big wall gri gri

i apologise for what i am about to do. i know that i have been talking lot about the gri-gri lately.... which is kinda ridiculous considering i have a gri-gri made in 1994. i dont know about you but i have had climbing partners younger than my gri-gri. its funny age is a factor in trust with me and climbing....weird?

regardless what could make me want to climb down into that gri-gri hole again and start digging? well, glad you asked!... i was at the gym the other day doing some laps with the K.cloud and some gym newbie looks at our gri-gris and is puzzled.

"what's the deal with that?" he asked us, as he pointed the belay setup. not really cluing into what he was after i launch into an explanation of how we are lead belaying with gri-gri's. and despite what he may have read or heard its perfectly safe and blah blah blah....

he cuts me off!.... rude?! much? doesnt this douche realize i love the long winded Socratic dialogue as i imagine myself on the steps of the senate hall! come to me children for i will corrupt the youth!

yeah he didnt care, he was pointing to the accessory cord on our gri-gri's. oh! huh! i had gotten so used to this upgrade i thought everyone who had ever seen a gri-gri new about it. i explain to the neophyte that this is so i dont drop it.... he looks at me like im retarded.... "from up on route!" i emphasize. then the light bulb goes off and the one-sided conversation begins anew as i explain all the beni's of improving on the patent.


he quickly grows tired of my blathering... leaving me with a itch to scratch. so heres how you turn your average simple gri-gri in to a big wall gem impervious to the gravitational pull which seems to claim so many a climbers overly priced means of egress....impervious, in theory any way.

so first locate the Phillip's head set screw on the fixed plate side of your original model gri-gri. conveniently picture to the left for those not blessed with the skills of following written directions.





next, remove the screw, duh! try to get the appropriate size screw driver... stripping the screw now would suck as eventually you will need to access this screw again and if you wear it out you just destroyed a perfectly good belay device... competitively priced at $75 or more.

i also strongly urge you not to loose the screw! when i was a mechanic a while back i use get duct tape and make an "H" on the work bench. the center bridge of the "H" wold have the "sticky side" up! put the screw on the sticky side. "huh? ...it stays?"






so that screw attaches the black plastic base plate on the bottom of the device. with the screw out it's still attached, but you can pry down the rear section by the eyelet...like so (look to the left genius).

next you need some small diameter accessory cord, and a drill bit of equal size. avoid going too big...

once you have your hole, thread the cord through the hole and tie a knot. i suggest you use a double fisherman's as opposed to the simple over hand knot pictured here. things get snagged on things and...well, frankly i like a little more staying power than that provide by your best "granny knot"




once thats done put plate back in place and replace the screw...whew! didnt loose it!

a quick word on "cross threading" and "back threading"! cross threading is when you go at a screw or bolt and turn like a champ until you force that thing into it's home. this also destroys the threads (little ridges on the screw and inside the hole? they lock together? attaches tap "A" to slot "B"?). this tends to happens very easily when a harder material is threaded to a softer material.... ie the metal screw in the plastic hole!!!!

back threading is a method of ensuring you dont cross thread. so put the screw in the hole. now, rather than turning it in (lefty loosey, righty tighty) we turn the screw backwards ever so slowly and gently until we feel the screw drop into the treads! this method will line up the threads and allow you to not destroy your gri gri!!! enjoy that! put it in your mouth! suck on it! it's sweet...you like..


my last suggestion is the drilling site. first ill admit, once again lost camera...therefore none of these pictures are mine...

so above it shows the hole drilled froward of the screw. i prefer mine to be further back. either works and is a matter of personal preference. but this way i can make the cording shorter and less "snaggable" ...in theory anyway. you will have to work a little harder to make the knot fit, but i have faith "handy smurf".






last thing i wanted to point out is... ever wonder how old your gri-gri is?

lift up the handle and take a peak hmm this kid was born in 1995.... ha! mines older, but at least i dont have the super heavy first series...

hope you kids like the blathering, again question and comments are welcome. ie, im lonely... hug me...