We use the Jester in Monterrey México when guiding popular routes and canyons. Speed is paramount in such instanstances and the jester is an awesome tool for the situations we encounter.
I just learned the ‘joker’ on a totum and kind of prefer it. It uses 2 caribeeners which allows for isolating just one rope if you have to. It’s almost the same idea as the jester. Personally I’ve never needed either, but I love learning about them.
The 'Joker' rigging was the pre-cursor to the Jester rigging. Most canyoneers have dropped the Joker in favor of the Jester. I never really got into using the Joker as I just went straight into the Jester so I don't have much experience to speak from on the difference in friction and lowering. The great thing about having all these techniques in mind is you get to use which you prefer. Would love to hear back on it and see how it works for you. Maybe I'll try using it a bit more and see how it compares.
Thanks for following 😊. I’m hoping to get a few more done over the next month. With changes in society right now I’m not getting into canyons so hoping to find me a cameraman that can help film some more in depth tutorials on our practice wall.
North Wash Outdoors I actually bought a Totem based on your first video featuring one. I really like it as it is very versatile, almost a multi tool for climbing. I also enjoy your teaching style & am always on the lookout for your videos. Keep up the great work!
I use the jester very frequently. The last time it didn’t work out so well for our last man. Otherwise, I’ve used this for one person rappelling and a contingency to creep rope and minimize edge wear, an efficiency increased in back to back rappels, and as a way for two people to rappel at the same time. Quite effective.
What would be the disadvantage of rigging this Jester contingency anchor vs the "totem-block" style? Playing around with it, feels like the main disadvantage I see is that lowering someone on the jester is a lot slower vs the block, which can be lowered very quickly? The jester also allows for a backup belay using a second rope easily, which feels like a great advantage for guiding a less experienced group where you want to back up the first person because they don't have a fireman belay below them
Sounds like you have already answered your own question for the most part. The difference in the choice between using the Totem Block vs. The Jester is in the application. With the Totem block it's a single line down for a single rappeller. In using the Jester, you set it up with twin lines going down so you can speed up the process, having two rappellers on simultaneously (if the anchor will support it), or having a 2nd rigging in ready to go on the other line once the first rappeller is down. The Jester is used to speed up the process mainly in a large group while still affording you the opportunity to have a contingency rig in case of incidents. The big disadvantage to it is that the whole system has to come off the anchor in the end in order to make the rope retrievable where the Totem Block can be left in place and still be retrieved. And yes, the lowering on the Jester is a bit slower and more cumbersome. Thanks for watching and commenting. It's a good intellectual discussion and I love talking about rope rigging :)
I haven't tried it. Give it a shot and see how it works and let me know. However, my initial thoughts are with the shape of the ATS there is going to be some binding on the rope that would give a bit more friction on a lower so keep that in mind. Also the length of the ATS vs. Totem will play into how much friction is added. I'd love to hear some results on it.
@@NorthWashOutdoors So I just got my ATS in the mail and did some preliminary tests in my basement. I decided to get the ATS (say instead of the CRITR) because I wanted the option of the double belay slots. (I come from a climbing background and I have used tube style belay/rappel devices for many years.) I found that setting it up in Jester mode with a soft 8mm rope, that it slowly slipped under body weight. Perhaps with a stiffer/fatter rope, it might not slip, but I don't think using the ATS in Jester mode is a good idea. BTW Sterling now makes a stainless steel version of the ATS. It's over three times the cost, but they claim that it's has five times the wear.
Update: I tried it with a stiffer 8mm rope (a Bluewater static line that I've had for a number of years) and it did hold, but just barely. (I weigh about 150 pounds, but I did swing and bounce on it.) It held better when using a carabiner that had a sharper spine (not surprising) and it seemed to work better when pushing the rope through convex side and having the spine of the break 'biner on the concave side. I also had to be careful about how I connected the top of the ATS to the anchor so that it didn't pinch the rope which would complicate things if you had to lower someone. In any case, as with the Totem, one would want to tie off the other side or have someone hold onto it (which could be the next person setting up to rappel). I don't know if Sterling would approve of this use, but it does appear that it could be done if one practices and knows the limitations. I may post a photo on one of the canyoneering FB pages and see how people respond.
Thanks for the response back. Sounds like there is a bit less friction than I anticipated with the shape of it, guess though it depends on which side you set up on. Sounds like you set it up on the least friction direction which is probably the best option given that you don't want to have to fight it if lowering someone, you want to have your hand on the brake in order to control the speed instead of fighting the device for control. The diameter of rope certainly plays a role in the system even with a Totem. A smaller slicker diameter of rope will slide through the Totem as well just as you described it doing with the ATS. Great job practicing and trying it out.
Thank you for another good video! I have used the Jester a bunch and it works very well as advertised because you get so much flexibility. I have never had to haul in an emergency on it but I like the options ease with which you can add a pcd. I will sometimes run it single line and keep the second strand in the bag at the top bc it has a built-in hands free back up if you have to lower off of it. In your experience, do you get rope slipping while using the Jester in anything larger than 8mm?
Hey! The big question here is what happens when things go wrong? With people rapping on one strand and others subsequently rigging/rapping on the other, one carabiner as a safety is asking for trouble. Rappeller gets stuck on one strand, and you as the anchor station monitor are hoping to release it. That may be easy depending on the strand they're on, it may be extremely difficult if they're on the wrong side. Would you agree that it'd be better to use 2 carabiners to safety, and pass the strands (read: bight) through opposing sides of the device?
Hmmm.... nice “Devils Advocate” scenario 👍🏻. It’s def easy to say you can assume that everything will always go as planned. There’s always a “what if” in canyoneering. Now I can’t say that I agree with the 2 carabiner idea or I would have set it up that way in the first place, but the concept is certainly a worthy one to consider. Both stands if rigged equally should be loaded alike and therefore one wouldn’t be any more difficult to unload if it’s a free stand. Certainly you would have to have a rappeller on that strand disconnect before it could be used to unload the other side of the stuck system.
We use the Jester in Monterrey México when guiding popular routes and canyons. Speed is paramount in such instanstances and the jester is an awesome tool for the situations we encounter.
Awesome!! Thanks for watching.
I just learned the ‘joker’ on a totum and kind of prefer it. It uses 2 caribeeners which allows for isolating just one rope if you have to. It’s almost the same idea as the jester. Personally I’ve never needed either, but I love learning about them.
The 'Joker' rigging was the pre-cursor to the Jester rigging. Most canyoneers have dropped the Joker in favor of the Jester. I never really got into using the Joker as I just went straight into the Jester so I don't have much experience to speak from on the difference in friction and lowering. The great thing about having all these techniques in mind is you get to use which you prefer. Would love to hear back on it and see how it works for you. Maybe I'll try using it a bit more and see how it compares.
I’ve been waiting for more Totem videos!
Thanks for following 😊. I’m hoping to get a few more done over the next month. With changes in society right now I’m not getting into canyons so hoping to find me a cameraman that can help film some more in depth tutorials on our practice wall.
North Wash Outdoors I actually bought a Totem based on your first video featuring one. I really like it as it is very versatile, almost a multi tool for climbing. I also enjoy your teaching style & am always on the lookout for your videos. Keep up the great work!
Thanks 😊. Glad they have helped.
I use the jester very frequently. The last time it didn’t work out so well for our last man. Otherwise, I’ve used this for one person rappelling and a contingency to creep rope and minimize edge wear, an efficiency increased in back to back rappels, and as a way for two people to rappel at the same time. Quite effective.
It works very well for those scenarios. It can be a little tricky to convert it for last man. I’m glad your guy wasn’t hurt too bad in your incident.
What would be the disadvantage of rigging this Jester contingency anchor vs the "totem-block" style? Playing around with it, feels like the main disadvantage I see is that lowering someone on the jester is a lot slower vs the block, which can be lowered very quickly? The jester also allows for a backup belay using a second rope easily, which feels like a great advantage for guiding a less experienced group where you want to back up the first person because they don't have a fireman belay below them
Sounds like you have already answered your own question for the most part. The difference in the choice between using the Totem Block vs. The Jester is in the application. With the Totem block it's a single line down for a single rappeller. In using the Jester, you set it up with twin lines going down so you can speed up the process, having two rappellers on simultaneously (if the anchor will support it), or having a 2nd rigging in ready to go on the other line once the first rappeller is down. The Jester is used to speed up the process mainly in a large group while still affording you the opportunity to have a contingency rig in case of incidents. The big disadvantage to it is that the whole system has to come off the anchor in the end in order to make the rope retrievable where the Totem Block can be left in place and still be retrieved. And yes, the lowering on the Jester is a bit slower and more cumbersome. Thanks for watching and commenting. It's a good intellectual discussion and I love talking about rope rigging :)
Great video!
Thank you sir!
Do you think it would be possible to set up a Jester on a Sterling ATS?
I haven't tried it. Give it a shot and see how it works and let me know. However, my initial thoughts are with the shape of the ATS there is going to be some binding on the rope that would give a bit more friction on a lower so keep that in mind. Also the length of the ATS vs. Totem will play into how much friction is added. I'd love to hear some results on it.
@@NorthWashOutdoors So I just got my ATS in the mail and did some preliminary tests in my basement. I decided to get the ATS (say instead of the CRITR) because I wanted the option of the double belay slots. (I come from a climbing background and I have used tube style belay/rappel devices for many years.) I found that setting it up in Jester mode with a soft 8mm rope, that it slowly slipped under body weight. Perhaps with a stiffer/fatter rope, it might not slip, but I don't think using the ATS in Jester mode is a good idea. BTW Sterling now makes a stainless steel version of the ATS. It's over three times the cost, but they claim that it's has five times the wear.
Update: I tried it with a stiffer 8mm rope (a Bluewater static line that I've had for a number of years) and it did hold, but just barely. (I weigh about 150 pounds, but I did swing and bounce on it.) It held better when using a carabiner that had a sharper spine (not surprising) and it seemed to work better when pushing the rope through convex side and having the spine of the break 'biner on the concave side. I also had to be careful about how I connected the top of the ATS to the anchor so that it didn't pinch the rope which would complicate things if you had to lower someone. In any case, as with the Totem, one would want to tie off the other side or have someone hold onto it (which could be the next person setting up to rappel). I don't know if Sterling would approve of this use, but it does appear that it could be done if one practices and knows the limitations. I may post a photo on one of the canyoneering FB pages and see how people respond.
Thanks for the response back. Sounds like there is a bit less friction than I anticipated with the shape of it, guess though it depends on which side you set up on. Sounds like you set it up on the least friction direction which is probably the best option given that you don't want to have to fight it if lowering someone, you want to have your hand on the brake in order to control the speed instead of fighting the device for control. The diameter of rope certainly plays a role in the system even with a Totem. A smaller slicker diameter of rope will slide through the Totem as well just as you described it doing with the ATS. Great job practicing and trying it out.
Thank you for another good video!
I have used the Jester a bunch and it works very well as advertised because you get so much flexibility. I have never had to haul in an emergency on it but I like the options ease with which you can add a pcd. I will sometimes run it single line and keep the second strand in the bag at the top bc it has a built-in hands free back up if you have to lower off of it.
In your experience, do you get rope slipping while using the Jester in anything larger than 8mm?
I haven’t experienced any rope slippage on ropes larger than 8mm, usually just in the smaller ropes - 8mm and narrower.
Hey! The big question here is what happens when things go wrong? With people rapping on one strand and others subsequently rigging/rapping on the other, one carabiner as a safety is asking for trouble. Rappeller gets stuck on one strand, and you as the anchor station monitor are hoping to release it. That may be easy depending on the strand they're on, it may be extremely difficult if they're on the wrong side. Would you agree that it'd be better to use 2 carabiners to safety, and pass the strands (read: bight) through opposing sides of the device?
Hmmm.... nice “Devils Advocate” scenario 👍🏻. It’s def easy to say you can assume that everything will always go as planned. There’s always a “what if” in canyoneering. Now I can’t say that I agree with the 2 carabiner idea or I would have set it up that way in the first place, but the concept is certainly a worthy one to consider. Both stands if rigged equally should be loaded alike and therefore one wouldn’t be any more difficult to unload if it’s a free stand. Certainly you would have to have a rappeller on that strand disconnect before it could be used to unload the other side of the stuck system.