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screamers?

zetavex · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Oct 2009 · Points: 0
pacoarg9 wrote:Would someone mind briefly explaining what screamers do and how they help?
A nylon webbing structure consisting of one large loop sewn up in multiple places to make a shorter length. In the event of a fall the stitching of the sewn sections purposefully rip apart, absorbing some of the fall energy and decelerating the climber.

-taken from : en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gloss…
Wiled Horse · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Dec 2002 · Points: 3,669
pacoarg9 wrote:Would someone mind briefly explaining what screamers do and how they help?
also check out the Yates site.
Gregory Jones · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Oct 2009 · Points: 0

pacoarg9,
Imagine a loop of webbing folded onto itself and wrapped with a plastic shrink wrap. Between the folded loops is a unique stitching that looks like cotton when ripped apart. The stitching is designed to release without damaging the webbing and do so in a controlled manor. In a test lab it allows the stitching to come apart at a consistent rate so a climber will know that at 2kN of force the stitching will start to release. The hope is the Screamer absorbs the energy instead of your screw or whatever you have placed. Nice thing about this design is it tears apart at a consistent rate to not create a jerk or shock in your system which can add more force.

Buff Johnson · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Dec 2005 · Points: 1,145

They are also incredibly good at keeping us in tune with the alpine start.

brenta · · Boulder, CO · Joined Feb 2006 · Points: 75
WiledHorse wrote: also check out the Yates site.
...but do not spend too much time on their data table, which is just wishful thinking.
divnamite · · New York, NY · Joined Aug 2007 · Points: 90
brenta wrote: ...but do not spend too much time on their data table, which is just wishful thinking.
Do you know any realistic data regarding screamers?
Wiled Horse · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Dec 2002 · Points: 3,669

data schmata. they do what they were designed to do.

everytime you fall, can you quantify in those split seconds how much force you generate?

Buff Johnson · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Dec 2005 · Points: 1,145

uh, yes; duration is a key component in this game; I guess the most used way to address it is by going with the fall factor.

Beverly did some ice pro & anchor work, but I'm not seeing any given focus on a screamer, unless I glanced over a section:

strikerescue.com/research

rhyang · · San Jose, CA · Joined Jun 2006 · Points: 620

I used to put them on almost every screw when I was leading .. a zipper screamer on the first one after the belay, and then regular or shorty screamers on successive screws.

My feeling is that they may not keep you from breaking your ankle when your crampon catches, but they may keep you from breaking your back if otherwise the screw would pull out and cause you to deck. I know first hand that spinal cord injury is very very unfun ..

That said, a friend took a 60' fall on a long climb several years ago on half ropes, with no screamer. He was lucky and "just" sustained a badly sprained ankle (we walked him out and took him to the ER). The ice was good and the screw held.

brenta · · Boulder, CO · Joined Feb 2006 · Points: 75
divnamite wrote: Do you know any realistic data regarding screamers?
One set of experimental results (as opposed to a tabulation of three formulae) is here.
Evan1984 · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Aug 2007 · Points: 30
WiledHorse wrote: never got to share with you the outcome! i remember us tossin around the idea of campin with you for the night, it was so cold, we werent prepared, and was worried of not being able to move. good thing, because it took me about 8 hours to hobble out, popping advil every 30 min. the next day i was so stiff and i couldnt walk for a week. nothing was broken, no internal bleeding. my right side was one big bruise. wow. i still dont know how i held on to my tools (leashed to me). one tool poked through 4 layers of clothes but did not break my skin. somehow in the course of falling past my partner, the rope got core-shot (with several strands cut too) along with the core-shot section that laid over the biner... and i still have that piece of rope as a reminder... we measured from the cut to my tie-in and thats how we approximated the fall distance (60-70 feet total). yikes! almost a factor 2... but the screw held (thank the Lord) but was a banana, placed 4 feet off the belay. glad i did, or i most likely would have ripped my partner off too! still thankful of his catch. i blacked out for a little less than a minute when i finally stopped!
Jeebus dude! Try not to do that again for my heart's sake. Glad it worked out.

Evan
Steve Grigel · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Nov 2009 · Points: 5
WiledHorse wrote: never got to share with you the outcome! i remember us tossin around the idea of campin with you for the night, it was so cold, we werent prepared, and was worried of not being able to move. good thing, because it took me about 8 hours to hobble out, popping advil every 30 min. the next day i was so stiff and i couldnt walk for a week. nothing was broken, no internal bleeding. my right side was one big bruise. wow. i still dont know how i held on to my tools (leashed to me). one tool poked through 4 layers of clothes but did not break my skin. somehow in the course of falling past my partner, the rope got core-shot (with several strands cut too) along with the core-shot section that laid over the biner... and i still have that piece of rope as a reminder... we measured from the cut to my tie-in and thats how we approximated the fall distance (60-70 feet total). yikes! almost a factor 2... but the screw held (thank the Lord) but was a banana, placed 4 feet off the belay. glad i did, or i most likely would have ripped my partner off too! still thankful of his catch. i blacked out for a little less than a minute when i finally stopped!
Yup, that was quite the day, glad Darren placed that screw on the easy section or else we both would have gone for a ride to the ground. Eli - I have never got to properly thank you for the help that day, much appreciated and I hope to pay it forward.

As for dynamic belay, I remember having time to take in about 10ft of rope as D flew over me, then I just held on tight and got completely rocked (saw blue stars, etc.). My comment to the forum is be meticulous about your screw placements, the quality of ice, the angle, the behavior (cracking - tension - compression), layers, hollow spots...you get the point. Then clip a screamer to it if needed.

Haven't been chasing ice much since slogging through canyons and mtns in AK, mostly chasing kiddos these days and some rock. Hope to see you guys out there, all the best.

Steve-o
Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

Ice Climbing
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