UKC

Hi, i was climbing a route called Mike's mistake in avon gorge and it started raining on me so i had to bail. To do so i tied some 5mm cord to a peg and abseiled off of it, in hindsight i probably should have just threaded the eye of the peg and got lowered off of that instead but its done now. Was just wondering if it is safe to leave it there for other climbers to potentially use or if i should get it off the peg asap.

Cheers,

Jamie

In reply to zcsharp:

Leave it. It's up to other climbers if they use it or not. If it isn't needed it will be removed.

In reply to xplorer:

Yeah but pulling the rope through it weakens it. Should be removed i think but i may be wrong.

In reply to The Pylon King: Thats if you get lowered down on it, which for reference you should never really do since it can cut through the cord. I set it up like any other abseil point.

In reply to zcsharp:

I think just the friction of pulling the rope through after the abseil can cause some damage (though clearly not as much as lowering). Probably not much damage. I'd say leave it, it's the responsibility of the next climber to decide whether to clip it or not, just like any other in situ gear.

In reply to zcsharp:

Not necessarily - pulling many meters of rope around a piece of thin cord will weaken it by heating it - try it around a finger to see how much heat is generated. Lower directly off it and it will be cut in seconds.

Anyone who clips a piece of 5mm tat that threaded through a peg where the peg is clippable is asking for trouble. Put another way, threading protection pegs for abseils is really anti-social if it prevents the peg being clipped. Carrying an old krab for such events is more helpful.

In reply to zcsharp:

Abbing of a bit of 5mm tat threaded through and old peg = bad idea.


Chris

In reply to Chris Craggs:

To be fair, it was probably a new peg... A lot of them in that area have been replaced since April this year. New 5mm cord has breaking strength of at least 5kN, so more than enough for an abseil.

Ok, so I know redundancy is preferable (some would say essential) but I think in context it isn't quite as bad an idea as you seem to think!

In reply to zcsharp:

One more comment (I'm off climbing injured at the moment): I would rather abseil in this situation. Sure, the cord adds another point of failure with respect to just threading the peg, but lowering results in about twice as much force on the piece of gear as abseiling. When relying on a single point for the abseil/lower, that factor of two would be a big factor in my decision.

Threading the peg with the rope(s) and abseiling off it directly would probably be the preferred option here, assuming the eye of the peg has a large enough internal radius for the rope you're using.

In reply to Chris Craggs:


Why chris,

Did he say old peg?
5mm cord is plenty strong enough

Ok I would personally back it up with a nut or thread, but you have to look at situation and judge yourself when there.

In reply to xplorer:
>

Because without taking a hammer to it there is no way of knowing if the peg is any good. Abbing off a single point has to be done on occasions but it isn't a good idea


Chris

In reply to Chris Craggs: Agreed, but i knew the pegs on the route had been recently replaced and inspected the peg before abbing off it and i trust that the people repegging the gorge know what they are doing. I also probably would have sacrificed a nut if there were any placements but thats why the peg is there in the first place.

Also Nick you make a good point and i will keep that in mind.

In reply to zcsharp: Also next time i am on the route and if it is still there i will remove it, i know the climber is suppose to judge the in situ gear themselves but not everyone is sensible.