Survival Climbing (All)

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Rope Tips A collection of quick tips on choice and use. See also: Cordage: Ropes & Net tips

Rope By James Watkins Knowing how to apply rope to cross-country travel also makes it possible to tackle extremely difficult if not dangerous terrain obstacles. Thus, learning the composition and behavior of cordage as well as correct knot tying, should be an important aspect of family survival education.

FM 3-97.61 Military Mountaineering This field manual details techniques soldiers and leaders must know to cope with mountainous terrain. These techniques are the foundation upon which the mountaineer must build. They must be applied to the various situations encountered to include river crossings, glaciers, snow-covered mountains, ice climbing, rock climbing, and urban vertical environments. The degree to which this training is applied must be varied to conform to known enemy doctrine, tactics, and actions. This FM also discusses basic and advanced techniques to include acclimatization, illness and injury, equipment, anchors, evacuation, movement on glaciers, and training.

Rope Management and Knots, from Military Mountaineering [FM 3-97c4] The rope is a vital piece of equipment to the mountaineer. When climbing, rappelling, or building various installations, the mountaineer must know how to properly utilize and maintain this piece of equipment. If the rope is not managed or maintained properly, serious injury may occur. This chapter discusses common rope terminology, management techniques, care and maintenance procedures, and knots.

"FM 5-125: Rigging Techniques, Procedures & Applications" [PDF] The Complete FM 5-125 Rigging US Army field manual. Still a work in progress, but what a work! Huge, informative, detailed, and written for Army grunts to understand (I were one, so I can yak!).

Animated Knots. A fun page on knot tying with animated graphics.

Animated Knots by Grog FANTASTIC PAGE! Each animation can be controlled: step through with the arrow keys, use your mouse, or choose the speed. There is additional information beneath each animation.

Belay Failures and corrections to the article. From Technical Rescue Magazine Issue Eight. Discusses some spectacular failures from shock loading a belay. (PDF) [Links rescued 4/9/11 - now hosted onsite!]

Corvallis Mountain Rescue Unit Rigging by the Corvallis Mountain Rescue Unit. Some basic knots and anchors, along with some traverses and drop tests. [Link updated 4/9/11]

Artificial Rigging Anchors for the Present and Future by John H. Ganter and William K. Storage. Published in the NSS News (May 1990) and Cave Science (August 1991). To bolt or not to bolt - that is the question! This paper addresses the merits of various artificial anchors.

Bolting 101 by E. Hirst. This page contains the basics of placing bolts.

Considerations for Rope Rescue in 2009 Rope rescue presents special challenges, especially in remote areas. With new equipment constantly appearing on the market and techniques continuously being refined, the craft is a very dynamic experience. This presentation will expose new students to safe, basic fundamentals. Advanced students will increase their knowledge of proper techniques. All experiences are based on current testing and review the techniques of application used by different groups, from cave explorers to mountain rescue personnel. OSHA considerations will be addressed. Both hard and soft techniques for attaching to the rope are discussed. At the end of the presentation, a reader should be able to make safe decisions based on their own needs and budget restraints. They will also know the best references for additional information.

Rigging for Alpine SRT. by S. Mayo. An overview of rebelay rigging.

Notes on Alpine style SRT. by S. Mayo. An overview of vertical techniques and equipment that work best with rebelay rigging. Some of the techniques for the rappel rack should be taken with a grain of salt.

Rope Calls. by the MIT Cave Club. A list of rope calls used by the Eastern Region NCRC.

Rappel Safety Rituals. by R. Olsen. A nice check list for rappelling

Choosing Haul Systems In making choices as to which haul system to use the haul team leader must actively integrate the qualities of the various mechanical advantage (MA) systems , see chart, with the physical conditions at hand and the resources available. Generally the most efficient system will be the simplest but will in turn require the greatest number of haulers, i.e. the 1:1

Ropes, Loads, and Energy by William K. Storage and John H. Ganter. NSS News, December 1990. Talks about dynamic loads, static loads, shock loads, and rope softening. 99% math free!

The Mechanics of Friction in Rope Rescue ~ Stephen W. Attaway, Ph.D. {International Technical Rescue Symposium (ITRS 99)}: Frictional forces play an important role in rope rescue. Friction force helps control the lowering of rescuers, however, friction force fights against the rescuer during a raise. Since friction in rope rescue can change exponentially with the rope geometry and the coefficient of friction, understanding the factors that affect rope friction is essential in technical rescue.

Vector Analysis for Vertical Rescuers. by A. Sheehan. An interesting write up on load analysis.

BMS Pico & Nano Racks The Nano/Pico-Rack was developed to provide firefighters and other emergency workers with a compact, safe, and durable personal escape descender. Early in the development of the Pico, it was realized that greater friction from each bar could be realized by essentially using each bar twice. It was then quickly realized that to do this however, none of the bars could be openable.

BMS Belay Spool Since time immemorial man has been wrapping rope around objects to create friction allowing the easy control of loads. Modern examples of this technique include the arborist’s “Bollard Friction Brake”, capstan winches on boats, the “tensionless hitch” used in rescue anchor rigging, etc. These examples rely on the common principal of the rope generating a frictional force with the object upon which it is wrapped in proportion to the load. The load can be easily controlled as long as the number of wraps is sufficient to generate enough friction to counteract the force generated by the load. All of this friction is generated at the contacting surfaces.

Spectra Characteristics by Blue Water Rope and D. Chalmers. Some Technical information on Spectra Cord.

No Helmet. by M. Hodgson. An excellent write up on what happens to your head if you don't use a good helmet.

An Analysis of Active Anchors Used by Lead Climbers. by N. Huber. Deals with the mechanical aspects of active camming devices (friends, cams, etc.).

Deterioration of Climbing Rope. by Bill Mixon. edited by Michael H. Camilletti and Linda Brown A discussion of how ropes age.

OSHA Standards for Slings. by the Occupational Health & Safety Administration. All the standards you really didn't want to know about. This article comes with load tables, testing standards, retirement standards, and definitions.

OSHA Standards for Personal Fall Arrest Systems. by the Occupational Health & Safety Administration. For those that really REALLY care.

Aging Carabiners. by W. Storage. Carabiners can and do age. This is a nice essay on how aluminum carabiners corrode.

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