ExcitableBoy - May 6, 2015 10:49 pm - Hasn't voted
Thanks!
Thanks for the lovely article! I've been using this knot, previously known to me simply as an 'auto block' to back up rappels. Nice to know the true name and history.
I have added two photos of Serge (unfortunately not very good). A longer article in French will be published shortly on the French Alpine Club blog of Marseille and it may bring some more testimonials. Glad that you liked it. Many of my British climbing friends have been using this knot believing it was a variant of the Prusik knot, but that is not the case. But what matters is that it is so useful !
I only wrote "maybe". I do not know obviously and I make no argument about it. Invented by Karl Prusik in 1931 so 30 years before the Machard's, of course his knot has been in use that much longer; but for very long it was used for ascending a rope much more than for abseiling. The question between the two is more about their advantages and disadvantages. Almost all my climbing friends over time, including ENSA guides (I am talking about climbing in the sixties, seventies and eighties) when using an autoblock knot have at one time or another switched to the Machard or its "French" variant. The Prusik tends to block itself much more than the Machard particularly in wet or freezing conditions and may become more difficult to untie than the Machard.
But I do not want to make an argument about it so interesting it could be to some. My prime intent was to honour the memory of a young climber who could have become a friend of mine.
Good to see you on SP again - and thanks for another interesting but also useful piece of history. I spent much of my youth dangling from prussic knots, which can be difficult to 'un-block' sometimes. I never heard of the Machard. It looks easier to un-block. Not that I like dangling from things these days, but I am tempted to try it out.
Best wishes, Mark
Thanks Mark. Try it and you will adopt it, for sure. Always have two Machard slings with you on your harness. Do not forget that with all the snow climbs you do, it will be useful to get out of a crevasse (of course provided your partner stayed on top of it).
ExcitableBoy - May 6, 2015 10:49 pm - Hasn't voted
Thanks!Thanks for the lovely article! I've been using this knot, previously known to me simply as an 'auto block' to back up rappels. Nice to know the true name and history.
ericvola - May 7, 2015 1:36 pm - Hasn't voted
ThanksI have added two photos of Serge (unfortunately not very good). A longer article in French will be published shortly on the French Alpine Club blog of Marseille and it may bring some more testimonials. Glad that you liked it. Many of my British climbing friends have been using this knot believing it was a variant of the Prusik knot, but that is not the case. But what matters is that it is so useful !
jacobsmith - May 9, 2015 12:08 am - Hasn't voted
Most used?I strongly suspect that the most used auto-block knot is the prusik, which has been around a whole lot longer than the 1960s…
ericvola - May 9, 2015 4:35 am - Hasn't voted
Prusik or Machard most used ?I only wrote "maybe". I do not know obviously and I make no argument about it. Invented by Karl Prusik in 1931 so 30 years before the Machard's, of course his knot has been in use that much longer; but for very long it was used for ascending a rope much more than for abseiling. The question between the two is more about their advantages and disadvantages. Almost all my climbing friends over time, including ENSA guides (I am talking about climbing in the sixties, seventies and eighties) when using an autoblock knot have at one time or another switched to the Machard or its "French" variant. The Prusik tends to block itself much more than the Machard particularly in wet or freezing conditions and may become more difficult to untie than the Machard.
But I do not want to make an argument about it so interesting it could be to some. My prime intent was to honour the memory of a young climber who could have become a friend of mine.
markhallam - May 15, 2015 12:30 am - Voted 10/10
Bravo Eric!Good to see you on SP again - and thanks for another interesting but also useful piece of history. I spent much of my youth dangling from prussic knots, which can be difficult to 'un-block' sometimes. I never heard of the Machard. It looks easier to un-block. Not that I like dangling from things these days, but I am tempted to try it out.
Best wishes, Mark
ericvola - May 15, 2015 3:59 am - Hasn't voted
try it outThanks Mark. Try it and you will adopt it, for sure. Always have two Machard slings with you on your harness. Do not forget that with all the snow climbs you do, it will be useful to get out of a crevasse (of course provided your partner stayed on top of it).
Best
MoapaPk - May 16, 2015 2:55 pm - Hasn't voted
back-up for rappelThat is the way I was taught to tie back-up autoblocks for rappel. If only I ever used it! ;)
CEIGE - Aug 4, 2015 4:39 pm - Voted 10/10
Great articleReally informative, very interesting, and very thorough. Excellent article.