Front	Side

Technical Details

I made this Storrick Gibbs Foot Adapter sometime around 1977.

The Adapter is 47 mm. long, 62 mm. wide, 38 mm. high, and weighs 110 g. The channel is made from 15 gage (1.7 mm.) steel sheet metal bent to shape. the bolts are 1/4-20 x 1-1/2 UNC stainless steel, with the top and bottom bolts cut flush with the nuts. A two-piece nylon bushing would support a normal 1/2" Gibbs ascender. The notch in the channel clears the spring screw found on 1/2" Spring-loaded Gibbs.

Comments

I made this adapter as part of my second Gibbs rig, having abandoned the floating Gibbs system for a while in favor of a return to climbing with Prusik Knots. I published that climbing system in Nylon Highway #8 in 1978.

The key feature of this rig was that the Gibbs would rotate freely. This made it easy to start a climb the need for real or simulated rope weight below the foot. Nobody needed to apply tension, and I didn't need to loop the rope under the opposite foot.

I soon replaced the standard Gibbs ascender with a Spring-loaded Gibbs. This helped ensure that the Gibbs "caught" on each step, reducing the need to step outwards to ensure a good catch.

I was never fully satisfied with this design. Attaching the Gibbs beside the foot instead of on top places some torque on the foot. This can be uncomfortable or worse. One of my friends who copied this idea climbed out of Ellisons and then spent several days on crutches as a result. I never fully solved the problem, and offering a reward to anyone who could failed to find a fully satisfactory solution (the reward offer has expired). Everything is compromise.

The system I published has been lost to history. Most people no longer use Gibbs ascenders. The double-bungie ropewalker system has replaced foot Gibbs rope-walking systems for long, free drops. People now prefer chest rollers, forgetting how much better the shoulder Gibbs Gibbs was for dealing with pit lips. I switched to the Cuddington System, arguably the most versatile ascending system. As for my friend, I taught her the Frog and she used it from then on. This may surprise people who think I am anti-Frog. I'm not, I am just anti-Frog-Religion.