Rope System Analysis
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Analysis of the Accident on Air Guitar
Analysis of the accident on Air Guitar The Safety Committee of the Swedish Climbing Association Draft 2004-05-30 Preface The Swedish Climbing Association (SKF) Safety Committee’s overall purpose is to reduce the number of incidents and accidents in connection to climbing and associated activities, as well as to increase and spread the knowledge of related risks. The fatal accident on the route Air Guitar involved four failed pieces of protection and two experienced climbers. Such unusual circumstances ring a warning bell, calling for an especially careful investigation. The Safety Committee asked the American Alpine Club to perform a preliminary investigation, which was financed by a company formerly owned by one of the climbers. Using the report from the preliminary investigation together with additional material, the Safety Committee has analyzed the accident. The details and results of the analysis are published in this report. There is a large amount of relevant material, and it is impossible to include all of it in this report. The Safety Committee has been forced to select what has been judged to be the most relevant material. Additionally, the remoteness of the accident site, and the difficulty of analyzing the equipment have complicated the analysis. The causes of the accident can never be “proven” with certainty. This report is not the final word on the accident, and the conclusions may need to be changed if new information appears. However, we do believe we have been able to gather sufficient evidence in order to attempt an -
Victorian Climbing Management Guidelines
Victorian Climbing Management Guidelines Compiled for the Victorian Climbing Community Revision: V04 Published: 15 Sept 2020 1 Contributing Authors: Matthew Brooks - content manager and writer Ashlee Hendy Leigh Hopkinson Kevin Lindorff Aaron Lowndes Phil Neville Matthew Tait Glenn Tempest Mike Tomkins Steven Wilson Endorsed by: Crag Stewards Victoria VICTORIAN CLIMBING MANAGEMENT GUIDELINES V04 15 SEPTEMBER 2020 2 Foreword - Consultation Process for The Victorian Climbing Management Guidelines The need for a process for the Victorian climbing community to discuss widely about best rock-climbing practices and how these can maximise safety and minimise impacts of crag environments has long been recognised. Discussions on these themes have been on-going in the local Victorian and wider Australian climbing communities for many decades. These discussions highlighted a need to broaden the ways for climbers to build collaborative relationships with Traditional Owners and land managers. Over the years, a number of endeavours to build and strengthen such relationships have been undertaken; Victorian climbers have been involved, for example, in a variety of collaborative environmental stewardship projects with Land Managers and Traditional Owners over the last two decades in particular, albeit in an ad hoc manner, as need for such projects have become apparent. The recent widespread climbing bans in the Grampians / Gariwerd have re-energised such discussions and provided a catalyst for reflection on the impacts of climbing, whether inadvertent or intentional, negative or positive. This has focussed considerations of how negative impacts on the environment or cultural heritage can be avoided or minimised and on those climbing practices that are most appropriate, respectful and environmentally sustainable. -
ACCT 2008 Dynamic Rope Behavior
ACCT Rope Behavior 1 objective ACCT Rope Behavior 2 structure ACCT Rope Behavior 3 my sinister puppeteers ACCT Rope Behavior 4 climbing, teaching, research, modeling, consumption of German beer, napping through UIAA meetings ACCT Rope Behavior 5 I’m not a guide, so I can’t tell you how to climb. ACCT Rope Behavior 6 dynamic rope standard ACCT Rope Behavior 7 pictorial images © P Schubert & N McMillan; from http://www.theuiaa.org/uiaa_safety_labels.php low stretch rope standard EN 1891 • Definition: 8.5-16 mm, kernmantel, for use “in work access, rescue and in speleology,” hem + haw, types A (general use) and B (not as good as A) • Melting point > 195°C; knotability < 1.2; sheath slippage; sheath/kern ratio • Fall performance in 0.6 m fall on 2.0 m rope (fall factor 0.3): peak force < 6 kN, drops held > 5 • Static strength: with terminations, 15|12 kN; without terminations, 22|18 kN Additional UIAA requirements • > 80% solid color & single direction of spiraling 2nd color(s) ACCT Rope Behavior 8 ACCT Rope Behavior 9 kilo-newtons, einstein, physics kN ~one BIG climber on a bathroom scale equivalence principle: when you jump on the bathroom scale, it reads a much higher than body weight •Energy •Force •Kinematics •Momentum • Material properties ACCT Rope Behavior 10 fall geometry ACCT Rope Behavior 11 fall properties ACCT Rope Behavior 12 energy conservation ACCT Rope Behavior 13 ugh ACCT Rope Behavior 14 more complicated Friction over the top carabiner increases the rope modulus. Belayer behavior and damping (to some degree) reduce the quantity under the radical sign. -
Ice Climbing Anchor Strength: an In-Depth Analysis
Ice Climbing Anchor Strength: An In-Depth Analysis J. Marc Beverly, BS-EMS, M-PAS, Certified Guide Stephen W. Attaway, PhD Abstract: Ice climbing anchors are seemingly simple, yet have a mystique that surrounds their use and overall strengths. Not all ice climbing anchors are used in a standard configuration. Placing an ice screw into an already existing ice screw hole is called re-boring. Re-boring of ice screws is a common practice among ice climbers. Re-boring is typically preferred when placing a screw to avoid creating adjacent holes that could serve as a potential fracture propagation point. We evaluated re-boring strengths for several ice screw designs to determine the strength as a function of length of screw. Slow pull tests were performed, and the results were compared with prior data from drop testing on ice screws. Static pull testing using lake ice was compared with drop testing on waterfall ice and found to be a good substitute test medium. In addition, we evaluated Abalakov anchors (a.k.a. V-thread anchors), with 7mm Perlon cord as well as 1” tubular webbing in different configurations. Their strengths were then compared with that of the single re- bored ice screws. The nature of ice is a continually changing medium and hard to predict in the field. However, the actual strengths shown from our testing methods in the real-world environment make a strong case for the strength of re-boring. Recently, re-bored holes in a freezing environment were found to be strong enough in most configurations. Abalakov ice anchors were also found to be strong, provided that enough ice area was enclosed by the anchor. -
Topic / Subject ROPE Overview (Key Points)
Topic / Subject ROPE Time frame = ______ mins Contact statement (gain student attention and create a readiness to learn) Overview (key points) • Definition / Purpose Means a line composed of a core of braided, twisted or parallel continuous synthetic filaments encased in a smooth woven synthetic sheath manufactured to comply with UIAA/CEN/AS standards. Ropes provide security to climbers in the event of a fall – they are designed to absorb the impact of the fall without causing injury. • Historical perspective Pre 1941 – vegetable fibre ropes widely used (typically Italian hemp) 1941 – First nylon rope used in WW2 (hawser laid) 1953 – First ‘Kernmantel’ (core + sheath) rope developed by Edelrid in Germany 1964 – Introduction of international test certificate for mountaineering ropes (UIAA) Present day – ropes are getting thinner, lighter and stronger (give some examples) • Types -low stretch (previously known as static) -dynamic -twisted, hawser laid -yachting rope (‘sheets’, known as double braid and similar to climbing ropes) Note: Important to distinguish between ropes that are designed for human life support in contrast to lifting non-living loads; eg, Yachting rope is not intended for abseiling. • Construction Modern synthetic fibre ropes utilise a ‘kernmantel’ construction which consists of two parts:- the core (or ‘kern’) and the sheath (or ‘mantel’). The non-climbing public usually refer to this type of rope as a ‘double braid’. The kernmantel construction will be manufactured to be either dynamic or low stretch (‘static’). The distinction between the two is determined by the method of weaving the fibres. Discuss the following diagrams: Dynamic rope construction – EN 892 Low stretch (Static) rope construction – AS 4142.3 (woven or braided core) (parallel core – minimal braiding) Hawser laid construction – not used by climbers or abseilers (generally consists of 3 strands in a right hand lay) Lesson Templates - Rope VER 1.8 01/08/2002 © Copyright 1999-2005 • Applications / Selecting a rope For climbing applications, choose a rope that matches your needs. -
Rescue of an Injured Climber from the Redguard Route in Eldorado Canyon State Park
Rescue of an injured climber from the Redguard Route in Eldorado Canyon State Park On the morning of the June 26th 2010, Boulder County dispatch notified Rocky Mountain Rescue Group (RMRG) of an injured climber in need of assistance on Redgarden Wall in Eldorado Canyon State Park. The ensuing rescue took three hours, involved 32 mountain rescue personnel, medical personnel from three agencies, Boulder County Sherriff Officers, and Colorado State Park personnel. Events Leading to the Accident [Based on a detailed summary of the accident written by Bill Wright, one of the climbers. RMRG sincerely appreciates Bill Wright's public support. However, other than receiving rescue services, he is not affiliated with RMRG. His words and opinions are his own. Two experienced climbers were attempting to complete 100 pitches of climbing within a single day in Eldorado Canyon State Park. After already climbing 29 pitches, the team started the Redguard route, traditionally a 7-pitch climb rated 5.8 on the Redgarden Wall. To achieve the 100-pitch goal the team was simul-climbing, a method where neither the leader nor follower has an active belay; rather they climb at approximately the same speed with a near taught rope and several pieces of rock protection between them. When the lead climber was about 300 feet above the ground, he fell an estimated 120 - 140 feet and came to a stop apparently inverted and unconscious, 15 - 30 feet above a large ledge. The follower was able to raise the attention of a runner passing on the trails below who then called 911. -
Rock Climbing Fundamentals Has Been Crafted Exclusively For
Disclaimer Rock climbing is an inherently dangerous activity; severe injury or death can occur. The content in this eBook is not a substitute to learning from a professional. Moja Outdoors, Inc. and Pacific Edge Climbing Gym may not be held responsible for any injury or death that might occur upon reading this material. Copyright © 2016 Moja Outdoors, Inc. You are free to share this PDF. Unless credited otherwise, photographs are property of Michael Lim. Other images are from online sources that allow for commercial use with attribution provided. 2 About Words: Sander DiAngelis Images: Michael Lim, @murkytimes This copy of Rock Climbing Fundamentals has been crafted exclusively for: Pacific Edge Climbing Gym Santa Cruz, California 3 Table of Contents 1. A Brief History of Climbing 2. Styles of Climbing 3. An Overview of Climbing Gear 4. Introduction to Common Climbing Holds 5. Basic Technique for New Climbers 6. Belaying Fundamentals 7. Climbing Grades, Explained 8. General Tips and Advice for New Climbers 9. Your Responsibility as a Climber 10.A Simplified Climbing Glossary 11.Useful Bonus Materials More topics at mojagear.com/content 4 Michael Lim 5 A Brief History of Climbing Prior to the evolution of modern rock climbing, the most daring ambitions revolved around peak-bagging in alpine terrain. The concept of climbing a rock face, not necessarily reaching the top of the mountain, was a foreign concept that seemed trivial by comparison. However, by the late 1800s, rock climbing began to evolve into its very own sport. There are 3 areas credited as the birthplace of rock climbing: 1. -
Silent Partner User's Manual
SILENT PARTNER USER’S MANUAL Don’t even think of using the Silent Partner without reading this manual first! Manufactured by: Rock Exotica Equipment P.O. Box 160470 Clearfield, UT 84016 Phone: 801-728-0630 Fax: 801-728-0667 www.rockexotica.com Rock Exotica Equipment makes no express warranties concerning Silent Partner. This product is soley for use in recreational climbing and mountaineering, following the specific guidelines of the User’s Manual. The Silent Partner is protected by U.S. Patent INTRODUCTION READ THIS MANUAL This manual contains important information about the Silent Partner. No matter what your level of solo experience, you need to understand the information in this manual to use the Silent Partner correctly. The Silent Partner is not difficult to use, but proper use is not obvious just by looking at it. This manual will show you how to set it up correctly for leading and top roping. It will show you how to release the Silent Partner after a fall and use it to lower yourself. This manual also explains the Silent Partner’s intended uses and limitations. This manual will point out some of the dangers and pitfalls unique to solo climbing. Understanding these could help you avoid dangerous situations. This manual will also provide information on how to care for your Silent Partner, and explain what to do if you have a problem with it. SAVE THIS MANUAL Put this manual in a safe place so that it will be available for future reference. If you loan your Silent Partner to your friends, loan them this manual too. -
Anchors BODY04
Part 2 of 3 Why Fixed Anchors Are Needed ecreational rock climbing, ranging from traditional mountain- Sport climbing evolved through technological advances in eering to sport climbing, is increasing on national forests. climbing equipment. This type of climbing is usually done on a RR Recreational rock climbing has occurred on national forests single pitch, or face, and often relies on bolts. Sport climbing for many years, inside and outside of designated wilderness. differs from traditional rock climbing where more strategic, and Rock climbers routinely use fixed anchors to assist them in sometimes horizontal, movement is favored over a quick vertical their climb and to help them navigate dangerous terrain safely. climb and descent. Bolted routes increase the margin of safety The safest, most common reliable fixed anchor is an expansion for climbers. bolt, a small steel bolt placed in a hole that has been drilled into the rock (figure 1). Frequently, a “hanger” is attached to an Traditional rock climbing uses removable protection such as expansion bolt to accommodate a carabiner or sling (figure 2). nuts, stoppers, or cam devices, placed into a crack of the rock formation (figure 3). Traditional rock-climbing protection devices require sound judgment for placements. These protection devices are rated for strength in pounds or metric units of force called kilonewtons. A kilonewton rating measures the amount of force that would break a piece of equipment during a fall. Even traditional climbing requires bolts to be placed at the top of a vertical crag for rappelling if there is no other way of descending. Figure 1—An expansion bolt is placed in a drilled hole into the rock. -
The Development of Equipment to Reduce Risk in Rock Climbing
The development of equipment to reduce risk in rock climbing R. A. Smith Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Shef®eld, UK. Abstract The historical development of protection systems for rock climbing is summarized. Rapid advances in the design and availability of equipment since 1945 has enabled climbers to fall with much reduced risk of death or serious injury. Mention is made of the wider application of climbing protection equipment to industrial situations and some ideas for the discussion of climbing equipment in teaching examples are introduced. Keywords: Rock climbing, mountaineering, rope, protection equipment, impact loads, falls. Climb if you will, but remember that courage and strength are nought without prudence, and that a momentary negligence may destroy the happiness of a lifetime. Do nothing in haste; look well to each step; and from the beginning think what may be the end (Whymper, 1871). Review of the development of rock climbing To the uninitiated, the joining of a team of protection systems climbers together on a rope represents a source of danger since, should one slip, the remainder are pulled off. Indeed some of the earliest mountain- Beginnings eering accidents in the European Alps seemed to Rock climbing, a branch of the wider sport of substantiate this idea, and the term rope was used as mountaineering, involves an element of risk. This is a noun to describe the system of the climbers and one of its attractions. In the approximately their connecting rope. One well-documented clas- 120 years since the inception of rock climbing as sic accident occurred on 14 July 1865. -
Yellow Spur Rope Failure Investigation by Rocky Mountain Rescue Group
Yellow Spur Rope Failure Investigation by Rocky Mountain Rescue Group March 6, 2011 On the morning of June 22, 2010, Joseph Miller fell while leading the second pitch of the Yellow Spur1 route on the Redgarden Wall in Eldorado Canyon State Park2. During the fall the climber’s rope failed, resulting in a fatal ground fall. Due to the unusual occurrence of a climbing rope failure, the Rocky Mountain Rescue Group3 (RMRG) conducted an accident investigation focused on the cause of the failure. This report contains the activities, findings and conclusions of that investigation. The intent of this report is to objectively determine what most likely happened during the accident. RMRG has no special relationship with any of the individuals or equipment manufacturers mentioned herein nor did RMRG receive any compensation for conducting this investigation. We encourage others to replicate our testing of this or similar scenarios. Figure 1a shows a photo of the Yellow Spur route with the area of the accident outlined in yellow. The second pitch of the route starts from a tree and traverses to climber’s left before heading up a dihedral (Figure 1b). The route was closed temporarily following the accident in order to gather on-site information in support of the initial investigation conducted by the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO). Prior to re-opening the route, a detailed inspection of the second pitch of the route was performed by RMRG, and photographs were taken of the climbing protection placed by Miller during the climb. Interviews Interviews with a number of nearby climbers who witnessed the events leading to the fall and/or the fall itself were conducted by RMRG. -
On Ideal Dynamic Climbing Ropes Arxiv:1611.04327V1 [Math.OC]
On ideal dynamic climbing ropes D. Harutyunyan, G.W. Milton, T.J. Dick and J. Boyer Department of Mathematics, The University of Utah November 15, 2016 Abstract We consider the rope climber fall problem in two different settings. The simplest formulation of the problem is when the climber falls from a given altitude and is attached to one end of the rope while the other end of the rope is attached to the rock at a given height. The problem is then finding the properties of the rope for which the peak force felt by the climber during the fall is minimal. The second problem of our consideration is again minimizing the same quantity in the presence of a carabiner. We will call such ropes mathematically ideal. Given the height of the carabiner, the initial height and the mass of the climber, the length of the unstretched rope, and the distance between the belayer and the carabineer, we find the optimal (in the sense of minimized the peak force to a given elongation) dynamic rope in the framework of nonlinear elasticity. Wires of shape memory materials have some of the desired features of the tension-strain relation of a mathematically ideal dynamic rope, namely a plateau in the tension over a range of strains. With a suitable hysteresis loop, they also absorb essentially all the energy from the fall, thus making them an ideal rope in this sense too. arXiv:1611.04327v1 [math.OC] 14 Nov 2016 Keywords Dynamic climbing ropes, shape memory alloys, hysteresis, nonlinear elasticity 1 1 Introduction Climber fall is a central problem in rock climbing; and an important factor, which this paper addresses, is minimizing the peak force felt by the climber as he/she falls, allowing a maximum elongation of the rope.