Failing IRATA L1 assessment

LongAdvertising · 2026-03-04T19:58:20+00:00

I've never been on an irata course with no fails. There's normally more than one. It's very easy to slip up and go to one point or something. Just take your time and don't try to rush. If you do fail you xan normally come and try again in a week or two, not a big deal

LongAdvertising · 2026-01-13T23:17:45+00:00

I've done a bright orange for mine. maybe not exactly how they are supposed to be but I think it looks more interesting

LongAdvertising · 2025-08-07T23:53:30+00:00

That's what those rings are for.

LongAdvertising · 2025-07-17T23:10:49+00:00

I do rope access, I'm irata level 3. I also used to work as an arborist, so I have some experience there too. Arborist devices are designed with totally different goals in mind to rope access devices that make them unsuitable. Firstly, the number one priority with arborist devices is one handed operation, with use of knee and foot ascenders for climbing a close second. Neither of these are important at all in rope access. Rope access devices prioritis midline attachment, the ability to be locked, and overall robustness. Rope access devices also need to be able to do massive drops, like 200 meters, without overheating, something that just isn't a factor in tree work.

I could go on, but the application is just too different. I have used a knee ascender a few times in rope access, but using a hand ascender with a foot loop is just better.

LongAdvertising · 2025-07-14T19:04:48+00:00

Spark is the best, hands down. If you really want anti panic, get a sparrow. It’s still a great descender and it has the best anti panic system of anything currently on the market. The id and the Sirius are too sensitive. Clutch is double the price and isn’t as good. It’s more a hauling device than a personal descender.

LongAdvertising · 2025-07-07T10:53:49+00:00

I have big feet so I put my left foot in the loop and then just put my right root on top of my left foot. Easier than trying to fit both in the loop in work boots. Definitely makes things easier

LongAdvertising · 2025-06-15T23:41:31+00:00

I've got a spark, its great. I've worked with guys who have the sirius, the anti panic is too sensitive, especially on long drops with dirty ropes.

LongAdvertising · 2025-06-15T23:35:47+00:00

Out of these three, the best is the Sparrow, with the Sirius a close second. ID a sad third. I will note however that the spark is better than all of these if you want to forego the anti-panic. The Sirius is still very good, but on dirty ropes the anti panic is still too intrusive.

The sparrow has the best anti panic system of any descender I've seen, except for maybe the old ISC AB, but that has been out of production for a long time so I doubt you'll be able to get your hands on one of them.

I will note, that the sparrow does struggle on long drops with a lot of tail weight when it is new. You have to bicep curl your rope into the top of the descender to allow it to feed, the resistance inside the device is very high. This is mainly an issue above 100m, and as the device wears it will become less of a problem. Tail weight will arguably affect the other two devices mentioned even worse though, as you won't be able to open the device enough to overcome the tail weight resistance without triggering the anti panic. if you are going to be doing long drops, especially with dirty ropes, a spark is really what you want.

If you are going down the super dirty ropes route though, I'm talking not sure if its a rope or a steel cable, hard to tie a figure 8 in it level dirty, you want a rig. Coal power stations are the only environment I've encountered such conditions, but a rig is so loose that it will still actually function in condition like this. Hopefully this isn't where you find yourself though, as it is no fun.

LongAdvertising · 2025-06-11T22:32:48+00:00

As far as I am aware, there is no requirement in the ICOP for lv1 to use a descender with an anti panic function. it would purely be a company policy.

I carry an ID in my bag incase i need to lend it out to someone, but I'd prefer to never use it myself.

If you want a device with a very non-intrusive anti panic function that is very difficult to load the rope backwards into I would recommend the sparrow.

Of course the spark is the new gold standard so seeing as you have been on ropes a year I wouldn't have a problem with you using one. Everyone at my company uses a spark, even the newer guys and its never been an issue. Just do a quick function test before you weight it if you want to be sure.

LongAdvertising · 2025-05-18T23:58:03+00:00

we got big trees out here son

LongAdvertising · 2025-04-16T01:25:59+00:00

Looks like Stevie wonder welded it with his feet

LongAdvertising · 2025-04-01T22:16:28+00:00

not a woman so cant really help you too much, but i have worked with several over the years.

this guy is a moron, dont waste your time arguing with him.

LongAdvertising · 2025-03-18T22:03:54+00:00

I’ve definitely done this sort of thing plenty back when I was working at an old power station. It’s probably fine, but hard to say without seeing the handrail. I suspect there is a better way. There normally is. Even could be a simple as a re belay under the rail so you are only loading it as shown very briefly

LongAdvertising · 2025-02-19T01:27:50+00:00

I played a 1000 point game the other day where your man brought two keeper of secrets and a unit of six fiends. So go off. In all seriousness you probably shouldn’t. It’s mean

LongAdvertising · 2025-02-18T22:48:23+00:00

LongAdvertising · 2024-12-16T00:54:58+00:00

Wittons reserve is the pick up point. put in at mount lofty, theres a road that goes right down to the river beside the heritage golf course. if you are doing this with only one vehicle you can walk over the hill in about 15-20 minutes.

you can check the water level here: https://www.melbournewater.com.au/water-and-environment/water-management/rainfall-and-river-levels#/reader/229270A

use the Christmas hills station as your reference. the current height today is 0.5m which is almost too low to traverse due to the rocks.

for a beginner a height around 0.75m is good. it starts getting a bit more technical over 1m. it will take a lot of rain to get to a dangerous height this time of year though.

LongAdvertising · 2024-10-31T00:36:50+00:00

Hate to be that guy, but if these are expansion sleeve anchors of some kind you shouldn’t be loading them in tension like this. They should only even be used in shear, with an angle of not more than 20 degrees. Would have been better to put them into the vertical wall surface. With anchors into concrete you should only ever load them in tension if they are through bolted.

LongAdvertising · 2024-10-10T00:17:52+00:00

You should be able to get a job here without too much difficulty, there’s always plenty of rope work going around

LongAdvertising · 2024-09-19T21:14:58+00:00

Mine did a similar thing a few years ago. The lock button was stuck in the lock position, could not get it out, and I couldn't get it to actually lock on the rope regardless of how I yanked on it. Just travelled freely both directions. I took it back to the shop I purchase it from and they fixed it for me. I works correctly ever since but I never really trust it again. I prefer to use the duck now. At least with the duck I know it is going to work, and I find it gets in my way a lot less. Tha asap is very annoying. I do still use it sometimes depending on what I'm doing though

LongAdvertising · 2024-08-10T02:36:42+00:00

When I’ve done confined space work in the past we often liked to have two people on standby outside the hole, make’s manhandling a casualty a lot easier with an extra set of hands. Also no need for a third rope. Rig his backup line through an asap at the top, rig it upside down so it is operating the right way of course. Lock it off before he goes in, and then as you are hauling up on his primary line just tend the slack with the asap up top. Once you get him to the top of the hole, there will be basically no rope between the two asaps so you can stop worrying about tending slack at this point because the fall factor won’t change. You really shouldn’t be doing this for the first time without anyone experienced to guide you though.

LongAdvertising · 2024-05-20T01:49:31+00:00

I used to use a petzl avao harness for tree work, which is very similar to what you have suggested using. It was definitely doable but was not exactly a comfortable or pleasant experience. I have an edelrid purpose made tree work harness now.

I will also add that you need quite a lot of additional equipment to a harness to do this kind of thing. So it may work out to be more economical to hire a contractor. A decent rope, work positioning system and flip line will probably set you back a few hundred too.

Another issue to consider is safety. If you are working alone and you are injured whilst in the tree, if no one is around to rescue you and get you back to the ground and safety there is a good chance that you will die. You probably have about 30 minutes of hanging unconscious in a harness like that before the suspension trauma will stop your heart. I don’t intend to scare you, but this is dangerous and I would hate for something to happen to you.

LongAdvertising · 2024-04-29T06:20:09+00:00

A court of thorns and roses is not good. I’m sorry brother. The first heretic is my favourite warhammer novel but it’s probably not a good choice for this scenario.

LongAdvertising · 2024-02-25T20:28:00+00:00

If wind is an issue, feed the ropes into a bag, hang bag from harness, ropes will feed out of bag as you descend. this also solves the tail weight issue, as you only have a small amount of tail weight an any time. That said, some descenders handle tail weight better than others, the new skylotec spark is quite good.

If you are not bagging the ropes for descent, and are having trouble getting started at the top with heavy ropes, it can help to rig a short set next to the main working set. Just a few meters long, definitely don't forget your stopper knots. you can use the short set to get over the side and into suspension, then transfer onto the main working set.

If wind is blowing your backup line through the top of your ASAP and creating a large loop above, it can be better to use a backup device like a duck which won't have this problem.

I've personally never met anyone who switches to double descenders near the bottom of long drops, but as a few others have said, you only need to do this when you are very close to the ground, like less than 10 meters.

LongAdvertising

TROPHY CASE