Front	Rear	Left Side	Right Side

Front: Open for Rigging	Rear: Open for Rigging

Technical Details

I had Artyom Babin (Артём Бабин) order this Gurney (Каталка) from Orion-Alp (Орион-Альп) for me in 2021.

My Gurney is 213 mm. tall, 46 mm. wide, 32 mm. thick, and weighs 253 g.

The two side plates are made of 3 mm. aluminum, painted bright orange. One side plate pivots to allow threading the rope. The upper end of the side plates are offset to place the auxiliary bollard closer to the "up" side of the main rope. The lower ends of the side plates are bent to converge at the attachment point, which consists of a 14.1 mm. wide, 28.8 mm. high hole in the fixed side plate and a similar-size hook in the pivoting plate. A stamped, spring-loaded gate closes the lower hook. The bollards are turned aluminum with a milled slot to keep them from rotating on the fixed side plate. They are bolted to the fixed plate with M7 bolts and shoulder nuts, with the nuts staked to prevent loosening. The shoulders allow the pivoting plate to swing freely while firmly holding the bollards against the fixed plate. The pivoting side plate pivots on the lower bolt and has slots to allow clearing the auxiliary bollard and the shoulder nut on the top main bollard.

The pivoting plate is printed with "Орион-Альп," "СУ Каталка," "оа 0102," "Max. 150 кг," "Ø 10-12мм," and "10.2021." The bolt heads are marked with "TM" and "10.9."

Comments

The Gurney resembles some of the middle-age Petzl Simples. It lacks the fixed-plate reinforcing found on later Petzl Simples that may or may not prevent failure if someone tries to rappel without closing the bobbin.

The auxiliary bollard works very well for keeping the rope on the upper main bollard without binding, but is less satisfactory when used as part of the braking system. The rod is too small to function well as a third braking surface, has no means to ensure that the rope stays on the rod reliably, and is located where it forces the rope into an inconvenient position.