UKC

Partner took 60m worth of rope coils off in a Oner and tossed them on the ground. The stuff nightmares are made of! Feel free to add to the list of things we should NOT do. No explanations needed.

It was me really, not my partner
Zimp

In reply to zimpara:

Attempt to solo a grit E1 if Flying Buttress HVD felt hard on lead.

Stay safe. Climb to live and live to climb.

In reply to zimpara:

Another ropework tip from a friend of mine.

If you are climbing a route on one half rope and one of you has a second one in their pack "just in case" then make sure it has been worked a bit and isn't still in its polythene packaging.

Trying to get the kinks out of a brand new 60m rope while standing on a small collapsing snow ledge with an incoming storm can be stressful.

In reply to zimpara:

Always tie the rope on to your something before re threading a bolted anchor.

You are beyond buggered if you drop it.

In reply to zimpara:

I'll fess up to an error by me a year into my climbing 25 years ago. Not checking that the belay device was back on the belay loop from the '5kg max' stamped gear loop before lowering a novice down a 30ft route which I'd already top roped him up and lowered him down ten times before. Thankfully he landed in a bush, uninjured and laughed thinking that the unusually rapid tenth descent was part of the fun. The severe rope burns to my hands were less fun. A local deity later told me that he'd once abbed into Gurnards Head on same make and model of harness, got to bottom and realised the belay device he'd abbed on was on gear loop not belay loop. He's small and light but still way more than 5kg!

In reply to Cusco:

Happened to me once too - I realised half way down a free hanging descent, in my panic I just hung on the rope one handed, unclipped from the (plastic Troll) gear loop and into the belay loop! Ever since I've never clipped a belay device to a front gear loop and feel slightly sick if I see anyone else do it.

In reply to zimpara:

Three related ones:

1. Buddy checks on abseil are not optional
2. Never interrupt someone who is doing rigging
3. If you are interrupted then start what you were doing from the beginning.

I nearly stepped off the top of the Dewerstone without attaching myself to the rope once because someone decided it was a good idea to ignore 2 and I missed 3. These days I am more careful and less tolerant.

In reply to zimpara:

Accidently turning round a few times while setting up an anchor on a tiny ledge on a multi-pitch route while using half ropes and getting everything hideously tangled. Even worse when you are not doing alt-leads and have to somehow extract yourself from the bottom of the mess so that you can lead the next pitch.
A friend of mine got tangled so bad he just untied himself completely (not attached to the anchor at all!) pulled everything through and retied again.

In reply to zimpara:

Tie in by threading harness and leg loops from top to bottom. If you do that and miss the leg loops it is not ideal. If you thread up, catch leg loops but miss "belt" it is a different kettle of seriousness.

In reply to zimpara:

Another 'friend' when seconding liked to tie himself in at the same time as the leader, to safe faff presumably, and had a tendency to spot the bottom of the rope and think is was a good idea pull it up through the middle of the pile.
Needless to say horrendous knots and much shouting ensued shortly after.

In reply to zimpara:

When setting up an abseil on a small ledge at the top of a route, make sure the rope is not integral to your belay

In reply to zimpara:



Come on, you're making this stuff up. No one would be that daft. Secondly, your first mistake was to be carrying it yourself. ALWAYS make your mate carry the rope, that's what they're for.

In reply to zimpara:

Double double check any stopper knots or left over bits of FoE tie in knots are removed before trying to pull your rope through.

In reply to Mike Conlon:

If you check your knot then this isn't an issue.

My contribution to thisthread: check your knot.

In reply to davidbeynon:

I think it's great that someone dislikes the fact that I didn't actually accidentally step off the Dewerstone. Now I am wondering which of my climbing partners wants me dead.

Top tip: Don't climb with anyone who wants you dead!

In reply to ianstevens:

Fully agree with you about checking the knot but with a fist sized tie in loop I can envisage checking the knot without noticing the error I refered to, especially if it was the leg loops that were missed.

In reply to zimpara:

Things we should NOT do...

Underestimate the effects of foreshortening when deciding to run the last two pitches of a route together and running out of rope midway through a particuarly precarious and irreversible cornice, 25m above the last bit of gear.

No, shouldn't do that.

In reply to Mike Conlon:


As a teenager at the wall I've checked my knot and also not threaded the rope through both at once before.

In reply to Greasy Prusiks:


Preferably clip it to your belay loop with a figure-8 on a bite and a screwgate so that you're protected by the bolt below throughout the re-threading... Takes no more time than tying it on another way and reduces other risks than dropping the rope.

In reply to wintertree:

That's a brilliant idea.

Never thought of that (somehow), cheers.

In reply to wintertree:
Great idea. I can't imagine anybody fully untying so they're reliant on not dropping the rope to be okay. It's a 'heebie jeebies' thing to do.

In reply to wintertree:


You are anyway, with the thread a bight method, albeit with a somewhat longer fall.

In reply to zimpara:

Don't throw your abseil rope into a tree, it's a nightmare to untangle!

And don't throw your belay device off the top of the cliff...

In reply to zimpara:

How many times have I tied in to both ends of a double rope with a single knot? Once.
And how many times has one of my doubled ropes jammed immovably? Once.
What are the odds of both happening on the same occasion? Very small.

But they did. Left me on the crux of an E1, untying one knot but both ropes, leaving me unroped but hanging on to the unjammed one with my teeth, then retying it singlehandedly. Good job I learnt the trick in the Scouts.

In reply to Rob Exile Ward:

It sure was! I sometimes think life is enigmatically out to catch us out.