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[Towertalk] Double protection - climbing

To: <towertalk@contesting.com>
Subject: [Towertalk] Double protection - climbing
From: rmoodyg@bellsouth.net (Richard M. Gillingham)
Date: Mon, 16 Dec 2002 19:46:07 -0500
Ahh yes... How many times have I intoned "A short checklist makes for a 
short flight." starting with the prefilight...

Y'all be careful, hear.

73
Gil, W1RG

Chuck Lewis wrote:

>TowerTalkers,
>
>Here's A similar 'Gotcha'. Fortunately I caught IT before it got ME:
>
>I was recently replacing the large vertical on our local DX cluster node
>antenna (110'), and doing a little maintenance on some other stuff while I
>was up there. I use a fall arrest harness with both positioning and fall
>arrest lanyards. The fall arrest lanyard is the 'extendible' type, which has
>about five feet of stretch before snugging up. One end attaches to the chest
>D ring, and one end to the tower. It was brand new and I was enjoying the
>feeling of added security as I climbed past the guy attach points (reach up,
>attach FAR, disconnect positioning lanyard, swing it around tower above
>guys, reattach to waist ring, climb six feet, reach down, grab FAR hook,
>reposition on tower overhead and continue, always having one lanyard between
>me and the tower). This was working great, but eventually, because of a
>snagged halyard, I wound up oscillating up and down a couple times, always
>around a guy attachment. But worse, when climbing down, I kept forgetting to
>release the upper FAR hook until it snugged up (out-of-reach of course,
>being extendible) and I had to climb back up a few feet to reach it. Anyway,
>after a series of these irritating dumb*ss reversed direction episodes, I
>looked down at the FAR attached to the tower and looked up at the FAR also
>ATTACHED TO THE TOWER! The tower was really safe, but MY safety redundancy
>was zero! Clearly, I had grabbed the hook from the chest D ring and firmly
>planted it on the tower at my feet prior to one of the downward
>oscillations. Yes, it was a long climbing session; yes, I was TIRED; yes, I
>was COMPLACENT with the added security; yes, I was IRRITATED at myself for
>mental errors; yes, there were dark clouds moving in and I was in a HURRY.
>Tired, Complacent, Irritated, and Hurried. All the ingredients for a bad
>day.
>
>This led to a suggestion by one of the ground crew to simply tape one of the
>FAR hooks around its gate to prevent (or at least as a reminder) removal
>from the chest D ring. I will do that from now on. But the real message here
>has more to do with the "tired, complacent, hurried, irritated (y'all can
>add a few others of your own)" components of the equation. Student pilots
>get this message
>fed to them over and over, along with the notion that disasters are seldom
>the result of single events...but from a series of mistakes by which we dig
>ourselves deeper and deeper into a hole. We can learn a lot from that
>philosophy.
>
>Chuck, N4NM
>(still here to tell this tale, and trying to start an "I learned about
>climbing from this:" thread)
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Mark Beckwith" <mark@concertart.com>
>To: <towertalk@contesting.com>
>Sent: Monday, December 16, 2002 9:15 AM
>Subject: [Towertalk] Double protection - climbing
>
>
>  
>
>>>You'll be safer if
>>>you have some sort of lanyard (i.e. the fall arrest lanyard on your fall
>>>arrest harness) that you can attach above you and then you can climb up
>>>      
>>>
>to
>  
>
>>it
>>    
>>
>>>safely since you'll be attached to the tower 100% of the time you're
>>>      
>>>
>>trying
>>    
>>
>>>to get around your appurtenances. (You do have a FAH, don't you?)
>>>      
>>>
>>In my older years as I have used up more and more of my 9 lives, I kid you
>>not, EVERY time I cross from below the guys to above the guys, (or a
>>    
>>
>yagi),
>  
>
>>I am really thankful I adopted a "double protection" practice at my new
>>station.
>>
>>When I was young and foolish, I would take the gamble every time.  I try
>>    
>>
>to
>  
>
>>avoid that nowadays.
>>
>>On a related subject, which all day Friday as I put up 10M beams, I was
>>thinking I should share with the world:
>>
>>I had the good fortune to visit with a retired professional climber in
>>    
>>
>1994
>  
>
>>as I was putting up large DX Engineering yagis out at N6VI/KH6 (now KH7R)
>>for a contest we were getting ready for.  He was an older guy who quit his
>>career after a fall, who, seriously, was touristing out there, spotted us
>>    
>>
>at
>  
>
>>work, and stopped by to see what we were doing (can't get it out of your
>>blood, I guess).
>>
>>We talked for a while.  ALWAYS one to try and learn from other peoples'
>>mistakes, here was his mistake, which I think of EVERY TIME I cross past
>>guys or booms:  As we all know, on a tower, you have to disconnect and
>>reconnect your main lanyard time after time after time.  This fellow was
>>    
>>
>in
>  
>
>>a hurry, and when he re-attached, it was mistakenly to the shank of a
>>    
>>
>large
>  
>
>>tool, and not the big belt ring as he thought.  He leaned back and they
>>    
>>
>were
>  
>
>>calling the ambulance.
>>
>>We should all be glad he lived to tell this story.  Anyway, whenever I
>>reattach, before I unattach the above mentioned double protection, I
>>visually inspect my main lanyard to assure it is attached to my belt on
>>    
>>
>both
>  
>
>>ends.
>>
>>Thank God I got smarter as I got older.
>>
>>Have a good holiday everyone, I'm off to help a friend with a 4-square
>>    
>>
>which
>  
>
>>I will activate in the Stew.  See you on the air.
>>
>>Mark, N5OT
>>
>>
>>_______________________________________________
>>AN Wireless Self Supporting Towers at discounted prices,
>>See http://www.mscomputer.com
>>
>>Wireless Weather Stations now $349.95. Call Toll Free,
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>>
>>    
>>
>
>
>
>_______________________________________________
>AN Wireless Self Supporting Towers at discounted prices, 
>See http://www.mscomputer.com 
>
>Wireless Weather Stations now $349.95. Call Toll Free, 
>888-333-9041 for additional information.
>_______________________________________________
>Towertalk mailing list
>Towertalk@contesting.com
>http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/towertalk
>
>  
>


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