EARTHTRACES PORTABLE ROCKCLIMBING WALL



PORTABLE ROCKCLIMBING WALL

USE AND HANDLING

The AEG portable rockclimbing wall locks hydraulically in the raised position, with two-doubled 1-ton manual cam tie-downs providing 3-4 tons of backup safety. For climber safety there are three fully automatic climber belays (lowering systems) that require no human rope handlers. These auto-belays have dual redundant hydraulic/pneumatic load handling systems and use 4,200# load cable with an anti-binding, roller-bearing 4,000# swivel. On the wall end of the load cable there is a 4,200# backup cable to wall connector and on the climber end there is a 1,000# chest strap backing up the swivel, auto-locking 4,000# carabiner and harness. This system provides a 2 points connection of the climber to the load cable.

We know of no other organization taking such steps to assure and backup safety on their wall.

(The order shown below is important, please follow it closely.)

SETUP

1) Pull wall trailer into final position. Leave wall trailer attached to tow vehicle. Insure a level position has been selected.

2) If back-end wall trailer storage box is attached, remove cam lever strap then remove both the snap locking pin and the padlock from the hitch bolt installed in box attach point. Lift box safely out of the way. Move the box to near the middle of the passenger side of the wall trailer and reinsert it into the side-hitch mount located there. Re-install the hitch bolt; snap locking pin and padlock so the storage box cannot be removed. Store the cam lever straps nearby so they can be used to secure the wall once it is raised (a few minutes from now).

3) Inspect each of the 3 auto-belay climber cables. Do not use any cable that has a loosened crimp connector or shows fraying, kinking or penetrating rust. Lock out any such cable and report condition.

4) At the top of the lowered wall (inside the "tunnel" near the hitch), find and remove the cam lever strap from the wall lay-down "Y" support. The strap is hooked on the front metal tie loops attached to the trailer. Save the cam lever strap for use in securing the wall once it is raised.

5) At the top of the lowered wall (inside on the support beams), find and turn on the horn switch.

6) Attach yellow "UP"/"DOWN" control box wire to the round quick connect located on the driver's side near the back end of wall trailer.

7) Have a second person put tow vehicle into neutral (engine does not need to be on) and then stay in the driver’s seat to make sure the vehicle does not roll until the wall pulls it backwards. The first person then presses the "UP" button to raise wall to full upright position. Once the wall touches the ground (it will not yet be straight up), the wall will pull the tow vehicle backwards a few feet. The person in the driver’s seat should allow this to happen – if he uses the breaks at this time the wall will dig into the ground (or pavement) and scratch it up a bit. When the wall is fully raised, the sound of the hydraulic motor will change (to more of a struggling sound). Do not continue to operate hydraulic motor once wall is fully raised. Put tow vehicle into park. Chock trailer wheels with 2x4 blocks. Remove yellow control box and store in safe location in tow vehicle. Remove keys and lock tow vehicle.

8) Lower the two rear leveling jacks and carefully level the back portion of the trailer. This does not need to be exact and you should not attempt to raise the trailer off the ground with these jacks.

9) Now if you wish to remove the tow vehicle and use it for other purposes, it can be done at this time. Otherwise leave the tow vehicle locked to the climbing wall trailer. If it is removed, once the tow vehicle is out of the way, lower the front tongue jack until the hitch is level. If you remove the tow vehicle, you must attach the ball-hitch ball lock, the ball-hitch lever lock and the wheel and axle chain and lock.

10) Lower the two front side-leveling jacks and carefully level the front portion of the trailer.

11) Find the cam lever straps removed earlier above. On each side of the wall (behind the climbing surface) do the following: (1) Each strap has two hooks; hook both ends into the eyebolt at the bottom of the wall. (2) Run the long end (the piece without the cam lock) around the upright behind the taillight (look for the labeling "STRAP -->" to show where to run it). (3) Loop the strap securely around the upright 2 or 3 times for extra support. (4) Thread the long end through the cam lock and use the cam lever to tighten firmly. Do this on both sides of the wall. This is redundant safety to secure the raised wall in the upright position.

12) Remove rope stands and barrier rope from the black Integral Storage Box (“ISB”) mounted near the tongue of the trailer. Rope off area. Leave space for two 6' tables to be located ~20' in front of wall and entry-exit space next to tables. Un-strap and remove 2 tables from the wall trailer table storage area. Setup tables at front of roped area. Remove AEG literature, business cards, waiver forms & pen-clip boards & holders from the ISB and set up on 1st table. Remove yellow rope from ISB and layout on ground halfway between wall and tables. This is the "do not cross until it’s your turn" line for those that are harnessed up and ready to climb.

13) Remove the Edelweiss universal harnesses from the ISB and place on 2nd table. Do not lay harnesses on ground – dirt is not a good thing! Inspect the harnesses to make sure harnesses loops are not inside out and straps are properly tied through and back over buckles. Red marking on buckle should not be seen if strapped correctly.

14) Unlock chain holding auto-belay cables. Do not let go of cables or you will have to either climb (if one auto-belay is available) or lower wall to retrieve them. (Remember to remove the cam lever straps before attempting to lower wall.

15) When the wall is raised, inspect the hydraulic reservoir. It should be between the high and low level marks. If not, fill to the high level with standard multi-vehicle ATF (automatic transmission fluid). Do not use type “F” ATF. Be careful when releasing pressure from unit.

16) "Pump" each of the auto-belay cables individually by pulling down 3-4’ 5 or 6 times on each. This removes air that may be trapped in the auto-belay system.

17) Attach one auto-locking carabiner to the end of each auto-belay cable. Latch cable to wall by locking the carabiner onto one of the short green retainer straps (do not attach to the metal bracket - the metal to metal contact can damage the carabiner.

18) Inspect the air pressure on the hydraulic reservoir should be between 60-65 psi. If less than 60 psi, fill to 65 psi using the 12-volt mini compressor stored in the ISB. Use the 12-volt female connector is attached to the wall trailer battery. Do not overpressure system.

19) If 120 VAC is available, power the trickle charger next to the wall trailer battery using extension cords stored in the ISB.

WALL USE

1) Have climbers step into a harness that is near their size. It is OK to loosen straps, but do not let anyone pull the straps out of the buckles. This will create a lot of work for you to re-thread them through the buckles and can lead to potentially dangerous mistakes.

2) Allow no more than 10 persons into the roped climbing area at a time, lines should be no more than 4 deep and not cross the yellow line. More than 10 can put on harnesses at a time, but they should stay in line in front of the tables.

3) Only the wall attendant(s) should clip climbers into the wall. Do not allow climbers to clip or unclip. Clip the auto-locking carabiner onto a climber by pushing in on the locking button while twisting the locking mechanism and pushing the carabiner gate open. Clip onto the rappel loop on the front of the harness.

4) Place the chest loop (attached to the auto-belay cable) over the climber’s head and have them bring their arms up through the loop. Tighten the loop loosely high on the climber’s chest (right under their armpits is best) by pulling the plastic binder circle down to the climber.

5) If the climber weighs less than 60 pounds, a pull-down strap is attached to the back of their harness and allowed to trail behind them as they climb. If they are too light for the auto-belay, a wall attendant can help pull them down with the strap.

6) Allow the climber to climb. If the climber falls from higher than the 1st wall section (about 8’) if counts as a climb, otherwise the climber may make one more attempt before the turn is up. Climbers should not attempt to climb outside their section (left–middle–right) this will interfere with other climbers and can lead to dangerous swings if they fall. If a climber reaches the top, they should press the horn button at the top of each section to signal their accomplishment.

7) When a climber is ready to come down, tell them to simply lean back and walk down the wall with their legs shoulder width apart. Trying to climb down or coming down with their body vertical does not work well at all.

8) When the first turn is up, the climber may choose to climb the same section again, or go to the back of one of the other lines inside the roped climbing area.

9) Have the climber wait for a wall attendant to unclip them. The wall attendant can then clip in the next person in that line or clip the auto-belay to the cable holding loop for that section, located near the bottom of the wall.

10) Once a climber has completed 2 turns, they must go to the end of the line – outside the roped climbing area and wait for another turn. If there are not enough harnesses to handle those waiting in line, the climber will have to remove the harness and place on the harness table before leaving the roped climbing area.

11) WALL DIFFICULTY – Facing the wall, the middle section is the easiest. The left side is more difficult and the right side is the most difficult. Routes are marked with colored tags. If you want to climb a designated route (this is more difficult!), only use holds with the color tags of the route you want to climb.

TAKE DOWN.

1) Remove and store the barrier rope-off stands, rope and parts in the ISB. Disconnect 120 VAC power. Store extension cords in the ISB. Return AEG literature, materials and climbing harnesses to the ISB.

2) Fold up and store tables in the wall trailer table storage area. Secure firmly with the blue cam adjustable straps (one strap per pile of tables). Make sure the strap hooks are pointed open side of the “S” facing down when mounted.

3) Remove the auto-locking carabiners and store in the ISB. Thread the locking chain through the loop end of each auto-belay cable. Thread the chest webbing of each auto-belay cable onto the locking chain. Make sure this is done in such a way the plastic quick adjust loop on the chest webbing can not fall off when the trailer is transported. Lock the locking chain into the middle short green retainer strap.

4) Store any other loose items that will not be needed in the ISB. Close the ISB fully. Remove the cam lever straps connecting each side of the upright wall frame to the trailer frame and set aside for use in a few minutes.

20) Raise and lock into the transportation position both the two rear leveling jacks and the two front leveling jacks. Re-attach the tow vehicle completely, if it was removed earlier. (If you did remove the tow vehicle, you must remove the ball-hitch ball lock, the ball-hitch lever lock and the wheel and axle chain and lock.)

5) Raise the front hitch tongue jack fully.

6) Attach yellow "UP"/"DOWN" control box wire to the round quick connect located on the driver's side near the back end of wall trailer.

7) Remove the 2x4 chock blocks from the wall trailer wheels. Put tow vehicle into neutral (engine does not need to be on). Press "DOWN" button to lower wall to full lowered position. Have everyone stand back during this operation; the wall comes down fairly hard. It is best not to stop the lowering until complete. Do not continue to operate hydraulic motor once wall is fully lowered. Put tow vehicle into park.

8) At the top of the lowered wall (inside on the support beams), find and turn off the horn switch. At the top of the lowered wall (inside the "tunnel" near the hitch), reinstall the cam lever strap around the wall lay-down "Y" support. Loop the strap twice around the wall beam and hook the straps into the red colored metal tie loops on each side of the trailer. Use the cam lever to firmly securing the strap.

9) If back-end wall trailer storage box needs to be attached, remove hitch bolt from box attach point and lift box back onto wall trailer brackets. Re-install the hitch bolt with both the snap pin and padlock. Install the cam tie-down strap by hooking the long strap to the eyebolt at the bottom right side of the box. Run this up through the eyebolt on bottom right hand side of the backside of the wall. Continue running strap through the eyebolt on the bottom left hand side of the backside of the wall. Attach the short cam lever strap to the eyebolt on the bottom left of the box. Thread the long strap through the cam lever and tighten firmly. (Note: If the box does not need to be re-attached, save the strap with the yellow UP/DOWN control box inside the tow vehicle.)

TRANSPORTATION.

1) Connect the wall trailer wiring harness to the tow vehicle wiring harness. Verify lights, break lights and turn signals are working properly.

2) Check the wall trailer tires to insure they are properly inflated. Verify the crank-down lifting mechanism near the trailer tongue is fully retracted. Verify that the wall trailer ball connector release is PADLOCKED in the closed position. Verify that the 2 safety chains are properly attached. If back-end wall trailer storage box is attached, verify the hitch bolt with both snap pin and padlock are installed. Insure cam tie-down strap is installed to help lift weight of box.

3) Wall trailer will tow similar to a large boat. At speeds above approximately 55 mph, when being passed by large vehicles or in windy conditions, the trailer can begin to sway. Slow down to correct this condition. The breaks on the tow vehicle do all of the slowing and stopping for the vehicle and the trailer – allow extra stopping distance.

4) Do not tow with a cover on the rockwall or trailer. The wind will damage it.

5) Be sure the ball-hitch lever is down and the ball-hitch lever lock is in place whenever the trailer is being towed.

6) STORAGE: You must install the ball-hitch ball lock, the ball-hitch lever lock and the wheel and axle chain and lock.

SLACKLINE USE ON ROCKWALL TRAILER.

1) Remove slackline kit from ISB. Mount the ratchet end onto one of the red colored tie loops near the wall "Y" support at the front of the rockwall trailer.

2) Mount the long end to an available tree, vehicle or other structure on site. Run slackline over a grassed area for soft dismounts. If onsite mounts not available install the portable height supports stored in the ISB. This requires installing the 3 welded-loop ground anchors with equalization webbing and the 30” tripod for webbing height support. The tripods can be installed in any setup to standardize the slackline height. Carefully follow the tripod set-up and anchoring instructions the set-up instructions mounted on the inside cover of the ISB when using this equipment.

3) Follow the slackline setup instructions to complete a proper setup.

4) To better protect against injuries, line the ground under the slackline with the 4 crash pads provided with the setup.

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