First harness thread, or, introducing (? the) "Spurr Harness"
Posted: Tue Oct 20, 2020 7:34 pm
Several years into it, I am continuing to explore routes to Mt. Langley from Owens Valley. Lately, I have been considering bringing a harness because having my feet leave the ground could be worthwhile. In particular, returning from Langley, it would be nice to rappel ("abseil" "abseiling") down the cliff at the bottom of the ridge that runs East from the summit (instead of making a right to the top of the chute and descending past the ice/snow field which is usually there most of the year).
I searched here, ( Board index / OUTDOOR GEAR & FOOD / Outdoor Gear Topix ) but, didn't find a thread about harness, belt, swami or rappel.
I have a brand-name rock climbing harness, but, it's single purpose and can't be used for other reasons. Also, it says "DANGER" on the buckle.....!
Has anyone seen this technique? If not, it is called the "Spurr harness." ( See photo attached under this description ) :
EQUIPMENT-
. (1.) twenty-four feet of one-inch webbing with a water knot at the ends ;
. (2.) short sewn sling (say, 10 inches long) ;
. (3.) medium sewn sling (say, 22 inches long) ;
. (4.) three locking carabiners (preference for Mammut with the sleeve that has to be pulled down then rotated to release) ;
. (5.) long sling (say, 40 inches, for chest harness, with a quick link).
SPURR HARNESS:
. (A.) Make a belt with short sling in front, medium length sling in back, and two locking carabiners connecting them near the hips ;
. (B.) Fold the twenty-four feet of webbing twice, so there are four loops (bites) at each end ;
. (C.) Grab the middle, twist / rotate TWICE (360 degrees), and insert feet through the loops (gather four loops / bytes at each end to make a hole, then insert foot) ;
. (D.) Raise the left side of the left leg loop up, and clip into locking carabiner, then raise the right side of the right leg loop, and lock into carabiner ;
. (E.) Attach a rappel device:
. (option 1, lower attachment point:)
. Attach a rappel device to the short sling with the carabiner fully around both strands of the sling ; or,
. (option 2, higher attachment point:)
. Attach a medium length sling to both hip carabiners, and attach a third carabiner in the middle of the sling with a rappel device ;
. (F.) Make a butterfly by crossing medium length sling, put both arms through loops, and connect two loops in front with a quick link, the rappel rope goes between the chest and the quick link. ***
That's it. It's super fast to get out of it. And fast to get into. And the pieces can be used for other purposes, such as, cutting the twenty-four foot sling into shorter slings.
Feedback. Please! I spoke with the salesman at Elevation (Lone Pine, CA), and he deemed it trustworthy. He added, the gates of the hip locking carabiners should be facing down with the gate on the top.
Happy trails! ( my photos: josiah piwigo )
P.S. I copied and pasted the text from 27 pages of thread indexes for this forum, and ran this search, for "belt", "harn", "swami" and "rap," using this GNU Emacs Lisp:
(defun topix (search-string) ""
(if (setq x (get-buffer "*Occur*")) (kill-buffer x))
(if (setq x (get-buffer "*Messages*")) (kill-buffer x))
(with-temp-buffer (insert-file-contents-literally "~/highsierratopix--forum--gear--As-Of-2020-10oct-20.txt" nil)
(occur search-string)
(progn (erase-buffer) (if (setq x (get-buffer "*Messages*")) (insert-buffer x))
(insert "\n"))
(progn (goto-char (point-max)) (if (setq x (get-buffer "*Occur*")) (insert-buffer x))
(insert "\n"))
(buffer-string)))
(progn (insert (topix "belt")) (insert (topix "harn")) (insert (topix "swami")) (insert (topix "rap")) (insert (topix "studlycapsify")) (insert (topix "spurrharness")))
;;; 4 matches for "belt" in buffer: *temp*
;;; 1065:Vintage Sequoia Cone Belts
;;; 1263:Ban the Hip Belt
;;; 3226:Altering belt straps on an Osprey Atmos
;;; 4398:Better Hip Belt Buckle System?
;;;
;;; Searched 1 buffer; no matches for "harn"
;;;
;;; Searched 1 buffer; no matches for "swami"
;;;
;;; 8 matches for "rap" in buffer: *temp*
;;; 871:six moon design skyscraper
;;; 959:Dolida sun/bug hat with detachable neck drape
;;; 2838:replacing the straps on my Leki trekking poles
;;; 3226:Altering belt straps on an Osprey Atmos
;;; 4284:Trying to like my Traptent..Any users of them here??
;;; 4596:Lightweight strap pocket?
;;; 4782:National Geographic rep discusses GPS at REI store
;;; 4786:National Geographic Maps To Launch National Trails Database
;;;
I searched here, ( Board index / OUTDOOR GEAR & FOOD / Outdoor Gear Topix ) but, didn't find a thread about harness, belt, swami or rappel.
I have a brand-name rock climbing harness, but, it's single purpose and can't be used for other reasons. Also, it says "DANGER" on the buckle.....!
Has anyone seen this technique? If not, it is called the "Spurr harness." ( See photo attached under this description ) :
EQUIPMENT-
. (1.) twenty-four feet of one-inch webbing with a water knot at the ends ;
. (2.) short sewn sling (say, 10 inches long) ;
. (3.) medium sewn sling (say, 22 inches long) ;
. (4.) three locking carabiners (preference for Mammut with the sleeve that has to be pulled down then rotated to release) ;
. (5.) long sling (say, 40 inches, for chest harness, with a quick link).
SPURR HARNESS:
. (A.) Make a belt with short sling in front, medium length sling in back, and two locking carabiners connecting them near the hips ;
. (B.) Fold the twenty-four feet of webbing twice, so there are four loops (bites) at each end ;
. (C.) Grab the middle, twist / rotate TWICE (360 degrees), and insert feet through the loops (gather four loops / bytes at each end to make a hole, then insert foot) ;
. (D.) Raise the left side of the left leg loop up, and clip into locking carabiner, then raise the right side of the right leg loop, and lock into carabiner ;
. (E.) Attach a rappel device:
. (option 1, lower attachment point:)
. Attach a rappel device to the short sling with the carabiner fully around both strands of the sling ; or,
. (option 2, higher attachment point:)
. Attach a medium length sling to both hip carabiners, and attach a third carabiner in the middle of the sling with a rappel device ;
. (F.) Make a butterfly by crossing medium length sling, put both arms through loops, and connect two loops in front with a quick link, the rappel rope goes between the chest and the quick link. ***
That's it. It's super fast to get out of it. And fast to get into. And the pieces can be used for other purposes, such as, cutting the twenty-four foot sling into shorter slings.
Feedback. Please! I spoke with the salesman at Elevation (Lone Pine, CA), and he deemed it trustworthy. He added, the gates of the hip locking carabiners should be facing down with the gate on the top.
Happy trails! ( my photos: josiah piwigo )
P.S. I copied and pasted the text from 27 pages of thread indexes for this forum, and ran this search, for "belt", "harn", "swami" and "rap," using this GNU Emacs Lisp:
(defun topix (search-string) ""
(if (setq x (get-buffer "*Occur*")) (kill-buffer x))
(if (setq x (get-buffer "*Messages*")) (kill-buffer x))
(with-temp-buffer (insert-file-contents-literally "~/highsierratopix--forum--gear--As-Of-2020-10oct-20.txt" nil)
(occur search-string)
(progn (erase-buffer) (if (setq x (get-buffer "*Messages*")) (insert-buffer x))
(insert "\n"))
(progn (goto-char (point-max)) (if (setq x (get-buffer "*Occur*")) (insert-buffer x))
(insert "\n"))
(buffer-string)))
(progn (insert (topix "belt")) (insert (topix "harn")) (insert (topix "swami")) (insert (topix "rap")) (insert (topix "studlycapsify")) (insert (topix "spurrharness")))
;;; 4 matches for "belt" in buffer: *temp*
;;; 1065:Vintage Sequoia Cone Belts
;;; 1263:Ban the Hip Belt
;;; 3226:Altering belt straps on an Osprey Atmos
;;; 4398:Better Hip Belt Buckle System?
;;;
;;; Searched 1 buffer; no matches for "harn"
;;;
;;; Searched 1 buffer; no matches for "swami"
;;;
;;; 8 matches for "rap" in buffer: *temp*
;;; 871:six moon design skyscraper
;;; 959:Dolida sun/bug hat with detachable neck drape
;;; 2838:replacing the straps on my Leki trekking poles
;;; 3226:Altering belt straps on an Osprey Atmos
;;; 4284:Trying to like my Traptent..Any users of them here??
;;; 4596:Lightweight strap pocket?
;;; 4782:National Geographic rep discusses GPS at REI store
;;; 4786:National Geographic Maps To Launch National Trails Database
;;;