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Re: [TowerTalk] Climbing

To: "towertalk@contesting.com" <towertalk@contesting.com>
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Climbing
From: Donald Chester <k4kyv@hotmail.com>
Date: Wed, 29 Oct 2014 06:55:31 +0000
List-post: <towertalk@contesting.com">mailto:towertalk@contesting.com>
>From: ve5ra at sasktel.net

>.. but the simple steel cable running up the side of the
tower, with the locking device, will ensure you dont fall ...   when  going up 
or down the tower.

##  Once you arrive at the desired level of the tower,  you hook in with both 
lanyards.   That’s
about as simple and safe as it gets.   The steel cable running up the side of 
the tower will not impede
climbing the tower, cost very little to install.  You will never die  from 
falling off the tower... cuz you are
tied onto the tower at all times.  .375 inch EHS cable is  dirt cheap.... you 
only require enough to
>span the height of the tower.  IE:    50-200 feet.>>>

First of all, how did you install the steel cable on the side of the tower 
without climbing it the first time without the protection?

I can appreciate the fall arrest cable if you frequently climb the tower.  I 
use my tower as a quarter wave vertical for 160, and to hold up an open-wire 
line fed dipole at  the 119' level. The antenna requires little maintenance, so 
I very seldom have a reason to climb the tower. Until recently, I hadn't 
climbed in over fifteen years. Since all hardware can be expected to eventually 
rust or corrode, I don't  know if I would feel comfortable betting my life on 
the unknown condition of a steel cable and connecting hardware that I hadn't 
inspected for more than a decade.

I put up my 127' of Rohn 25 single-handedly in 1981, using only a Korean War 
era US Army Signal Corps climbing belt made of nylon webbing sandwiched between 
two layers of leather. The thing was heavy and bulky but I felt comfortable 
using it, with the addition of a second light weight lanyard to enable me to 
retain 100% tie-off while crossing the guying points. Before my most recent 
climb I  threw the thing away. The leather was visibly deteriorating and I knew 
better safety equipment was available.  I purchased a near top-of-the-line 
climbing harness and a couple of positioning lanyards, along with  a set of 
gorilla hooks.

I always climb my tower with one positioning lanyard strapped around the tower 
at all times, just as I did with the old Signal Corps belt. I don't find it a 
problem to slip the lanyard up the tower with me as I climb, and whenever I 
cross a  guying point I attach the second  lanyard above the guy bracket before 
disconnecting the first one below, just as I did with the old belt.  I used the 
gorilla hooks with my recent climb, but I think I'll leave them on the ground 
next time. Constantly hooking and un-hooking those things as you go while 
climbing up and down is very fatiguing and takes at least twice as long as 
climbing with a simple lanyard. Even with the proper fall arrest lanyard 
attached, dropping six feet while tethered to a tower could cause serious 
injury.  It would certainly be traumatic, and likely end the project for that 
day. The fall arrest lanyard is a one-use item so it would have to be replaced.

Most worrisome of all, particularly using a climbing harness with gorilla hooks 
and fall arrest lanyards, is a little-known phenomenon called suspension 
trauma. Suspension trauma is caused by "orthostatic intolerance", which can 
occur any time a person stands quietly for prolonged periods. It is most 
commonly encountered in military parades where soldiers stand at attention for 
extended periods. This may be prevented by keeping the knees slightly bent so 
the leg muscles are engaged in maintaining posture. When the legs remain 
immobile with the person in an upright posture, gravity pulls blood into the 
lower legs, which have a very large storage capacity. Enough blood eventually 
accumulates so that return flow to the heart is reduced. If the blood supply is 
restricted enough, the worker or soldier will faint, slumping to the ground 
where the legs, heart and brain are on the same level, allowing sufficient 
blood to return to the heart. Suspended in a harness, the person can’t fall 
into a horizontal posture, so the brain’s blood supply falls below the critical 
level. The harness keeps the worker in an upright position, resulting in loss 
of consciousness and eventually death. A worker suspended in an upright 
position with legs dangling in a harness of any type is subject to suspension 
trauma.  See
http://www.fs.fed.us/treeclimbing/safety/suspension-trauma.pdf

With the positioning lanyard strapped to the climber and around the tower, the 
worst thing that could happen would be for the climber to loose his footing. He 
might slip a few feet but the lanyard would prevent a free fall, and keep the 
climber tied close enough to the  tower to regain his footing and likely safely 
descend the  tower.

The greatest problem I have with climbing Rohn 25 is that with most available 
footwear, the tower rungs are not wide enough to allow one to stand securely 
and comfortably with both feet on the same rung. Larger towers, like the Rohn 
45, are much more climber friendly.

Nylon webbing  type lanyards have a tendency to fray when on a tower that has 
significant surface rust. After I have climbed a time or two with a new 
lanyard, I inspect it for signs of fraying, and wrap those areas with grey duct 
tape. This seems to keep the nylon fabric intact if the tape is replaced after 
each climb.


Don k4kyv



                                          
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