An interesting use for Cordelettes...
I won a Sterling Rope Cordelette at the Horsehoe Canyon Ranch Rendevous and had no real use for it... so I made one up.
This will allow you to use a 5.5m cordelette as a safety when you're lead (sport mainly, may have use in trad) climbing and need to setup a safety while tying your lead rope into top bolts.
Explanation:
- Fold the cordelette in half.
- Tie a retraced figure 8 knot at the end with loose cordelette ends (#4 in image)
- Tie a stopper knot if you feel the need, also at #4
- Tie a retraced figure 8 knot at the other end (#2 in image), when you attempt to tie this you will realize that without the ends of the rope/cordelette you end up with a loop where the ends you usually come out. This could represent a hazard as it could slip back through the figure eight and come undone. However, with the amount of friction generated by the bight on the figure 8 this is extremely unlikely. Of course, to ensure the maximum amount of safety, I tied a small stopper (just an overhand) knot in that loop, and then clipped an oval biner on it which also circled the main part of the cordelette (#3 in image), making it almost impossible to pull through. This is some pretty heavy overkill - but it's always better to be safe than dead.
- Next I clipped a "D" 'biner on each loop of the end that will be clipped into the bolts (if you're going to be working with a one bolt anchor [unlikely] just clip one biner through both loops). On a climb you would clip one 'biner into a separate bolt, providing redundancy.
- #5 is where your load will be, in most cases that's YOU. I clip that to my locking 'biner on my harness (not using the "D" shown in the image) and you're set to go. The climbing shoes represent the load.
I've tested this with as much force as I can put on it and the only movement was the tightening of the figure 8 knots, looks and feels completely solid.
Feel free to contact me with questions, comments, or pointers about this tie-in. Keep in mind this same thing could be easily accomplished with a manufactured runner or a properly tied piece of webbing (though I've had trouble with webbing getting in the way while climbing, dangling off my harness due to shoddy forethought in tying) but I had a cordelette, with no use for it, so this is what I decided to use it for.
-DarC
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