[artbyjody]

I had had a halyard jammed up the mast due to a "racer's" excitement, and then that asym mishap with stuck halyard mid way. West marine recalled their bosun chairs but discovered they actually sold the ATN Topclimber - and since it was race day - purchased it.

While I only went halfway up, I did find with a little bit of practice it worked fairly efficiently. It does though put the load of climbing up on the climber (then again I am scared of heights and was kinda shocked how fast I went up before I looked down), and I would still recommend having someone else manning a halyard attached to the unit for safety. But, it is nice to know it is a unit that works as advertised and in a pinch if I had to - I have the ability to get myself up the mast. It is also fairly comfortable.

For those that do rock climbing - in principle it works very much like some of the systems you may use. At any rate I would recommend the product albeit its a pricey solution.