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Re: [moose_droppings] Black Diamond ATC issue:
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rgold
Apr 8, 2013, 3:14 AM
Views: 23700
Registered: Dec 3, 2002
Posts: 1804
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moose_droppings wrote: ...why are there so many loose rocks getting knocked off by experienced climbers on the most popular mutipitch route (heavily travelled) in the Canadian Rockies?
I've pretty much gone over to the dark side and use the Alpine Up, which is an assisted locker like the Smart that is better for half ropes. But I have other reasons, that don't involve rockfall, 'cause here's the thing: if you are the leader and you are falling and the belayer is unconscious, then autolocking is a very good thing. But if you are the leader and you aren't falling and the belayer is unsconscious, then autolocking could be a nightmare.
At the other end of the rope, an autolocker as an upper belay seems like a good idea for rockfall situations (much as I hate the upper belays I get from most of the users of autolocking devices). The only potential issue is that there seem to be a lot of users who just plain don't know how to release the device and lower safely, so I'd be especially wary about climbing with someone unless I had some good knowledge about their skills in this area.
The situation mentioned by the OP, in which the strands exchange places under a high load and so at least partially disable braking, has been produced in test conditions with thin ropes and dropped weights. I haven't heard of it happening to anyone in the field.
(This post was edited by rgold on Apr 8, 2013, 3:23 AM)
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Post edited by rgold
() on Apr 8, 2013, 3:23 AM
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