![]() He was used to the seatbelt-like security of a Grigri. As he was finagling his way up a 12+ sport route in order to bolt a nearby 13c, he complained that I wasn't locking him off fast enough. Over the four months of testing, from visiting Indian Creek to long trad routes in Boulder Canyon, drytooling in Vail, and new-routing at various spots, I only got one complaint from a partner. Josh Wharton starts up T2 to Jules Verne to the Connection pitch to a new route in Eldorado Canyon. Since this part of the device is non-load bearing, there was no risk of injury, though he did retire the device on the spot. But on the rappel down, the clip-in cable on my partner's Mega Jul broke. The Mega Jul caught just as securely as the Pilot did. At the crux, a 5.13c pitch protected with a mix of bolts and removable gear, I caught a gear-ripping fall when an RP failed. For the first pitch, T2, I used the Pilot, but we both carried Mega Juls for the higher pitches. And since it's a single tube-style belay device, meaning it doesn't work with two ropes, I most often left it in my pack at the base of the climb when venturing high off the ground.Ī few weeks after Scary Canary, this time during a freezing cold and gusty day in Eldo, I helped a friend on a new route between the Naked Edge and the Diving Board. The Pilot device isn't designed for rappelling-and I never used it for that purpose-but I did, on several occasions, lower myself back to the ground after catching big falls where my partner ripped me off the ground. ![]() This new design extends the life of the device by switching the cable with a plastic channel. I've worn out about a dozen ATCs over the years: the rope sliding through the aluminum eventually files down the edges to the point that they become razor-thin, a potential hazard, and the clip-in cable is susceptible to damage as well. The grip is shaped to fit comfortably in the hand, and the steel scoop on the top of the device helps the rope feed. At first it's an uncomfortable sound when the plastic rattles against the aluminum belay carabiner, but since the plastic shell isn't load bearing, the use of this material doesn't compromise the safety and the integrity of the design. The Pilot design looks like the handle of a hard-plastic pistol. The Black Diamond ATC Pilot (foreground) racked on a harness with the Edelrid Mega Jul. However, the Pilot also resembles a mini version of Mammut Smart Alpine (for ropes 8.9mm to 10.5mm). The Mega Jul (for ropes 7.8-11mm) is the closest in shape to the Pilot. That's huge, as over the years, inattentive partners have dropped me with both a Grigri and an ATC. I also found that if I accidently let go of the Pilot while lowering a partner I would not lose control of the rope. I found the Pilot helped me to reel in and pay out slack more smoothly than the Edelrid Mega Jul did. I also liked how the Pilot allowed me to lower the climber without the device jerking or inadvertently locking up the way that some other devices can. Operating the Pilot felt familiar to using the Black Diamond ATC I'd carried since I first roped up in the early '90s, but now the Pilot has an added brake-assist feature that makes it even more secure to operate. I liked how smooth the device was to operate, both in regards to paying out and taking rope in, and how quickly it locked off when my partner fell or needed me to take weight. ![]() Those experiences on that cool autumn day in Eldo sold me on the Black Diamond ATC-Pilot (for ropes 8.7mm to 10.5mm 85 grams) and it became my go-to device for general cragging, whether scary trad, dry-tooling or sport. Wild times.Ĭorey Flynn starts the first pitch of Scary Canary, Eldorado Canyon, Colorado. This time a microcam sheared before the next piece caught. Again he whipped, and again he blew out his pro. Pitch 2, the crux, came next-though this time he was far out of sight while doing the hardest moves. He righted himself and finished the pitch. Though shook-up, my partner was OK, and I was OK. But because the assisted-braking belay device I was using-the Black Diamond ATC Pilot-engaged as it was designed to, I barely had to grip the rope to catch the fall. Finally, he lightly impacts the sandstone wall with his feet and hands as he comes to a stop.ĭuring the fall I had time to brace for impact, and I kept a firm hand on the brake-end side of the rope. His body continues flying halfway down the wall, while the blown placements, an RP and a Ball Nut, spin around his rope. Then-pop, pop, like the sound of a BB gun firing off in rapid succession. He is far above a nest of small gear on the Eldorado Canyon route Scary Canary (5.12b/c R). It's a Monday morning in October, and my partner is fighting out the last moves of his lead.
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