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Infiltration Forums > Rookie Forum > Suggestions for scaling walls(Viewed 7256 times)
Abby Normal location:
Las Vegas
 
 |  |  | Mine Explorer
Re: Suggestions for scaling walls
<Reply # 20 on 3/10/2020 8:23 PM >
Posted on Forum: UER ForumQuote
Posted by AdventureDan



Of course if you start going down, you may need to go back up, and that's what I meant by not being particularly useful for ascending a building or some other structure that you couldn't otherwise climb, as an anchor would need to be established at the top first anyways.

on the ladder pic i imagine you are tying off at various points while ascending?

Awesome rap pics! Like your descending rack

Really would love to do technical mine exploration. only thing holding me back is my lack of knowledge about oxygen levels and poisonous gasses which terrifies me.



Yeah, I understood exactly what you meant. That's why I pointed out how different mine exploring is than traditional Urbex. In Urbex we usually go up first, so I agree that rope isn't particularly useful.

On the ladder we just top rope for safety in case the ladder gives way. If that happened we would just convert over to full ascending setup. It would be quite a scare though. I've had to do a couple of emergency changeovers when I rappelled down and almost landed on a couple of rattlesnakes. I had to go from rappelling to climbing in a hurry. Stressful then, funny story now.

A four gas detector would be your friend if you started mine exploring. They aren't cheap, but a lot of guys run them. Out here in the west, we don't have much issue with bad air. I know people who have been in thousands of mines and never had their meter go off. That said, the provide peace of mind.

Abby Normal - Earning my name one mine at a time....





"Government is not a solution to our problem, government is the problem." Ronald Reagan
Abby Normal location:
Las Vegas
 
 |  |  | Mine Explorer
Re: Suggestions for scaling walls
<Reply # 21 on 3/10/2020 8:38 PM >
Posted on Forum: UER ForumQuote
Posted by MysteriousExpedition


That ladder looks scary as hell!
How do you trust yourself in the beginning to know when to to proceed despite the risks?



The ladder is a bit spooky. What you can't see in the picture is that it bends to the side AND it leans backward, so you really have to hang on at the bottom. It's still one of the best underground photography sites that I've been to. You just can't take a bad picture of someone climbing up.

You can see the ladder hanging in the background of this picture.



So how do you trust yourself in the beginning? You don't! I'm serious about that. You find small mines that don't require ropes and explore them...carefully. You go with more experienced explorers and learn from them. It can take years of exploring to gain the experience and develop the judgement to be "safe". It's really no different than any other adventure activity from a gaining experience perspective. I go places now without much thought that I absolutely would never have gone in when I was starting out.

And honestly, it's not for everyone. I've taken quite a number of people underground and only a few ever continued to explore. Lot's of people are scared of cave-ins, others it's claustrophobia, snakes, wild animals, and some just find it boring.

If you want to see a LOT of underground and ghost town photos, check out my website at: http://www.mine-explorer.com

Abby Normal










[last edit 3/10/2020 8:40 PM by Abby Normal - edited 1 times]

"Government is not a solution to our problem, government is the problem." Ronald Reagan
MysteriousExpedition  location:
Chicago, Illinois
 
 |  | 
Re: Suggestions for scaling walls
<Reply # 22 on 3/11/2020 2:23 AM >
Posted on Forum: UER ForumQuote
Posted by Abby Normal


The ladder is a bit spooky. What you can't see in the picture is that it bends to the side AND it leans backward, so you really have to hang on at the bottom. It's still one of the best underground photography sites that I've been to. You just can't take a bad picture of someone climbing up.

You can see the ladder hanging in the background of this picture.

http://www.mine-ex...r/Delamar_281a.jpg

So how do you trust yourself in the beginning? You don't! I'm serious about that. You find small mines that don't require ropes and explore them...carefully. You go with more experienced explorers and learn from them. It can take years of exploring to gain the experience and develop the judgement to be "safe". It's really no different than any other adventure activity from a gaining experience perspective. I go places now without much thought that I absolutely would never have gone in when I was starting out.

And honestly, it's not for everyone. I've taken quite a number of people underground and only a few ever continued to explore. Lot's of people are scared of cave-ins, others it's claustrophobia, snakes, wild animals, and some just find it boring.

If you want to see a LOT of underground and ghost town photos, check out my website at: http://www.mine-explorer.com

Abby Normal










WOW those are some really incredible shots! ghost town photos are some of my favorites and mine shots are just downright interesting to see.
And thank you for the tips! I'm getting around slowly with other explorers in my area so I'm hoping to get to new "heights" soon

I am a bit spooked at underground explorations. But that's honestly one of the most interesting and rewarding things you can do in photography in my opinion.



tx3000   |  | 
Re: Suggestions for scaling walls
<Reply # 23 on 3/13/2020 12:10 PM >
Posted on Forum: UER ForumQuote
To answer MysteriousExpedition

Going by what you posted, and the information you gave, A grappling Hook is perfectly fine for what you want to do. I currently use one for exploring.

Stupid people doing stupid things with them are what causes a grappling hook to get a bad reputation.

So now that I can post on this forum, I am going to be making a post about proper use of a grappling hook and the real uses for them

I will both the link here, and PM you with it. Please read it before making any decisions as what I use it for is not what most people think.

regards,

-tx3000-





Aran location:
Kansas City
 
 |  | 
Re: Suggestions for scaling walls
<Reply # 24 on 3/13/2020 7:03 PM >
Posted on Forum: UER ForumQuote
Posted by tx3000
To answer MysteriousExpedition

Going by what you posted, and the information you gave, A grappling Hook is perfectly fine for what you want to do. I currently use one for exploring.

Stupid people doing stupid things with them are what causes a grappling hook to get a bad reputation.

So now that I can post on this forum, I am going to be making a post about proper use of a grappling hook and the real uses for them

I will both the link here, and PM you with it. Please read it before making any decisions as what I use it for is not what most people think.

regards,

-tx3000-





A grappling hook is an overly bulky deadweight at best and an incriminating piece of evidence at worst. In half a decade I've never found myself in a situation where I'd need one, and the explorers I know who do vertical scaling (descending mine/storm drain dropshafts mostly) always take the time to set up a proper anchor instead of hoping a grappling hook will hold.





"Sorry, I didn't know I'm not supposed to be here," he said, knowing full well he wasn't supposed to be there.

tx3000   |  | 
Re: Suggestions for scaling walls
<Reply # 25 on 3/13/2020 8:30 PM >
Posted on Forum: UER ForumQuote
Posted by Aran
A grappling hook is an overly bulky deadweight at best and an incriminating piece of evidence at worst. In half a decade I've never found myself in a situation where I'd need one, and the explorers I know who do vertical scaling (descending mine/storm drain dropshafts mostly) always take the time to set up a proper anchor instead of hoping a grappling hook will hold.

No offense, and please don't take this the wrong way as, I'm not trying to be a jackass, but you are very misinformed about some of what you said regarding grappling hooks, especially the anchoring part.

What you're saying isn't how a grappling hook is used, nor is it the purpose, especially when exploring. I use a grappling hook when exploring and I will be the first to tell you, Anyone who tries to do what you're saying is an idiot.

I took the time and wrote up a very detailed post about grappling hooks by explaining the way I actually use one while exploring.

http://www.uer.ca/...=1&threadid=131534



"ghost" location:
Colorado
 
 |  | 
Re: Suggestions for scaling walls
<Reply # 26 on 4/4/2020 3:57 AM >
Posted on Forum: UER ForumQuote
You guys make it seem like rope ascending is the most physically demanding Olympian task around. Truth is, it's as easy or as hard as you make it. Sure, if you string 60ft of overhand knots up a rope, you're gonna feel the effects when you're back in bed tryin to have a good time. But, with the right gear and know-how, it can be faster than walkin stairs and can get you past all sorts of hassle. This post is assuming the top of the rope is attached solidly (ignoring the anchor debate).

If you want to ascend a rope in the safest, most efficient way possible, you're going to need some gear. That said, you probably don't want to drop $1,000 like that guy ^, so I'll give you the "cheap but it'll do fine" version. Here's what you need:
- A climbing harness ($30)
- A static rope (preferred) or a dynamic rope ($150-300). Static ropes don't stretch, so they're more durable and easier to jug (ascend) on. Dynamic ropes can be used for many more things, but jugging can be... bouncy.
- 2x Petzl Basic Ascenders ($50/ea). This is the heart of your rig, the gear that's keeping you attached to the rope. You need one primary and one backup. Other ascenders (like the Petzl Ascension) will make your life way easier, but at a higher price point. You can also go cheap and just use a Prusik knot for each, but this is harder, easier to mess up, and makes it more difficult to actually do the ascending (it is a friction knot after all)
- 2x shoulder length (60cm) climbing slings ($15/ea). Connect you to your ascenders. These can be replaced with more costly Daisy Chains for added customization and ease of use.
- 1x 120cm climbing sling ($20). To use as a foothold on the bottom ascender. This can be replaced by an Etrier for added customization and ease of use.
- 2x Locking carabiners ($4/ea). For connecting you to your ascenders.

The general idea is to create a system where your legs are lifting all the weight, and your arms have to do minimal effort. If desired I could write up a post on it in more detail, but for now here's the least shitty of the videos I've seen on this: https://www.youtub...atch?v=bscpdQ6fcPQ

When in doubt, go out to a park, set up your system on a branch, and practice. After ascending a few times with gear, you can get to be extremely fast and efficient.

Bonus: Here I use two independent modified versions of this setup to achieve full 2-dimentional travel on a vertical face (fictional, photoshopped, and stolen from Flickr as per usual)
https://imgur.com/a/G8Yrkem



[last edit 4/4/2020 4:02 AM by "ghost" - edited 1 times]

"ghost" location:
Colorado
 
 |  | 
Re: Suggestions for scaling walls
<Reply # 27 on 4/4/2020 4:08 AM >
Posted on Forum: UER ForumQuote
Oh, and to take a shot at the original question, given the right conditions you can absolutely use ropes to ascend vertical faces safely - that's what rock climbing's all about! But, this isn't a rock climbing forum, so the details aren't relevant here. As search queries, you can look up "traditional (trad) lead climbing", it's rather advanced and should not be taken lightly, but with those skills in your box nary a wall remains unclimbable. Check out aid style climbing if you never want to look at a crack the same way again



HornetWrath location:
San Antonio
 
 |  | 
Re: Suggestions for scaling walls
<Reply # 28 on 8/14/2020 9:09 AM >
Posted on Forum: UER ForumQuote
Not worth acting like Sam Fisher just to get into a building. Let logic win and try another place



I'm a lone explorer because I hate people.
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