Andrew McLean has posted an interesting idea at his often excellent
Straight Chuter blog: Carry a DMM Revolver locking carabiner instead of a pulley in your crevasse-rescue kit for glacier travel. The idea is not that the Revolver has less friction than the average pulley—McLean's thinking is that this ’biner can serve many different purposes in glacial mountaineering and skiing, while the pulley really has only one use. Gear that does double or triple duty is good gear for lightweight ascents.
I'd be wary of the pulley (and, for that matter, the gate) icing up on this carabiner, which was designed for rock climbing. But it definitely seems like a worthwhile idea to experiment with.
McLean's blog has a few other interesting posts on glacier gear, including ropes and snow anchors.
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3 comments:
I haven't personally used these before, but I've been told by others that have that the pulley is virtually worthless. Under so much tension the rope tends to get so fat that it doesn't glide over the pulley effectively, and has almost as much friction as a regular biner.
I would be curious to hear the opinions of others who have actually used them though.
Unfortunately, the non-pulley end is too narrow to work directly with a Tibloc. Works with Ropeman, though.
About half of the guide-candidates on AMGA Alpine and Ski Exams are using these now in the crevasse rescue skill tests. They certainly work - if they work so well as to spend the money and carry them is up to the user.
In my practice, I didn't find the difference to be great enough to justify the cost. Though I'd be happy to carry one if it was given! :)
Cheers - Chris
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