I havent seen any 5/8 rope in at least 10 years (I know its out there though). 8mm prusiks start creeping at 1000 – 1200 lbs force but you dont see a slip in earnest until about 2500 to 3000 lbs force (this is where you see the 10 inch slip and a puff of smoke). I had much discussion on this topic with Reed Thorne and others and in general most agree that with 100 feet of rope on either side of the carriage, there is so much potential stretch that you would never see enough peak force generated to slip the two prusiks.

I located a sequence of shots that I took that day showing us cutting the track line. There is only a 200 lb load but there is not even a hint of creep much less slippage. I will add them to the “about the cover page”.

Now if you happen to have long lengths of 5/8 rope for track line, sure, why not use it. Its just really heavy and I dont think its really needed as there is plenty of experience showing good performance of 1/2 rope for the track line provided you don’t exceed recommended pre-tension.

Great discussion though.

Thanks for the post.

Tom

Thanks for calling this to my attention.

I would like to see that guide. The first printing of edition 4 had 5000 copies. I know of only 2 that were messed up in the printing process and with yours there are three that I know of. While I would prefer perfect printing, the number of goofs is still in the “unusual anomaly” category.

Give me your mailing address and I will ship you a new book with a SASE so you can send that bad one to me.

Also, since you are using this guide as a teaching aid, I would like to find out more ways that I can help you in the instructional process.

I am working on multimedia content and can also produce course content with quizes and tracking. I am just figuring out how to best apply the multi media material. Maybe you might have some ideas for me there. Just thinking out loud.

Any way,

I will sent a replacement book As soon as I hear from you .

Best egards,

Tom Pendley

Otherwise I have not heard of use stats. I think it is quite low on actual rescues due to the time and logistics penalty for setting them up.

I think most people practice them because they are part of the NFPA standard (thats why I added highlines to my guide.) The next reason is that people think they are cool. Ultimately, I think most rope rescue practitioners find more practical and expedient ways to perform their rescue.

I do not know of anyone who collects statistics on highline use.

I believe offsets like guiding and tracking lines are gaining favor and are very useful. I think we will see use of offsets continue to increase.

Hope that helps and please send any other questions.

Tom

I should have the registration component up any day now. I confess that I am sort of building the airplane as I am flying it (so to speak). I think I have the serial number component figured out. There will ultimately be a three tier system. Tier one is open to all. Tier two requires a valid serial number. Tier three will require some sort of modest one time fee. Tier three is down the road as content gets developed. For the near future, only tier one and tier two will be active.

Thanks for your patience and thanks for asking.

Tom

It also says to utilize the registration code that is on the inside cover of the guide for access. Is that necessary someplace?

I have a streamlined dealer page set up. Email me for a password.

Thanks

Tom