Re: [TowerTalk] Tower Falls, After the fall/save

[Jim Lux <jimlux@earthlink.net>]

Doug Renwick wrote:
> Good points Pat.  A full body harness will probably add a few minutes to
> your life, but will it save your life?  Unless you have immediate
> assistance it may not save your life.  Could be classed as a false sense
> of security.  But then it would be better to have a chance of saving
> your life rather than no chance at all.
> The best advice is to not get into a situation where you need to
> activate the full body harness.
> At my QTH I would estimate that it would take at least 30 minutes before
> a response team would arrive.  Maybe too late.
>
> Doug


This is in the same class as the folks who do rock climbing in the 
wilderness.  I have friends who said it's not worth using 11mm ropes, 
and you might as well use a 7mm or 9mm  rope (saving the considerable 
amount of weight of the rope).  rationale: If you fall from a height 
where having 11mm would not break, but the 7mm would, you're dead meat 
anyway, by the time someone gets in to rescue you, carry the Stokes 
litter out to civilization, call the ambulance, etc.

Same sort of arguments for folks doing rapid speed climbs (e.g. El Cap 
and Half Dome in a day).  At that speed, any mistake is death or worse, 
regardless of whether you're using a rope or not, so why carry the rope 
and the gear, which just slows you down.

I don't claim that the argument is valid, but it *is* a rationale. 
There's a big difference between what's a reasonable scenario in an 
occupational exposure (where there's a ground crew, you're in a area 
with rapid emergency response, etc.) and a solo climb on that tower out 
on the back 40 on your ranch that's a 3 hour drive from the nearest 
town, much less a trauma center.  Maybe the idea that it's better to 
burn out than fade away isn't all that far off.  In any case, a personal 
decision.
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