GroundquestMSA wrote:Check out this video to see a competently performed changeover from frog ascent to rappel, descender below the croll. This guy is using a bobbin and a micro-rack, but if you're his shape and size, which I more or less am, this method works fine with a 6-bar j-frame.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEb4-qMroWsAnd check out this one too, which is another frog to bobbin, but illustrates, I think, that priority needn't always be placed on a low attachment point. The high croll doesn't effect this lady's ability to changeover, or her ability to climb.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRzHqHvPp9s
Interesting videos. One advantage with the Stop shown in the first video is being able to pull slack through as you stand to transfer weight. Of course this violates the "hard lock" rule which many people adhere to, so in practice I see most people changing over with a Stop more like his micro rack demo. And there was no rappel test here, so no confirmation the descender was rigged properly before committing to a single point. Otherwise very efficient. And he's wearing a helmet - a good practice while practicing, even indoors.
The second video, from the UK, shows a demo which *appears* less efficient and a little more awkward by comparison. But it really isn't that bad, and realistically many, many froggers have a similar form to this while climbing and changing over. Or somewhere between the two videos, like me on a good day. I would still want to try getting that seat harness adjusted a little lower, and get a better frog chest harness to replace that horrible webbing loop (a type I used for years before getting one like the guy in the first video). She did a descender check - *almost" a rappel/abseil test - but she never actually fed any rope through it! Also I don't see the point in re-locking the descender again, as she should have been able to keep control of the rope below while removing her upper ascender with the other hand. But admittedly that can be a little tricky when using a Petzl Basic in place of a handled ascender.
As for changing over with a longer J-rack, I would imagine the guy in the first video could manage it by rigging below the Croll. But I'd wader the lady in the second video, along with many other froggers out there, would need to employ a modified changeover technique.