rigging brainstorm

[coydog]

In most rigging scenarios we rope the piece being either lowered raised or redirected through a floating false crotch(or convenient natural crotch) to an anchor point with a friction break/ lowering device of some type. This creates a mechanical advantage(in this case disadvantage) on the floating false crotch/rigging point. I was wondering what are some of your thoughts on how to eliminate this factor. To have the friction device located up in the tree to be tended by the climber is one possible solution but is limited and not always safe or practical, and usually only practical in light rigging scenarios(such as lowering limbs/small pieces off a munter hitch) One scenario that comes to mind is to set up a lowering line in the same manner as a Ddrt with some sort of friction device affixed to the piece being lowered that can be tended by a groundman off the falling end of line. Sounds ridiculous but Ive never tried it, maybe it would work in some scenarios and not in others. Any thoughts?

 

[TheTreeSpyder]

i've tried that with a fig. 8, it spiraled the line.

i like high friction because it reduces the anchor load, can be used to trace the force further down the spar (stronger) and isolates the amount of line that can stretch (which could also make you lose help-full dampening in some uses i think, but i try with self-tightening rigs to use the load to pretighten the line the final amount, having less line to stretch makes this setting happen earlier).

i've asked/wondered about using a Porty hanging from an anchor for this. One simple way i achieve this without it, is like a 3-6' single roundturn tracing around an upper anchor. On the belly of the line wrapping around i will install a karab with a sling (or extended series), or in some cases a longer line. i do this to break the friction from the spar to retrieve, reset and eventually remove the line remotely betwixt rigs. i sweat everything in, even this karab/release point. Then i either 'tend' the control end myself, or have a groundie do it. Me doing it in the air (hmm that sounds funny somehow......), allows me to make minor adjustments as i hinge to the line for lowest impact, it frees up a groundie, and it allows the person with sometimes the best overall view of everything to be in control of the line!

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

Dave spensce has a multiwraped ratchet pully with fairleads in it to allow easy raise and friction running.

When TRom D. comes back, he can elaborate on that more, I've only seed pictures.