Gary Schenk wrote:dskoon wrote:I must say, just to further the ol' debate, that when a certain fella from Texas and I did climb on Hood, with our guide, we short-roped up, with the guide in front, without placing any pro. I've talked with a few people since about this, and some think that is plain crazy, though I think short-roping, w/out placing pro, does have its place; least I was convinced so at the time.
What do you all think?
You got maybe a 50/50 chance of being able to self-arrest in most cases. And that is if you know what you're doing and you stick it RIGHT NOW.
So, then, why do many guide services use the short-rope technique, if it's only 50/50?
They must either A: train their clients very well to self-arrest should there be a fall, or,
B: clients must not fall very often, or C: when they do fall, they either self-arrest right away(maybe!), or the guide on the short rope breaks their fall. Again, from what I've ascertained, many guide companies employ this method. Certainly only in the "right" situations, ie, not on a crevassed mountain like Rainier, but. . . on the right slope, conditions, etc.
