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weird gear- or how to die

mikl law

1-Dec-2009
12:26:07 PM

I had a near death experience in the 70's using these Hiebler clamps, apparently very good on iced ropes but they flick off all the time. Prussicing and jumaring before harnesses existed was not a great idea. You’d generally have one thin cord sling under your shoulders and a foot loop. And then find yourself hanging upside down from a foot loop. Of course I never used them on anything grander than a pine tree behind the boarding school I was incarcerated in.

You'd put them on with the lever facing up, under weight they would pinch the rope and rotate downwards (losing about 100mm of movement in the process each time). They gripped icy rope well as the rope was pinched and twisted too.

I found these on a crazy collector’s page, it's got every bit of manky gear I've ever seen

http://storrick.cnchost.com/VerticalDevicesPage/VerticalHome.shtml

simey

1-Dec-2009
12:39:14 PM

On 1/12/2009 mikl law wrote:
>I found these on a crazy collectors page, it's got every bit of manky gear I've ever seen
>
>http://storrick.cnchost.com/VerticalDevicesPage/VerticalHome.shtml

What sort of weirdo do you need to be to suddenly become obsessed with collecting this stuff?


IdratherbeclimbingM9

1-Dec-2009
12:50:16 PM

On 1/12/2009 simey wrote:
>What sort of weirdo do you need to be to suddenly become obsessed with
>collecting this stuff?

Having a collection of such gear proves the collector is a survivor, and the age of the gear proves the length of survival time?
~>kind of goes with Alzheimer's ascents, in that it reinforces the feeling of still being alive?

The sad thing is that I still use my museum pieces(!), though I have never owned Hiebler clamps.
Heh, heh, heh.

(mikl has mentioned Hiebler clamps before. I think it was 'the gear that never worked' thead, or similar title. I shall get around to creating a link when I have more time).


ajfclark

1-Dec-2009
1:04:09 PM

Climbing Gear Ideas that Flopped


SteveC

1-Dec-2009
1:08:44 PM

Excellent site, there are some truly retarded devices out there! I had forgotten the name of it but I found
this http://storrick.cnchost.com/VerticalDevicesPage/Belay/MiscBelayPages/MiscBelay772.html
I saw a group of schnitzels using these for sport climbing recently. I thought they were illegal west of the
Rhein.

I liked this too http://storrick.cnchost.com/VerticalDevicesPage/StupidIcons.html


cruze

1-Dec-2009
1:27:59 PM

On 1/12/2009 IdratherbeclimbingM9 wrote:
>On 1/12/2009 simey wrote:
>>What sort of weirdo do you need to be to suddenly become obsessed with
>>collecting this stuff?
>
>Having a collection of such gear proves the collector is a survivor, and
>the age of the gear proves the length of survival time?

Or the benefactor of many estates...


IdratherbeclimbingM9

1-Dec-2009
2:38:41 PM

>creating a link

On 1/12/2009 ajfclark wrote:
>Climbing Gear Ideas that Flopped

... that's the one.
Thanks ajf.
( ~> factoids of the world unite! ... said punching the air with fist while standing on the Chocky soap-box!^{Heh x 3} )

From the thread link:
On 09/09/2004 mikl wrote;
>Heibler clamps!!! With those I looked death in the eye and didn't like what I saw.

& today wrote;
>I had a near death experience in the 70's using these Hiebler clamps.

& on 10/09/2004 M9 replied;
>Hey mikl, got any stories on their use (from days of yore)?

~> five years later, I'd still be interested in the story behind your statements!!
☺

martym

1-Dec-2009
2:56:36 PM

I love the disclaimer, this has to be the most concise I've seen:

DON'T SOLO CLIMB!

Duncan

1-Dec-2009
3:08:50 PM

Someone should have told this arse hat:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwg8peo9hok


nmonteith

1-Dec-2009
3:20:43 PM

On 1/12/2009 Duncan wrote:
>Someone should have told this arse hat:
>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwg8peo9hok

It was hardly a solo if you have a rope running down the route anyway. I wonder what condition his hands were in after that!

egosan

1-Dec-2009
3:26:20 PM

"I'm fine."

"Dude when your adrenaline cool off you are gonna be hurting."


mattjr

1-Dec-2009
3:52:58 PM

What a d*%&head!!!!


D.Lodge

1-Dec-2009
3:56:35 PM

OMG! what a tool, he will be gone soon if soloing is that for him. Also whats with the socks and climbing shoes?!!
>>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwg8peo9hok
>


evanbb

1-Dec-2009
4:20:38 PM

Wow. What a goober.

Why was the rope there? really?


IdratherbeclimbingM9

1-Dec-2009
4:27:09 PM

Good link Duncan, that also fits nicely with the thread topic!

On 1/12/2009 nmonteith wrote:
>It was hardly a solo if you have a rope running down the route anyway.

He was still soloing, but it was a tainted solo re purest sense of the term, in my opinion, for that reason.

>I wonder what condition his hands were in after that!

I would estimate the climb to be about 12m high, and he fell from about 9m up it. He only held the rope for about two metres during the fall till it burnt him enough that he let it go, and then he free fell the remaining 6 or 7 metres.
Apart from (suspected) rope burn, he obviously had a bung right ankle at the vids end, but what surprises me more is that he did not break his right arm slapping the rock at the deck.
~> He came out of it blerrie lucky considering all the circumstances.

He also had gear (quickdraws), on his harness. ~> An example of why solo with gear and not use it? ~> He could easily have clove hitched a loop/s on the standing rope/s, with length adjusted to suit maximum fall distance without decking out if he so desired... to cover the possibility of a stuffup.


nmonteith

1-Dec-2009
4:42:14 PM

Soloing with a backup harness, quickdraws and a rope-nearby isn't really soloing. At any moment he wanted to chicken out he could just clip in and lower-off. If you're not 100% certain you can solo something then you shouldn't leave the ground. He was doing it for all the wrong reasons...


IdratherbeclimbingM9

1-Dec-2009
4:52:51 PM

I agree; however there is such a thing as back-roped solo, which is middle ground between free solo and partnered.

The reasons were wrong, and also the setting in my opinion, but he still experienced a level of intensity that was noted by the camera-person, so maybe he got what he wanted in more ways than one?
;-)

PDRM

1-Dec-2009
5:42:24 PM

On 1/12/2009 mikl law wrote:
>I had a near death experience in the 70's using these Hiebler clamps, apparently
>very good on iced ropes but they flick off all the time.
>http://storrick.cnchost.com/VerticalDevicesPage/VerticalHome.shtml
>

I donated a Pitt Stop to Gary some years ago. He's a nice guy with a neat collection. This stuff is no less part of our collective history that the routes, the personalities and the change in style and ethics.

.M


contactgav

1-Dec-2009
5:47:23 PM

it was unfortunate and he was very lucky. but really, who are we to judge his actions or motives?

why is it that we climbers feel the need to judge each other so harshly at times.

as long as we;
1. dont damage alter the nature of the climb / rock
2. put others at risk of injury or death.
3. climb in a manner befitting to the ethics of the crag / region

does it really matter?


evanbb

1-Dec-2009
6:11:22 PM

On 1/12/2009 oldfella wrote:
>as long as we;
>1. dont damage alter the nature of the climb / rock
>2. put others at risk of injury or death.
>3. climb in a manner befitting to the ethics of the crag / region

I think he clearly violated the second law. 70kg man falling 8m, that's gonna hurt someone.

There are 51 messages in this topic.