Rope Runner Notice to Inspect

Incident Investigation: Climber Fall

This article is a follow-up to one we published last month (“Consider All the Factors in a Climber’s Fall,” TCI Magazine Vol. 32, No. 11) discussing the potential contributing factors in an incident where a climber suffered a serious fall while using an SRS climbing setup and a Rope Runner Pro mechanical Prusik. There is a new potential contributing factor to consider.

Shortly after TCI went to press, Notch Equipment, manufacturer of the Rope Runner Pro, issued a notice to Inspect for the device, citing, “… limited reports of users experiencing malfunctioning ‘Birds’” while using the device. In case you are not familiar with the Rope Runner, the bird is the upper part of the device most responsible for grabbing the rope and holding the climber in a stationary position.

The notice cautioned users to do a manual inspection and function test of their device to make sure the bird recoils smoothly and without resistance.

The notice calls out devices with specific dates of manufacture as being particularly suspect. The victim’s device in this case was manufactured on one of the specified dates.

Click here to review the notice to inspect.

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