CTOMS’ TRACE Systems is billed as the world’s smallest and lightest comprehensive capability micro-rope system. TRACE was designed to allow users to rappel, ascend, throw up a guiding line, and more, with a fraction of the weight and bulk of traditional rope systems.

Development started in 2009 for a micro egress system, which evolved into the TRACE Systems. Catastrophic system failure in traditional rescue systems is mitigated by brute strength of all components, and in recreational climbing via elongation, or stretch of the rope when excessive force is applied. TRACE Systems have neither, therefore in order to get the system so small, a relatively new concept of “Force Limiting” has been engineered into it. The devices, working with specific rope, will slide between 2.5 and 5.7kN depending on variable factors (device wear, rope wear, wet rope, brake hand strength, etc.), which is called the “load limiting slip force”. When excessive force is applied to the system the rope slips through the device until the force is reduced to somewhere between 2.5 and 5.7kN. This limits the force experienced by the system to the load limiting slip force. Should the rope not be allowed to slip through the device due to fouling for example, then the static system safety ratio, or Factor of Safety (FoS) comes into effect.

Due to the engineering of the system, TRACE Kits are “systems” and as such sold only as kits. Rope substitutions are not authorized as there is no evidence to support their use, and some evidence to show it is dangerous. Many tests we have done with alternate ropes have catastrophically damaged the rope where minimal damage occurs to TRACE Systems rope in the same tests. Due to the differences in rigging rules of TRACE Systems, every kit comes with access to the online basic training course. More details on this will be shared in a future ‘High Angle Solutions’ post.

CTOMS just launched their kits, now available for retail purchase online. Note the pricing on the website is in CAD. Agency discounts are available if you contact them directly. Advanced training in climbing and rescue can be contracted through CTOMS or one of their Authorized TRACE Systems TRAINING Providers. More information can be found here: ctoms.ca/Mission-Essential-Training_3/Complex-Terrain-Programs

ctoms.ca/Mission-Essential-Equipment/TRACE-Systems-Kits

High Angle Solutions is a new weekly feature by DMM and CTOMS.

Tags: CTOMS

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 7th, 2015 at 14:00 and is filed under Mountaineering. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.