Load transfer to Traxion pulley on a weighted rope
This post discusses techniques and methods used in vertical rope work. If you do them wrong, you could die. Always practice vertical rope techniques under the supervision of a qualified instructor, and ideally in a progression: from flat ground, to staircase, to vertical close to the ground before you ever try them in a real climbing situation.
(I think) I saw this on the Instagram of Vladislav Babikov, an Israel based EMT and rescue expert. Thanks Vlad! Give him an Insta follow: @babikov_vlad
In certain rescue situations, it might be helpful to transfer a loaded rope from your belay device onto a progress capture pulley such as the Petzl Traxion.
Here's a simple way to do that.
The key technique: the Traxion can be installed on a loaded rope.
Let's assume you’re belaying your partner directly from the anchor with a guide plate belay device, like a Black Diamond ATC Guide.
When might you need to do this?
It's rare for recreational climbers to actually have to haul up their partner any significant distance. For most rescue scenarios it's usually better to lower (descend with gravity), not pull someone up against gravity.
However, if you do need to haul someone / something up, it's better to do it off of a high-efficiency pulley on your master point rather than a high friction belay device.
This is a good application of a general principle in self rescue: you can extend your master point down a bit to create a new system of some kind, and then transfer the load / rope from the old system to the new system.
1) You need to go hands-free, so tie a hard backup knot in the brake strand and clip it to the anchor.
2) Get a 60 cm sling, triple it, and clip it to a new anchor point with a locker. Clip another locking carabiner to the other end of the sling. (A locking quickdraw would also work here.) You want this sling fairly short.
Install your Traxion on the loaded rope going down to your partner. Be careful not to drop it or let it slide down the rope, and to install with the teeth facing up, or away from the load. Clip the Traxion to the locker on the sling.
Push the Traxion down the rope toward the load to remove slack in the sling.
Transfer the load to the Traxion by pumping the blocking carabiner on the ATC up and down several times.
You now have slack in the green rope in your belay device, and the load should now be on your Traxion.
Remove the belay device and carabiners from the system. The load is now on your Traxion; give yourself a high five!
If you need to set up a mechanical advantage system for a lift, you're in a great position to do that. (Tie a friction hitch on the loaded rope below the Traxion, clip the slack rope to the hitch, and you have a 3:1.)
If you decide you want to lower, you can put the green rope through a munter hitch on the anchor, have the person below unweight the green rope for a moment (if possible), and unclip the sling and Traxion from the anchor. (There are a few more advanced options, like setting up the Traxion on a releasable hitch, but for this example we’ll keep it simple.)
