Objects Database

Homemade Rope Ascenders/Prussiks

Accession Number

1249.2015.1

Object Name

Homemade Rope Ascenders/Prussiks

Created

19/05/2015

Creator

Hermione Cooper

Accession Date

19/05/2015

Brief Description

Two homemade ascenders on cord

Materials

aluminium alloy

Dimensions

4(l) x 3.5(w) x1(d) cms

Number Of Objects

2

Colour

silver

Provenance

These little fellas are a wee bit of an enigma since we don't really know what to call them and we are not 100% sure if we have the way they connect to the rope correct - see opposite, so this item comes with a government health warning!
We do know that mountaineers have been climbing ropes, as well as mountains, since the sport began - sailors and cavers too. Back in the old days they used a friction knot known as a 'prussik' and many still do since it's simple, efficient and pretty foolproof, albeit rather slow and tedious.
As is often the way, an easier way is often sought and we now have a vast array of mechanical devices for climbing ropes and even an industry that specialises in such antics. Industrial Rope Access Trade Association (IRATA)
Somewhere along the way (circa 1970) the German company, Salewa, produced a little piece of aluminium - see opposite - which we can only assume was designed to speed up the process of tying a prussik, particularly in a crevasse rescue situation.
Sometime after that, pioneer Scottish climber and prolific gear maker, Bill Skidmore, decided to make his own and we are delighted to have both versions in the collection. Very few of these devices have survived and we suspect that's because they were not much use and like us, folk were not quite sure what to do with them!

Acquisition Method

Donated by Mary Henery

Acquisition Date

19/05/2015

Condition Check Date

19/05/2015

Rules

Spectrum : UK Museum documentation standard, V.3.1 2007

Modified

19/05/2015

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