Single rope technique

The Einseiltechnik is also known in German-speaking SRT. SRT is an acronym for "single rope technique" (English).

The Einseiltechnik is caving in for driving on mostly vertical routes such as shafts. Since caves in many places difficult in the classical style can also reach the same result of moisture and clay - and especially in the cave safety a top priority - this can be overcome with the best possible technical aids. Then, it's caving in not about any target on a difficult route possible to reach as sport climbing, but the achievement of a target as possible to save time and just above all as safe as possible.

Development

Until the 1970s it was common practice to overcome shafts by means of rope ladders. This despite the greatest possible lightweight - just as narrow as a hiking boot, Alusprossen - the drawback hard and to be bulky and thus represent, especially in the kilometer-long cave, a major transportation problem dar. Apart from that requires climbing on such a rope ladder some exercise and is very tiring. Above all, the descent is tedious: When climbing on each lower rung of the rope ladder has these, she is hanging freely, avoid the tendency. Is it on the rocks lying, they must first be somehow pushed away from the rocks. This takes not only strength, but also represents a security risk It is also customary to secure up or dump ends with an additional cable. That makes so-called slot items necessary, secure the last man to dismount and then - possibly days - have to wait until the first rising again.

Thus, the originally developed in France Einseiltechnik was a revolution in the cave research, which made it possible now, even the most difficult bay caves and extremely deep descents with a significantly reduced cost of materials and especially a greatly reduced risk to master.

Equipment

The basic Einseiltechnik equipment consists of a seat belt and chest strap, a descender, ascenders with several Fußschlinge and a Sicherungset, the so-called cowtail. The equipment for the frog technique consists of:

  • The caving seat belt is quite similar to a climbing harness. However, the strip material is often wider, so you can sit longer time in the belt are also highly stressed points reinforced with PVC. The tie-in point is immovable as the harness, to facilitate the ascent of the rope. As a central tie-in point is half round screw member.
  • The caving chest strap is used to fix the chest ascender on the body and often has no safety function.
  • The (chest ) ascender is attached directly to the half-round screw member.
  • In the hand ascender is an ascender with handle, at a Fußschlinge is attached.
  • The cowtail consists of a short and a long security loop, at the end of a screw- sitting.
  • The descender has two or more stuck rollers around which the cable is laid. The friction between rope and reel is large enough to compete with the hands that hold the rope below the descender to control the descent speed accordingly. In addition it is used a fuse terminal that should the departing person to faint and the rope can no longer hold, stop the descent.

More pieces of equipment are still needed for other techniques. For example, for the bead technique another hand ascender is still used with Fußschlinge. Additionally or optionally Fußsteigklemmen or hand ascenders are used with pulley system.

Technology

There are various methods ascent, such as the frog - or bead technique, which also differ in the equipment. The frog technique is the most widely used technique in Europe. The upgrade will happen to the ascenders. These have the property that if they are not loaded, they can push it up under load they clamp on the cable securely. A method is now to attach to both ascenders Fußschlingen, one of which is also hung in the chest. Alternately, you now pushes the one and the other terminal high and so rises step by step higher. Another possibility is to attach a clip to the chest strap and the other of two feet. So you can work your way up with caterpillar-like movements. The advantage of the latter method is that you can use for the actual climbing process the power of both legs simultaneously.

In the early days of the Einseiltechnik known from sport climbing ropes ago were used, which, to curb a possible fall into the rope as gently as possible, have a great break. This had the disadvantage that they only had to climb up on the ground a few feet from the bottom of the shaft away. Only after, according to the weight of the rising, the elongation had been overcome, high- started, the actual rising. The cable industry has responded by developing so-called caving ropes, which have virtually no stretch. In addition, these cables are available in various lengths, thus it is possible to overcome any shaft depth with a single cable.

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