Simulclimbing with a Ropeman?

Hi all,

Any thoughts out there on simulclimbing with a ropeman in the system in case the second falls? Research on the internets indicates that they are much safer than a tibloc because they don't have teeth. Makes perfect sense.

Any educated thoughts out there? Has anyone done this?

Eric

They work, but they tend to add a bit of drag into the system. Combine a Ropeman with a wandering pitch and you will be cursing the drag. You also need to have a multi-directional piece. Make sure you capture the rope on the inside of the carabiner.

What he said ^

Also, just be aware that they have pretty tight tolerances on rope diameter.

I used to carry a Ropeman on my trad "oh shit" biner (2 prussiks, ropeman, 2 quicklinks, and a mini pocket-knife). Had to ditch it when I decided to lose some gear weight and switched all my ropes to skinny cords. My main single rope is a Mammut Infinity 9.5 and my main double ropes are the Metolius Monster 7.8, AKA "the shoelace".

I've tried it, and I personally think it is a waste of time. First of all, having one or two of them on the rope only does some good until the second passes and cleans them. Then you'd have to have to stop to get them back to the leader. I also typically shorten the rope between the climbers while simulclimbing, so this problem is compounded. Second, when I simulclimb it is on ground that is easy enough that such a fall is not going to happen, especially if the stronger climber is following. My whole goal of simul is speed and adding these little tricks in just complicates things and slows me down. If it gets hard enough that there is any real chance of falling, I usually set a quick belay. As for Tibloc vs. Ropeman, again it's a trade-off: weight vs. security. My opinion, YMMV.