Marmuzz
Well-Known Member
Yes, yet another thread about fall safety and injuries. I wanted to mention this on the one-sticking-dynamic-rope thread but out of respect to the OP and considering 2TC and one sticking are different, I started it here.
TL/DR: My thinking is 2TC is safer than one-sticking because you're making smaller movements, climbing above your tether connection max. to chest/waist level, you're usually making contact with the tree, and introducing less slack.
Anecdotes are not empirical evidence, but let me suggest a few experiential examples:
In a hypothetical one-stick fall, say you slip off the platform or the cam cleat fails—either way I'm envisioning a relatively straight drop.
(It happened to me my first time attempting to DIY one-stick when my Hawk stick eased up too much on the VersaWrap and it dropped. I went down a foot or so, got all scraped up against the tree and sore, but ultimately was okay.)
In a hypothetical 2TC fall, say you slip with your tree-grip toe and swing sideways—this isn't really a straight fall; frankly it may not even be a fall as much as a rapid horizontal movement.
(I did this other day. Puckered hard momentarily but I didn't move vertically since my swinging leg was still choking my foot tether tight to the tree. I could quickly grab the tree with my arms and stop.)
In another hypothetical 2TC fall, say you slip out of your foot tether and down you go.
(Actually, I'm not sure how you'd do this. I tried near ground level last night. Without a platform or ROS, you're either supported by your saddle tether or your foot tether. I had to pull myself up on branches to get out of the foot tether and then let go to simulate a short fall. I didn't like it but I was okay.)
I can imagine some dicy 2TC scenarios. Say your foot tether swings out, maybe while advancing your main tether, maybe you swing out wide enough to start going downhill a little inverted, it's a scarefest no doubt. But because of your proximity to the tree and having two tie-in points, I'm thinking you have a series of scrapes, small falls, akin to a fall on a properly placed lineman's belt, until your main tether catches. It's gonna hurt, I don't recommend it, but downhill steady-by-jerks should not generate the same momentum as a straight free fall. It's not safe, but I'd purport it's *safer.
Ultimately, it seems to me it's hard to fall in 2TC because of the nature of the method. And if you do, fall factors are what they are, but I'd say you're not generating the speed, uninterrupted momentum, or distance that you might achieve in a one-stick fall. In 2TC you are still creating slack in your line, and that's dangerous. I'd like to talk about how dangerous.
Now, those of you wiser in physics and 2TC please poke holes in my hypotheticals or propose other views. (Asking in all genuine openness. Not aiming to start an argument.) If I'm gonna be an idiot and climb a dangerous method, I'd rather be a better-informed and chastised idiot.
TL/DR: My thinking is 2TC is safer than one-sticking because you're making smaller movements, climbing above your tether connection max. to chest/waist level, you're usually making contact with the tree, and introducing less slack.
Anecdotes are not empirical evidence, but let me suggest a few experiential examples:
In a hypothetical one-stick fall, say you slip off the platform or the cam cleat fails—either way I'm envisioning a relatively straight drop.
(It happened to me my first time attempting to DIY one-stick when my Hawk stick eased up too much on the VersaWrap and it dropped. I went down a foot or so, got all scraped up against the tree and sore, but ultimately was okay.)
In a hypothetical 2TC fall, say you slip with your tree-grip toe and swing sideways—this isn't really a straight fall; frankly it may not even be a fall as much as a rapid horizontal movement.
(I did this other day. Puckered hard momentarily but I didn't move vertically since my swinging leg was still choking my foot tether tight to the tree. I could quickly grab the tree with my arms and stop.)
In another hypothetical 2TC fall, say you slip out of your foot tether and down you go.
(Actually, I'm not sure how you'd do this. I tried near ground level last night. Without a platform or ROS, you're either supported by your saddle tether or your foot tether. I had to pull myself up on branches to get out of the foot tether and then let go to simulate a short fall. I didn't like it but I was okay.)
I can imagine some dicy 2TC scenarios. Say your foot tether swings out, maybe while advancing your main tether, maybe you swing out wide enough to start going downhill a little inverted, it's a scarefest no doubt. But because of your proximity to the tree and having two tie-in points, I'm thinking you have a series of scrapes, small falls, akin to a fall on a properly placed lineman's belt, until your main tether catches. It's gonna hurt, I don't recommend it, but downhill steady-by-jerks should not generate the same momentum as a straight free fall. It's not safe, but I'd purport it's *safer.
Ultimately, it seems to me it's hard to fall in 2TC because of the nature of the method. And if you do, fall factors are what they are, but I'd say you're not generating the speed, uninterrupted momentum, or distance that you might achieve in a one-stick fall. In 2TC you are still creating slack in your line, and that's dangerous. I'd like to talk about how dangerous.
Now, those of you wiser in physics and 2TC please poke holes in my hypotheticals or propose other views. (Asking in all genuine openness. Not aiming to start an argument.) If I'm gonna be an idiot and climb a dangerous method, I'd rather be a better-informed and chastised idiot.
