Ascending 500ft on a climbing rope...

[SBCmac 0]

Hi all,

I’m just throwing this out there because I’m getting ready to attempt ascending 500ft on a climbing rope… I’ve ascended 50ft before and know that it’s physically demanding. I use a cave ascending technique, foot ascender, chest ascender, and hand ascender with rope to my right foot. The 50ft ascent that I have done several times is not against the object, it’s identical to hanging in a cave where you can’t use the object to assist your ascent. Same thing for the 500ft ascent that I want to do, I will not be able to use the object to assist my ascent. So with all that said, does anyone think this is doable? I want to say yes, but how realistic is it???

Thanks for the help
SBCmac

[DexterBase 0]

Absolutely. I've done over 700 feet. Petzl has a devide we tried that makes it much easier. It's been awhile though, so I'll need to dig around for some more info on it.

What are you up to?

[SBCmac 0]

You can read me like an open book ...

PM me... I have jump of a lifetime for us... But it has to happen tonight
So PM me... We need to talk
SBCmac

[SBCmac 0]

Attached is the current way that I ascend... The only thing I add to this system is a foot ascender, on the same foot that has rope going to the hand ascender...

...

SBCmac

[basehoundsam 0]

Check out the rope walker system at onrope1.com . They are an amazing source for knowledge and gear in relation to long rope equipment.

Jay Epstein Ramirez
www.adrenalineexploits.com

[DexterBase 0]

PM sent

[SBCmac 0]

Awesome!!! Thanks ...



SBCmac

[DexterBase 0]

I'm trying to remember how we set up for the big ones.

I think we rigged the top ascender to just the harness with no foot straps. It was close enough that you could reach it without fully extending your arm while hanging off of it.

The bottom ascender was clipped to a pair of aiders and also connected to your harness with a daisy chain.

You basically stand up on the aiders and move the top ascender all the way up. You hang on the top ascender and move the bottom ascender up.

Repeat many many times.

The trick to jugging on dynamic line is to be as smooth as possible. If you bounce, you won't get anywhere. The dynamic rope will rob you of the energy you're putting into it. SMOOTH. Find your pace and go for it. Rest too so you don't flame your arms out.

Petzl did have a devive that used a pulley to give you a mechanical advantage while ascending.

[Calvin19 0]

What kind of rope?
I have climbed 400+' lines on several different set ups, but the most important part is getting a lot of bounce out of the line your climbing,(a great plus in a long rope ascent and being seperated from the object you are ascending) it really helps. cuts time and effort down quite a bit. (i use the cave method to, but Petzls' stuff like the 'pantin' are sweet). (like dex said)
have a good one man.
Calvin
ahhh... BlueShift.

-SPACE-

[Calvin19 0]

you right dex, Static rope is much better.
500' is a lot of dynamic rope., thin nylon static is best
if you dont already have the rope, and want to get rid of bounce entirely, I recomend Sterlings HTP(high tenasity polyester) 3/8" line. Thin, light and doesnt stretch worth sh!t.
(3/8")the stuff only stretches 1.3% under a 300lb load. (with a 5000lb break strength.)

the stuff i use is much bigger, but the applications are to.
again, have fun

-SPACE-

[DexterBase 0]

Quote

the stuff i use is much bigger, but the applications are to.

Hehe...nice!

[SBCmac 0]

Thanks Dexter and Calvin19
The nice thing is that I think it's static rope... Also, they kindly anchored the rope to a rail for me so that the rope won't move around... I saw them do it today and they used like two guys to get the stretch out of it... So the rope is nice and taut and ready to climb ...

Granted, it's not a 100% that I'm going to be able to get on the ropet... But damn it, if I succedd, I'm going to have a damn cool story for you all tomorrow ...

BATMAN - (A.K.A. SBCmac ...)

[DexterBase 0]

I HATE WORK...

[JeepDiver 0]

Quote

But damn it, if I succedd, I'm going to have a damn cool story for you all tomorrow Cool...

Is there a story?

[SBCmac 0]

The story is still developing ...

I promise to give juicy details afterwards ...

BATMAN - (A.K.A. SBCmac ...)

[DexterBase 0]

Hehe

[SBCmac 0]

JeepDiver,

Well like promised, I have an amazing story to tell ...

But first I want to thank Dexter and KMonster for their help... KMonster, Dexter, and my girlfriend made the jump, that I just did, everything that I could have imagined it to be like. They are just amazing people
Well I'll be posting the story shortly ... I'm pretty damn tired so it may take me a little while to post it... But I promise to put it up ASAP, while it's fresh in my mind
Damn I love this sport and the people in it!!!

BATMAN - (A.K.A. SBCmac ...)

[piisfish 135]

did you all have enough juice in the arms to deploy ?? Well apparently yes... Any help from energy drinks ??

scissors beat paper, paper beat rock, rock beat wingsuit - KarlM

[DexterBase 0]

That was an incredible one, so glad to be a part of it. Well executed Brother. Badass dude.

[SBCmac 0]

Story time all …

Ok… I’m going to try and not write a book here, but it’s kind of a long story… So for the sake of not writing a book, I do have to leave out minor details…

Location, a city far, far away … Building, a sweet 500 footer …

So I work and live downtown… And so, there’s this building that I have been dieing to jump since I moved downtown. And not to mention, I work in the building across from it; so I see it every day from my office.

I was first teased with the possibility of jumping this building when I started working in the building across from it, over a year ago. I had become friends with one of the security guards and he said that he could get me on the roof of the building that I wanted to jump. Shortly after he told me that he would help me out, he was fired for being late to work. So my poor heart was crushed …

So just when I was finally getting over my trauma from my heart being crushed a year ago, I was blessed with another unique situation… Anyway, earlier in the evening, I went to dinner with a friend and had quite a bit to drink… So after getting home, I decided to go for a walk and grab some grub. First I needed to swing by my bank’s ATM to check my balance; the nearest ATM was near my work… As I was approaching the building that I work in, I looked at the building that I wanted to jump and noticed that the window washer people had left their ropes hanging from the roof and tied to the rail in the courtyard on the second floor. So obviously, the main problem was that they didn’t come to the sidewalk level. And not to mention, I was pretty buzzed and knew I would have to be 100% physically in order to accomplish ascending 500ft on a rope. Not only that, but I have never ascended anything higher than 50ft. So I decided to walk away from the opportunity, even though it was very hard to do.

The next day rolls around and I had noticed that the window washer people had left the ropes down again. So during my lunch break, I decided to go on a recon mission. I did everything, located security, located cameras, and even walked up to the ropes to verify that my ascenders would fit the rope that was attempting to ascend. After all that was done, I came up with a plan for everything, including how to get into the courtyard at night, which basically meant climbing the fence at the top of the stars that lead to the courtyard. The only issue with the courtyard plan was that I was in direct visibility of the restaurant that was at the base of the building. So naturally, I decided to have dinner at the restaurant that evening to find out what time they closed. With all that done, I went home and prepared my gear for the climb. A few hours later, I was all set to go and started to watch the weather. So of course I turned on the TV and watched news to get local weather. And this is when my heart was crushed a second time… The weather person had said that the city was expecting wind gusts that were going to reach up to 70mph… I was sooooo pissed… I still woke up several times in the evening and checked the winds, and of course the weather person was right …

The third day, I got to work and the winds had totally calmed down… So naturally I looked outside at the ropes. And to even worsen my disappointment, I saw the window washer people finishing up the windows. Even though I was convinced that they would finish that day, I continued to watch in hope that they wouldn’t finish. So the end of day rolls around and sure as shit, they left the ropes down again. At this point, I had done all the prep work for this jump and I was not going to let this last opportunity slip through my fingers… So I coordinate with Dexter, KMonster, and my girlfriend on the fact that I was going to go for it… The only problem was that again the forecast predicted that the winds would increase through the night…

On the third night, the night of the jump, Dexter, KMonster, and my girlfriend, returned to the restaurant to do more recon on what you can see from the restaurant. Once satisfied with all the prep done for the jump, it was time for me to go home and gear up. The plan was to gear up a 100% prior to even getting on site. My only goal was to get to the ropes, not matter if I was seen later in the climb. I knew that since I was 100% geared up, whether I got in trouble or not, I would be jumping…

So now I’m geared up and our crew is driving to the building… We get there and we immediately start walking to the building, the crew serving two purposes, distraction and filming. I hop the fence and hide to wait to see if I was seen… The coast was clear and I walk straight to the ropes and attach my ascenders… Within a minute or two, I was chugging up the rope, with the thought in mind, “Let the game begin”…

So now I’m on the rope, and the first 120 feet I had to move quickly because of the way the building is shaped; everyone and their mother can see me in the first 120ft. So I hall ass and make the first 120ft in good time. The rest of the way I’m hidden by the building but talk about a long haul… All in all, I make great time the rest of the 380ft, but as I’m ascending the winds start significantly increasing and its dumping rain. Again, I knew that the weather was possibly going to go to shit, so I didn’t even let it affect my mindset. On these types of jumps, you’ve got what you got and you know that there is no going back down, unless you want to turn yourself in. Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t die instead of getting caught… I just believe that on jumps like this, you end up accepting less than perfect conditions because of the nature of the jump.

So in my mind, as I’m chugging up the rope, I was thinking of my first BASE wing suit jump… Both this climb and the one I did on my first wing suit jump, I told myself that even if I can’t jump, the journey itself was amazing. Trust me, dangling from a rope at 400+ feet and looking at all the buildings around me and looking at the ships in the Bay was just amazing… I then thought of my best friend that died on one of our wing suit jumps… I thought of the day before he died and thought about the mountain that we climbed the day prior to his death. All I could think about is how epic that day was and how epic the scenery was around me while I was dangling from that rope… So that’s when I knew that I was going to name this jump after my friend, the name of the object is his initials... I miss my bro and as I looked around I gained even more peace from his passing because of the epic journeys we as BASE jumpers are so lucky to experience…

So back to the climb, sorry for straying… So now I finally make it to the top of the rope, just wasted… At the top of the rope I realize that the corner of the building was going to block my ascenders and prevent me from getting on top of the building. So I have climbed 500ft and can’t get on top of the building… I tried everything and at this point I have no strength to muscle it… So this is where I have to pull a miracle out of my ass… My miracle was my only option; my only option was to cut the rope that was dangling below me… It was something that I feel really bad for needing to do but I knew there were no other options… So I pull my pocket knife out and cut away the rope below me, so at last I could climb onto the rooftop.

Now on the rooftop, I radio to the crew and let them know that because of weather conditions I was not going to hang out long… I realized that I didn’t want to stash all my climbing gear in my jacket, so Dexter gives me the idea to hook the climbing equipment to the other rope and send it down. Dexter’s idea worked out perfect; I was able to retrieve the gear after the jump …

So now it’s time to exit… I decided to exit on the NW corner of the building… By this time the wind is so strong that it could blow me off of exit point… So I climb up to the corner and start my count… I got to two and just said “Fuck it, I need to get off this bitch before I’m blown off”. Huck and I’m off and deploy roughly 2seconds in… Boom, my canopy explodes open and right away I’m flying by the seat of my pants to keep my ass alive… I stay within the pocket that I knew was relatively safe, avoiding the south side of the building because of turbulence and rotars… And after some aggressive canopy flying I land on the street below… I land pretty hard but get up quickly and gather my shit… And low and behold, a taxi pulls up an asks me if I want a ride, I of course say “Sure, get me the hell out of here
So that’s it folks… That’s my story … This was without a doubt, the most amazing jump that I have ever been on… Will I ever do something like this again, probably not, but damb it you’ve sometimes have to step on the outside of the envelope to see what’s on the inside of the envelope…

Again, I love BASE jumping and the people that I have been so lucky to share BASE journeys with…

Love you BASE brothers and sister
P.S. I am going to try and find a way to pay for the rope… I just can’t let that go… This jump won’t be complete for me until I find a way to pay for that rope!

Also, I was going to proof read and edit this post, but I’m going to leave it in it’s raw form… So sorry if it doesn’t read right in some areas

BATMAN - (A.K.A. SBCmac ...)

[dropoutdave 0]

I used to work a rope access tech and did a bit of work on the windows, don't worry about the rope dude, they'll just tie them back together and get on with the job. Long ropes normally get cut down into lots of shorter ones anyhows.

Sweet story bro.

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May Contain Nut traces......

[leroydb 0]

great work!

Leroy


..I knew I was an unwanted baby when I saw my bath toys were a toaster and a radio...

[DexterBase 0]

Watching you ascend the fixed ropes, I never wished so badly that I was going up to the exit point with someone. (I'm getting my ascenders mailed this week in case this happens again.)

Watching you under canopy, I was never so glad I had not gone to the exit point with someone!

Nice work Bro. I'm looking forward to many more adventures with you. Boy are we gonna have fun.

[TomAiello 25]

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...I'm getting my ascenders mailed this week in case this happens again.

Serious? Dude. I've got a set of ascenders (and 50m of rope for rescue) in my permanent BASE kit. I left the ascenders there after a night with you on that little bridge down south.

-- Tom Aiello

[email protected]
SnakeRiverBASE.com

[DexterBase 0]

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I left the ascenders there after a night with you on that little bridge down south.

You left the ascenders where?

Edit: I always have 3.5kn accessory cord with me. I can rig up pretty much anything with some carabiners and some decent cord. I can even ascend with it. 500 feet on prussik is a bit sporty for my taste.