Training Day: Practical Rope Skills

Hi UNSWOCers,

Date: September 17th 2022: 10am – 5pm.

Location: Yellow Rock Lookout (End of Yellow Rock Road), Yellow Rock, Blue Mountains. Maps: https://goo.gl/maps/uL2MgH717H6qsFgHA

This training is suitable for members who have been in the TLIT course, or who have a grasp of  intermediate skills such as prussiking, anchor building, descending and hauling (What was covered in the Trip Leader in Training Series last Term).

It is open to all current members to attend.(Please sign up via website for insurance coverage)

Note, it is an advanced day, there will be more opportunities for learning beginner skills throughout term 1 and 2.

The idea is to have small groups of 4-5 work through a scenario. So everyone is learning at the same time.

Please let me know if you are an experienced trip leader and would like to help out, we need at least 3 trip leaders to help run the day smoothly.

If you have a spot/ need to carpool, please comment below in signups.

What to Bring?

Mandatory Gear

(What you need to bring – either personal or you collect from gear cupboard)

• Helmet (climbing)
• Harness
• Head-torch (Session may extend into evening depending on how group is feeling)
• Personal Safety Sling with krab.
• Prussik loops/ascending gear suitable for ascending
• Descender and ATC/gri gri (Figure 8, canyoning device or ATC (bring both if you have))
• Sun protection, (Glasses, Hat, Suitable clothing, sunscreen)
• Clothing & footwear: (Suitable warm and wet weather gear to be outside for whole day)
• Food and water for whole day (Lunch, Snacks, hydration – perhaps even dinner)

Please bring if you have:

• A rope bag or canyoning bag.
• Gloves, glasses (very helpful for
• Ascending devices (Canyoning specific, Grigri belay device etc)
• Progress capture (Microtrax, Grigri or extra prussik, any pulleys)
• VT Prussiks/autoblock prussiks Canyon’s and Crags: VT is a great and useful tool
• Karabiners/cordalette/tape
• The gear you usually have when climbing/canyoning (Karabiners)
• Whistle

Pre-reading:

This session will focus on implementing techniques/ skills you are already familiar with. Feel free to refresh on useful online materials.Particularly the Petzl technical documents, Rick Carlson’s Canyons and Crags and also Rope Test Lab have excellent materials.

• Basic knots and anchors: Figure 8, alpine butterfly, prussik techniques, Y-hang anchor, ‘wrap 3-pull 2’ tape anchor. and  Canyon’s and Crags Tape anchors and Canyon’s and Crags: VT is a great and useful tool
•  Rope mobility (Ascending up a rope, locking off a descending device mid rope, knot passes)  Petzl’s guide to locking off
• Lowering a stuck climber/canyon-er (Releasable ropes figure 8 block or MMO) Canyon’s and Crags MMO
• Hauling a stuck climber/canyon-er (Basic 3 to 1, basic 5 to 1, how to use progress capture devices Canyon’s and Crags Hauling also Petzl guide to hauling with progress capture
• Other equipment that is useful: See Canyon’s and Crags Useful Cordeltte

Brendan.