An ascender is a device (usually mechanical) used for directly ascending, or for facilitating protection, with a fixed rope when climbing on steep mountain terrain. A form introduced in the 1950s became so popular it began the term "Jumar" for the device, and the verb "to jumar" to describe its use in ascending.
32-505: A Petzl Croll is an ascending device used in caving and industrial rope access made by the French company Petzl . Its name comes from the town Crolles where Petzl's company headquarters are located but might also be a reference to the nearby cave system of the Dent de Crolles , the exploration of which triggered a lot of technical effort leading to innovation in caving equipment. The Croll
64-422: A climber than the traditional method of ascending and descending ropes using friction knots and short lengths of cordage (or nylon slings) known as prusiks . The principal disadvantages of ascenders relative to the "prusiks" are weight, complexity, and possibility of failure due to coming off a rope or mechanical issue with the device. Certain specialty forms of ascender - but not all - are capable of taking
96-465: A dynamic load (as in preventing a fall), whereas the friction knot/Prusik combination may abrade the synthetic sheath of the climbing rope or sling and fuse under such extreme forces. John Hunt, Baron Hunt Henry Cecil John Hunt, Baron Hunt , KG , CBE , DSO (22 June 1910 – 7 November 1998) was a British Army officer who is best known as the leader of the successful 1953 British expedition to Mount Everest . Hunt
128-427: A locking carabiner, come off the rope, and fail by shredding the rope at high loads, rather than slipping and fusing as with friction knots). A mechanical ascender employs a cam which allows the device to slide freely in the intended direction of movement, but provide a firm grip on the rope when pulled in the opposite direction. To prevent an ascender from accidentally coming off the rope, a locking mechanism or trigger
160-631: A record mark on Everest with a Swiss expedition of 1952). News of the expedition's success reached London on the morning of Queen Elizabeth II 's coronation . Returning to Kathmandu a few days later, they discovered that Hillary had been made a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire and Hunt a Knight Bachelor for their efforts. He received his knighthood on his return to London in July 1953. Further honours were showered on Hunt and
192-480: A rescue. A form of sport climbing exists where the "second" belays the leader, then follows "up the rope" without climbing the rock or ice using an ascender. Terms applying to such a second's ascent include "jumaring", "ascending", and "jugging". The first mechanical rope ascending devices were created by Henri Brenot, and were used in France both for mountaineering and caving as early as 1934. A popular example of
224-727: A war substantive major and acting lieutenant colonel , Commanding Officer (CO) of the 11th Battalion of the KRRC. Forming the motorised infantry element of the 23rd Armoured Brigade , Hunt led the battalion in the Italian Campaign . In 1944, Hunt received an immediate award of the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) for his leadership in bitter fighting on the River Sangro , in addition to his battalion, he commanded attached troops from other arms, and
256-411: Is deployed. The ascender is first attached to the climber's harness by a piece of webbing or sling and then is clipped onto the rope and locked on. Ascenders are usually used in pairs so that one is free to be slid up the rope whilst the other bears the weight of the climber. The ascender which has just been slid upwards is then made to take the climber's load, locking the climber to the rope, and freeing
288-575: Is normally used in the chest position and in conjunction with an upper ascender or Jumar . This configuration allows a climber, caver or rope access worker to rapidly ascend a rope. In 1968 Bruno Dressler asked Fernand Petzl , who worked as a metals machinist, to build a rope-ascending tool, today known as the Petzl Croll, that he had developed by adapting the Jumar to the specificity of pit caving. Following these developments, Fernand Petzl started in
320-467: The 1953 British Mount Everest expedition , credits the jumar with enabling climbers "to climb at alpine standards even at high altitudes". Other countries, notably the United States, have also produced rope ascenders. Other names for different specialized styles of ascenders include 'ropeman' and 'tibloc'. Used correctly, ascenders are safe, dependable, and require less effort and dexterity of
352-605: The Alpine Club and the Royal Geographical Society . He applied to join the 1936 Everest Expedition , but was turned down when an RAF medical discovered a minor heart problem. He married Joy Mowbray-Green on 3 September 1936, and she also took part (along with Reggie Cooke ), in Hunt's 1937 Himalayan trip which included reconnaissance of Kangchenjunga , the south-western summit of Nepal Peak, and only
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#1732772702689384-821: The Himalayas while serving in India. He made a guided ascent of Piz Palu at 14. He was educated at Marlborough College before entering the Royal Military College, Sandhurst , where he was awarded the King's Gold Medal and the Anson Memorial Sword. After Sandhurst, Hunt was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the King's Royal Rifle Corps (KRRC) on 30 January 1930. Among his fellow graduates were Charles Harington and Alan Brown . In 1931,
416-700: The 1966 Queen's Birthday Honours he was created a Life Peer for his work with young people, his title being gazetted as Baron Hunt , of Llanvair Waterdine in the County of Salop . He was the first Chairman of the Parole Board , and his advisory work on policing in Northern Ireland led to the Hunt Report with its recommendation for the disbanding of the B-Specials and creation of
448-536: The 1970s a small caving equipment manufacturing company Petzl . This climbing -related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Ascender (climbing) Ascenders can also be used as a braking component within a rope-hauling system, often used in rescue situations. Ascenders are usually used in pairs on a single rope and offer similar functionality to friction knots , but are faster, safer and easier to use, albeit still with consequences in weight and in security (as ascenders can, even with
480-601: The Army, being posted as assistant commandant of Sandhurst . Following his retirement from military service in 1956, when he was granted the honorary rank of brigadier , he became the first Director of the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme , a post he held for ten years. He left an account of the British Caucasus Expedition in 1958. Hunt was Committee Chairman of Plas y Brenin from 1955 to 1965, and in
512-513: The French had permission to mount an expedition in 1954 and the Swiss in 1955, meaning that the British would not have another opportunity until 1956 at the earliest. Many members of the expedition felt a strong loyalty to Shipton, and were unhappy with his replacement. Edmund Hillary was one of those most opposed to the change, but was soon won round by Hunt's personality and frank admission that
544-503: The Middle East and Europe. He was granted the substantive rank of major in 1946, becoming substantive colonel in 1952. Hunt was employed on the staff at Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF) when he received the surprise invitation to lead the 1953 British Mount Everest expedition. It had been expected that Eric Shipton would lead the expedition, as he had led the (unsuccessful) British attempt on Cho Oyu
576-696: The ascender is the jumar, named for its inventors Adolph Jüsi and Walter Marti and the Swiss firm Jümar Pangit they created to manufacture it, beginning in 1958. Jusi was studying eagles for the Swiss Government, and desired an ascender (rather than relying on the traditional technique of prusiking using friction knots ; Marti developed one for him. French caver Fernand Petzl developed a mechanical rope ascender in 1968, and his company Petzl continues to produce both handled and handleless models that are popular with mountaineers and cavers today. In his 1978 memoir Life Is Meeting , John Hunt , leader of
608-520: The change had been badly handled. Hunt planned for three assaults of two climbers each including "a third and last attempt" if necessary, although after two consecutive assaults a wait would be necessary to "recover our strength" and to replenish the camps. Base Camp was established on 12 April 1953. The next few days were taken up with establishing a route through the Khumbu Icefall , and once opened, teams of Sherpas moved tons of supplies up
640-850: The expedition team: the Hubbard Medal of the National Geographic Society , the first time the medal was awarded on a collective basis, though individual bronze replicas were made for Hunt, Hillary and Norgay; the Founder's Medal of the Royal Geographical Society; the Lawrence medal of the Royal Central Asian Society ; and honorary degrees from Aberdeen , Durham , and London universities. Hunt returned to active duty in
672-463: The mountain. A succession of advanced camps were created, slowly forging higher up the mountain. By 21 May, Wilfrid Noyce and Annullu had reached the psychological milestone of the South Col . Hunt had selected two climbing pairs to attempt the summit. The first pair ( Tom Bourdillon and Charles Evans ) set out on 26 May but were forced to turn back after becoming exhausted high on the mountain. On
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#1732772702689704-404: The other one so it can then be slid upwards too. The process is then repeated to ascend the rope. For climbing on with a fixed rope attached for security (for example, to snow anchors on a steep slope) only one ascender is used, keeping the other hand free for holding an ice axe . Ascenders are not used on free climbing routes, where a climber uses only their hands and feet on the features of
736-538: The previous year from which the majority of the climbers were drawn. However, the Joint Himalayan Committee of the Alpine Club and Royal Geographical Society that oversaw British attempts on Everest decided that Hunt's military leadership experience and undoubted climbing credentials would provide the best hope for success. It was felt to be critical that this expedition should be successful as
768-469: The recommendation for his DSO states that he was constantly in the forefront of the fighting, organising raids and ambushes to keep the enemy forces on the back foot, and himself leading reconnaissance patrols deep behind enemy lines. In October 1944, his battalion was transferred to Greece , just as the tensions that would lead to the Greek Civil War were becoming evident. In Greece, Hunt
800-586: The regiment was posted to India. He was promoted lieutenant in 1933. Despite his background he seems not to have been entirely comfortable with the prevailing social climate of the Raj. He preferred rugby to polo , and having already gained fluency in German and French he added Urdu and some Bengali . In 1934 he became a Military Intelligence officer in the Indian Army, with the local rank of captain , and
832-476: The rock without artificial aids to gain elevation (though mechanical aids purely for protection are acceptable). Instead, they are used in aid climbing , where aids to ascending and weighting "protection" to assist elevation gain is allowed. The climbing verb "to jumar" means to use an ascender (generically) to "climb" a rope, regardless of whether it is done in sport climbing , caving , in occupations that require working from (or being protected by) ropes, or
864-592: The same day, Hunt himself climbed to 8,350 metres (27,395 ft) with Da Namgyal Sherpa to leave a cache of equipment on the Southeast Ridge for the second summit party. On 28 May, the expedition made its second assault on the summit with the second climbing pair. The summit was eventually reached at 11:30 am on 29 May 1953 by the New Zealander Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay from Nepal (Norgay had previously ascended to
896-776: The third ascent of the Zemu Gap , between Kangchenjunga and Simvo . Here they saw tracks that one of the party's Sherpas told them were those of the Yeti . In 1938 he returned for a further period of secondment in Military Intelligence, being promoted substantive captain . Upon returning to the United Kingdom in 1940, Hunt became chief instructor at the Commando Mountain and Snow Warfare School, Braemar . He returned to regimental duty in 1943 as
928-487: Was appointed temporary brigadier and given command of the 11th Indian Infantry Brigade , part of the 4th Indian Infantry Division , at Patras . He described attempting to keep the peace between the various factions as "the most tense and difficult period in all my experience, before or since". For his efforts there Hunt was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in June 1945. In contrast to Italy, he
960-704: Was born in Simla , British India on 22 June 1910, the son of Captain Cecil Edwin Hunt of the Indian Army , and a great-great-nephew of the explorer Sir Richard Burton . His father was killed in action during the First World War . Hunt, from the age of 10, spent much holiday time in the Alps , learning some of the mountaineering skills he would later hone while taking part in several expeditions in
992-479: Was ordered not to take the initiative and had to cope with large hostile forces threatening him, and infiltration by armed civilians as well as increasing numbers of insults to his troops. Hunt kept the situation calm, and when finally allowed to act, and reinforced he planned and executed a successful operation. He then attended the Staff College, Camberley in 1946, followed by various staff appointments in
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1024-789: Was seconded to the Indian Police . At this time the Indian independence movement was gaining ground, and Bengal was particularly affected. Hunt even worked undercover , gathering intelligence in Chittagong while dressed in local clothing . He returned to his regiment in 1935, having been awarded the Indian Police Medal . Throughout this period Hunt continued to climb in the Himalayas . In 1935, with James Waller's group, he attempted Saltoro Kangri , reaching 24,500 feet (7,470 m). This exploit led to his election to
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