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so im a big chicken and outside climbs scare me. where can i get a cable ascender for a good price and does anybody have some tips on using them?
thanks for the help.

I have a friend with tons of equipment laying around I'll drop him a line for you. He is sponsored and spoiled to the gills with gear I am sure i can lift sometning from him.

You taking requests?

Ditto! I am an outside climb pussy..........
Would love to acquire one.

The metal cables found on most anntenas will not be compatible with mountain climbing gear. You might be able to get a pair of jumars or gibbs ascenders or whatever onto the cable, but they will not hold onto the steel if you pump out and let go. I don't even think an old school prussik would work, steel is just too slippery. The anntena workers that clip into those cables use a totally different device. They actually have tower worker catalogs, I believe Klien Tools has one.

A more simple solution would be, get two daisy chains and two large carabiners. Girth hitch the daisy chains to your leg straps, or even better yet chest straps(with the carabiners on the other end. Climb a few rungs with the carabiner clipped onto the tower, clip in the next carabiner, unclip the previous carabiner, climb a few more rungs....repeat as neccessary. You'll get the hang of it quickly and it's pretty simple and cheap.

I don't really understand your technical jargon. But won't quick-draws pretty much serve the same purpose??

Spider's method allows you more freedom than quickdraws.
Check out what the workers use when they don't want to fall off and die:

http://en.petzl.com/...Produits?Produit=633

look online with the keyword

"linesman"

rock climbing stuff is not really appropriate. linesman assemble towers, etc and use fall arrest systems all the time that are appropriate for steel cables, beams, etc.

I'd recommend PMing JohnDoe or Towertopper. Both work in the tower industry, and they have each given me those devices on different occasions.

Towertopper mentioned to me that he gets a new set for each job, and that many other workers do as well, so that they are often auctioned on eBay with only one "job" worth of work use on them.

I'll see if I can grab one out of my truck and copy down the names and numbers into this thread.

Is this what we should be looking for??

http://www.patrollersupply.com/gear/category_1.asp

There's a difference between an ascender (grabs the rope and allows you to slide up it when used in a pair) and an arrestor, or cable grab (slides up the cable and stops you if you fall down).

Climbers use ascenders to climb free hanging lines (and some not so free hanging ones). Workers usually use arrestors to save themselves from falling off a tower. The two pieces of equipment can be used somewhat interchangeably, but they are not ideal for such use.

A good cable arrestor is the LAD-SAF model L-3330, by DBI/SALA. You see these from time to time on ebay.

I've found some fall arrestors on that site and others, but they don't appear to be for use with wire cable.

WAIT!!!!! I found it. The site even has a picture of a tower on the page.

http://gmesupply.com/...nu1I0CFQOkHgodS3H5bg


http://gmesupply.com/...11/products_id/56685

Um, did you click the link in my post? The one that shoes it attached to a cable?

Oops! Good work Tom. 1 dollar for a $235 product is an excellent deal.

Look up Yates Big Wall Screamers. If you attach those to an 8mm static cordlette and a big mouthed carabiner on the other side your good. Much cheaper than any of the premade stuff and just as bomber.

You <==> Screamer <==> cordlette or daisychain <==> Carabiner <==> rung

The screamer is to meet work safety requirements so that tower climbers that fall don't complain of bad backs (It separates at a known dynamic load and dissipates shock by adding distance). The screamer is key to dicey aid climbing but not so much for tower climbing.

If you want safety ==> My vote: Daisy chain and carabiner! Worst case... PULL!!!

And remember... When climbing, Good climbers first followed by the newbie climbers. I don't want to die!

I bought one from midwestsafety.com for 3/8 cable.

I think it was about $120. I'll sell it for $50 if anyone wants it.

The daisychain/QuickDraw method will result in extreme fall forces even from half bodylength falls. Best to use the petzl device linked above or other devices designed for via ferrata. Or if you jump with a partner just simul-climb and keep a few attachment points between you.

Just wondering how strong those things are when you side load them. Like if you were to use it for walking the length of the boom on a crane (horizontally), sliding it sideways along the cable, not up it.

Just need a climbing runner and a steel caribeiner for that...and the runner and caribeiner will fit in your pocket easily.

I didn't say I would use it for doing that, I was just wondering if they had the same strength when loaded from the side.

I use similar devices as the one you mentioned.

Not really. The cam wouldn't engage properly with a side loading--but it wouldn't matter because you wouldn't be falling down.

I got to meet JohnDoe in his home state.
He was nice enough to show me one of
these cool tools and explain some things
about climbing with them. Definitely a
great source of expert info.

Scoring one from Ebay was good idea,
thanks Tom A.

I posted a bid on the one linked in the thread and
was immediately outbid. Since I don't want to bid
against other guys on here and drive up the price
I guess I will wait for the next one.

Oh, and please no lame replys with explanations
of how an auction works, if we collude to gain
access/jumps we can collude to save money

The "daisychain method" is directly and exactly adapted from the via ferrata method. That's what they do over there, sure there is some other things like Yates Screamers and other goofy stuff you can add. My suggestion is simple to use and easy to jump down. This thread was about being a little nervous climbing the outside of a tower, a couple attachment points should do the trick. I mean, if you really let go of a tower while climbing, has that ever happened, ever?

thanks for the advice everybody. even if i don't understand all the rope lingo.

Here's another thought...

Yates screamers, once you pop'em , they're done.

I've done this before and it works well...

Take 1/2" tube webbing about 8' long and insert 3/8" bunji that is about 2' shorter than the webbing. Bunch up the webbing around the bunji so that the ends are even, and tie a loop in both ends. Experiment with the lengths, and make two of them, if you are resting you can lean back on both of them clipped at the same point and you will not stretch them very far. If you fall, which would be a very short fall, the bunji will stretch untill the webbing is at "webbing stretch."

-A

I'll go you one cheaper on the daisy, screamer set-up.

AND cheaper, than just the daisy set-up.

Somewhere between the two for safety. Won't break, like the daisy if you fall on it (and yes, 22kn test spectra WILL break, at ~ a factor 1.4... ie. falling from 40cm above where your 1m long attachment is clipped... you'll break too... all your ribs will break)... but it also wont' be nearly as comfortable to fall on as a screamer.

As, Spiderbaby point out tho, you are not going to fall off... just need to rest, and have a bit of feeling of security.

Anyway... google "purcell prusik".

Make two... there's your clip - in points. Will cost you <8bucks for both.

Prussik acts as a slipping clutch when shock loaded... slips slightly.

Agreed



Actually, there were a few times where I was stuck on a tower without a safety climb, and I made a prussik-like contraption out of my positioning lanyard and I was able to put all my weight on it and hang, and it worked (generally) well, even on those crappy thinner-than-the-standard-3/8" ones that won't fit in a standard device.. but a prussik made with the normal tiny climbing rope would just slip right off.

Just FYI- prussiks will generally work if you use enough wraps. But with steel cable, that might be, like, five or more full wraps. A big pain in the as*, requires a lot of time to tie/untie, and requires constant tending, unlike a mechanical ascender.


I wouldn’t say it is ‘exactly’ adapter from the via ferrata method. ALL via ferrata tether systems use some sort of shock absorber. Some use stitch-ripping absorbers (like the Yates screamers, and most industrial fall arrest devices), some use friction of rope passing through multiple holes in an aluminum plate. They ALL use a shock absorber because without it, in even a short fall (like a foot or so), you risk creating unbelievably high peak forces that snap webbing, biners, harnesses, and occasionally hips. And your back will friggin’ hate you.

If you are using the tether just to rest, don’t bother clipping into rungs as you ascend. If you are using the tether as a safety belay, use a shock absorber.


Nice idea, but if you’re trying to make a screamer on the cheap, that device is absolutely worthless. Its only useful as a way to make your webbing tether collapse so it doesn’t flap around as much.


Ah ha! A real climber! A Purcell setup would definitely be a better option. Cheap and light and much safer than a daisy or quickdraws. Whatever material you use as a tether, use nylon (not spectra/dyneema/aramid/other techy cords).

One note: manufactured via ferrata setups will not be much bulkier than purcells/screamers/etc. they are just more expensive, and harder to find in the US.

What about this I think it is called a prusick (sp?) wrap. You could leave it loose and it will slide up and down and when you fall it tightens? We use it for self rescue if your hair or clothes get caught in your rack while rapelling.