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| Messages 1 - 13 of total 13 in this topic |
mcreel
climber
Barcelona
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Topic Author's Original Post - Jan 18, 2018 - 12:02am PT
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https://www.climbing.com/people/that-one-time-diamond-in-the-rough/
"To my surprise, I discovered girth hitches can come undone. We use this knot all the time and trust our lives to it, but my malleable necklace doesn’t cinch down like the webbing we use in climbing. With enough bouncing, the knot loosens and—voila! Bye, bye, wedding ring."
WTF?! Any math experts want to chime in on some weird topological facts about this apparently mild mannered knot?
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Jon Beck
Trad climber
Oceanside
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Jan 18, 2018 - 12:16am PT
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I know nothing about the knot, but that article reminds me why I cancelled my subscription to Climbing.
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Byran
climber
Half Dome Village
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Jan 18, 2018 - 01:35am PT
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Yes it's possible. If the hitch loosens, the ring can slide up the string out of the hitch, at which point the hitch "falls out" and the ring can slide back down and off the necklace.
This wouldn't happen in most climbing applications because what is being girth hitched is big (like a tree) or attached to something big (like a carabiner, clipped to a bolt, drilled into the cliff, which is part of the planet). In such a case, to get the same outcome as the wedding ring you would have to pass the entire earth through the loosened hitch, and that is no exaggeration.
But if, for instance, you were to tag up gear, and your partner clipped some cams to a locking carabiner and girth hitched it to the tag line. And if while pulling it up it bounced around enough that the gear passed through the loosened hitch (unlikely, but not impossible), yes, it would fall off the rope.
Edit: And yes the girth hitch is actually used to this effect in some "rope & ring" magic tricks.
[Click to View YouTube Video]
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justthemaid
climber
Jim Henson's Basement
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Jan 18, 2018 - 07:03am PT
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Yup- Bryan has the explanation right. The bight has to be able to slip over the entire object after loosening to drop it. The ring was small and smooth and chains don't hitch down like webbing. Unlikely to impossible to come loose in climbing scenarios. Might think twice about a girth if you are sending up a single piece of gear or carabiners though.
Edit- i think the only time I use a girth is attaching a daisy to a harness. Your whole body would have to magically turn to jello and slip throught the bight.
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clinker
Trad climber
Santa Cruz, California
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Jan 18, 2018 - 07:25am PT
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Your whole body would have to magically turn to jello
Hey now, some people are predisposed for this happening.
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justthemaid
climber
Jim Henson's Basement
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Jan 18, 2018 - 07:49am PT
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Scole
Trad climber
Zapopan
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Jan 18, 2018 - 08:00am PT
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[quote]That thing isn’t even a knot its meant to come un done /quote]
Its called a hitch, and not a knot, for a reason
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jeff constine
Trad climber
Ao Namao
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Jan 18, 2018 - 09:00am PT
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Must be running out of intelligent articles to write about, Info about climbing these days is on a downhill spiral.
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mcreel
climber
Barcelona
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Topic Author's Reply - Jan 18, 2018 - 09:25am PT
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Well, at least I know now why I have participated in several wedding ring posses over the years.
Mental note: never use a girth hitch to attach a chihuahua to anything!
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clinker
Trad climber
Santa Cruz, California
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Jan 18, 2018 - 09:41am PT
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Nick Danger
Ice climber
Arvada, CO
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Jan 18, 2018 - 09:57am PT
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Good advice, clinker. I used a Chihuahua to attach my wedding ring to my harness and it didn't go well at all...
Just sayin'
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Ballo
Trad climber
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Jan 18, 2018 - 10:43am PT
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I know nothing about the knot, but that article reminds me why I cancelled my subscription to Climbing.
/thread
It's a HITCH not a KNO—oh someone already...
She should have gone with the Tricky Dick
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justthemaid
climber
Jim Henson's Basement
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Jan 18, 2018 - 11:48am PT
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Not to split hairs... but I think that's a corgi not a chihuahua BTW. Don't let the queen see that.
Viva la jellyman.
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