Fiddlestix Anchors

[Scott Card]

Hmmm. May have to snip off some sprinkler pipe and see what happens.

[hank moon]

Tom, thanks for the details. Looking forward to trying it out sometime.

[ilipichicuma]

Gavin and I tested a piece of half-inch PVC in my garage on Friday. It was initially too slippery but after we made it rougher with some sandpaper it was perfect! Pulled out great when not weighted but stayed put when weighted. We're just not sure if it will stay rough or if we'd have to take sandpaper to it every few uses.

[Scott Card]

We're just not sure if it will stay rough or if we'd have to take sandpaper to it every few uses.

This will not be a problem. In most canyons, you have 300 foot vertical sheets of sand paper down the whole canyon.

[Bootboy]

The pics posted in this thread show a setup that still requires pulling, I want to see pics of someone's setup that releases the whole thing at the anchor. I have a setup I've been toying with which involves an aluminum rap ring and a 5"x1/2 " fiberglass rod. Before I post pics I way to see others pictures.

[moab mark]

One of the tails is short, only a foot past the stein knot. You just can't see this in the pictures.

[moab mark]

Gavin and I tested a piece of half-inch PVC in my garage on Friday. It was initially too slippery but after we made it rougher with some sandpaper it was perfect! Pulled out great when not weighted but stayed put when weighted. We're just not sure if it will stay rough or if we'd have to take sandpaper to it every few uses.

Drill a hole thru the other end and put a keeper thru the hole. See my above picture, works great and much safer.

[ghawk]

Drill a hole thru the other end and put a keeper thru the hole. See my above picture, works great and much safer.

Yeah, that's a good idea. We'll play with that next.

[ratagonia]

Yeah, that's a good idea. We'll play with that next.

Using it in the field, it is not at all clear that a "keeper" or "safety" is desirable. Brendan's Mark I have a safety, and we have gone to not using it.

Tom

[moab mark]

How long is Brendan's sail baton?

[ratagonia]

How long is Brendan's sail baton?

Six to eight inches.

T

[MrAdam]

Using it in the field, it is not at all clear that a "keeper" or "safety" is desirable. Brendan's Mark I have a safety, and we have gone to not using it.

Tom

Is a friction hitch, looks like a kleimhiest in the pics, the preferred back up for all but the last man at risk? Are there any other back up techniques being used?

[ratagonia]

Generally, we put a carabiner in the knot for all but the last person, essentially Stoning the Knot, though with one short end. Mainly because the knot tightens around the stick, making the pull difficult. Thus, it is desirable to have the knot loosened before the last person rappels, so it only has one person's tightening on it before the pull.

Of course, if the fiddle-sticked anchor is questionable, then it should be backed up (or a better choice made).

Tom

[moab mark]

We just biner block and then I stone it when I go. Have only used it a couple of times in the real world but the concept is slick. IMO the best part is how much faster you can move along due to the fact that you start bagging both ropes immediately. It can create a spaghetti mess if the landing area is small due to two ropes piling up on top of each other. You also can drop two bags, one for pull one for rappel and do not have to bag any additional rope then what is needed.

Mark

[ratagonia]

The pics posted in this thread show a setup that still requires pulling, I want to see pics of someone's setup that releases the whole thing at the anchor. I have a setup I've been toying with which involves an aluminum rap ring and a 5"x1/2 " fiberglass rod. Before I post pics I way to see others pictures.

Not sure it was clear, Bootboy. When doing the stone, one end of the rope is short. Once the fiddlestick is pulled, the short section of the rope just needs to be pulled out from around the object.

You can see this on the last picture on this page:

http://www.canyoneeringcentral.com/t...secret-weapon/

Tom

[ratagonia]

On a similar note, I just transferred the Omnisling writeup to the new blog:

http://www.canyoneeringcentral.com/t...the-omnisling/

Tom

[oldno7]

We experimented the other day and had all 5 people rap on the stone with a wooden dowel, it tightened considerably(as expected) it pulled but was indeed difficult.
Last person certainly needs to re-dress the hitch.

[ilipichicuma]

I'll add another thumbs-up for these things. My friends and I just got back from Zion, where we used my PVC fiddlestick several times, both in wet and dry conditions. It worked awesome every time and we are converted. Not the best for every situation, but definitely a great ghosting technique!

[Scott Card]

PVC--You are welcome.

[canyondevil]

I too have been experimenting with the PVC version and am really sold. I started with 3/4" and now have gone to 1/2" Sch 40. Some course grit sandpaper makes it very sticky.

I did have one little oops with it a couple weeks ago... I set up the FS on the first bypass rap into Egypt 2 which is about 50'. This was the third time on the trip that we used this particular FS. The design of this stick had a cap on the end of the pipe so that the pull cord would be coming out the end of the pipe and not the side, making it easier to pull in sketchy situations. This is what it looked like before I was the last to rap in:





Once the three of us rapped in, I went to pull the FS out. Apparently I forgot to glue the damn thing together. So, all that came down was the cap, and the actual stick portion stayed in the knot. So there we are with our only rope stuck. Because I could not see the condition of the FS, I was not going to jug back up it. We decided our best option to head down canyon with what gear we had. Turns out that rapping on doubled 6mm Imlay pullcord stuffed in the same side of an ATC works pretty good in an emergency. We finished teh E2/E3 loop and retrieved the rope on the way out. Below is what it looked like when we found it. Really stupid mistake on my part, but it worked out OK. Needless to say, my design now does not have two pieces glued (or not glued) together.