Here is what Al just sent me pertaining to the Raumer "stick-up". I think we will build ours as well.
Mark,
I saw one a few years ago and thought "it's only an aluminium pole with
a few holes in it, I can build one of those" rather than order it at
great expense from the other side of the world and then perhaps find that
I didn't like it.
The original is a round-ended rectangular section bar with several holes
so you can get your attachment position just right. I used a piece of
windsurfer boom extension Al tube to make mine - probably not as strong,
but lighter and strong enough when I bounced on it to test it. The fifi
is my idea. I found the central karabiner awkward when I was moving the
pole from anchor to anchor. Fifi is of course, a bit less secure, but
your belay isn't very far away. Also increases the risk of dropping the
lot back down the pitch. Yes, the fifi rotates. It's held on by a simple
eyebolt through it's attachment eye and the pole. The eye is on the out
side so that I can clip to it, but I've never wanted to so I guess it's
superfluous.
If you don't keep weight on your feet, the pole capsizes - or starts
to, I've never pushed it far enough go right over. Another thing is that
the centre point is not in the centre of the pole. It's offset so that
you can put the long or short end up to tune your balance between
leg-weight and body-weight a bit easier.
It works best on slightly off-vertical walls where you can put the long
end up and don't require as much leg-weight leverage to stay upright.
Once the wall is overhanging the pole is not much use.
A good thing about them is that they weigh so little & are so compact
it's not real bother to take one along and just use it on the aid points
that it works for.
Unlike the climbing platform in Marek's article which is bigger and
heavier and needs to be assembled and I expect would have similar
balance problems on overhangs as for a simple pole. I've not used a
platform. I watched Bernard use one once - very fast, but he didn't have
to get the thing into the cave to use it...
Too complex?
No, I don't think so, at least not a pole, a platform perhaps, depending
on where you are.
ie, for a 60 m aven the platform saves you a lot. For a 6 m aven it's
hardly worth it, but a pole still is, especially if you're drilling by
hand where each additional anchor is another 1/2 >> one whole hour.
They both give you considerably more reach - sort of like high-stepping
in your etriers but with the pole to allow you stay up there much more
easily.
Part of why Bernard goes so fast is that he uses DBZ anchors
http://www.hilti.com.au/holau/modules/p ... ?OID=-9132
very fast to insert into a small hole. Also dirty...
Also good are concrete screws:
http://www.hilti.com.au/holau/modules/p ... ?OID=-9111
even better if you can get them for 6 mm holes.
You can unscrew them and reuse them when you're finished.
Read all about it in the next edition of Vertcal!! (but not in as much
detail)
by cavescom » May 21, 2007 10:35 pm 
)
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