On Tue, 9 Dec 2014 04:40:56 -0800 (PST), TimR
wrote:

We've all seen it, we've all probably done it.

When you set a ladder on the ground outside, to clean the gutters or go on the roof, the ground is never perfectly level.

So to make sure the ladder doesn't slip, often one person holds while the other climbs.

I would put somethning under one leg, so the ladder was more stable.
Or I'd rotate that thing at the bottom so it forced its way into the
dirt.

Do you think the ladder holder is actually preventing a slip? is even capable of it? Or is it just luck that it usually works?

Every time I hold or climb a ladder I wonder about this.

I think someone can hold a ladder to keep it from shaking, which makes
you shake, which makes the ladder shake more, and so forth.

But if the ladder is too close to vertical, and the guy up there pushes
it away from the wall, not even the Incredible Hulk will be able to keep
it from falling away from the house.