

Load Testing old Climbing Equipment - uuilly
http://www.blackdiamondequipment.com/en-us/journal/climb/qclab/qc-lab-worn-anchors

======
shizcakes
As a climber, who sport[1] climbs in really popular areas such as Rumney[2] in
NH, I have run across this situation and rappelled rather than lowered many
times (the idea that the rappel is less strenuous on the anchor due to less
friction heat).

This information is awesome, but it's alternating between "Whoa" and the
eternal climber question: "Do I trust my life with this?"

[1]<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sport_climbing>

[2][http://www.rockclimbing.com/routes/North_America/United_Stat...](http://www.rockclimbing.com/routes/North_America/United_States/New_Hampshire/Grafton_County/Rumney)

------
yan
Oh wow, this begs the question: How many HNers are climbers? I'd love to
organize a climbing trip somewhere! I'm in MD but just came back from Seneca
Rocks and planning a trip to NRG or RRG this fall. I was _literally_ reading
that post earlier today from another climbing blog I read.

edit: or the Gunks if someone else leads. I don't think I'm comfortable yet at
the sharp end of the rope.

~~~
arfrank
I too am from MD and a climber too. It would be interesting to get a poll
going to see how many people here are interested in climbing.

Also figure I might as well inform you of an organization for local climbers
in DC area one of my friends has started: <http://www.dcmetroclimbing.com/>

~~~
yan
I climb at Earth Treks Columbia twice a week. I have been wanting to organize
a climbing trip for HN folks to introduce people who are new and meet people
who already climb, and now that I know there are at least some of us @ HN,
this is more and more a possibility.

edit: thanks for the link!

~~~
arfrank
Cool. Let me know if anything gets organized. My friends and I frequent ET,
but I mainly goto the Rockville one. I also work part-time at a very small
climbing in Rockville (2 out of the 4 hrs its open a week).

------
ccc3
It would be interesting to see a statistically significant number of data
points on this test. I wonder about variability of the max load on the used
anchors vs. new ones. I think I'd prefer a known max load to one that might be
greater, but is unknown.

Is anyone making anchors designed with a notch?

~~~
yan
Modern anchors and carabiners are designed to take the load on its spine,
which maximizes their strength. However, that's not always what happens nor
are the ideal conditions of the lab are what climbing equipment is usually
exposed to. Carabiners and cold shunts can take 25-30kN where a 200lb climber
exerts less than 1kN force statically. The issue is not with holding weight,
but taking on dynamic forces in the event of a fall, so much so that ropes
have to be retired after roughly dozen UIAA factor-2 falls[1] because they
lose their dynamic properties.

I don't think making grooved anchors and cold shunts makes that much sense
because in the event of a fall, the rope or carabiner supporting you to that
shunt is absolutely not guaranteed to stay in place. I can say I've taken a
few 20ft whippers that knocked the protection around.

I think what's much more important is climbers' lucidity on the rock and
following established procedures. Whether a piece of protection can support
the weight of a large truck or a large truck and some tires is less important
than whether a climber followed all the proper procedures to minimize their
risk exposure.

Failed equipment accounts for a negligible percentage of all climbing
accidents.

[1] <http://www.theuiaa.org/>

~~~
shizcakes
This is extremely important to note. I would absolutely not buy a notched
carabiner any time soon, and as far as I am aware, nobody makes them for
climbing purposes.

However, as a counterpoint, it's rare that people take big dynamic falls on
rappel anchors, as you don't usually climb above them nor have the kind of
slack when finished with a climb that would cause this. Even so - I still
prefer the idea of a simple, crazy strong, anchor.

------
aarongough
I personally would think that work-hardening could also play a part in this.
By the look of the anchors they are likely made of stainless steel, most
grades of which will work-harden under the correct circumstances.

I am only familiar with the effects of work-hardening in a workshop situation
though, so I'd hesitate to say for sure what the effect of that kind of
friction/strain load would be...

------
uuilly
I thought that one could use this info to design a better anchor. Couldn't you
just recreate the same effect sans sharp edges?

