Other uses for CAMP Lift?

What else do you all use your CAMP Lift for beyond TR soloing? Does it have a role in glacier travel and crevasse rescue?

I've used them while simulclimbing, to help protect the leader from a fall by the follower. I use one per rope length, oriented so that the rope will pass up through the device, but not back down.

A massive whipper by the follower would still be bad though, since the lift isn't really meant to take big falls. The follower should be careful to not allow a large amount of slack. I don't simulclimb on steep or difficult pitches anyway, so a big fall isn't something that I've worried much about. On lead, I'm protecting more against getting "dragged down the slab" than getting "pulled off the rock".

No good for glacier/crevasse, it doesn't really work super well on extremely thin or icy ropes. Also bulkier than devices that work well for that.

Simul is also a weird implementation as falling on the device as a leader is not exactly intended use. Trax+rope man+spoc family is all better in that regard and take way less faff to prerig at start of your pitch/block.

Alex Styp wrote:

Simul is also a weird implementation as falling on the device as a leader is not exactly intended use. 

It’s generally good practice to put a piece of gear directly above a PCD in this scenario for this reason

Alex Styp wrote:

Simul is also a weird implementation as falling on the device as a leader is not exactly intended use.

Agreed completely about this not being intended use. I suspect that it is strong enough for a small fall, but I'd love to see a break test.

The leader must not fall! (and it would also be nice if the follower doesn't slip and pull the leader down the 5.6 slab)

When I read you were using a lift to protect the second I assumed you rigged it in such a way that the leader would never fall on it.  If it isn’t rigged that way I would guess the Lift could pretty easily cut a rope if you fell directly on it.  Really hope no one is actually using it that way and I’m just not understanding the setup.

I'm not really recommending this setup to anyone, just to be clear, but I'll explain more clearly what I've done in the past and why.

The intention is to protect the leader, in case the second falls. I wouldn't do it this way, if there was a chance of a hard fall and I've only done this on low angle slab, up to about 5.7. I've done this when moving fast on easy terrain, with the leader only clipping every third bolt or so to preserve gear. On anything harder or steeper, I would not do this.

When simulclimbing, a fall should always be avoided, of course. That said, a fall by the leader is less of a problem than a fall by the second. The leader falling is (more or less) a normal lead fall, maybe a bit more runout and with a bit more slack in the system than usual. The second falling is like falling on top rope for the second, again with maybe a bit more slack in the system than usual... But it is NOT a good situation for the leader. If the leader can't manage to hold the fall of the second, they can be pulled down into the last piece of protection. Ouch. And then hopefully it is a good bolt or very bomber gear.

What I've done is this... The leader starts climbing, being belayed normally by the second with a Grigri. Near the end of one rope length, before the second starts climbing, place the Lift, attached from the rope to a draw to a bolt, oriented so that the rope moves freely upward as the leader continues climbing, leaving the Lift behind for the second to clean. Like John mentioned above, getting another piece of protection in right away is a good idea at this point, since the leader falling directly on the Lift might be bad. I think that it would hold a small fall by the leader, but who knows. Maybe Ryan Jenks will test this someday. In my case, I just make sure to not skip the next bolt.

At this point, the second starts climbing and the leader is now protected from being pulled downward, if the second were to fall. The rope will only feed upward through the Lift.

Before the second reaches the Lift and cleans it, the leader places another one (or mix and match with other progress capture devices). Climbing continues.

With two devices, three rope lengths of protected climbing is possible. With three, four lengths are possible, etc.

Again, I'm not recommending this method, just explaining an alternative way that I've used the Lift in some specific easy low angle slab situations where a fall by the leader was very unlikely.

I’ve used it for hauling as my rope grab on a 2:1 ratchet system (so in place of the typical Petzl Basic setup). Works great so long as your bag/s aren’t over 280 lbs. But I mainly use it as my upper device for TR solo. I agree, though, that it’s uses are limited since it isn’t rated for all that high of loads. However, it works great for hauling and would recommend