Climb-Eze

by Phil Rowe
One day, while visiting a nearby underground uranium mining company, I happened to chat with the resident safety engineer and the ventilation engineer. The topic was mine rescue, specifically how to use the ventilation duct system for escape should the elevator be broken or inaccessible. Several ideas were discussed, including the use of ropes dropped down the huge vertical vent pipes for climbing up and out.

Well, I don't know about you, but the thought of climbing up a 200 foot rope, even when motivated by a mine fire, seems impossible. Something was needed to make such an idea feasible. And that's how I came to invent a system I called "Climb-Eze".

Climbing a rope is much easier if you use your legs primarily and arms secondarily. Your legs are much stronger than your arms. And it would be helpful if you could stop, rest and get your breath during the climbing process. All these factors contributed to the design requirements for my new product.

Climb-Eze is simple, low-tech and low cost. It relies upon a simple cam-locking system to ensure a non-slip grip on the rope. The climbers own weight is sufficient to lock the device at any point up or down the rope climb. Hand grips and foot grips (with toe loops) are used in pairs. A safety harness (similar to a parachute harness) affords both a resting seat and precludes falling if the climber looses his grip or passes out.

Several examples were built and tested. The components were tested in a mechanical laboratory to demonstrate strength and safety margins of materials and design. The local fire department tried Climb-EZE out at their multi-story tower, where they practice rappelling and rescue methods. A county sheriff's group tested the system for rescue operations. And the mining company tried it and liked it.

Only a few prototype systems were made. These included adaptors to accomodate climbing ropes of varying diameters, cables and even steel rods. But I never put the system into production or onto the market BECAUSE I could not get product liability insurance. Candidate insurance companies pointed out that I could be sued EVEN IF the problem turned out to be a defective rope.

I was dissuaded from proceeding further, but I remain convinced that CLIMB-EZE is still a needed and useful rescue system.