I want to improve my climbing system....again

[Carburetorless]

So, I'm still using my Texas/Frog system. It gets the job done, but it's not near as efficient as I would like it to be.

SRT

So I've been trying to make a rope walker system. I've got a CMI hand ascender(above a mechanical ascender, which is connected to my center D) tied to a microscender that's down by my knee with a foot loop on my left foot, and on my right foot I have a CMI foot ascender. Then I have a bungee from the hand ascender to the microscender.

I don't know if it's my technique or something binding up in the system, but I just can't get a rhythm going. I see other guys walking right up the rope, but this setup is slower than my Texas/Frog setup.

Anybody using a rope walker system with good results? What's your setup? Pics would be great, video even better, instructions a must.

Thanks

 

[TheJollyLogger]

I'd ditch the knee ascender and attach my foothold directly to my hand ascender. I'm assuming your hand ascender is left handed?

 

[newsawtooth]

Frog Walkers aren't very good commercial systems. They are not easily escaped and are too gear intensive. A secured foot lock is the ideal as far as simplicity. But again, not perfect and not easily escapable or conducive to working as you go up. I found that hand and chest ascenders get in the way. Try a rope wrench or hitch hiker tended by some sort of shoulder lanyard. Use one leg with a foot ascender and your hands. If you have long ascents a HAAS type system allows the use of both legs.

 

[Carburetorless]

I'd ditch the knee ascender and attach my foothold directly to my hand ascender. I'm assuming your hand ascender is left handed?

My hand ascender is Right handed, I was going to go with left, but I decided on right because I'm right handed.

I tried the hand ascender attached to the chest ascender to pull it up and at the same time attached to my left foot loop. I got similar results both ways.

Finally I ended up with the hand ascender not attached to anything, just there to pull myself up, and climbed DdRT with a prussic on the up side attached the microscender under my Blake's, and used the hand ascender and the foot ascender. That worked O.K., but not very fast and not very efficient.

 

[Carburetorless]

Frog Walkers aren't very good commercial systems. They are not easily escaped and are too gear intensive. A secured foot lock is the ideal as far as simplicity. But again, not perfect and not easily escapable or conducive to working as you go up. I found that hand and chest ascenders get in the way. Try a rope wrench or hitch hiker tended by some sort of shoulder lanyard. Use one leg with a foot ascender and your hands. If you have long ascents a HAAS type system allows the use of both legs.

The hitch hiker can be used SRT; can't it? I'd rather climb SRT for the efficiency of it, if I can come up with something that will self tend and run up the rope with very little drag.

I've been looking at the HAAS, I have the CROLL, foot ascender, and shoulder strap, not sure I left any part of it out.

I see some people(in videos) using some type of chest roller to keep their body vertical, they called it hands free, I like that, because most of the energy I'm exerting is wasted on holding myself vertical, if I could hang vertical it'd be a lot easier. Is the chest roller necessary for that, or will the CROLL with the shoulder strap/bungee work just as well?

 

[TheJollyLogger]

There's your problem right there.

 

[Carburetorless]

There's your problem right there.

Right where?

 

[TheJollyLogger]

You want both sides of the body working together, not diagonally.

 

[Carburetorless]

You want both sides of the body working together, not diagonally.

Ah, so I need either a Left handed ascender or put the foot ascender on the other foot

Or twist the hand ascender around the other way and pull with my left hand?

Anyway, I'm wanting to let my legs do most of the work, and want that to be fairly easy. I'll climb DdRT if necessary. I think getting vertical without too much effort will make a big difference.

I need to figure what gear I'm going to need to make it work right.

 

[Carburetorless]

You want both sides of the body working together, not diagonally.

Guess who's rope walking?

I turned the ascender around, so the cam gate is facing away making it left handed with a length of 7mm prussic cord attached to my foot loop. Added my croll with a biner clipped into my center D and the chest D with a binered bungee hooked in the lower back D run through the left should D and clipped into the top of the croll. Then the pantin on my right foot.

It was getting dark, I was in a maple that's in bad need of pruning, and this my first shot at rope walking, but it worked better than any rig I've climbed before. Stepping up was a lot easier than I thought it would be. I only climbed about 20 feet up, but I was up there way faster than ever before and I was going slow working my way through a jungle of limbs.

Better light, better tree and some practice, I'll soon be running up the rope. I should have done this a long time ago.

Biggest problem I noticed is the change over for descent, not too bad, but I'd like to be able to descend immediately if I need to. Other than that I'd like to make it hands free so I don't have to push the hand ascender up, maybe another binered bungee hooked to another croll just above my foot loop, and just use my hand on the rope above the upper croll.

 

[TheJollyLogger]

Swap your croll out for a hitchhiker or a ropewrench and you're set.

 

[Carburetorless]

Swap your croll out for a hitchhiker or a ropewrench and you're set.

Yep! I'm looking at the Hitch Hiker.

 

[Peter White]

I use a left hand CMI ascender to a left side foot loop, and a right CMI foot ascender, and a rope wrench. Works very well, easy to get a rhythm going. I wear a chest harness clipped by a 'biner to center hole of my wrench tender pulley to hold me upright, and for resting. It also tends the wrench - I'm hands off the wrench setup until I stop, then I just pull the hitch up to not lose any height gained. Love the chest harness, great for working and saving energy otherwise expended staying upright, and it keeps my hands free for working. Still hard on the arms, even though the legs are doing all the work, you have to reach up high with right hand to grab rope, and then push up the hand ascender - seems like the arms are what limits my ability to keep going. I'm only good for about 50 feet at a whack, then I need a rest. Being able to lean back and have the chest harness hold me more upright is really nice, and I can just hang there, shake my arms out, and enjoy the view.