South Fork Segers Hole aka Segers Window report

Yes.

Well, I certainly should. Exceptions get made sometimes, but as a rule, Yes, always inspect all the webbing, every time.

Just pulling hard on something is not sufficient. Some things fail progressively, for instance the webbing tearing across a sharp rock edge, so just because it has held 10 rappels does not mean it won’t fail on the next one.

Tom

— In Yahoo Canyons Group, Jeff Cooper wrote:

You mention “ALL parts of the webbing need to be inspected, even the stuff buried down there in the sand and debris > ” just out of curiosity do you do this for all deadmans as well? Do you dig them up look at them and then re-bury? What about a stack of rocks do you take the entire stack down, look underneath the bottom one and re-build them? Just wondering…

Jeff

> On May 1, 2012, at 12:50 PM, TomJones wrote:

> Ah, now that’s a good question, perhaps allowing me to make up for my previous snarkiness…

Fading of color is not a reliable indicator of strength deterioration. The dye that gives webbing color is often not UV stable, while the nylon itself is. Still, if the webbing is “stiff” or “crunchy” it is likely bad.

Inspection mostly involves the physical condition. While some fuzzing and chaffing is expected and not a problem, actual cuts decrease the strength significantly. ALL parts of the webbing need to be inspected, even the stuff buried down there in the sand and debris.

Likely places for it to be messed up:

– at the sharp corners of bolt hangers

– on the uphill side of a rock

– underneath a rock, where the rock was set down too hard

– if no rap ring is in place, where the rope was pulled through the webbing. A burn mark is as good as a cut.

Perhaps it goes without saying, but you should recognize the webbing as “climbing webbing”, rather than miscellaneous webbing, which might be polypro boater webbing which is not very strong and has little resistance to cutting.

Also check the knots, and that the knots still have tails on them.

When in doubt, cut it out!

Tom

— In Yahoo Canyons Group, “gldoskey” wrote:

That’s a good idea to mark purchase date. I was more curious as to how do you evaluate existing (in the canyon webbing).

What does one look for in webbing? So far I think I’m being VERY conservative (which isn’t unreasonable since this stuff is so cheap and it’s potentially my health or my group’s health, it more costs me time of installation) and replacing more than I need unless I can safely proof it. The concern of course is trying to find a nice approximation without really coming close to that dangerous line.

Considerations for me would be:

> texture does it feel supple and smooth like fresh webbing or is it stiff and more brittle

> coloration has it been significantly discolored and therefore prone to UV degradation

> integrity – is there fraying, etc.

> how was it installed in terms of load distribution? If it is very tight around a boulder instead of loose with a lot of slack I take that into consideration.

What do you guys look for?

Thanks.

>

Ah, now that’s a good question, perhaps allowing me to make up for my previous snarkiness…

Fading of color is not a reliable indicator of strength deterioration. The dye that gives webbing color is often not UV stable, while the nylon itself is. Still, if the webbing is “stiff” or “crunchy” it is likely bad.

Inspection mostly involves the physical condition. While some fuzzing and chaffing is expected and not a problem, actual cuts decrease the strength significantly. ALL parts of the webbing need to be inspected, even the stuff buried down there in the sand and debris.

Likely places for it to be messed up: – at the sharp corners of bolt hangers – on the uphill side of a rock – underneath a rock, where the rock was set down too hard – if no rap ring is in place, where the rope was pulled through the webbing. A burn mark is as good as a cut.

Perhaps it goes without saying, but you should recognize the webbing as “climbing webbing”, rather than miscellaneous webbing, which might be polypro boater webbing which is not very strong and has little resistance to cutting.

Also check the knots, and that the knots still have tails on them.

When in doubt, cut it out!

Tom

— In Yahoo Canyons Group, “gldoskey” wrote:

That’s a good idea to mark purchase date. I was more curious as to how do you evaluate existing (in the canyon webbing).

What does one look for in webbing? So far I think I’m being VERY conservative (which isn’t unreasonable since this stuff is so cheap and it’s potentially my health or my group’s health, it more costs me time of installation) and replacing more than I need unless I can safely proof it. The concern of course is trying to find a nice approximation without really coming close to that dangerous line.

Considerations for me would be: > texture does it feel supple and smooth like fresh webbing or is it stiff and more brittle > coloration has it been significantly discolored and therefore prone to UV degradation > integrity – is there fraying, etc. > how was it installed in terms of load distribution? If it is very tight around a boulder instead of loose with a lot of slack I take that into consideration.

What do you guys look for?

Thanks.