JellyFish anyone

I have had this idea for well over 6 years now and have been using it occasionally in canyon. The JellyFish is a releasable / retrievable choke stone anchor. (yup I wrote choke stone and not chalk stone - potato potato). The idea for the JellyFish was to solve that problem where you have a great place for a choke stone anchor but can not find any rocks. The JellyFish allows you to make your own rock from rope and use it like a choke stone then get the whole system down when you are done.

We have used this mostly on explorations where we want some extra options in our toolbox. Most trade routes do not have a need for this type of anchor although there are spots in trade routes that can benefit from it. One example is the next to last drop in Montezuma Canyon on Ticaboo Mesa. Traditionally a Sandtrap is used at that drop but often is difficult to retrieve as it gets stuck in a constriction. Its always a bit of stress wondering if the trap will pull through well. The JellyFish shines in this location as it is easy to set up, holds well and pulls like butter.

I added a page to BluuGnome.com to show off the JellyFish and show the basic use of it. There is also a page showing you how I make them. I assume others may have better ways to use and or make the JellyFish. If you do I would love to hear about it.

Since the JellyFish is not a tool that is needed in most trade routes and only occasionally comes in handy when exploring or trying to ghost, there is limited demand for it. I had in the past entertained the idea of producing and selling these on BG Gear. However, the limited instances of need for the JellyFish and the need for what some would call "expert judgement" have me second guessing sales as it would not be worth the liability. But! The idea is pretty novel and I feel it worth sharing as there are those who may benefit from such a tool. I have been meaning to get this done and shared with the community for a few years now and finally did it.

If you want more info about the JellyFish, head over to www.BluuGnome.com and check out the JellyFish page. Or if you want to make one check out the how to make a JellyFish page.

The image attached to this post is how the JellyFish is set up. JellyFish is wedged in a crack (represented by the plywood fixture I made) with a ball of rope wound into a ball around a PVC pipe. The orange rope is the rappel rope attached to the tentacles of the JellyFish. Once everyone is down, the light colored rope is pulled on which pulls the pipe through the JellyFish then begins to unravel the ball from the inside out. After all the rope is pulled out of the JellyFish it pulls the fabric from the crack and it all comes down.

Here is a youtube vid on how to set up and use the JellyFish.

Just felt like sharing and getting this project off my plate.
Enjoy the Jelly!

Beautiful! I've been trying to figure out some kind of retrievable anchor that would work in a crack and this is amazing! Bravo sir! And it seems it would work just as well to use a 3mm dyneema pullcord attached to 10 feet or so of rope to make the ball to avoid having to bring as much rope.

Yup Dyneema pull would work well. Depending on the size of the crack you may need up to 30 feet of rope-ish.

Still better than carrying the normal 200 foot length. And since it's not load bearing I'd feel comfortable buying a thicker, shorter length from Lowes and just retiring it early and often.

We tend to just use whatever rope we have already and not carry anything extra with us. That way when adding this to your pack for a canyon trip, all I toss in my pack is the JellyFish and the pipe and no extra stuff. We generally have Dyneema with us any way as we use the Smooth Operator where possible. And we already have ropes with us. Obviously if you were going into a canyon with one rope this would not work. But I don't like going in with just one rope anyway. Especially when exploring a new place we tend to have multiple ropes along, so its not a big deal to use one rope for the ball and one rope to rap on and call it good. Working with this thought has made it no big deal to toss the Jelly in the pack and not worry about the added weight.

A Chalk Stone is a stone made of chalk, which would not be suitable to use as a chockstone.

A Choke Stone is a rock that is just the right size to fit in your throat and be difficult to get out. Probably too small to chock into a crack and use as a Chockstone.

Tom, didactic as usual...

on another note: Wow, looks interesting!

Tom

Ah so Chockstone! never bothered to look into the matter. Thanks

Have you tried this with stiff ropes, like Imlay Canyon Fire?

Tom

Yup we have. JellyFish works with Imlay stiffies, its just a little more difficult to wrestle into position when winding the ball. The space provided by the PVC pipe still allows the stiff ropes to pull the bight through too.

Hey Luke, do you have any photos from actual uses to post up? Might be nice to see a few in-the-field photos.
-john

Genius!

Well done. We have long talked of this exact idea but never pursued the actual R&D like you have. Excellent idea and contribution to the community. Props for pulling it off. I look forward to trying this at some point.

Here are a couple pics from the Jelly being used in Redemption Canyon. I had to resize the images a bit. One is a closer view of the JellyFish in a crack and the other is a view from up canyon with Matt sitting in backup position. The back up in this case is done by clipping into the loops we had at the back of the JellyFish. I do not recommend this style of back up as it is too easy to accidentally dislodge the Jelly once it is wedged into position.

And here the JellyFish is used in Montezuma Canyon. There are few times the JellyFish is needed in a trade route with solutions for each drop already in place. Montezuma is an exception. The best option for the next to last rappel is a sandtrap. However the sandtrap can (and does according to my experience) get stuck in a constriction and can be difficult to pull free. The JellyFish is rigged in the exact constriction where the sandtrap gets stuck but being wedged in there is now a benefit and not an problem to solve.

Very ingenious niche tool, I like it!

Was wondering, after watching the video, if it would be a good safety practice to add a biner at the top of the jellyfish “exumbrella” through the bight to prevent a premature release on the pull cord. A LPAR precaution or no?

It does work but similar to the warning against tying a backup rope into the top of the JellyFish...…. It is easy to move and then dislodge the Jelly into an unstable wedged position and not be aware of it. It does work but there are possible consequences that may easily go un-noticed. If used it is similar to the safety carabiner placed in the Smooth Operator as in it doesn't anchor any better but does prevent a boo boo if something happens to the pull strand. But the Smooth Operator doesn't get compromised from simply shifting it around a bit.

Another option might be to clove hitch a biner to the pull line and clip it to the tentacles. We have not done this but is one possible solution.

Oooh....innovation. Me wants one...

Finally got an industrial machine and got around to making a Jellyfish. Bluu, your construction instructions are great, thank you for sharing.
I made mine completely from Dyneema fabrics and webbing (mostly because its what I have on hand). Namely 5.0oz DCF for the main body, and Ultra 800 reinforcements on the highest wear spots. Really a fun sewing project.

After construction this morning I used the Jellyfish a 3x in the local canyon. I'm impressed! really interesting and fun to start playing around with. Its definitely a nuanced tool but it's light enough that I'll start toting it around.

Sweet! glad to see someone using it! It is definitely a nuanced tool and when you need it, it is generally in a cramped space. But wow when its the right tool it can be a game changer. Have used it multiple times on powel, sometimes for fun, sometimes to ghost a spot that otherwise would not be and sometimes because it's about the only solution. Works great for the next to last drop in Montezouma too. The spot where the sandtrap can get caught is the perfect spot for the JelyFish.

Anyone want to send me one? I don't have plans to get an industrial sewing machine but I have definitely been in some spots when I could have used one.