Emergency rappelling with and without carabiner!

[@dubbitywap]

I dropped my reverso this past weekend on a cliff. I pulled out my phone, found your video on youtube, and was able to get down to the ground safely. Thanks for the excellent tutorial. It was literally a life-saver!

[@TakeTheHighground]

I’m really glad to hear this!

[@ryanmccabe1831]

This is definitely one of the better videos I've seen on this topic

[@TakeTheHighground]

Thank you, appreciate it!

[@matthiasmartin1975]

Iten brake worked beautifully today, thanks for showing us.

[@pobz3750]

rope twisting with a munter is no joke! I rappelled with one last year and absolutely could not manage to untwist the ropes fully since I couldn’t see the top of the rope! That led to us unable to pull the rope down, I had to climb back up the rope all the way. Didn’t know about Iten brake!!! Thanks a lot for the info I will definitely keep that knowledge in my tool bag!

[@CheckingYourRealityForYou]

grias di bruda. video idea: quick release rope belt for emergencies (burning building with your family, falling through ice, rescue someone on cliff) that u can wear for everyday w your jeans. maybe use carabiner as belt clip. you fold rope in half, wasting very necessary length (7 story building is 100ft tall!). maybe use thin-strand-kevlar?

[@eluno151]

Thank you, I learned something new!

[@TakeTheHighground]

Dirty secret: so did I in making this video. Nothing keeps you more current than explaining stuff to other people. As the Romans said: docendo discimus.

[@andrewstambaugh240]

As a hiker, woodsman, boulderer, i liked your commentary and clear demonstration. *I could see these becoming useful for rescue,* such as descending to a car or motorcycle crashed off an embankment. I guess i should add 2-3 SS Carbineers to my gear.

[@TakeTheHighground]

Hey Andrew, glad you liked them. That’s definitely a good point, I also have an old rope and some carabiners in my car…just in case. Just have to make sure that the rope is protected from the sun, the UV rays might be detrimental to the strength of the rope. Thanks for watching!

[@donb6070]

Excellent teaching style, especially providing the reasons for using the techniques. Climb on!

[@TakeTheHighground]

Thanks a lot, really appreciate it!

[@simonjenkins9296]

I'd love to see these demonstrated too to see how much effort is involved in breaking / how quickly you slow down. Great content. Thanks

[@TakeTheHighground]

Hey Simon, let me see, that’s for sure something I’ll be able to do next time when I have a bit of time at my hands. Thanks for watching!

[@yl1487]

Just an idea with regard to the classic configuration, from a tree surgeon in hamilton. I notice that the first carabiner could be functionally substituted for a solid ring, as the gate is never opened on that carabiner for the purposes of the configuration. I realise it may mean carrying an additional piece of hardware itself potentially connected by a small tool carrying carabiner in turn. Just something to consider. Interested to hear your thoughts.

[@Endolphin.]

와우 너무 좋아요ㆍ 감사합니다

[@TakeTheHighground]

Thanks for watching, you’re very welcome! 🙏

[@patdunphy4714]

Carabiner break nice to see old school

[@TakeTheHighground]

Thanks a lot!

[@Tac0caT0]

Munter, Eaton, dulfersitz are some of the first things I show, when teaching how to rappel. Knowing how to descend when you’ve lost your device, have only 1, or no carabiners is important knowledge to file away. As well, being prepared to ascend doubled ropes is an important backup bit of knowledge. Whether with slings, shoe laces, or QuickDraws.

[@namelastname2449]

Super , thanks a lot

[@TakeTheHighground]

Thanks for watching!

[@namelastname2449]

Thanks for your good videos!

[@thebassmaster1364]

Great🎉

[@TakeTheHighground]

Thank you!

[@jessed9461]

Thanks! Why can't you clip the lower carabiner in the classic carabiner brake directly to your harness?

[@TakeTheHighground]

Hi Jesse, thanks for the question! In an absolute emergency you could, but there is a potential that the rope would be running over or along the part of the harness you’ve clipped the carabiner to. That’s generally not a good thing because rope can cut through these materials really quickly. Best Fabio

[@majas841]

Most important! Keep in mind that rappelling is a slowed down process not a marathon! (if you do it properly the ropes will not be burning then)

[@pobz3750]

Hey man I don’t get it, I looked up Iten Brake, Iten rappel, a bunch of videos and google searches on rappelling and I can’t find anything else on the Iten brake! Where did you get this from?? It looks fine to me, but it would greatly reassure me if some other licensed people could confirm its safety/potential drawbacks. Thanks!

[@TakeTheHighground]

Sure, I always recommend to check information from the web in a safe environment before using it. You can find stuff about it here (It’s a very recognized magazine about safety from the German, Swiss, and Austrian alpine clubs): www.bergundsteigen.com/artikel/alpinhack-abseilgeraet-runtergefallen-2-0/

[@rappelclub8271]

What about the carabiner wrap method used in the military????

[@TakeTheHighground]

It’s a cool version, especially because it’s super smooth. There isn’t a lot of friction though and - especially with thinner ropes - it might not be the best way to go for an improvised version, especially if you’re not wearing gloves. With a thick static rope, dry conditions and gloves any time. With cold hands, wet/frozen rope in a howling snowstorm - rather not.

[@rappelclub8271]

Gloves have to be used for sure.

[@carloscharliecaudillo4683]

Carabiner friction wrap works very well, you can add more friction by simply adding another rope and more wraps. I've rappelled people over 250lbs (lots of gear) with two ropes and a double wrap and it was easy and controlled.

[@mrsockmonkey1969]

Munters hitch with one carabiner

[@TobbeBoll]

Let's say a fire started in the apartment building, would it work with these methods of rappelling, attaching the rope to the balcony railing?

[@TakeTheHighground]

Hey Tobias, yes, this would definitely work, with the small caveat that I’m not familiar with your balcony railings - they obviously need to be able to handle the weight.

[@davidwarren719]

Shouldn't trust a railing. Especially if the building may be compromised. One thing you might do is to punch through the sheetrock in the wall on either side of a stud, and then anchor yourself to the framework of the building. Door jambs and window jambs are generally particularly sturdy. 👍

[@matthiasmartin1975]

@@davidwarren719 "punch trough a wall", haha, only in America....

[@andreasweber7828]

I’ve seen screw lock carabiners getting unlocked by the rope half way during a repelling. Luckily the girl had no accident and switched to 3-way lock systems at her next stand. But she got scared shitless

[@TakeTheHighground]

Understandable. I always try to keep the rope away from any locking mechanism, but it might definitely happen.

[@brettmcconochie]

Hey Fabio, I hadn't heard of the Iten Brake. Thanks for showing it. One question about the Iten Brake, will it cause your rope to become twisted as you rappel. If so, how badly will it twist the rope? Thanks

[@TakeTheHighground]

Hi Brett, there is a bit of twist to be expected, in terms of how bad, I’d say it’s much less than with a munter hitch, but a bit more than with a tube. During the mountain guide course we had 8 people rappelling with the iten break and after pulling the rope through 2-3 times, everything was untwisted again. Best Fabio

[@brettmcconochie]

@@TakeTheHighground Thanks much Fabio. I suspected that would be the case. I will certainly try the Iten Brake. Cheers

[@CuncunHadiantoLbbf]

Apa pernah di coba meniruni tebing ?

[@TakeTheHighground]

Hi, sorry, the automatic translation doesn’t make sense, can you please ask again in English? Thanks!

[@kraftzion]

I think the super munter is useful too.

[@TakeTheHighground]

Absolutely.

[@Raylovepalomar]

2 key things missing in this video are A) you can super munter the rappel to not twist the rope and create more friction B) you should flip the pear shaped biners so that the rope is running through and over the small curve not the large curve if using the carabiner rappel which would also create opposite/opposed screw gates rudicing the risk that the rock runs over the screw gate and ultimately increasing the risk one or both of the biners not being locked while rappelling

[@setempler]

+1 for the super munter: also the break strand is pulled downwards, more easy than upwards as with normal munter hitch.

[@mikehunt2667]

In an emergency I would be more worried about the rope running all over my body n balls compared to worrying about what the munter does .Tuck n chuck n wish me luck

[@TakeTheHighground]

Hey Mike, I’d definitely also prefer a repel with the munter over any type of repelling with the friction generated by my body. I would only use that when I don’t have the necessary gear, but it is better than clinging to the climbing rope with hands only.

[@mikehunt2667]

@@TakeTheHighground that is an interesting problem .I wonder if there would be anything you may have on you that you may be able to use to reduce any rope burn in a situation. A shoe maybe ? I know when pain gets too much that you can just give up in a real situation. So putting it out there ... any ideas ? A tree branch ?

[@TakeTheHighground]

Hey Mike, so I used the Dülfer Method/Body Belay already, and it’s actually not that bad. You have to rappel relatively slow compared to what you can do with an actual device, but it’s manageable. I found it to be the hardest on my hands, so gloves are highly recommended, but it’s not a real problem as long as you go slower. When actual climbing began, the body belay was the standard and they also made it work, but it’s of course slower, less safe, and not as effective as our modern means.

[@mikehunt2667]

@@TakeTheHighground nice . Its really interesting learning about how it all evolved . Thanks for the info bro . Stay safe .

[@TimeKiller.No1]

On body rappelling, no one in at least youtue didnt use prusik backup. Is that because it's not possible for man to control prusik knot with both hands holding rope structurally or some hidden safety problem(ie, both hands should control/hold firm each side of rope, so holding knot at the same time is dangerous...). If its possible, what hand should hold the knot? Thanks.

[@TakeTheHighground]

The problem is that with a body rappel the prusik is not really a usable backup. The prusik works with an ATC/Tube/Figure-8 device because the rope is fixed in the device and should the climber go unconscious, the prusik replaces the climbers hand. If you go unconscious with a body rappel, the rope will just fall off the body. Plus the idea is to use the body rappel when you don’t have the necessary gear (harness) with you, hence there is nothing to tie the prusik onto. Hope that helps, thanks for watching! Fabio