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Post by Rebel Rouser on Aug 14, 2006 21:29:45 GMT -5
Dan mentioned metal bending. At the top of thor when I had placed the rack on rope, the rope did not really bend through the rack as much as the rack bent around the rope. A bit disconcerting to say the least! Kent
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Post by Rebel Rouser on Aug 14, 2006 21:23:21 GMT -5
Hi Dan, ya ain't lettin your rack get rusty are ya? ;D 60!?!? Good Lord! Are ya gettin crochety? I hear that comes with age. I'm NEVER growing old! I'm gonna stay Smokey's age.. On El Cap I was trying to recreate conditions surrounding the CO. caver's death sans spacers. Results were that I could not maintain free fall (out of control) conditions without my hands manipulating bar spacing. It is my personal opinion that the CO. caver died because spacers were on his rack. I say this believing that he had 4 bars engaged at arrival point. Maybe someone can clarify this. I would say this to people involved with caving, climbing etc. There is a lot of personality involved with expeditions and the like, never the less if an accident has occurred in the sport then we owe it to ourselves and future cavers to examine and learn from our mistakes. BTW, Dan , miss your posts at the other joint! Kent
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Post by Rebel Rouser on Aug 14, 2006 17:38:41 GMT -5
Don't mind at all. I rapped over edge on a tail w/figure 8. Once in place I positioned the rack on rope. First 2 bars...easy....next bar you have to position feet on legs of rack and push while pulling rope with hands. When enough clearance is obtained then add bar and slide it into place. Repeat but this time place feet on rope and hands on rack legs.
I used a 7/16 stainless B.Lane rack with 24 inches of travel. Started rappel with 5 bars, went to 4 bars for 2800 ft and back to 5 bars for the last 500ft. During the upper part I spread the bars to full length and was almost in free fall for 1800 ft. It was surreal. As I fell at warp speed I leaned back and took the glove off of my right hand to get a sense of bar temp. To my surprise the bars were just warm on the ends and only saw higher temps where the rope came in contact with it. Kent
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Post by Rebel Rouser on Aug 14, 2006 15:04:19 GMT -5
Hi Dee, no, I was not on '04 or '06 trip, only '82. Kent
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Post by Rebel Rouser on Aug 14, 2006 11:05:55 GMT -5
As I recall, PMI 7/16 was around 8 lbs. per 100 ft. The '82 Thor rope had at least one extra core strand so it would be just slightly heavier. So 4000ft would be in the neighborhood of 320 lbs. Kent Thanks for the welcome, Dan!
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Post by Rebel Rouser on Aug 13, 2006 20:53:43 GMT -5
spacers have to be used because of rope weight..... Well,I'll have to agree with eyecave except for the fact that I didn't use spacers at Mount Thor or on El Cap where I deliberately tried to maintain a out of control rappel. With no spacers I would consistently slow to a crawl or stop when I was not manipulating the rack. BTW, Hi Y'all! Cave on, Kent
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Post by Rebel Rouser on Apr 9, 2008 0:53:12 GMT -5
"My electric light went out, so I reached out to touch this rare and delicate wonder to keep from bumping it but with that slight and careful touch, the world's largest helictite fell to the cave floor. In a pile. Today I wish that I had stolen the worlds largest helictite and then sold it on Ebay. Maybe then I wouldn't have such a burden of unrelenting guilt." So you were too close to a beautiful formation when your light malfunctioned and you broke it trying to protect it? Expensive light? Maybe if you didn't get so close to the formation you wouldn't have this "burden of unrelenting guilt" and we would still have the helictite. Learn from the experience....and the lesson is NOT 'steal it and sell it on e-bay'.
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Post by Rebel Rouser on Apr 2, 2008 9:12:35 GMT -5
"I wish that I had stolen the worlds largest helictite and then sold it on Ebay. Maybe then I wouldn't have such a burden of unrelenting guilt."
If you accidently break it then you feel bad. If you break, then steal, then sell on e-bay maybe you run the risk of having the CRAP kicked out of you. See how that works? rebel
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Post by Rebel Rouser on Jan 5, 2007 0:39:33 GMT -5
."they called it thunder, thunder, on the Thunder Road...white lightin' was his power and moonshine was his load..:" "And there was thunder, thunder over Thunder Road Thunder was his engine, and white lightning was his load There was moonshine, moonshine to quench the Devil’s thirst The law they swore they'd get him, but the Devil got him first." www.univie.ac.at/Anglistik/easyrider/data/ballad_of_thunder_road.htm Not trying to nit pick , Azurerana, just thought I would help with the lyrics. ;D Rebel
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Post by Rebel Rouser on Jul 12, 2007 0:17:15 GMT -5
TAG happens to be blessed with one of the greatest treasures on earth. The Good Lord's very own Garden of Eden,,,,,,,,the Cumberland Plateau.
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Post by Rebel Rouser on Apr 6, 2008 21:25:05 GMT -5
Sarawak is NOT a tourist cave. The website specifies that the chamber is in a tourist cave. If you put enough modifiers on a characteristic, that characteristic can be a world's record. Yep, just responding to title.
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Post by Rebel Rouser on Apr 6, 2008 13:06:02 GMT -5
Somebody ought to tell them about the Sarawak chamber. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarawak_chamber"The Sarawak Chamber measured 700m (2,300 feet) long, 400m (1,300 feet) wide and at least 70m (230 feet) high. "
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Post by Rebel Rouser on Jan 13, 2008 11:58:11 GMT -5
Nothing a rescue rifle wouldn't take care of! Rebel
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Post by Rebel Rouser on May 31, 2007 22:42:44 GMT -5
The Slatyfork Sewage Saga "Right along Scenic Highway 55/219 is our red covered bridge, 121-year continuously running Sharp’s Country Store, log house in which Robert E. Lee dined during his first campaign through this area as General." They can just leave General Lee out of this thank you very much!! :-*Yankee's!
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Post by Rebel Rouser on Dec 6, 2006 20:23:01 GMT -5
That would be one HOT fire to burn a cave up!
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Post by Rebel Rouser on Jan 22, 2008 9:59:29 GMT -5
"Hindsight is 20/20 as they say."
Hindsight with this subject says Americans are busy glad handing and beating the bush and the Brits just cut straight to the chase. Those were some profound statements there, Doc. You trying some of your own meds?? Rebel
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Post by Rebel Rouser on Jan 20, 2008 23:54:38 GMT -5
"If the technique your referring to is the knot block, other than this incident, I am not aware of another accident in the U.S. using this method." www.canyoneering.net/forums/showthread.php?t=58 (post #2) "On our first canyon with our new 8mm Canyon Pro rope - we set a knot block (figure 8) in a rap ring, and as my partner descended, I watched the knot pull through - a combination of small diameter rope and a larger than normal rap ring (or quick link; can't remember for sure)."
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Post by Rebel Rouser on Apr 4, 2008 13:38:51 GMT -5
Let's not kid ourselves. Cavers have a death wish! "I was mostly worried about poisonous gases like CO, CO2, radio-isotopes, these should all have a high natural abundance underground and possibly deep within a cave where no person goes, a pocket could exist of toxic gas that may flood the habitable region when you least expect it, such as a change in barometric pressure." I have never heard of this occurring. There are a few caves that have reputed elevated levels of CO2. The scenario you put forward is not something the cavers I know worry about. Knowing the formation the cave is located in would help as far as delineating hazards within (ridge and valley, sinkhole plain,etc.). Rebel
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Post by Rebel Rouser on Feb 6, 2008 17:13:10 GMT -5
I volunteer for a "cave exploration crew" but they only give me the crappy leads. Some day I'll show them and find the big one!
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Post by Rebel Rouser on Mar 7, 2007 1:01:48 GMT -5
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Post by Rebel Rouser on Dec 31, 2006 16:59:26 GMT -5
You are using a term that refers to a dynamic rope. A static line is preferable for caving. Most use an 11mm but 9 and 10mm are also used in caving. Rebel
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Post by Rebel Rouser on Oct 20, 2006 17:24:20 GMT -5
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