Basic+ Winch Rigging (1 Viewer)

[pigmony]

This is probably not an "advanced" winch rigging question, but I think it goes beyond basic rigging.

Yesterday, my coworker and I were driving our tracked SXS up to a tower site near Big Sky and we buried it. The bottom of the tracks were 4 feet below the top of the snow and the tracks were not on the ground yet. I think the snow was 6+ feet deep in that location. We couldn't open the doors, but I was able to get out through the window and hike back to our truck. The wire winch line on our SXS is only 50 feet and we were 75-80 feet from a solid anchor point. I hiked back to the truck and got a ratchet strap, which we used as a winch extension by tying overhand/water knots into it. About an hour later, we self rescued and then proceeded on to the tower site. We couldn't drive the last incline to the tower site and had to hike the last 300 feet or so, with all our gear. It was a bit of a thing.

The overhand/water knots required the use of a marlin spike to undo, and we needed that ratchet strap to secure our SXS to the trailer to get home. I have a marlin spike on my multitool, so that wasn't the end of the world, but I decided, right then and there, that I want a real winch extension in our recovery kit.

On to the actual question:
Say I buy a 100 foot synthetic winch line and put appropriate eyes on either end. How do you shorten a synthetic winch extension? For example, maybe I need 35 feet of extension with my winch line all the way out. Do you just double it over with a snatch block as much as needed? Any photos or links to SAFE examples?

Thank you!

 

[clrussell]

This sounds like an exciting day at work.

I’m here for the learning

 

[elkun1]

don't know the proper answer but i personally would cut the 100 ft in half, splice end loops on each piece and carry a couple soft shackles and of course a tree saver. hope you took a pic of the extension you made, that sounded interesting. on a side note i think i'd carry 1 or 2 extra ratchet straps for when i got stupid and cut my tiedown.

 

[pigmony]

don't know the proper answer but i personally would cut the 100 ft in half, splice end loops on each piece and carry a couple soft shackles and of course a tree saver. hope you took a pic of the extension you made, that sounded interesting. on a side note i think i'd carry 1 or 2 extra ratchet straps for when i got stupid and cut my tiedown.

Having a couple 50 foot extensions does sound like a better plan, and more soft shackles. Two is not an adequate number of soft shackles. If, by chance, you drop a soft shackle into the deep powder snow that you've just spent 20 minutes busting trail through, it's going to disappear and require a good five minutes of very taxing shovel work to recover. I do have extra ratchet straps in my work truck, but we took the fancy rig up because we drove through the Yellowstone Club.

I did not take any photos during the recovery. My coworker is not at the same level of physical fitness as I am. (The shortcomings of my own physical fitness really come into focus above 7,500 feet.) I was working pretty hard to move around in the snow and make sure we didn't end up in a bad situation. Here's a couple photos from the actual tower site:

We went in through the roof hatch. I didn't want to dig the door out and the seals are likely frozen anyway.

Roof Hatch.

Coworker headed back down after we got our work done.

 

[geo5]

Cool work day @pigmony !

For Xmas this year I received a safe xtract x-lock, after seeing its use demo’d by an instructor last summer.

Super versatile little piece, can use it to shorten a winch line, create a bridle, self belay, line re-direct, and more.

X-Locks & Pulley Blocks - Safe-Xtract®

www.safe-xtract.com

 

[pigmony]

That X lock is neat, but I feel like I'd need to carry a manual with me to use it.

 

[geo5]

That X lock is neat, but I feel like I'd need to carry a manual with me to use it.

Totally! They have an app with instructions LOL

 

[pigmony]

This is an idea I've come across. I'll see if I can get a couple appropriately sized master links and do some testing.

I just mocked this up for the photo on the desk with alpine cord and rappel rings. I don't love the need for metal hardware in the center of a tensioned line, which is also an issue with the X-Lock.

 

[REZARF]

Seth, glad you’re home safe man. Things can go sideways quick especially in deep snow at elevation. I’m sure you’ve considered support gear but a few less common things I toss in the cruiser in the winter are: snowshoes, MSR snow shovel, ice axe, spikes for boots, a tarp to lay on, hand warmer packs, hat/gloves, insulated water bottle cover. I’m sure you’ve considered have the basics like that.

I would toss in an extra winch line of like you said. I’m a big fan of custom splice Diamond lines. I’ve pulled on them HARD and they’ve held up. Leaving line on the drum is a. Easy way to “shorten” your extension but you lose max pulling power.

I remember watching Bill Butk shorten a winch line (synthetic) but I can’t remember how. He made it look easy so it is possible. It would be a good skill to master.

I’m a fan of snatch blocks whenever possible. Double the winches pulling power and half the speed… slow and steady!