Oh and thanks for the explanation Joan, makes sense now.

I’ve got to agree… the time a prussik takes, weighed against the added security… it would be stupid not to really!

PS. Jon thanks for the buttons

Contentious this or what, we can't even agree how to spell the word (knowing how to tie it is probably a bit more useful). Just leafing through Andrew Dempster's "Classic Scrambles in Scotland" and there's a appendix by Martin Moran on, amongst other things, ropework. The section on abseiling has no mention prusiks at all. Thinking about this, when scrambling the length of a possible abseil is likely to be quite short, therefore is a prusik back-up really necessary?

Yeah, the thread's drifted vaguely off topic, as they do. Given that very few scrambles require abseils at all, let alone long abseils, it is a bit peripheral.

Oh, one thing to bear in mind, if you must climb on ultra-thin ropes, remember that you also need thinner prussik cord for it to grip effectively. Not that you'll be scrambling with 7.5mm iceline anyway...

I'll get me coat.

Never mind - it's been fascinating to watch! Cheers!

I've never tried the leg loop method, I put the prussik above the belay device on an extender to keep it out of the way, If it's on the leg loop, isn't it difficault at the start because of the weight of the rope, so you end up lifting the rope to feed it into the belay device and having to hold the prussik down at the same time, the shunt can be used for protecting a top roped climb on your own, set up the top rope, tie a rucksack to the bottom end to keep it reasonably taught, then have the shunt clipped to the belay loop so as you climb, the shunt slides up the rope but locks up if you fall, havent tried it but a friend of mine uses this method to practice, he still seems to be alive so I guess it must work

Dr Karl Prusik who invented the knot spelled it Prusik.

Seems a reasonable enough reason to spell it that way.

thanx Jeannie, it's one of those that you don't see often enough to know, 'tho this thread seems to be sorting out everything of a prusik nature (whether it was intended to or not), cable ties can also help with a prusik,..................





"how?" I hear you cry, no cord to make a prusik loop?, use one (or possibly both) of your boot laces, but then you'll need the cable ties to keep your boots from falling off


I've got me coat an I'm going

While it's true that few scrambles require an abseil of necessity, there are several where an abseil descent is for some people preferable to a long walk round or a dank scree-filled gully, especially towards the end of the day. So it's a useful skill to have and be comfortable with.

On the spelling issue, the AMI bible, the Mountain Skills Training Handbook, spells it prussik. In favour of this spelling, at least it makes sure people pronounce it correctly. But I've also seen it spelt prusik, and no doubt Jeannie is right about the derivation. The BMC's website spells it both ways, on different pages. I suspect I do too, but I can't be bothered to check. Let's face it though, it's hardly an ambiguous term however it's spelt.

It makes more sense to spell it prussik and indeed I spelt it that way until I read about Dr Prusik while I was studying 'The Complete Guide to Rope Techniques - special information for the MIA awards'.

AAAARRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH even the bl**dy experts are divided!

It's going to be one of those contentious ones, like the people who erroneously spell 'dralon' as 'draylon' so they don't mix it up with the similar fabric they've heard others describe as 'drallon'.

Yes, well, Nigel Shepherd also spells Grigri as Gri Gri so I would guess his copy hasn't been checked to the nth degree. And there's something you won't like on the back cover either, although Jane Austen would approve - ' Nigel Shepherd is himself a professional mountain guide and was for a time the Training Officer to the British Association of Mountain Guides, and, in recent years, their President'.

BTW just checked who first introduced the topic of abseils to this thread so we know who to blame for this hopeless drifting OT. But I dare not mention the name.

Oops

ah the relief to find it wasn't me,do the French spell it "prussique"?, and Americans probably call it something completely different.

Well, what sort of roap do you use then?

Bob! Get back in the tarp!!

Joan - see what you mean LOL about the abseil starter.....all the poor man wanted was a name of a rope and he got all this nonsense.

Dave - I think the Yanks call it a 'knot'.






Coat time.

Slightly off thread but connected.
I often read advice that leather gloves should be worn for abseiling & belaying. I have never seen any suitable glove in a climbing shop.
Gardening gloves have been suggested but they all have thick multiple seamed fingers. Any other ideas?

It was me, I mentioned abseils, but I'm not ashamed of it as it was on topic at that point :-)

On the gloves front, Extremities did, and I think still do, a windproof fleece glove with a leather palm called something along the lines of the Guide Windy, or maybe Windy Guide. There are also quite a few other gloves with 'durable' coatings on the palm, Lowe's Ascent (I think) for example. The best durable sticky material I've come across is the stuff Mountain Hardwear use on their mountain gloves, it is bombproof, but not sure if it's available on their lighter, fleece gloves. I don't think the back of the glove matters much as the friction is mainly with the palms / fingers btw. One drawback with leather is that in wetter conditions it can simply get soggy then freeze, much better in cold, dry.

shurely mtb gloves would be suited...tough palms etc

Nice try, Jon, or should I say, Mr Pot?

The glove you're thinking of might be the Extremities Guide. This has a leather palm attached to a fleece back. needlesports had them on offer a while back and might still have some left. I have a pair and am not sure if I'd recommend them for extended rope work as the leather is very soft with no thumb joint reinforcement, and more critically, they're elasticated rather than firmly strapped at the wrist (meaning they could come off when a rope runs through them).

I carry old riding gloves for summer use. These are designed for handling ropes and reins, so they have a grippy leather palm with thumb reinforcement, great abrasion resistance, and a wrist tab to hold them on. A really good pair is £30, but you can get them for as little as £5.

I've also seen good gardening gloves, so it's worth shopping around for different styles of these.

And finally, I've seen people wearing sheepskin gloves, which would be my choice if I could justify the cost.

:-) I'm not very alert today. I should though point out that sheep leather - 'nappa' - is not the best for abrasion resistance, which is why it's not used for motorcycle leathers. Better choice would be well-tanned cow hide, or thinner and tougher, goat or kangaroo...

I still think the Windy Guide would be a good name for a glove.

I'll get my sheepskin coat...