UKC

Dear fellow climbers,

I am looking for some guidance and tips that any of you might have in regards to rigging rope swings. Not your traditional tree swing. I mean a huge rig from the structural steel of a 100ft+ bridge etc. If any of you have experience in this area that would be of major help to me.

I am a Level 1 Rope Access Technician with around 600 hours logged and have been rock climbing for several years so I am very familiar with my ropes in terms of basic rigging, all knots known to mankind and all the general equipment used in rope access and outdoor rock climbing. I have a basic idea on how to rig the swing but I would really like to speak to someone that has first-hand experience doing this to put my mind fully at rest.

I have a few questions if any of you can answer:

1. What type of rope would you suggest for a rope swing of this size. (material, thickness) 

2. What would be the best rigging option? The options I have in mind are steel rigging strops which are traditionally used for rigging and aid climbing in the rope access industry or high-strength 1-2 tonne round polyester slings

Aside from these questions, if any of you have any information at all regarding rope swings in general please reply and let me know what you think or know, every little helps.

Here is a link to 2 videos that will show you exactly what I'm looking to achieve:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uu6PAYMCX3Y&t=141s&ab_channel=Daily...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryl0MsLMsRE&t=185s&ab_channel=Adren...

Thanks! 

In reply to dylanfraser98:

Well, I've done the Menai jump twice, and been stopped by the coppers once.

We used a 50m single rope (10mm I think) and a 9mm "backup" rope.

It all got ties off with slings to the various steelwork on one side.  Then climbed under the bridge (there was a handy gantry for this) and up onto the other side.  All this is mid-span.  Stick a karrimat/bit of carpet under any rub points on the anchor side and tie off so the back up is about a meter longer than the main.

Step back over the railings and cling to the outside, willing your hands to let go...which is hard to do the first time, and curiously even harder the second time.

Gravity does the rest.  Screaming optional but likely to attract unwanted attention at 3am.

Don't forget your prussiks and glasses cord.

It's quite a ride.

In reply to Moacs:

Oh, and if you do do one of the, shall we say, under the radar, jumps, DON'T stick footage on the internet.

In reply to Moacs:

Hi Moacs,

Thank you for the response. I had no idea the Menai bridge had been jumped before. I will keep all of this information in mind when rigging the jump. When you say slings, is it polyester rigging slings? (The coloured ones with tonnage labelled via stitching).

I was planning on making a video of it, to be honest. But not sure now that you've mentioned not to lol... 

Were you caught by the local police? If so, what did they do about it.

In reply to dylanfraser98:

Make sure your rope isn't too long

In reply to Wide_Mouth_Frog:

Or tie on at the end, think someone did at monsal dale years ago.

In reply to dylanfraser98:

Not done a bridge swing, but have abseiled off a few bridges - not quite the same forces you'll be applying, but principles hold true.

I used standard climbing slings around the steelwork and doubled everything up - pad underneath them, as Moacs says. Be careful what you use as anchor points!

You might want to consider steel crabs/mallions instead of alu alloy ones, just in case something gets bent over an edge unexpectedly.

Give some thought to how you are going to get back up the rope/down to the ground once you've finished swinging. You'll either have to be lowered to the ground or prussic back up the rope, which is a lot harder than it sounds - if you go that way, don't forget the stuff you'll need, unless you have cordelette shoelaces...

youtube.com/watch?v=8FDX6_BSas8&

Guy in your 2nd link is nuts - walking around over that drop with no safety device. Lucky it was only his rope that fell off!

In reply to dylanfraser98:

They've all been jumped before.  Lots of times.

Yes, ordinary climbing slings.

Leave the video at home.  Lots of things like this get spoiled for others by getting publicised.

Police said breach of the peace, but allowed us to strip the setup and leave.

In reply to dylanfraser98:

Here's a photo of one I did a while back (1988) near Annecy. We used two separate ropes between the bridges, attached via slings and screwgates.

After each jump we had to jumar up, past knots, before the next person could go. 

After each person jumped, we progressively let out more slack. When the last person jumped, we thought we'd f****d up, but he started swinging well above the ground...

It took hours for 5 of us to complete, but weren't stopped by the police at any point. There's a wire between the bridges now to stop anyone trying.

In reply to Wide_Mouth_Frog:

And that the bridge isn't wider than the height!

In reply to Moacs:

I did the Menai back in the 80's, when bridge swinging was just getting popular. I think the darkness has a lot to do with the difficulty in letting go. That was before I started sport climbing and falling onto a rope became more of a norm.

I also did a much smaller bridge near the Verdon Gorge on a glorious sunny day and jumping off came much easier. We jumped along the length of the bridge, rather than wrapping the rope around it, and had a sling to stand in after we had stopped swinging, so we could unclip and drop into the river. That made for a rapid throughput of swings for a minibus full of climbers - we even let a curious passer-by have a go.

In reply to Darkinbad:

This . Jumping into the dark is fing terrifying even when you’ve checked everything in the daylight . 
Also …almost exactly what the above poster said about leaving the video at home as it s that that ends up ruining it for others . The local police will obviously have to be stricter after some twunt sees your video and thinks ….” That looks easy . Come on D Wayne let’s have a  crack …,….” .  

In reply to mike123: also ….well worth baring in mind the thoughts of an old mate of mine . The type of chap who often sat nursing a pint and a roll up , listening to the conversation and often not saying much . When he did say something it was usually worth paying attention to . We were talking about cave diving ( but equally applicable here ) , something he  knew quiet a bit about. “ you don’t get many idiots doing it “ . < pauses . Takes pull on pint and drag on rolly . Thinks for a bit >l   “ well you do do get the odd one . But they don’t usually  do it more than once “

In reply to dylanfraser98:

We've done a low footbridge here (5ft wide, 15-20ft of rope out). My tips:-

0) Test with a weighted rucsac or better still, 5 gallon drum of water before using a human!

1) use two ropes in a V configuration to stop you hitting things off to the side. Tie them to the anchors with locked-off italian hitches so you can lower the swinger out once they stop swinging, it's much faster than trying to prussik out.  Mark the ropes so you know where to re-tie them. It's easiest to tie to anchors on the opposite side of the bridge rather than dangling over the edge working with italian hitches, but see (6).

2) Static rope between the anchors and the last point of contact with the bridge. Dynamic below that if you like.

3) pad all rubbing points thoroughly including the bottom edge of the bridge.

4) jump backwards as far as you can, if you just drop the impact of coming tight on the rope is relatively hard on a narrow bridge with relatively little rope out.

5) have a means of ab-in / rescue ready.

6) ensure nothing can come over the bridge unexpectedly.

In reply to dylanfraser98:

This looks truly bonkers and utterly terrifying. Why, just why?