Recent Fatality - Warning on Climbing Gear

[mike515]

I don't think you read the thread properly, he didn't cut his lanyard, the end of the wire rope that was crimped slid out of the crimp. That was equipment failure. Not tying in twice was operator error.

Nah...I did read it correctly. I was kind of responding to beastmaster's post #12 when he was saying guys had cut through wire core lanyards. And I apologize if I sometimes come across as a **** or maybe preachy about safety stuff in threads. I don't mean to sound like. I'm a pretty mellow dude for the most part but safety always strikes a nerve with me. I want everyone to be their best and be safe...regardless of who they work for. But I know that I'm sometimes a little over the top. Just today...I was in my truck on the phone and a guy was picking up a sign across the highway. I saw a truck coming towards us on his side. I honked the horn (and startled him) and pointed at the truck that was probably 1/4 of a mile away. He looked at me like I was crazy.....but....he didn't get hit by a truck and I've almost been hit a few times over the years. It seems like, the older I get, the more I worry about safety.

 

[pro94lt]

I didn't realize it was that old

 

[love2climb]

Thanks for the info, sorry for your guys loss. We held a safety meeting Friday and this thread was a key topic.

 

[Sean80]

Did the wire slip out of the crimp under the guy's own weight? Or did something else like a block of wood contact it?

 

[treebilly]

I cut my black heat shrink off mine this week and it showed no signs of wear. I'll get a pic tomorrow. It's pretty old, but doesn't see a lot of action

 

[BC WetCoast]

Did the wire slip out of the crimp under the guy's own weight? Or did something else like a block of wood contact it?

I'm not sure now. We were originally told that the wire slipped out of the crimp, but I recently saw a picture (and I'm not sure if it's the correct picture, because it came from someone one of our crew knew) that shows the wire failed behind the crimp and that the crimp was still in good condition. He was the sole operator of a competing company, so the amount of accurate information we are getting is limited at this time.

The Worksafe BC website only gives a cursory account, I guess they are still doing some investigation.

 

[jomoco]

And

Sure sorry to hear about the accident.
As Wesspur is a sponsor, the Yale steel core fliplines they sell use a Flemish eye hand splice, and no crimp on the wire core. I have used one for two seasons, inspecting it regular, and have had no issues. Dangerous work for sure. As always, safety first.

Yale puts out a helluva good n durable wire core lanyard IME.

Mine's 12 years old n still goin strong!



My only beef with Yale's wire core lanyard's the tail configuration's tear drop termination thimble, that I removed after being rudely yanked downward when a tight Y on a lateral i limbed off trailed down the lanyard tail and wedged itself onto the thimble.

Either coil the tail around your saddle's waist, or exnay that damn thimble on the tail termination before you too get a rude tug on your lanyard tail.

Great product though with just a wee bit of adjustment, IMO.

jomoco

 

[Magnum783]

This one is only 10 years old with part time use
Would have never checked had it not been for this forum.

 

[yarightdawg]

Checking your gear is one thing. The other important aspect was the lack of a second tie in.

Maybe if he cut it, but there are many times when we have one tie in point
When repositioning ,passing a branch ... defective equipment is the real issue

 

[Westboastfaller]

for me, apart from helicopter and floatplane
Malfunction, "we control our own environment" saftey is everyone responsible.
To windy...don't go to work!
To much rain fall in a 24 hour period..don't work!
To foggy..dont work
don't like the pilot...refuse.
Not the right PPE...don't work.

He had the option to tie off

He didn't control his environment when he could have by the sounds.

If hes blocking down he wasn't going around uncliping to pass branches ...that much I know. Very sad...I know quite a few climbers in BC lower mainland...a few I'm really good friends with, some i have been close to in past years but have lost contact...who knows...I can only think

 

[TheShanks]

I had one of the same lanyards that recently failed as a secondary for working around branches and using as a second tie in. Needless to say it was retired and replaced with a Yale.

Since then I started inspecting my gear before any climb.