UKC

Where in the peak to practice prussiking up from dead space

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 Jack Whiteley 01 Apr 2014
I was having a look at the thread about the scariest climbs. A dream of white horses caught my eye. It looks amazing.
However I do see the need to be pretty hot on your self-rescue, so where would people recommend to recreate the sort of situation I could get myself in doing that climb. I live in Sheffield so ideally somewhere in the eastern peak.
I am imagining that some folk may not be too happy if I fling myself over the edge of Quietus for example!

Cheers.
 andy_e 01 Apr 2014
In reply to Jack Whiteley:

A suitably strong tree with a branch that you can throw a rope over will be fine for practicing prussiking.
OP Jack Whiteley 01 Apr 2014
In reply to andy_e:

That is a very good idea thanks.
I guess I could rig it after so that I am hanging free on the end of the rope too.
 Nath 01 Apr 2014
In reply to andy_e:

+1

Taught my lad prussik up a rope slung over a tree. He hated it

Nath
 deepsoup 01 Apr 2014
In reply to Jack Whiteley:
> I am imagining that some folk may not be too happy if I fling myself over the edge of Quietus for example!

Ha ha. You pre-empted my reply - I was going to suggest Flying Buttress Direct one sunny bank holiday weekend.

(A couple of years ago I did see someone "instructing" a couple of folk how to abseil get himself properly stuck hanging off a jammed prusik in exactly that position one sunny Sunday afternoon. Oh how we laughed.)

The suggestion of a tree seems like a good idea.

Maybe a slightly esoteric crag with trees, so you can have a good play on a tree then move on to frightening yourself with a bit of exposure on the crag.

Um.. Perhaps you could dangle over the roof that caps The Rat at Ladybower Quarry. Or something at Ravensnest Tor perhaps? ( http://www.ukclimbing.com/images/dbpage.php?id=158252 )

Chances are you'd have either of those crags to yourself whatever time you went there.

Good luck.
 Rob Parsons 01 Apr 2014
In reply to Jack Whiteley:

> ... so where would people recommend to recreate the sort of situation I could get myself in doing that climb. I live in Sheffield ...

Plenty of scope at Stoney.

Or for the real thing at about the same tech grade, fall off Sirplum.
 jkarran 01 Apr 2014
In reply to Jack Whiteley:

> I live in Sheffield so ideally somewhere in the eastern peak.
> I am imagining that some folk may not be too happy if I fling myself over the edge of Quietus for example!

Does your house have a staircase?
jk

 d_b 01 Apr 2014
In reply to Jack Whiteley:

If you use the rope over a tree branch then it's worth thinking about how you are going to get down again. Connecting the rope to your anchor via a tied off belay plate means you can have someone at the bottom who can lower you off.
adam11 01 Apr 2014
In reply to Rob Parsons:

As did my mate who was climbing with a waist belt; he thought harnesses were uncool. When his bruised ribs calmed down, he started using a Whillans harness. I got lifted off the stance a good few feet, the lob was a good'un
 Al Evans 01 Apr 2014
In reply to adam11:

What about a bridge, I seem to remember one on the walk into Cheedale along the old railway line from Millers Dale.
 deepsoup 01 Apr 2014
In reply to Al Evans:

If it's the one I'm thinking of, it's heavily used by outdoor centres etc., for group abseils these days so probably best avoided.
 DerwentDiluted 01 Apr 2014
In reply to Jack Whiteley:

Trees are generally kinder on ropes too, easy to trash a rope by repeatedly loading it as it runs over an edge.
 Dark-Cloud 01 Apr 2014
In reply to davidbeynon:

Erm, abseil ?

It's a fairly simple process to transfer from prussik to descend ?
 petellis 03 Apr 2014
In reply to Jack Whiteley:

The high-tor abseil.
In reply to Jack Whiteley:

Best (for free space rope) is actually the left end of The Sloth overhang at the Roaches. There's a convenient notch in the arete for the ropes .. but rigging the multiple anchors is quite tricky. The big advantage of this one is that it doesn't interfere with any climbers or climbs in any way.

http://www.ukclimbing.com/images/dbpage.php?id=4986

You're still better off practising at home a few feet above the ground before you go to a place like this, particularly swapping from ascenders to descender and v.v., with a safety shunt on a separate safety line etc.
 Darron 03 Apr 2014
In reply to Al Evans:

> What about a bridge, I seem to remember one on the walk into Cheedale along the old railway line from Millers Dale.


That's the best place. Crowds are easily avoided.

 Darron 03 Apr 2014
In reply to Jack Whiteley:

I should say that the best plan is to get solid at VS and then don't fall off! The holds are huge by the way (at least on the last pitch where a fall might leave you in mid air). Don't forget your mate when putting gear in and take plenty of long slings to extend the gear as the last pitch is kind of concave and has a habit of lifting the gear out.
 Shani 03 Apr 2014
In reply to Jack Whiteley:
> I am imagining that some folk may not be too happy if I fling myself over the edge of Quietus for example!

Interesting point you raise here; does a climber have any more right over that bit of a crag than an abseiler or a 'prusiker'?
In reply to Shani:

Common sense dictates that climbers have right of way over rapellers.
The latter can knock off the former, whereas the latter are relatively safe and can easily swing or tension out of the way.
 Shani 03 Apr 2014
In reply to John Stainforth:

> Common sense dictates that climbers have right of way over rapellers.

> The latter can knock off the former, whereas the latter are relatively safe and can easily swing or tension out of the way.

Not if the abseilers are already in progress with their decent.

However, I meant if someone wanted to commandeer a section of the crag for an hour or so.
 chris fox 03 Apr 2014
In reply to Jack Whiteley:

Rap down the top of Sir Plum Buttress, atleast 30m of free air. And whilst you are down there go do the Chee Tor Girdle, at VS it'll give you some good traversing mileage.

As a side not i have cycled the Monsal trail many times during the week and have only once seen a group set-up from the bridge beyond Cheedale

Chris
In reply to Shani:

The unspoken rule used to be that descending climbers (whether on a rope or downclimbing) gave way to ascending climbers.

Rapelling/abseiling is a functional necessity for getting down in many situations in the mountains, but it should not get in the way of the sport of climbing. It is always possible for people who want to rappel down a crag to find a spot that avoids ascending climbers. If one wants to commandeer a section of crag for abseiling, one should obviously ask any climbers around if it is alright with them. To go ahead without doing so is just bad manners.
 muppetfilter 04 Apr 2014
In reply to Jack Whiteley:

I would suggest wherever you decide to go you spare a thought for rope wear and edge protection. A 30-40ft jumar will rub the rope over any rough edge.
 deepsoup 04 Apr 2014
In reply to chris fox:
> As a side not i have cycled the Monsal trail many times during the week and have only once seen a group set-up from the bridge beyond Cheedale

On a week day you'd most likely be fine over the lip of Quietus too.
Jim C 04 Apr 2014
In reply to Jack Whiteley:

If the weather is crap, any old house/ building with high ceilings , and a big stairwell.

 Shani 04 Apr 2014
In reply to John Stainforth:
> (In reply to Shani)
>
> The unspoken rule used to be that descending climbers (whether on a rope or downclimbing) gave way to ascending climbers.

That is my understanding - but as you note above, it is a very climber-centric point of view. My question is a bit more general - ie what if Joe Public wants to go abseiling (and has no interest in climbing). He turns up at Queitus area with no one else around, and then proceeds to commandeer that section of crag with his ropes...a few mintues later, you or I as climbers, turn up...

> Rapelling/abseiling is a functional necessity for getting down in many situations in the mountains, but it should not get in the way of the sport of climbing. It is always possible for people who want to rappel down a crag to find a spot that avoids ascending climbers. If one wants to commandeer a section of crag for abseiling, one should obviously ask any climbers around if it is alright with them. To go ahead without doing so is just bad manners.

Again, this is climber centric. I wonder if there are others out there who are just in to the adventure of abseiling or some such, who would enjoy the challenge of abseiling over the roof of Quietus. I guess this in some ways reflects the aid vs trad debate.
llechwedd 04 Apr 2014
In reply to DerwentDiluted:

> Trees are generally kinder on ropes too, easy to trash a rope by repeatedly loading it as it runs over an edge.

If you're prussiking up a doubled rope over a branch because you can't get up the tree to arrange a sling off a branch, there's something else to consider.
It's likely you'll choose a large diameter branch for its' strength. With this scenario and a doubled rope, as you ascend it, prussiking becomes increasingly difficult as you approach the branch because its' diameter keeps the ropes apart, but your prussiking brings them together.
 David Riley 05 Apr 2014

For those near Nottingham there's a huge disused and accessible metal railway viaduct the other side of the A610 from Ikea.

http://www.yourlocalweb.co.uk/derbyshire/ilkeston/pictures/4015531-bennerle...
Post edited at 09:28
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