Petzel Ascender Slipping

so...i've noticed that my ascenders slip these days. meaning that after i move it up the rope, i have to conciously pull it back towards me as i'm weighting it to ensure that the ascender bites into the rope. if i just move it up and weight it, it slips and does not catch.

i am wondering the following:

1) if anyone else has noticed their ascenders slipping. mine are probably 5-10 yrs old
3) is there any kind of fix for this? will petzel take them back? has anyone else had their's repaired?

thanks all - S

How are the teeth on your ascenders? Are they worn down? As for other cases of this, I heard of a friend's ascenders slipping on ice in Baffin years ago. They would slip a few feet and then grab, causing much anxiety. But that's a different situation. If you have a lot of mileage on those teeth, you might want to retire the ascenders.

I have a pair of cast Jumars that are at least 18 years old now and still work fine.

I have a set of Jumars and a set of Petzl ascenders and have never had either one slip on a dry rope of the specified diameter. I have had them slip on wet / icy ropes and on very small diameter ropes (these "slips" may have caused permanent sphincter damage from over tightening and they certainly have contributed to pre-mature aging).

What size rope are you using? Are the camming mechanisms working correctly (i.e., engaging the tooth surface fully onto the rope)?

How about the springs? Would a worn out/dirty spring cause the slippage?

The only time I've ever had ascenders slip is on wet, icy or muddy ropes. Sounds like the cam is not working correctly or worn out. Throw them away and buy a new pair.

Ascenders are one piece of gear you really have to look after and once they start to get hickey just toss them. I'm on my forth of fifth pair right now.

At this stage I wouldn't start speculating about the accident in Zion. There are a lot of unknown factors.

Have you spoken with Petzl yet? If not give them a call and see if they have some trouble shooting for you. After you talk with them let us know what they say. I have some old Petzl Ascenders that don't have a slippage problem but they have not been used much.

John McNamee wrote: At this stage I wouldn't start speculating about the accident in Zion. There are a lot of unknown factors.

I'd even offer to change the title of this thread immediately; it's drawing a conclusion, & one that hasn't yet been supported, with the incident in Zion.

I would also say that if your personal gear isn't in good working order, then replace it.

I felt like mine were slipping before but in reality I had just been on the wall too long and getting a bit loopy. My mind was playing tricks on me. Like others have mentioned I have only had real slippage on wet, muddy ropes. I'd contact Petzl and if they can't help you I'd toss them for sure.

Steve,

I've changed the title to Petzel Ascender Slipping.

Cheers

John

Back when I did a lot of caving, we climbed almost exclusively on wet, muddy ropes. Petzl ascenders were always champs at working on those. Never had a slip.

John McNamee wrote:Ascenders are one piece of gear you really have to look after...

Ditto this. An occasional slip is normal, but frequent slippage in good conditions (clean, dry rope) is probably a sign the ascenders are ready for the trash. It is a good idea to regularly check the teeth on the cam for wear. An online guide for inspecting Petzl ascenders is here:

petzl.com/sfc/servlet.sheph…

hank

whoa - sorry about that...didn't mean to speculate - i haven't read the other thread, and know nothing about that situation...just a brief conversation with a friend that reminded me of my jugs.

so...doesn't sound like anyone here has had this issue with dry ropes. and i concur. time for the trash - i will indeed call petzl and see if they can fix or replace...(wow - would be nice if they would just send me a new pair)...

in response to some of the questions, - the slips occur on standard size ropes (9-11 mm) - if anyone wants to see them, i'd be happy to show you (denver/boulder area) - and i don't do ice, so the ropes were indeed dry.

my ascenders are not the full old style (gray color with no teeth) - they are the more modern version, where they started making them orange and blue. funny, as the older ones didn't even have teeth if i recollect correctly. -

i have inspected the teeth and springs, and don't see much difference, but the pictures that hank shows are very telling. - i'll look more closely tonight, and maybe post some photos if i find something.

well, thanks everyone for the info. i'll re-post if i get anywhere with petzl. -

and BTW, i'll repeat, if anyone finds themselves on jugs, in this situation, with chronic slipping..the immediate remedy if you are in a position where you ahve to continue to use these jugs can be to lean back/pull back as you are weighting them to assist with the camming/holding power. (as opposed to pushing the top into the rock...think of your right hand pulling counterclockwise as you look from your chest to hand with arm extended) - obviously, backing up and more frequently tying into the rope is also warranted.

S

My Petzel ascenders slip occasionally, which is annoying when I'm trying to jug fast. A couple of carabiners in the top holes fixed the problem and they also prevent the rope from accidentally becoming unclipped.

I've encountered three situations that have caused an ascender to slip:

Old fuzzy fixed ropes or ropes with glazed sheaths like those fixed to Heart Ledges on El Cap. It's pretty obvious why they slip on these or why the same could happen on muddy or icy ropes.

Forgetting to fully release your thumb off your bottom jug after depressing the trigger to slide the jumar when there is little rope weight below it, like at the beginning of the pitch or after backing yourself up.

Wrapping your hand around the top of your upper jug - again interfering with the trigger.

I do agree with you that hand position does help fully engage the cam, but the ascender is approved as a top rope solo ascension device. They should engage at any angle relative to the rope assuming a carabiner is placed in the upper hole preventing the rope from becoming disengaged from the device.