The No Anchor Trick

Discuss vertical caving, equipment, & techniques. Also visit the NSS Vertical Section.

Moderator: Tim White

The No Anchor Trick

Postby b4caving2day » Feb 22, 2014 6:18 pm

My previous partner and I were faced with twin forty foot vertical drops and bald limestone with no anchors.
We didn't bolt it but had the same solution pop into our heads almost immediately. Our 120 feet of static
rope had both ends lowered. We both used an Eight and took up the slack between us before our backward
walks entered each pit. It was easier than this reads. This probably isn't a new idea either. We had a plan
of rope pull signals to communicate after off-rope but then found a slot to yell through after looking around.
:bat sticker:
b4caving2day
Infrequent Poster
 
Posts: 9
Joined: Feb 22, 2014 3:40 pm
  

Re: The No Anchor Trick

Postby trogman » Feb 23, 2014 4:10 pm

So let me see if I understand you correctly. You were in a cave that had two parallel pits, and no way to anchor the rope. So you and your buddy rapped simultaneously, one into each pit, with the center of the rope running over the dividing ground between the two pits. Is that what you're telling us? If I've got it all wrong, please help me to understand more clearly.

Trogman :helmet:
User avatar
trogman
NSS Hall Of Fame Poster
 
Posts: 1017
Joined: May 2, 2008 8:35 am
Location: North Alabama
Name: Stephen Brewer
Primary Grotto Affiliation: Gadsden Grotto
  

Re: The No Anchor Trick

Postby msm0711 » Feb 23, 2014 4:21 pm

That's how I read it....which worries me, because I'm quite a bit heavier than everyone I cave with. Also....did you ascend simultaneously as well?
User avatar
msm0711
Frequent Poster
 
Posts: 73
Joined: Apr 25, 2012 7:14 pm
Location: Savannah, GA
Name: Michael McBride
NSS #: 65541
  

Re: The No Anchor Trick

Postby GroundquestMSA » Feb 23, 2014 5:23 pm

My brother and I have done this, rappelling and climbing, while playing on cliffs. It doesn't seem like a very useful caving technique. How often do you run into two parallel pits with no anchor?
User avatar
GroundquestMSA
NSS Hall Of Fame Poster
 
Posts: 1384
Joined: May 5, 2011 1:32 pm
  

Re: The No Anchor Trick

Postby Chads93GT » Feb 23, 2014 7:03 pm

If it has rock you have an anchor. You just have to put a bolt in it ;) Weight wont matter. Friction of the rope on the ground will keep one caver from pulling the other to the top. What would worry me is you get to the bottom and one falls or gets incapacitated. now you are screwed ;)
User avatar
Chads93GT
NSS Hall Of Fame Poster
 
Posts: 2294
Joined: Jun 24, 2008 1:27 pm
Location: Missouri
  

Re: The No Anchor Trick

Postby hunter » Mar 6, 2014 6:46 pm

Odd trick for caving but I've used it a number of times on very long climbs where numerous rappels are required to descend (simul-rappelling is the name I have heard). It saves time if you need to do 10 or 15 rappel/pull-down iterations but I'd really only recommend very experienced people try this as there are a lot of ways to mess up.
hunter
NSS Hall Of Fame Poster
 
Posts: 395
Joined: Sep 9, 2005 9:47 am
Location: New Mexico
  


Return to On Rope!

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users

cron