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Chiloe
Trad climber
Lee, NH
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My sympathy to all Brian's family and friends.
I'm very sorry this has happened.
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yosguns
climber
Durham, NC
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Oh no. This is awful, sobering news. I can't imagine the grief. I'm so sorry for anyone involved.
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Phil_B
Social climber
Hercules, CA
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I'm so sorry to hear about this. My condolences.
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squishy
Mountain climber
sacramento
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very sobering...
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Scared Silly
Trad climber
UT
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Bummer and unfortunately as previously noted preventable by using a biner block in the knot to prevent the rope from slipping through. I know some folks rap both lines but there can be problems when the lines have different diameters so using a biner block is your best option.
For those who do not know how to use a biner block:
http://www.canyonwiki.com/wiki/index.php/'biner_block
Condolences to all involved.
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survival
Big Wall climber
A Token of My Extreme
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Two ropes of large diameter is safer.
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Dakman
Trad climber
Denver, CO
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With all due respect to all involved and in the interest of safety for the rest of us, please explain the mechanics of the "pull line trick". I am not clear how it works and would like to avoid this scenario.
Thanks for understanding and condolences to the affected parties.
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msiddens
Trad climber
Mountain View
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Oh noo!! So sad and my thoughts to the family.
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bluering
Trad climber
Santa Clara, Ca.
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Rest in peace, bro...
Can we all try to be safe, please!!!! My heart sank when I read this thread. I have a bunch of friends out there this weekend.
Be safe, and climb on!
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noshoesnoshirt
climber
Arkansas, I suppose
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RIP.
I's tragic, but hopefully we can learn something from this.
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bluering
Trad climber
Santa Clara, Ca.
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Can somebody explain this rapping technique? I ain't getting it.
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rockermike
Trad climber
Berkeley
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I don't actually know what happened in this case - but someone said the knot pulled through the rings. If this is true my guess is that they were rapping on a single line with a second thin cord to pull the rap line.
For your second rope - in order to save weight - you take a 60 meter by 6 mm (or even 5 mm) cord. You thread the main rope through the rap rings, then tie the ropes together. You rap essentially on one rope, but the knot is jammed into the ring. When you get down, you pull on the 6 mm cord to retrieve the rope. Its a good trick, especially in an alpine setting where weight is critical and you don't want to carry two ropes. But obviously, if the jammed knot pulls through the ring it can be disastrous. Solution to this is to attach the rope to the pull cord with a locking biner (or even another rap ring). Then you are guaranteed that the knot won't pull through.
Condolences again to the family and friends. Be safe.
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yosguns
climber
Durham, NC
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Put rope through rap rings. Tie rope to locking biner and lock the biner around the rope you're rapping. Attach pull cord either to the rope or the locking biner. When you pull the pull cord, the biner locked around the rope will slide down the rope so the end frees itself when it goes through halfway.
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Peter Haan
Trad climber
San Francisco, CA
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Rockermike, this technique is very very old and is called the Reepschnur method of rappelling.
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10b4me
Boulder climber
Hell A
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terrible news for a mother on mothers' day.
my condolences to his family, and friends.
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Ksolem
Trad climber
Monrovia, California
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Very sad news. I did not know Brian, but whenever another climber is lost we all feel that bond, and the sense of loss. For me, with almost 40 years committed to climbing and my fair share of close calls there is also a “There but for the grace…” feeling I get every time something like this happens. I have come close to being killed climbing several times for reasons others would have looked at after the fact and wondered how I could let such a thing happen. But I have been lucky. My heart goes out to his family, friends, and those at the scene.
On the technical side, I do not see the advantage of using a single lead line and a thin pull cord over the older school method of leading and descending on double ropes, say two 8.5's. Of course in the extreme grades a thin single lead rope can make a difference (been there done that myself,) but on relatively moderate multi pitch routes I think more climbers should consider the many safety advantages of double rope technique.
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survival
Big Wall climber
A Token of My Extreme
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Agreed.
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drljefe
climber
Old Pueblo, AZ
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Sad.
So sorry for all involved.
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brat
climber
El Portal
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Brian was in fact using the previously described method of rappel with a 6 mm tag line and a Cinch.
For whatever reason, this one time, he had not tied the 8 on a byte with the locker to the other line that he normally uses as a backup for this system. Climbing is not forgiving of such errors. This time, his two EDKs pulled through the anchor rings, and the backup was not in place.
Brian's climbing partner on Serenity Crack that day will post a full account of what happened here when he feels ready.
Brian Ellis was a sweet, funny, wildly intelligent and passionate man. He will be sorely missed in the climbing community, and by all of the people in his life.
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WBraun
climber
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" ... two EDKs ...
?????
How was this tied?
Start a new thread if needed ....
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