[TowerTalk] Safe Climbing was Re: Roswell Tower Accident

[Dick Green WC1M]

Pete,

A positioning lanyard shouldn't be used for fall-arrest. It has no shock
absorber. If you fall and get pulled up short by the positioning lanyard,
you could get seriously injured. Better to use two fall-arrest lanyards or a
Y-lanyard.

73, Dick WC1M

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Pete Smith [mailto:n4zr at contesting.com]
> Sent: Wednesday, October 24, 2007 8:42 PM
> To: Kelly Johnson; TowerTalk
> Subject: [TowerTalk] Safe Climbing was Re: Roswell Tower Accident
> 
> I use two lanyards attached to my full harness at the fall-arrest D-
> ring in
> the middle of the back.  I attach one above my head, climb up to the
> point
> where I can just barely reach down to it, and then attach the other one
> above my head.  I then detach the bottom one, climb, and repeat the
> process.  In my case, I use my positioning lanyard as one of the two.
> When
> I get where I need to work, I make sure the fall-arrest lanyard is
> firmly
> attached - look at it and yank on it - and then move the positioning
> lanyard to my hip D-rings.
> 
> To my mind, though, what you specifically do is a lot less important
> than
> your mind-set -- never forgetting that, whether at 30 feet or 200, a
> fall
> will probably be fatal, so always double-check everything.
> 
> 73, Pete N4ZR
> 
> At 08:25 PM 10/24/2007, Kelly Johnson wrote:
> >My climbing experience is limited to heights of about 30 feet or so,
> >but regardless I'd like to understand the proper way of climbing up a
> >tower while remaining connected at all times.  When people start their
> >climb at the ground, how do they attach to the tower while climbing?
> >Do they have a safety cable permanently mounted to the tower or do
> >they clip a cable as high as they can reach, climb beyond it, clip
> >another as high as they can reach, and so forth or what?
> >
> >On 10/24/07, Bill Turner <dezrat at copper.net> wrote:
> > > ORIGINAL MESSAGE:
> > >
> > > On Wed, 24 Oct 2007 04:08:48 +0000, n7ka at comcast.net wrote:
> > >
> > > >AT NO TIME SHOULD WE NOT BE ATTACHED SECURELY TO THE TOWER.
> > >
> > > ------------ REPLY FOLLOWS ------------
> > >
> > > I know you are right, but I have seen tower climbing professionals
> who
> > > climb a tower with no safety line connected at all, and only hook
> up
> > > when they are in place ready to work.
> > >
> > > If the professionals are so lacking in concern, what hope is there
> for
> > > us amateurs? I guess after you climb a few hundred towers with no
> > > accidents, you become immortal.
> > >
> > > My rule is to always have two connections to the tower: Either my
> > > safety line plus one hand, or two safety lines. I never trust only
> one
> > > safety connection, ever.
> > >
> > > 73, Bill W6WRT
> > > _______________________________________________
> > >
> > >
> > >
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