by Seamus Decker » Mar 8, 2007 2:46 pm
This is a bit tangential to the topic of this thread, but since there are some verti-gurus in here, I'm curious to hear what you all will answer to this question: what is the most compact/lightweight but also versatile and safe SRT kit (for use in mostly long horiztonal caves with remote pits)?
I caved quite a bit in TAG and used a Frog with the croll, Petzl harness, hand jammer combo. I'm just getting back into caving, and probably should throw away and replace all my old vertical gear. I'll likely replace the frog system for truly vertical caves.
However, during my last five years of active caving (1998 to 2003) I got mostly into Kentucky/CRF survey work. There are pits of up to ~150 feet, but that is rare. In fact, pits of 50 feet are fairly uncommon, and long trips on the order of miles to get to pits are common.
Just about the time I got inactive (2003) we were all sort of challenging each other to who could come up with the most compact, lightweight, versatile (as in faster to put on rope that knots) and safe rig. I think my buddy Pete Zabrok who is an El Cap aid climber probably won the prize.
His rig was a frog with a croll chest with elastic cord for a chest harness. and a hand jammer for the foot sling (prolly a petzl IIRC). Sit harness was a loop of 1" tubular webbing with a D-loop closure. Can't recall if the loop was sewn or tied, but getting rid of knots reduces quite a bit of bulk. All his slings were sewn stuff chosen from his aid climbing kit rather than using tied pieces (eliminating bulk from knots). For abseiling, we all used a small/medium pear shaped steel locking carabiner with an R-knot (muenter hitch).
"Sittin' in a cave as black as midnight,
Cause I got a brand new plastic Justrite
Oozing off the front of my hard hat."
_Plastic Justrite_ Cave Ballad by Barb MacLeod (1973)