UKC

After recently loosing a friend in an accident whilst abseiling from a multi pitch route I thought it would be a good idea to make sure this sort of thing doesn't happen more than it needs to....

have a read...

http://willgadd.com/rappelling/

In reply to tommack: good post, thankfully i do this already, confidence booster!!! cheers

In reply to tommack:


Like Will Gadd reports, I ALWAYS say "tous les grands chefs sont tue's en rappel" to myself, or similar, just to get a bit of doom and gloom into the air before abbing. At least in the mountains, abbing is dangerous and I don't like it. Apart from worrying about your anchors, there's plenty else to worry about too: am I dislodging choss as I go? Is that big lump up there going to choose now to fall down, because if it does I've got nowhere to hide? Is my rope rubbing on an edge? Etc etc etc.

I'm not going to do it unless I have to, and if I have to I'm going to make it as safe as I can first. I examine the anchor(s), I check the rope, I don't start until I've checked I've fed the rope through the device right--and then stopped and checked again.

Simul-rapping? What are they, stupid? This isn't a game. It's just a quick way off, the least dangerous option available.

Sorry to hear about your friend, by the way.

In reply to Tim Chappell:

My number one best technique for abseiling is check, double check, have another look, second guess yourself and then before actually committing just make certain. When instructing I include the angle that abseiling is a very dangerous activity because when something goes wrong it tends to happen very very quickly and is understandably very potentially going to result in serious injury because of the situation that such errors occur in.

To the OP:

I'm sorry for your loss. Thank you for the interesting link. The info is well

Presented

In reply to EZ:

The trouble with abbing is you're completely committed; your whole weight's on the rope the whole time. Not a bit like climbing. Unless you're really bad at climbing

In reply to tommack: Sorry to hear about your friend.
I remember climbing the mortician on black crag and having to ab off because of rain when I was just below the final crack. There was a little half dead tree and a not too great hex and an also not too great nut. Together they were strong enough but it was still a brown pants moment because I didn't have a real bomber piece. Another time I had to ab off a climb in Red Rocks - 3 bolts but one with no hanger and the other 2 were spinning in the holes...brown pants again as there were no other anchors and the pull on them was slightly outwards due to a ledge.
I once saw a bloke hammer a super dodgy peg into a crack at the top of Lakeland Cragsman on Sargeant crag slabs, I was thinking what is he doing that for? Threads his ropes to ab off it and he saw me looking at him in complete disbelieve...I had to say 'there's no way you are going to ab off that?!' To which I received the reply 'of course I am, i've been climbing for years and know what i'm doing' He then puts the ropes through his plate upsidedown....again I had to say something but this time I got a 'will you ~+£$ off' At that I thought sod you if you want to risk death for the sake of making a decent anchors go for it. You can't help some people.
If you have the choice always put in that extra piece. Learn the correct methods. Check , check and check again.

In reply to tommack: Caving and canyoning are slightly different situations as the abseil is a planned part of the route, and often there will be a prepared belay point. With climbing, an abseil is often an emergency bale-out, unplanned and from a position which perhaps you wouldn't ideally choose to ab from. It's important therefore not to be panicked into rushing things, because that's when mistakes happen. This is where a cool head and a solid system for abbing is important. Make haste slowly.