UKC

Knowing how to avoid getting your ropes stuck, and how to deal with it when they do, is an important skill. This article gives some pointers to follow when abseiling to keep ropes pulling smoothly. Will Harris shares some methods of best practice and discusses techniques that can be used to retrieve stuck ropes.

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In reply to UKC Articles:

Be aware that with 2 pulling on a stuck abseil rope we broke the sheath, I'd stop pulling if one person couldn't get it to move.

In reply to UKC Articles:

Not sure creeping the ropes over the edge was well explained. Many might no have spotted you do this after having abseiled over the edge.

In reply to UKC Articles:

Really good article, thanks

In reply to UKC Articles:

Brilliant article.

I find that if I have to ascend a rope, for whatever reason, a mechanical device is so much easier than prusiks. Assuming two strands, a couple of micro traxions make short work of the ascent, and crucially is very smooth - reducing rope abrasion stress.

In reply to UKC Articles:

I agree a good article.
One additional point applies when threading the abseil ropes through a sling which rests against the rock. It's normaly best to have the pulling end underneath the sling with the free running end on top. The alternative will press the sling down and trap the (now not so) free running rope against the rock when the pulling end is loaded. I have seen situations where the rope has been impossible to retrieve from below in this situation.

In reply to UKC Articles:

I thought this was going to be a junk article trying to teach things that you should know intuitively. But it was actually a really good article.

In reply to zimpara:
Things you think you know intuitively about abseiling are not good.