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How many elephants could a climbing rope hold?

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 howlingbaboon 02 May 2008
I tried to work it out and got lost but I bet someone must know the answer?
Discuss
 Trangia 02 May 2008
In reply to howlingbaboon:

What have elephants done on grit?
 Chris Craggs Global Crag Moderator 02 May 2008
In reply to howlingbaboon:

One.

Chris
 jason lane 02 May 2008
In reply to howlingbaboon: how many ropes could an elephant hold?
OP howlingbaboon 02 May 2008
In reply to howlingbaboon: surely it must be more, is that the word.
In reply to howlingbaboon: Ropes are good to about 1600kg aren't they?
Rat know-all 02 May 2008
In reply to howlingbaboon:
I don't know how many Elephants could a climbing rope hold?
Paul F 02 May 2008
In reply to howlingbaboon:

What fall factor we talking?
Jamming Dodger 02 May 2008
In reply to howlingbaboon: African or european?
In reply to skivingbluecat: That made me laugh.
Jamming Dodger 02 May 2008
In reply to Robfromcornwall: Good.
 Ron Walker 02 May 2008
In reply to howlingbaboon:

You would normally need at least two to three full weight 11mmm ropes to lift an African male elephant. With some of the really big adult males elephants you might need four ropes assuming no shock loading or fall factors. Elephants make good belayers but thankfully they are crap climbers...!

 @ndyM@rsh@ll 03 May 2008
In reply to Ron Walker:
> (In reply to howlingbaboon)
>
Elephants make good belayers but thankfully they are crap climbers...!

Surely this means they are more likely to fall off, which would not, on sport or if the gear were good, result in the rope breaking, but rather the belayer being either dragged into the wall in time to have an elephant land on them (lead) or catapulted towards the sky (toprope) until the end of the rope is reached, with inevitable consequences.

 dek 03 May 2008
In reply to Ron Walker:
> (In reply to howlingbaboon)
. Elephants make good belayers but thankfully they are crap climbers...!
>
>

Hmm, they get everywhere nowadays! http://www.ukclimbing.com/images/dbpage.php?id=67477
 Moacs 03 May 2008
In reply to howlingbaboon:

A bull African elephant weighs up to 6000Kg.

An single sport rope is rated to about 9KN.

So about 1.5, perhaps 2 if a) the safety margin on the rating gives some additional strength and b) the elephant had laid off the pies.

Why do you want to know? It's unlikely that the rSPCA will let you do your elephant abseil for charity thing anyway.


J
mike swann 03 May 2008
In reply to Moacs:
> (In reply to howlingbaboon)
>
> A bull African elephant weighs up to 6000Kg.
>
> An single sport rope is rated to about 9KN.
>
> So about 1.5, perhaps 2 if a) the safety margin on the rating gives some additional strength and b) the elephant had laid off the pies.
>

The rating of the rope is the max impact force, not it's breaking strain (manufacturers don't give the figures).

Mammut 10.5mm static ropes are rated at 30kN, climbing ropes are likely to be a bit less, so BS would be more like 25kN+.

 Trangia 03 May 2008
In reply to howlingbaboon:

On the question of climbing elephants is it unethical for an elephant to use its trunk when reaching for a hold?
 space monkey 03 May 2008
In reply to Trangia: Well considering the lack of grip on theirs hooves I think they should be allowed to use their trunk at the next Animal olympics, is this a new event by any chance, didn't think there was climbing at the animal olympics?
 KarlH 03 May 2008
In reply to howlingbaboon:

How many howling baboons could a rope hold??
milksnake 09 May 2008
In reply to Moacs: 6000kg is rougly equal to 60 kN (F= mg) so that would be 7 ropes.
 climber130887 10 May 2008
In reply to howlingbaboon: weight is a force so gravity is already taken into account. as such if an elephant weights 6000kg (kilogram force - kgf) it has a mass of around 600kg (kilogram mass - kgm)
 Luke90 10 May 2008
In reply to climber130887:
Um, no, sorry.
You're right to say that weight is a force but in the way it's more commonly used ("the elephant weighs 6000kg") it actually means a mass. Kilograms are a unit of mass.
I've never come across the concept of kgf and kgm before but a quick google suggests you've been slightly misinformed about them. At the earth's surface 1 kgf and 1 kgm are equivalent. They only vary from each other in a different gravitational field. See here: http://www.economicexpert.com/2a/Force.htm
 digby 10 May 2008
In reply to howlingbaboon:
Actually elephants are surprisingly good climbers. Well scramblers.
 digby 10 May 2008
In reply to digby:
If, whilst scrambling, the elephant strands on a climbing rope with a breaking strain of say 30kn strung between two trees, and weighing 6000kgs it has a kgf of 60kn; I'd say it would be feeling that things could go either way.
 digby 10 May 2008
In reply to digby:
Unless it had got to the summit of Mt Kilimanjaro, in which case it would rate less than 60knf, and would be safe.
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