Buried Holdfasts (Figure 8:3)

8.5 Buried Holdfasts (Figure 8:3)

With this holdfast, a stout piece of timber, a length of steel girder, a large diameter water pipe or a vehicle spare wheel is required. A trench is dug to accommodate the material used and a small outlet made at right angles to the trench to allow the rope or wire to come to the surface. The greater the load to be applied the deeper the trench should be. It must be appreciated that the buried holdfast is only satisfactory where the angle between ground level and the rope is small. This being the case, the trench need not be filled in, but a rescuer should be detailed to check the holdfast when the initial load is applied.