General > Practical Knots

low-risk climbing ideas, rope harness etc.

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Lelandbug:
I would use my arms descending.  I am not strong enough to climb a rope without any knots, but it won't be hard to lower myself down.

With the swingset, it would be easy enough to reach the top, untie the two half-hitches which I would have made at the bottom and slid up to the top, then drop the rope and climb down the repaired swing. 

However, I don't know how I would get down if I was climbing a tree.  It would be easy to tie the rope to a branch, but how would I get it down?  Unless I anchored the other end to the ground... Ya, that would do it.

I will try it with the prusik loops.  I'm really interested to know how all these climbing knots work, because they are easy to understand, but what about to use?

TheTreeSpyder:
Ropes without padding can dig in to you; powered by your own bodyweight.

If, you were harnessed off and anchored line to harness; then threw the line over the top of the swingset; then pulled the free end, you'd have a 2:1 - friction lift over yourself.  Prussiks to harness to let the Standing Part slide up and down thru (but not run out of) could give safety locks between pulls.  Also, you could descend in that configuration (2 legs of a line bent over bar; one terminated at saddle, 1 sliding thru prussik that itself is terminated at saddle); for then the prussik can unload enough to slide properly.

But, without knowing what you are doing, and proper gear, you could fall, choke, get hung up etc.; for you are playing with height and power.

DerekSmith:
Right then Young Man,

Being a bright young fellow, you will appreciate the importance of preserving life and limb, so you will accord with the advice which follows.

Go find a responsible adult with a ladder and a certificate in 'Safe Ladder Use'.  Get their permission to borrow the ladder and their assistance to safely use it.
Carry out a Risk Assessment for the transfer of the ladder to the swing.
Apply the Risk Assessment and safely transport the ladder to the swing.
Carry out a Risk Assessment of placing the ladder against the swing with the intention of taking your weight in ascent and decent.
If the Risk is acceptable, then cordon off the area in accordance with the Risk Assessment.
Place the ladder against the swing in accordance with the 'Safe Ladder Use' guidance supplied by the suitably trained adult.
Make sure that the foot and the head of the ladder are firm and placed  in accordance with your 'Risk Assessment' and the 'Safe Ladder Use Protocol'.
Get the adult to 'Foot' the ladder (if appropriate) and ascend to the first rung having first donned a full safety harness, connected via a re-threaded fig 8 loopknot to a 12mm (new) Kernmantel climbing rope.
Reach above yourself (do not overreach) and clip the safety rope to a rung using a full gated 'bina'.  Lock the gate and ask the responsible adult to belay the safety rope for you.
Keeping both hands on the horizontal rungs, climb up one step.
Take another gated 'bina', reach up and clip the rope to the next rung making sure that the responsible adult has not gone to sleep is fully attentative and that they are maintaining an appropriate tension on the belay.
Take a third step up the ladder and repeat the safety tying in process.
Having gained access to the ladder contact point with the swing top, lash the ladder to the swing using 4mm braid and a recommended binding.

You have now reached the top of the swing and can reach the knotted swing lines to unfoul them.

BUT, as it is unsafe to work off a ladder, you had better go back down the ladder, reversing the above process as you go.  Do another Risk assessment for the return trip of ladder to its owner, clear up the cordoning, give up on fixing the swing and concentrate on a future career working for the HSE or your equivalent national body.  You have after all managed to demonstrate that you have practical experience of implementing Safety Awareness and Due Dilligence application, and you left a clearly dysfunctional and therefore unsafe swing safely out of harms way from those who might otherwise have enjoyed an obviously dangerous swing on it.

PS. The responsible adult may well have highlighted the need for a secondary overhead safety system and fall arrestor sytem, if that were the case, naturally you would have implemented this fully before ascent.

You see, that is the piggin mess we adults have created for you, the next generation.  Very sorry for having let it happen and I hope some bright new wave of intelligence can sweep away this mess which holds that you are not responsible for your own actions - everybody else is - but not you (after all you can hardly sue yourself now - can you?)

Derek

Lelandbug:
Now I really feel chastised for out-of-the-box and unsafe thinking (Though I understand the good-natured humor of the entry directly above.)  But isn't there some line between playing around and indulging in creative thinking, and being unsafe and deserving a push back into the real world?  I don't want to be the naive kid who thinks he knows better than his elders, and gets hurt both physically and mentally because of it, but I also don't want to sit around and be bored.  Theoretical studies in knotting don't really compare to the real application, and what's in the point in theoretical studies if the real application is unsafe or impractical?

So if I was a little too enthusiastic, sue me, but all I want are some ideas... yup.  What can I do without disabling myself for life?

Fairlead:
Very well put Derek - BUT (tic) you forgot to inspect the top of the swing frame to make sure it would take the weight of the ladder!!  Which means he would also have to borrow a portable tower or cherry picker first!!

Gordon

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