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That's exactly what we plan on doing. In addition to cutting the exposure time in half, the hoist would also seem to be safer when ascending versus descending. Then again, rappeling down and abandoned mine shaft isn't without risk either.

rjack wrote:Good point.

You could send the hoist down by itself and rappel on your own though. Only riding it up gives you 1/2 the hoist exposure time.

If you're only planning on hauling up, is there any chance of adding anything mechanical to the drum shaft like a suitably butch ratchet that can be manually disengaged for the lowering?