NZcaver wrote:Stridergdm wrote:Right, but he said a TIED-OFF munter. It's tough to lower a load with your munter tied off.
That's why I was a bit confused and was hoping he'd clarify.
Perhaps he meant rigging the MAIN line releasable with a tied off Munter, and operating a second Munter on the belay line?
Perhaps. But even then, you're still using an "extra" piece of rope. (and on a lower or raise, you're really not going to jam up the mainline like you would with a T3WP belay, so not seeing how this would help.)
NZcaver wrote:Oh and about that 100... unless I'm mistaken (I didn't take my test this year
) in Level 1 & 2 a belay is only a T3WP, it's not until TOFE and Level 3 that we change that.
Nope! Munter belays are now taught and checked off in level 1, and I assume in level 2 as well. Last weeks over-stressed L1 Lead Evaluator has spoken.
See what happens when you miss one weeklong? You'll need to sign up for retraining next year in Puerto Rico.
Looking over the skills check, you're right. I still don't recall where in the curriculum we mention it though. Gotta review that later.
Like I say, I know there's been a lot of discussion about the utility of a munter belay in a rescue system. My personal believe (until I see the stats) is that for a free hanging lower where you're protecting against a blowout of your haul line, I'd prefer a T3WP belay simply to ensure the load is caught. On the one hand there's the argument that an attentive belayer won't let the belay get away from them, even on a sudden shock load. On the other hand we know from experience and testing that a gloved individual can hold about a 50lb load w/o slipping. If the munter successfully "catches" the shock, the 50lbs isn't a problem. If it doesn't, well then you've got a problem. (Well if you're belay is catching a shock load, you've already got a problem, this just makes it bigger.
)
I am still looking for LJ to elaborate on what HE meant, since we're just speculating on his meaning at this point. (Not that that has ever stopped us before
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