Belay accident with Trango Cinch

I bought my Cinch in late 08/early 09, can't really remember the precise date but I have used it as my primary belay device on multipitch routes, cragging days, topropes, and even used it on some aid routes in conjunction with a jumar. It has always worked as advertised and I love how smoothly and fast it pays out slack. I had 100 percent confidence in the device. I never owned a GriGri and I didn't even know how to lead belay with a GriGri until two weeks ago when the local gym changed to a GriGri-only policy.

I took a few years off from seriously climbing but still climbed casually in the gym. More recently I started climbing more again by hitting the gym more often and going outside again. I noticed that my Cinch would slip through the slick static TR ropes at the gym to the point where if I didn't hold the break hand very tightly and with effort, the climber would start falling. Same thing with dynamic ropes at the gym but I haven't had to catch anyone taking a fall; people just took.

A few weeks ago there was an accident at the Atlanta gym, Stone Summit, where a person fell 40 ft to serious injuries. The belay device was purportedly a Cinch. The belayer's hands were burned. I was not there but obviously there were lots of witnesses.
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After the accident and becoming aware that my Cinch was no longer holding tight, I told my girlfriend that I would retire my Cinch and get a GriGri2 instead. But I never did, not wanting to spend $100 on the GriGri when the Cinch had never let me down. So I kind of forgot about it.

On Saturday on our last climb for the day, it was my friend, Michael's, turn to lead. We were climbing on my Edelrid Boa 9.8 mm 60 m rope. There was no one at the crag that day except for a couple that we saw, but they went to another section. We were all alone. There were no dogs, crying babies, or other climbers to distract us. I loaded the Cinch, even making sure that I loaded it such that the climber end was on the bottom, per Trango's updated instructions. I also gave it a "tug" test - pulling the climber end hard to demonstrate to Michael and myself that it was loaded correctly. But realizing that I no longer trust it completely, decided to also wear my belay gloves but only on my right hand, the brake hand. Michael started climbing and before getting to the crux, he was at a comfortable stance where he could punch in several pieces of gear and I gave him confirmation that I was watching him. Michael started climbing and finally let out a "woohoo" as he started falling. I saw him as he was flying through the air and I was ready. I had my left hand on the climber end and my right hand on the brake, both hands were firm on the rope with all four fingers curled around the rope. I had my left hand on the rope in order to stabilize my self in case I was lifted off the ground. There was nothing to do except to wait for the Cinch to catch.

Except it didn't. I felt a burning sensation in my left hand and didn't feel the "tug" from catching a fall. I saw the rope whizzing through the device and I was surprised and confused. In that first second or so I only felt pain and panic and couldn't think clearly. After getting through the initial shock, I realized that my right hand was still on the brake, was not in pain because I was wearing gloves, so I clamped down on my right hand and was determined to slow down the fall as much as possible. Almost as soon as I had done that, Michael came to a stop.

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Michael was unhurt and had fallen, he estimated to be 30 feet, but my left hand was burned. I believe if I had not been wearing a belay glove on my right hand then more serous injuries would have occurred to Michael. My mistake was allowing myself to use the Cinch even after I had doubts about its ability to catch a big fall.

As for what might have gone wrong, I am not sure. I have suspected that one of the parts in the Cinch that cams the rope has gotten worn and is not as effective now. I don't know for sure. I don't have a brand new Cinch to check for comparison and I also don't know if the usual wear would cause the device to be less effective.

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Second, I wonder if having my left hand on the rope slowed down the pull through the device enough for the camming mechanism to not be engaged. I never took my left hand off even as it was getting burned. I only took it off after the fall had stopped which came after I clamped down on my right hand. I don't know what would have happened if I had taken my left hand off but that thought never crossed my mind.

Third, I don't know if the Cinch would have engaged properly if I had a death grip on the brake to begin with. I suspect not, because I never had to do that before for it to work and even with an ATC I don't need to have a death grip on the brake hand, and certainly not with the GriGri. I think a tighter grip, if not wearing gloves, would just mean a more severe burn instead of making the difference between catching and not.

After this accident, I will not belay anyone with a Cinch or allow anyone to belay me with a Cinch. I just can't trust it anymore. I share this experience as a warning to other climber. Inspect your gear. Don't use something if you don't trust it.

I am glad everyone is OK after your close call.

I will not comment on the reliability of the Cinch. There are a bunch of thread out there about individuals who have had experiences to the OP's. Readers can draw their own conclusions. I used to use a Cinch. I don't any more. I have a GriGri 2 and find it to be a superior device in every way. YMMV.

Best wishes to all involved in the almost accident. TFPU!

Cross posted to supertopo.com

supertopo.com/climbers-foru…

"Second, I wonder if having my left hand on the rope slowed down the pull through the device enough for the camming mechanism to not be engaged. I never took my left hand off even as it was getting burned. I only took it off after the fall had stopped which came after I clamped down on my right hand. I don't know what would have happened if I had taken my left hand off but that thought never crossed my mind."

That was your major problem. This is documented in both Cinch and GriGri's

However, you should retire the Cinch and replace it with the GriGri2 like you planned on. The Cinch is perfect until it's not and someone dies. Look it up.

There is a very clear mechanism of failure for the grigri. When the Cinch fails, it's sometimes impossible to recreate why, just that it did. Fuck that.

I retired mine a few years ago and have been much happier without it.

i have been using the same cinch since '09 and have logged a lot of mileage on it. It has never slipped or not caught on ropes down to my new 9.4 dry treated sterling. I'm very glad everyone is ok. Like all auto assist devices, keeping firm pressure on the breaking strand of the rope is crucial. Your cinch does not look especially worn - though one should always check for the steel rod for significant wear. I'll add that keeping your gear free from dirt and such will also greatly contribute to the longevity of these autolock assisting devices.

Plenty of anecdotes on both sides of the gg/cinch debate about failure modes. It comes down to how we use these devices and the certain complacency that comes with them over time.

If you do not feel comfortable with the device then you should not use it. Perhaps going back to a good old fashion tuber for a while will re-instill some confidence.

"Third, I don't know if the Cinch would have engaged properly if I had a death grip on the brake to begin with. I suspect not, because I never had to do that before for it to work and even with an ATC I don't need to have a death grip on the brake hand, and certainly not with the GriGri. I think a tighter grip, if not wearing gloves, would just mean a more severe burn instead of making the difference between catching and not."

Disagree with this. You said yourself that as soon as you clamped down with the brake hand the fall ended. That would seem to answer your own question, above.

Sounds, sadly like the most basic belay error: grabbing the wrong rope. Glad to hear you quickly grabbed the rope with your brake hand in time to prevent any accident--fast thinking!

If the belayer grabs hard with the BRAKE hand, any fall WILL be stopped, with any and every belay device. Same principle even works with with a munter hitch or even with a waist/hip belay. Grabbing the "live" rope, with the other hand, is useless.

A device like a Grigri or Cinch needs a sharp tug to engage and grab the rope. Holding the LIVE rope can potentially (as here, I suspect, those burns indicate quite a hard grip) prevent that sharp tug from happening and cause the device to not work.

Happy that no one was hurt.

Steve "Crusher" Bartlett wrote:"Third, I don't know if the Cinch would have engaged properly if I had a death grip on the brake to begin with. I suspect not, because I never had to do that before for it to work and even with an ATC I don't need to have a death grip on the brake hand, and certainly not with the GriGri. I think a tighter grip, if not wearing gloves, would just mean a more severe burn instead of making the difference between catching and not." Disagree with this. You said yourself that as soon as you clamped down with the brake hand the fall ended. That would seem to answer your own question, above. Sounds, sadly like the most basic belay error: grabbing the wrong rope. Glad to hear you quickly grabbed the rope with your brake hand in time to prevent any accident--fast thinking! If the belayer grabs hard with the BRAKE hand, any fall WILL be stopped, with any and every belay device. Same principle even works with with a munter hitch or even with a waist/hip belay. Grabbing the "live" rope, with the other hand, is useless. A device like a Grigri or Cinch needs a sharp tug to engage and grab the rope. Holding the LIVE rope can potentially (as here, I suspect, those burns indicate quite a hard grip) prevent that sharp tug from happening and cause the device to not work. Happy that no one was hurt.

The grip on the feed rope was firm, but I was not holding it as if I was going to stop the fall with my hand. You can get burns like mine if you just hold the rope and continue to hold as it slips through your hand rapidly. The burns have not blistered and it doesn't hurt that much to the touch so I suspect they are superficial - meaning my grip wasn't that hard. As for the break hand - it was always there holding the break line firmly. Never did it come off the break.

For all of you that like to compare Cinch with Grigri, a Grigri or any other belay assist device will NOT fail in the same manner. What is unique about the Cinch is the device, if failing to cam, provides virtually no braking power. If you hold any other belay assist device, with 1 hand above & 1 hand below on the rope with similar amount of force, will automatically engage because of the natural braking power of the device in the "open" mode. I don't trust I won't get confused every time (& I have dropped someone a little longer than I should), so I've quit using it.

I have owned a cinch since '09 and love it. I had one that was stolen/lost and bought a new one that day.

I have been dropped with a Cinch before. What happened when I was dropped was that my belayer attempted to arrest my fall with his left hand , slowing the rope enough to stop the camming action from engaging. The fall finally stopped after 40 feet when a bystander literally smacked the belayer's left hand off of the climber end of the rope. This sounds like

I love my cinch and will continue to use it but give those who belay me with it lots of instruction. I have seen people dropped with gri-gri's and cinches alike. I still think the Cinch is safer than the ATC especially for the inexperienced climber.

Folks need to understand that these devices are not "auto braking" but rather "brake assist". That said it sounds like you have a lot of experience with the device but my two cents is that a lot of accidents with the cinch occur due to user error.

The ATC should be the default belay device. You should not add complexity to the system until you understand the fundamentals of the system.

KevinK wrote:As for the break hand - it was always there holding the break line firmly. Never did it come off the break.

Obviously your brake hand was NOT holding the brake line firmly. You said yourself the rope slid through your gloved hand. You've got to do more than have your fingers wrapped around the rope; you have to grab it.

John Wilder and Crusher are 100% correct.

I used to use a Cinch for rope solo but had it not engage during a "slow" fall that John described. I no longer use it for rope soloing. A long time ago, using a Grigri, I dropped a falling partner exactly the same way you did (they fell 20' instead of 10') because when they fell I thought they were clipping and I used my hand on the upper line to pay out slack, creating a "slow" fall which then prevented the cam from engaging. Just like with your experience, the moment I squeezed down on the brake strand the fall stopped.

Everyone should watch Petzl's video on the current technique for using a Grigri - it is EXCELLENT.

In agreement about the left hand. You can not hold on the lead end of the rope. Hot potato. Pay out slack and get your hand off the rope (leader end). With the cinch as soon as I pay out slack my left hand goes to the brake end of the rope under my right hand as redundancy for my right hand that is always correctly placed on the cinch and brake end of the rope.

The cinch is 10 times more finicky than the gri gri. I save it for fat nasty ropes at the gym that would be a disaster with a gri gri. That being said, I can count only two people that I know that I would let belay me with the cinch as the placement of the right hand on the device to ensure proper camming is delicate. I see the cinch constantly misused.

Whatever device you use, your proper use must become engrained so that the movements involved are automatic.

I disagree with the assessment that keeping the left hand on the rope is the only thing that caused the accident. A very similar scenario recently happened to me while belaying with my cinch.
I was giving a top-rope belay on my friend's new rope -- one I had never used before and I considered slippery, though not particularly skinny. I had my left hand on the rope in order to pull down and feed it into the device. I had my right hand on the break strand. Unlike Kevin, I was chatting and distracted when my partner fell. To my surprise, the device did not catch. The rope continued to feed through the cinch and run through both my hands. It was hard to think during those few seconds -- I felt heat build up in my left hand. I managed to release my left hand and pull hard with my right and the rope finally locked into place.
During that incident, I was not doing anything different from my usual belay.
The fall was a surprise, so my left hand could not have caught most of it, preventing the belay device from being loaded.
Yes, removing my left hand and pulling hard on the break hand solved the problem. However, there was a malfunction that prevented the device from locking in the first place.
Like OP, I have an older device that is showing some wear. Maybe it is time to replace.
My thinking is that with a worn device and/or with slippery ropes, the force required for the cinch to lock is greater than generated by some falls.

Alina Garbuzov wrote:Like OP, I have an older device that is showing some wear. Maybe it is time to replace. My thinking is that with a worn device and/or with slippery ropes, the force required for the cinch to lock is greater than generated by some falls.

I think your deduction is spot on about the force required to engage increasing with wear on the device and/or reduced rope friction and diameter. Just curious; are you planning to replace the cinch with a new cinch, or a different device?

I recently had similar issues with the Cinch. I was totally a Cinch guy, recommended it to my buddies etc. Loved it. I have used it for sport climbing, gym climbing and doing some big wall stuff (ascending and hauling). It worked great for top rope soloing as well. Don't really use it for trad days. A few weeks ago I was ascending a line and I would pull up 2 feet then I would slide down a foot. That was very unusual. The thing usually locks up nicely. Freaked me out. The following week I was holding someone on top rope and it was slipping. Thought it was my friends new rope, tried a different rope, still slipping. I even went home and tried all my other ropes. Tossed the thing in the trash and bought a Gri Gri. Probably had 2 years of use, but didn't use it that much.

Jake D. wrote: If it was firmly on the brake it would not have slipped through.

I'm going to use all caps because you guys don't seem to get it...

IT'S NOT ABOUT JUST HAVING ONE HAND FIRMLY ON THE BRAKE END. IT'S ALSO ABOUT NOT HAVING THE OTHER HAND GRABBING EQUALLY HARD ABOVE THE DEVICE!!!

IMO, this goes against the safety design principles of belay devices. During lead belay, you need to use one hand to pay out the slack, and the natural human reaction to a slipping rope is to tighten both hands. This is normally not a problem for any other brake assist device because of the unassisted braking power of the device. But the Cinch isn't really a brake assist device in that sense, because the thing has virtually NO BRAKING POWER if the cam is not engaged.

I have used a Cinch for lead belay since ~2008. It is very easy to defeat the locking mechanism with improper technique. I've changed how I belay with it over the years, but I currently pinch the rope with the fingertips of the feeling hand a few inches above the device and tug outwards with just enough force to lock it - this is the rest position while I watch my climber.
To unlock it for pulling slack, I just need to pull the right direction which is mostly back towards the left hip rather than up towards my climber.
It is definitely a finicky device.
You have to play by its rules.

Jon Zucco wrote: Just curious; are you planning to replace the cinch with a new cinch, or a different device?

I haven't decided. I am also a big fan of this belay device and have used it almost exclusively. I have not had any problems before this one incident. I believe that if I get a new device, it will work perfectly, like mine originally did. I've had mine for two years and got a good amount of use out of it. But the GriGri2 is tempting... Haven't used one yet. I'm not a big fan of GriGri1.

part of why the cinch is a great belay device is because it lets the rope run very smoothly with little friction allowing for very quick feeding of the rope with minimal effort. This comes at the price that you have to manage the device to ensure proper engagement. With a few exceptions, one being severe wear of the device, most "faults" are user error. This goes for the gri gri. Peoples belief that the gri gri is some magic form of auto belay is disconcerting at best.

Like i said before, know your belay devices and do not put someones life at risk if you dont feel comfortable using them correctly.

Jon Zucco wrote:The ATC should be the default belay device. You should not add complexity to the system until you understand the fundamentals of the system.

+1

Keep It Simple!!!!

I agree with Roboot - I can't trust that in a pinch that I would remember to take my left hand off. So I am not going to use it.

As for knowing to take your left hand off for the device to work - especially an older device - this is not something that Trango points out in their user manual. I'm also not sure that it is common knowledge as some have pointed out.