Been aid climbing for a couple decades now... with a 6 year hiatus due to health issues. Alway, wanted to tie my own adders from the beginning but never tried; so this is great!. One suggestion would be to tie the overhand knots so the “peak” faces away from the step you create. When standing in these, that knot will hurt your foot/ankle if it’s facing “inward” towards the foot. The peri-cord foot purchase is a great addition. Thanks for the tutorial.
After watching this video, I made a short rope ladder just like the one in the video. I made the rise six inches because that's the rise of a regular stair step and it's comfortable for me (a short person). I made the step width six inches and I needed about 72 inches of the wrapping cord for each step. The steps used about a third of the length of the tubing (after the tubing was folded in half to begin with). The tail of my ladder is only a few inches long and I read in the comments that the tail on the demo ladder should be longer so I will try to do better on the next rope ladder I make. I'm not a climber. I'm an old retired lady; I decided to learn something useful. The fire escape rope ladders are easier to make but using them requires hand and arm strength that not everyone has. My rope ladder has four steps because I only bought enough for a short practice ladder; however, I plan to make a longer ladder now that I've got the "hang" of it.
Nora Turner I don't recommend you using rope ladder for fire escape. It is absolutely the most unsafe method of escape is why fire fighters throughout the world do not use them: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-65iOm4v3FQg.html ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-ePcTB2dPHms.html I don't recommend that you buy the 500 to 1000 dollar bailout equipment. Rope ladder are meant to be permanently installed in such a way that it can be deployed easily an are hard to handle and bulky. Furthermore "rope ladders" are just a marketing ploy giving you a false sense of security, and I suggest that you do not listen to the so called safety professional in government to give you serious advice. There are much easier ways for you to bail out 100% safely. The recommendation I give you come from the Climbing and Canyoneering world: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-KYfZtFBfAdc.html ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-7U6tdEevJgs.html ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-X1EPRnRz1p0.html ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-6QF1AcrgQIc.html ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-RVoze1IpdVI.html The method I will introduce to you is foolproof and 100% safe and requires very little preparation and setup. First you have to establish a bullet proof anchor which may be a radiator or some other fixed object, and have a chain (hardware grade 1/8 inch stainless steel SWL over 300 lbs} around the pipe closed with a quicklink. Next, you need two climbing grade carabiner (locking preferred www.backcountry.com/sport-climbing and, Static (not Dynamic) climbing grade rope preferred is KM III 3/8 inch Static rope $1.26 / ft. To complete the connection between the carabiner and rope, tie a Scaffold Knot ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-M9IS9HPk1Ds.html The setup is not complete with a few dollars spent. In case of a needed bailout, clip the carabiner to the radiator chain and throw the rope out the window. Finally you attach yourself to a DIY safety harness of your choice: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-hLO6JagPH1w.html ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-cIfbCmWwKbM.html ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-eIvt7da6L1M.html ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-MXv07omheC8.html ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-xmVML8e0H7Y.html
It is better to not use the frost knot but tie just an over hand bend in the middle of the loop. You need to leave the tsils longer. Go learn from climbers. No it is not a variation of the frost knot it is an overhand knot.
I wanted to see it being used cus a few videos I saw didn't. The steps do stay open for easy foot insert. Thanks.I will make this as a fire escape from 2nd story window. I am also using this to have my child climb up a few steps as I hold it ( I step on last loop as an anchor so ladder is sturdy) and see above a sea of people. Short people problems.
Just wandering why you place the Frost Knot end atop the mast ladder as opposed to the middle length loop end? The frost knot is very strong but there is the chance it could unravel but the other end cannot. What are your thoughts?
Good video, thanks for posting. When whipping the step would it work better to begin at the inner portion of the step working outward? If you used predetermined lengths of paracord each whipping would be identical to the last and uniform top to bottom of the ladder. I've never made a rope ladder so this is just an observation/question.
Thank you for posting this it's cool of you. Question - i want to make a 50' ladder how many ft of webbing will I need? Just a guestiment, I'll round up anyway.
Imma cacalate... 50' x 2 lengths = 100' + .5' footrest x 50 steps = 25' + .833' (10") hypotenuse x 50 steps = 40' + .5' per knot x 50 knots = 25' So... 100+25+40+25 = 190' Add length (two lengths?) around a branch, so 200' web for a 50' ladder. Maybe a general calculation of (raw web needs to be four times length of ladder)
Any reason why you can't use standard rope knots? Figure 8 on a bite instead of the frost, big bite butterfly's for the steps, fisherman's for the footings, and a beckett bend to add webbing?
Alex r This is a great question. I would think the knots you prescribe would work relatively fine with cord but they're all hard to check in webbing (and introduce twists). In Canyoneering we use variations of overhands almost exclusively in webbing.
Typically Frost and water knot are the preferred knots in webbing, but as a learned on day when my climbing partner (a less experienced but smart, safe guy) set up an anchor, things like the grapevine (double fisherman's in rope) can and have been used. Grapevine is actually pretty darn safe, good luck untying it though.
Definitely! these knots have a tendency to creep as they are repeatedly loaded and unloaded, and the tail would allow for that to happen while still maintaining the knot. In arborist work, if I made a knot like that, I would get a heck of a talking to. This kind of mistake can be pretty serious, possibly fatal, if you're using this equipment in any kind of extreme environment.
Totally. Sweet rope ladder otherwise; this design could come in handy in an emergency. Not trying to dump all over the poster, just wanna make sure everybody's safe.
Once I finished my ladder and I have a frost knot at the loop end, can I use a Load bearing carabiner to quickly add/remove another section of webbing ladder?? Would that be safe??
Technically you could but it would be a weak point. If you really needed to do this, go with two locking 'biners and face them opposite directions, so each 'biners gate is 'reinforced' by the others' spine.
Usually 4000 lbs, but that's for a single strand, there are ways to configure it for an anchor that can give you ratings of almost 10000 lbs. Check this out for more details: www.cmcrescue.com/one-inch-webbing-anchors-minimum-breaking-strength/
Thanks you. How much webbing did you use to get the four step ladder??! I’m going to make one. Just in case of a fire 🔥; I need to know how much rope I’ll need to make a 3-floor rope ladder!
Don’t tell people to make a fucking ladder out of that shit, you need to put a disclaimer before each video that you’re not a professional and everything you’re saying here is opinion because you post a bunch of information that is either unsafe or just flat out wrong
