Petzl Traxion - failure to grab the rope
Most of us expect progress capture pulleys to operate flawlessly in just about any environment. Mostly, they do. But not always.
This video was sent to me by one of my Instagram followers. I’m sharing it here with his permission. (I'm leaving his name and Instagram handle out of my article.)
He was top rope soloing (TRS) on some ice, and was rather alarmed when he discovered that his Petzl Micro Traxion, which was his primary backup device, was clearly not grabbing properly onto the rope.
Yes, Petzl does have a clear diagram in the Traxion technical specs that cautions against ice, sticks, dirt, etc.
Where’s the second device? Apparently, the climber didn’t have one. It's best practice to have two different progress captured tools for top rope solo.
Would a second progress capture pulley have worked here? Hard to say. If one is slipping, it seems pretty likely that another could slip as well. If you anticipate an icy rope, a second device that has a different rope grab mechanism, such as maybe a CAMP Lift, might work better.
Related tip for crevasse rescue: if you have a pulley that’s laying flat in the snow, take a few seconds and excavate a concave sort of bowl underneath it, so the pulley is hanging in space and not being pressed into the snow. This lowers the chance that snow / ice can jam in the cam.
Takeaways (for me):
Always use a second device as a backup for TRS in any conditions, rock or ice.
Be cautious with using devices like this on icy ropes. This applies to TRS and crevasse rescue.
Consider tying hard back up knots in the rope below the device.
Some of the cool kids are now using this as a belay device. Personally, I’m not a fan. If you choose to do this, read up on it and make your own informed choice.
To be clear, this is not a slam on the Traxion. When used properly, they are very reliable. But as they say, RFM! (Read the Friggin’ Manual).
Here’s the video:
Here’s a similar video on Instagram from @the_climbing_school. This time the rope isn't icy, but tensioned and with an older, glazed sheath.