For the hard-working , downward bound digger, a cable ladder is a handy item to have at the pit.
Caution is advised when using cable ladders.
The cable ladder has more complicated failure points than a rope. But when assembled properly with a simple, robust design they are plenty safe for the aforementioned situations. Cobelskill's NorthEastern Digger's Club has ventured int the area of custom cable ladder construction. We'd like to think that we have learned a fair amount about the cost and feasibility of cetain designs w.r.t the potential for home construction and durability of design. When assembled properly, these can be disassembled to recover the chain in one piece for other purposes.