Silent Partner
hi
I was wondering if it is advisable to learn to rope solo with other
methods before using a Silent Partner. The Silent Partner manual
admonishes the reader that only people who are experts at rope soloing
should use the product. Any suggestions?
Dawn Alguard
Hi hi!
I've never done any roped soloing, or indeed soloing of any kind,
so let me answer your question in the spirit in which it was
asked. If you can ask questions you don't really want to know
the answers to then I can answer them without knowing the
answers.
First off, it depends on what sort of roped soloing you're
planning to do. The Silent Partner is only the best choice if
you're going to be lead rope soloing free climbing. If you're
going to be top-rope soloing, there are better solutions. If
you're going to be aid soloing, there are, if not better
solutions, at least smaller and less expensive ones.
Next, lead rope soloing is complicated no matter what device you
use, including not using a device at all. The two people I know
who have actively engaged in lead rope soloing both admit to
having made a potentially fatal mistake in the setup at least
once. You shouldn't lead rope solo unless you're "expert" at it,
which of course you can't become without lead rope soloing.
Finally, not having ever used any of the devices in question, I'd
have to say that starting with the Silent Partner wouldn't be any
harder than starting with any other device or starting
deviceless. Using the Silent Partner is basically the equivalent
of using the clove hitch method without having to stop and adjust
the clove hitch all the time.
Best of luck,
Dawn
P.S. this is of course all in the FAQ, written by people who
actually know something about it, and people who actually want to
know something about it should look there:
http://www.tradgirl.com/rc/faq5.htm#leadsolo
nathan sweet
An experianced soloist would be better off with a silent partner than a
screamer, IMHO. If one is used to doing solo aid the noise can be
distracting. On the other hand, if one hasn't any friends, and is a
proficient ropeman, soloing can be a rewarding means of ascention if your
spirit is in the right place.
Soloing has many risks. Once I was nearly hit by a meteor while on Half
Dome. In this hemisphere they can be more troublesome than aliens. I
understand that is what wiped out the Anastazi. However, the worst threat to
a soloist is the marmot. They are known to inhabit all the wild country. A
hardy creature, even on Trango they prefer the north face. Watch where you
camp. They have no natural predator other than the raven.
HTH.
> Any suggestions?
I understand the military is hiring.
nathan (check please) sweet
Jason Lucero
Jason, that is a stopper you are trying to jam your big bro into, Lucero
In article <3BAB8378...@tradgirl.com>, Dawn Alguard
<da...@tradgirl.com> wrote:
> If you can ask questions you don't really want to know
> the answers to then I can answer them without knowing the
> answers.
In article <9og1vp$rl0$1...@nnrp.atgi.net>, nathan sweet
hi
>If you're going to be top-rope soloing, there are better solutions.
As far as I can tell, there don't appear to be any. You either have
the potential for upside down falls causing a catastrophe, or the rope
doesn't feed smoothly. What is your suggestion?
>The two people I know who have actively engaged in lead rope >soloing
both admit to having made a potentially fatal mistake in the >setup at
least once.
I would think the potential for problems would be similar to those
when setting up a gri-gri. As with a gri-gri, I would think the
Silent Partner is easy to check to see if it is set up right: you can
yank on one of the strands of rope coming out of the device to see if
it locks up correctly. Or, are there special problems when setting up
a Silent Partner?
D a v i d E m r i c h
"hi" <noneofyou...@none.com> wrote in message news:paWq7.278$LO2.2...@e420r-atl1.usenetserver.com...
> >"Dawn Alguard" <da...@tradgirl.com> wrote in message :
> >If you're going to be top-rope soloing, there are better solutions.
>
> As far as I can tell, there don't appear to be any.
You could look here:
http://www.tradgirl.com/rc/faq5.htm#trsolo
> You either have
> the potential for upside down falls causing a catastrophe, or the rope
> doesn't feed smoothly. What is your suggestion?
My choice is the USHBA Basic Ascender. For other suggestions, and
the reasons behind them, try one of the google searches on Dawn's page
(at the above URL).
David
Squish Guy
> My choice is the USHBA Basic Ascender.
I own one, and I second that.
I'll admit that I haven't had the opportunity to try much else, but I
feel that I can trust the mechanics of the Ushba to lock up in virtually
any TR situation.
--
Andrew Vit
Off Belay!
Eric Angel
test hang before I get far off the ground. You need to back it up ever so
often with a overhand knot which requires a good rest stance. You also
need to use a chest harness. However it feeds much better than a Silent
Partner on TR. I have found that after about 15-20 feet I usually don't
have to mess with it anymore other than to place back up knots. Plus, the
soloist is a hell of allot cheaper than the SP. My experience with the SP
is that you need to use a pretty new cord (10.2 mm) in order for it to
feed well.
I would be more apt to use a SP for leading larger walls not top-roping.
I have used a modified Gri-Gri in the past for TR also, but it doesn't
have the beef of the soloist.
Eric Angel
hi
I recently read about using a Silent Partner in a unique way when
leading. Instead of attaching it to your harness, you attach it to
your anchor at the beginning of a pitch. Then you thread about 3m of
rope through the Silent partner and tie in to that end. The rest of
the rope is on the anchor side of the Silent Partner, and you tie the
other end to your anchor to prevent it from pulling through the
device. Then you climb placing gear or clipping bolts while the
Silent Partner feeds out rope as you climb. If you fall the Silent
Partner locks up like normal. When you get to the end of the pitch,
you rap down, retrieve the Silent Partner, and clean the pitch. With
this method, since all the free rope is sitting next to your anchor,
you don't have the weight of the rope on you while you climb, and you
don't have to worry about tripping all over it if you use safety knots
clipped into your harness.
Has anyone tried that? Or, does anyone see any potential problems?
"hi" <noneofyou...@none.com> wrote in message
news:6OKq7.101$qR2....@e420r-atl2.usenetserver.com...
Dawn Alguard
>
> With
> this method, since all the free rope is sitting next to your anchor,
> you don't have the weight of the rope on you while you climb, and you
> don't have to worry about tripping all over it if you use safety knots
> clipped into your harness.
Where exactly *are* the safety knots in this picture? Besides,
you're undoing all the advatanges of rope soloing - that the rope
gets lighter as you go up and that you don't have to worry about
rope drag on wandering routes.
Dawn
Karl Baba
the rope kinks and won't feed through the device? What if you fall and
then how do you release the locked up partner?
I like lazy solutions but this one won't work
Peace
Karl
In article <Gzes7.2008$ab2.3...@e420r-atl2.usenetserver.com>, hi
<noneofyou...@none.com> wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I recently read about using a Silent Partner in a unique way when
> leading. Instead of attaching it to your harness, you attach it to
> your anchor at the beginning of a pitch. Then you thread about 3m of
> rope through the Silent partner and tie in to that end. The rest of
> the rope is on the anchor side of the Silent Partner, and you tie the
> other end to your anchor to prevent it from pulling through the
> device. Then you climb placing gear or clipping bolts while the
> Silent Partner feeds out rope as you climb. If you fall the Silent
> Partner locks up like normal. When you get to the end of the pitch,
> you rap down, retrieve the Silent Partner, and clean the pitch. With
> this method, since all the free rope is sitting next to your anchor,
> you don't have the weight of the rope on you while you climb, and you
> don't have to worry about tripping all over it if you use safety knots
> clipped into your harness.
>
> Has anyone tried that? Or, does anyone see any potential problems?
--
Guide Guy
http://member.newsguy.com/~climbing/
hi
>"Karl Baba" <gu...@NOSPAMnewsguy.com> wrote in message:
> What if you fall and then how do you release the locked up >partner?
The same way you do when you fall when the partner is attached to your
waist? I haven't read anything that indicates you need to do anything
but unweight the device to continue climbing.
>What if the rope kinks and won't feed through the device?
That does seem to be a fatal problem.
> I like lazy solutions but this one won't work.
Thanks for the advice.
"Karl Baba" <gu...@NOSPAMnewsguy.com> wrote in message
news:260920010727214888%gu...@NOSPAMnewsguy.com...
Russ Walling
> Besides,
> you're undoing all the advatanges of rope soloing - that the rope
> gets lighter as you go up and that you don't have to worry about
> rope drag on wandering routes.
I thought the main advantage of rope soloing was that you were relieved
of having that dumb-ass partner yelling beta at you mid crux.....
Russ
--
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Visit our www site: http://www.FishProducts.com
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Dingus Milktoast
>
> Dawn Alguard wrote:
>
> > Besides,
> > you're undoing all the advatanges of rope soloing - that the rope
> > gets lighter as you go up and that you don't have to worry about
> > rope drag on wandering routes.
>
> I thought the main advantage of rope soloing was that you were relieved
> of having that dumb-ass partner yelling beta at you mid crux.....
Hey, leave me out of this!
DMT
Steelmnkey
>> What if you fall and then how do you release the locked up >partner?
>"hi" noneofyou...@none.com
>
>The same way you do when you fall when the partner is attached to your
>waist? I haven't read anything that indicates you need to do anything
>but unweight the device to continue climbing.
Have to admit I've never fallen while climbing with my SP, but I would guess a
bit of general whacking would be necessary to get it to unlock. Maybe turning
it backwards by hand, maybe a couple of taps with a biner to get the
centrifugal locks to fall back. Definitely wouldn't want to be maybe a hundred
feet from the device when this happened, especially if the anchor possibilities
weren't too cool.
just .02 worth.
G.
hi
You sure you don't just have a 3kg weight around your waist?
What happens when you yank on the rope to test your SP before you
climb to see if you tied the clove hitch correctly and the SP locks up
properly? Do you have to reverse the rope, or can you just unweight
the end and pull on the SP to enable it to travel up the rope?
"Steelmnkey" <steel...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20010926195657...@mb-cv.aol.com...
Steelmnkey
>You sure you don't just have a 3kg weight around your waist?
Geeze I hope not. Maybe just below my waist... (boy, was that a Mad Dog line,
or what?) :-)
>What happens when you yank on the rope to test your SP before you
>climb to see if you tied the clove hitch correctly and the SP locks up
>properly? Do you have to reverse the rope, or can you just unweight
>the end and pull on the SP to enable it to travel up the rope?
From the Silent Partner Manual (Page 31):
Weight Off The Rope (as in climber not weighting the device)
------------------------------
Start climbing again to remove your weight from rope.
Once your weight is off the rope, pull on the free end of the rope enough to
rotate the drum a slight amount. This will release the locking mechanism.
In some cases, it may be necessary to loosen the clove hitch on the drum by
hand to restore easy feeding.
As you climb back up to your last piece of protection, you can take in slack by
manually pulling it through the SP.
Weight On The Rope (climber hanging on device)
-------------------------------
SP can be released with your weight on the rope by pulling up on the free end
of the rope (this would be hard but possible - figure in the manual clears this
technique up)
yada, yada, yada...
In both of the recommended cases above, the gist is that you need to have
access to both sides of the rope that is cloved around the SP in order to
guarantee that you can get it unlocked and feeding properly again. Having it
down at the last belay or at the ground (which I believe was the original
suggestion of this post) would preclude this option, and I, for one, prefer to
have all my ducks pretty damn tight when I'm depending on a solo belay system.
Too many bad things can happen if you're not really careful. Your mileage may
vary.
G.
maohai huang
:
: Have to admit I've never fallen while climbing with my SP, but I would guess a
: bit of general whacking would be necessary to get it to unlock. Maybe turning
I have made test falls in a gym and the outcome wasn't very good. What
I did was climbing up 3-4 meters and fall from less than 1 meter above the
last pro (a bolt of course). The Silent Partner would lock up after I had
fallen some distance. I ended up dangling about 1 meter above the ground.
(There was a pad on the ground as a backup)
The fall factor would be about 0.5 if you take rope slipage into account.
There was no way to untie the clove hitch around the SP with one
hand. Actually I had to hang myself on a bolt and work on the knot with
both hands for a while untie it. not a pretty.
the rope was a tad thinner than 10mm, if I remember right.
Mad Dog
>>You sure you don't just have a 3kg weight around your waist?
>Geeze I hope not. Maybe just below my waist... (boy, was that a Mad Dog line,
>or what?) :-)
Oh, come on Greg, you know I never stretch the numbers.
1kg is more like it.
Steelmnkey
>
>Oh, come on Greg, you know I never stretch the numbers.
>
>1kg is more like it.
I bet if there was 3kg hanging from it, you'd get some stretch!
Yeouch!
G.
p.s. 3kg for a Silent Partner? B.S.
Eric Angel
roller better. Smaller diameter ropes, from my experience, tend to lock up allot
easier. I would either uses 10 or 10.2 ropes that are fairly new and that have a
dry finish if you want the best performance from a SP.
Also, the SP will not lock down like the Soloist or Solo-aid, the cams engage at 3-4
mph, which means you have to cover the distance, rope stretch, and amount of rope
slippage need to engage the cams. This device was designed for larger walls not
crags. Get a soloist for cragging or top-roping and save the SP for soloing El Cap.
EWA