My gear is soaked --- is all hope lost?

Today all my tree gear (150' poly rope, New Tribe saddle, daisy rope, leather arborist gloves, backpack and rope bag) fell into a river. I came perilously close to drowning.

I thought I would try out an improvised watercraft. Little did I know I was actually trying out for the Darwin Awards.

Well, my foresight paid off to some degree, because I had all my gear (rope, wallet, keys, cell phone, digital camera) carabinered together, otherwise it would all be under by now. The only thing I lost was the one most expensive thing-my pair of glasses.

So I'm home now, and my beloved 150' poly arborist rope that I bought at a TCI workshop is soaked. I've got it strung across the backyard like a clothesline. Is it dead? Dare I climb with it again? I only just yesterday hauled it out to do a climb--the first climb of 2005, up a gorgeous and well-branched White Oak. I thought about sticking it in an oven set on low, but it's polyester, which I think might melt or at least harden in an oven.

My New Tribe saddle is also soaked. That thing has squishy, absorbent foam inside. God knows how long it will retain all that water.

I already have to buy new glasses, and probably a new cell phone too, and almost definitely a new camera.

Please tell me this stuff is salvagable!

John,

I would let your rope air dry completly before returning it to use and would not worry about its bath.

The other gear will need slow drying with good air circulation with an eye towards not letting anything mildew.

Sorry about your spill but I believe that nothing is lost except your glasses.

See you at the top,
Dan

I recently soaked my rope and saddle climbing in the rain, everything dried out fine.

I know of several people who've dunked their digital cameras and successfully dried them out. If the water was silty there will be a problem. If it was a clear body of water there is only drying out to do. You can take it to a camera repair person who can disassemble it and improve the chances of a successful dry out.
-moss

John,
You're still upset. You could have drowned and you lost your eye glasses.
I think your saddle and rope will be fine. The best thing to do after a tramautic incident is to respect your feelings and keep your routine.
Hang in there.
Robert

The camera is shot. Which is not so bad, considering it's six years old and four times the size of its current equivalent.

The phone turned out to be insured. $50 deductible. That's my big relief.

The glasses could have been cheaper.

And yes, it goes without saying, I am lucky and grateful to be alive. In spite of my concentrated, focused stupidity, Someone Up There didn't want me drowning yesterday.

Sometimes I get to wondering if the spirit world is responsible for throwing us shaking “wake up messages”. I’ve personally gotten a number of these “are you really awake to what life has to offer” messages that I’ve lost count. They always leave me breathless and thinking on my mortal nature. Material stuff can always be replaced. Life is precious and fragile. Your gear will dry out and you now have a good reason to upgrade your clunky camera. Take heart.

your gear will be fine after it drys out
you are supose to wash your rope ever once and a while in the washing machine Dont us any soap just run it using cold water
and then air dry make sure dry before puting away use some lght oil on any metal part becareful of getting any oil on your lines