Speed rappel
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- Опубликовано: 23 сен 2023
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In this video we take a closer look at methods for rappelling quickly. Sometimes rappelling quickly is helpful for getting down before weather moves-in, before darkness falls, or before you need to pick-up the kids from school. Other times it is just fun to see how quickly you can complete a route in its entirety.
Simul-rappelling is a technique that has been used frequently for rappelling rapidly as a party of two. However, this technique has significant danger- especially if you are on-sighting a descent or there are variables such as traversing rappels, loose rock, wind, or weather. In this video I introduce the "speed rappel", which is a much safer technique for getting down quickly. In fact, it can be both faster and safer than simul-rappelling. Enjoy!
Nice demo, its always great to find new techniques.
The only draw back I can see being your second tossing a rope down while you’re below them, you’d want to be confident there’s nothing that could dislodge onto your partners head below you, or hopefully the first down has cleared any debris as they’ve rappelled. So it’s a case of just using the appropriate technique for the given terrain.
Great video thanks for sharing 👍
Yes- definitely. Thanks for adding this @carlaitken116! If the stance near the rappel has a lot of loose rock then it's best to clean-up the area as best you can before rappelling, including tossing both ends of the rope down so there is less to snag and send rocks down. In fact, if the rappel stance is loaded with loose rock I might consider setting-up a rappel elsewhere. This is still very important if you are using a standard rappel set-up as well, since one person will remain at the anchor above while the first person descends, and any rock the climber above kicks-off may hit the first rappeller- or potentially even worse- hit their rappel rope which is under significant tension. There have been several rappelling fatalities that resulted from rocks hitting tensioned rappel ropes, which were subsequently cut. Thanks for your addition!
Came here to better understand what happened to Brad Gobright. You explained this method of rappelling in great detail. Thanks.
Can this be done alone? Repeller being tracked by adversary, they wrap rope around tree anchor, secures it to “harness” controls descent with open end, once at bottom, they just pull rope from around tree. Scoop it up and continue to evade Adversaries. ?? Just thinking out loud
Nice video, nice technique, thanks for sharing :)
A possible draw back of rappelling on a single strand is that you might increase the risk of cutting the rope on a sharp edge (specially if moving sideways), since the cut resistance of the rope is strictly related to the applied tension. I'd pay attention to this if I were rappelling down an unknown terrain or with very skinny ropes.
Yes, thanks so much for adding these helpful comments @maff3x! I would not recommend this technique if you are using double or twin ropes, as their cut resistance when they are used singly is dubious. I would also avoid this technique if you have a thin single-rated rope (generally 9mm or less with the rope technology of 2023) AND there are sharp edges that the rope will pass over, such as the sharp lip of a roof. This is especially true if the rappel traverses, which can cause a sawing action on the weighted rope. If the rope will not pass over sharp edges, or if it will pass over rounded edges but there is no traversing, then this technique works just fine. If you are on-sighting a descent, and you can't see the next anchor (ie you don't know what terrain the rope might pass over), then it's best to stick with a standard rappel set-up. Appreciate these additions!
True that a single strand has less cut resistance, but I guess when comparing this technique to a simul rappel, both rappelers would effectively be on single strands (each person being on a single leg of the rappel rope) so it's not much of a drawback in that regard.
Awesome
Do you find this system faster than stacked, aka pre-rigged, rappels? It seems like the second rappeler has three options once the rope comes down.
1. Pull up the rope and tie a knot
2. Have their partner below tie a knot (only possible if the stations are not traversing)
3. Rap on an open system
I love forgoing the second knot by using a stacked rappel. That time and effort saved by not pulling up the rope really adds up. If I really want to go fast, I can begin rappelling both strands while my partner continues to pull if I rig both my own and their rappel. The stacked rappel also doesn't have any steps (the clove hitch in your case) you'll have to undo.
Thanks for the question! This system is generally faster than a standard pre-rigged rappel (stacked rappel) because it is a type of pre-rig, but in very specific cases it might not be (as you pointed out- read on). You can see that it is a pre-rig if you notice that both climbers set-up their devices at the same time- one person on a single strand, while the other person sets-up on two strands at the same time (the second rappeller sets-up on the two strands between the clove-hitch and the anchor). In this system one person can immediately rappel even before the rope has come down from the anchor above. When the rope comes down from above there are two possibilities: 1) it can either land on ledges/terrain/trees around the rappel where the second rappeller is waiting, in which case she can bundle-up the rope to throw it and tie a knot in the end while she's at it (no time lost) or 2) the rope will whip down way past the rappel on its way to the next rap anchor. In this instance it is usually best to pull the rope back up to tie a knot in it, and toss it down again (time possibly lost to pull-up the rope, but not necessarily). The reason time isn't necessarily lost while the second pulls-up the end to tie a knot is because the first rappeller can be simultaneously using that time to begin threading the second anchor (they have already rapped to the second anchor), and the time saved on the front end (getting one person down immediately) may be greater than the time it takes to pull-up and re-throw the ropes as well. If I were to sum it up, two competent and practiced rappellers can probably shave 5 to 10% of time off their rappels using this method (on a long rap route) as opposed to a standard pre-rig done by the same climbers. Less compentent rappellers may not shave any time off, and probably should stick with more traditional methods in general. And if saving 5% of time amounts to just 5 minutes on a specific route, perhaps you prefer to rap double strands anyway. It is more comfortable :)
Hi Skills for Climbing, I wonder if you will be interested in testing some outdoor boots?
Hi there @pinkypinkyeah! Yeah, I may be interested in testing. Here is my email address: glenyoung.guide@gmail.com. Thanks for reaching out!