Hello all.
I have been making some lanyards for tower climbing and a question came up
among a group of us about whether or not to leave your lanyard looped around
the tower while making the climb up and down, dragging it along with you.
One climber calls this 'hitch hiking' and doesn't recommend it, preferring
to free climb until reaching the desired working position, at which time he
attaches his lanyard.
'Hitch hiking' feels safer to me, but it really slows down the ascension
process. Descending is faster, but still slower. And, of course, you have to
'dip' the guys as you go down (unhook the lanyard to cross one over the
other). Bolts heads are a drag, too.
What do you experienced climbers think about 'hitch hiking'?
My harness has a chest ring along with side positioning rings. I am using
a carabiner from the chest ring to a cross brace for a latch while attaching
the lanyard or 'dipping' guys. While this keeps me safe when dipping the
lanyard, it can't be used when climbing up or down.
It occurred to me that you could use two handheld hooks, similar to an S
hook, but with a fat handgrip and a generous tang to hook on to the
horizontal tower braces. If you had a short lanyard tied from each hook to
the chest D Ring (or corresponding side D ring - less desirable), you could
climb with your hooks, and be connected to the tower at all times without
having to hitch hike with practically the same freedom and speed as free
climbing. Once you got to your work point, you could engage the center
carabiners or lanyard for a permanent hold.
I would appreciate your thoughts on this.
Thanks! --...MARK_N1LO...--
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