Alpine Tips

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Load transfer: The stirrup hoist

Do you have a big load that you need to move a short distance? Here's one crafty way to do it: the stirrup hoist. This may not be the most efficient method, but it's quick and simple.

 

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This is part of a series of articles that cover methods to move a large load a short distance, typically to unweight an anchor.

In some unusual climbing situations, you may need to lift a very large load a very small distance.

  • Maybe on a big wall, where you rigged your bags old school style (sheesh, use a docking cord, will ya!?) and you need to lift them a tiny bit to unclip the carabiner.

  • Maybe in a rescue scenario, when you have an unconscious person hanging off of a loaded anchor, and you need to lift them just enough to unclip them.

In either case, it's often better to use your bodyweight to try to do the lifting rather than your muscles. Work smart, not hard!

Don't make a habit out of this. It's almost always better to use some sort of releasable knot or hitch to anchor your load when you can. But for those cases when you didn't do that for some reason, the stirrup hoist might come in handy!

Here's a way to set that up, called the stirrup hoist.

This is not the most efficient method, but it's pretty fast and uses minimal gear, so it's a good one to have in the toolbox.

You might want to try this first and see if it solves your problem, before you try more elaborate systems, such as the alpine block and tackle, or the 2:1 redirected haul.

  • Clip a long sling onto the load. Slippery Dyneema would be a good choice, to minimize friction.

  • Pass the sling through a carabiner on the anchor, and let the sling hang down below the anchor. If you happen to have a pulley, run the sling through that to minimize friction. (In the photo below, I’m not using a pulley.)

  • Step into this “stirrup”. Your body weight, along with lifting the load with your arms, should hopefully be enough to move it up a bit to solve your problem.

  • To give a little extra boost, you might try bouncing on the sling ,which will apply more force to the load than your static body weight.

For more comments on this method and the photo of how to set it up, please join my Premium Membership.

 
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