Hook Turned in Proper Direction for Tripping
After leaving the stack, have your helper tie the handy line away from the stack. This flopping back and forth will annoy you while at work. After you have finished and are ready to trip, twist the rigging until it is twisted all the way to the top. In doing this twist the rope so that the stack hook will turn out and away from the trip hook. This is important. Leave slack on the riggings at the same time. Do not let it untwist. Then take the trip line, pull steady on it, until you see the stack hook raise up and over the stack. Then lower on the trip line until you see the stack hook is off and below the top of the stack. Then let go of the riggings so they will untwist; lower away; untie the handy line from the block hook; then pull one end of the handy line to the top. It will go through the small S up there and fall to the ground, leaving the small S hook on top of the stack.
SELF-SUPPORTERS
Steel smokestacks are generally supported by guy wires, although there are some steel stacks without guy wires, which are called self-supporters.
Self-supporters taper at the base and have an extra heavy foundation and a ladder to enable you to climb to the top, although in my travels I have come in contact with one self-supporter that had neither ladder nor gimblet wire. Fortunately this self-supporter was very small in diameter.
In order to make the top of this particular stack I had to rely on an extension ladder, working my way up by degrees; first lashing the ladder to the stack, extending it as far as safety would permit, then lashing the stack again with an extra large sling about ¾-inch, making a bow-line knot and with a sling to both sides of the ladder I used the block and fall, pulling the bottom part of the ladder up as far as possible, lashing off again, then pushing the top part up.