief: one can end up paralyzed or worse, from
a fall of such height. And falling a short distance on unstretchy rope can
impart serious injury (say, to your spine). Rockclimbers, e.g., count the
ratio of fall distance to rope in the arresting system--their "fall factor".
As for dealing with something 10' up, using the sort of rope-climbing system
you seem to want is indulging in rope play rather than solving the problem
(swings, here)--something I'm good at (finding a reason, er, excuse to involve
rope). Simple solution: make a rope ladder (etrier, a French term), and
climb up that (suitably anchored after being tossed over the top bar).
Etriers were typically made of solid webbing/tape, which was comfortable
to stand in. One tied Overhand knots in suitable step-wise increments,
in a doubled rope, making one side longer than the other in order for it
to provide sufficient room for ones foot. (A series of Butterfly loops is
NOT the answer, so nevermind Ashley.)
Then again, a grappling hook & line might serve to retrieve/unwrap the
swings from ground level (or entangle one's rope onto the swing!).
--dl*
====
turks head 54:
I agree with Dan that a fall while doing this operation
would be painful if not deadly. I have experience in climbing
and if you get tangled in your setup the results would be
bad. My advice is to get someone with the proper experience
to untangle those swings.
TH54
Lelandbug:
I suppose you guys are right. :-\ Especially that the system that I came up with is more playing around then efficiently solving the problem. Might a more efficient way be using four prusik loops to get to the top, untangling the swing, untying the rope and climbing down the swing? I wouldn't need anything to descend, as controlled descent is pretty easy. This would actually be less risky than my previous idea, as I would have my feet towards the ground, and if I fell, would not land on my bottom or back. Unless I fell over with my feet stuck in the loops, in which case I would probably land on my head or end up hanging by my severely wrenched ankles.
If I used a rope ladder or rope with knots, how would I secure it to the top bar? I couldn't pull a hitch through to the top.
turks head 54:
The most efficient way I can think of is using two prusik
loops to ascend and descend.
--- Quote from: Lelandbug on April 01, 2008, 12:35:03 AM --- I wouldn't need anything to descend, as controlled descent is pretty easy.
--- End quote ---
What would you use for a controlled descent?
TH54
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