That would add expense and weight over a simple knot, but could make the process go faster and be easier for one person.
It weighs less and is smaller than a piece of cordage. http://www.petzl.com/us/outdoor/multi-purpose-ascenders-0/tibloc
I like things that serve multiple purposes. I keep a few Nite-Ize Figure 9 carabiners in my kit for camping anyhow, so I have them when I'm most trips. They come in several different sizes, but all function the same. They could easily work in the setup suggested above. They are great for guy-lines on your tent too.
The only issue I see with the Petzl Ascender is that you have to use rope diameters suited for climbing. In looking for a compact pulley system you would be wanting the smallest strongest rope you could get away with (ie 5mm Spectra, Dyneema, etc.) in order to save weight and packing volume. The Petzl necessitates a more traditional diameter rope near 10mm in diameter which will add a lot more bulk to the package.
Or you could just ride smaller, lighter bikes and ride over/around just about anything you might run into. Haha.
You could throw in a few of these Harken blocks with a 23,000 kg working load (46,000kg breaking load) and a few hundred feet of Vectran line an be good to lift most anything. You may need a separate pannier to carry them but Mohammad will not be struggling to move the mountain. Then again a stick of dynamite would do about the same thing
I don't think you are using the full potential of the bike: You seem to be on an uphill, I would then turn that heavy GS1200 around, point it downhill...tie the tree via that first pulley as you did, then tie the end of the rope to the bike...I am sure you will exert more than 2x the force the gentleman is trying to exert with his legs.
I think I may have commented that here earlier, but here it is again: prussik only works well when their own rope diameter is 25% or more smaller than the main rope. So, the aramid/spectra ropes are awesome for strengt/weight ratio, but they are not easy to grab, they don't make good prussik either, and its next to impossible to find a smaller rope that will hold the main rope spec load. In that case, a mechanical ascender (if it fits) is probably the right device. A regular static 5mm rope does a decent prussik rope, and since it is doubled, it can _almost_ hold their spec (knots cut the max load in less than half; 2x 1/2= 1). So you can have a 7mm main static rope (which can support half its spec too). Unfortunately, if you buy 100 feet, that isn't compact anymore... could learn to be jedi and use your mind...
Here too, I would simply tie the trunk to the standing tree and pull the middle perpendicularly (then tighten and pull again, and so on, with other trees further away if needed)
Everybody should know how to tie a dozen or so basic knots: termination, directional, friction, midline etc. One of life's skills just like starting a fire, simple first aid, changing a tire, driving a manual, riding a motorcycle, knowing cardinal directions by the stars, etc......
Thanks DiscoDino. That's definitely a good pointer, and I'll definitely keep that mind next time I break this out of the toolkit. In retrospect, it looks so obvious. We were in somewhat of a rush, so we just threw up the rigging real quick and moved it as quick as we could.
I did. I carry it in my tool kit in place of the crescent I had. I haven't taken the combo wrenches out yet, but I don't think that I can. The heads are as obtrusive and combersome as you may think, so it's not going to be used on some of the bolts I keep the smaller combo wrenches around for. It's a trailside only tool though. The adjusters don't lock into place so they can slide out while tooling around. The range alone holds the value for me however so while the cons are obvious, the pros outweigh them.
Great and thanks for the reply. So you feel it's a "somewhat" viable option for a crescent replacement? I've sort of got 2 tool kits - a simpler and lightweight kit for local stuff and a more complete kit for long range rides. Slowly building a kit for a south American adventure and trying to blend the two. Having a damn difficult time assembling a simple kit for the GS since BMW seems to have installed every freaking size and type of fastener available... only thing I haven't found is a square drive screw head, but I still haven't stripped the whole thing to the frame yet, so there's still a possibility there's four sizes of those in there somewhere.
