Rappelling Without a Device: How to Do it (And Not Die)

[@PB-sk9jn]

I once went on a multipitch on the Mont Blanc massif (Pyramid du Tacul) with someone who assured me they had done multipitch before. Regardless, out of caution I verified & drilled the Munter hitch with him in the campsite and later before getting on the route. Half way up the six pitch route he confessed this was his first multipitch. (He's now a medical doctor!). Said he fed me false info because he thought I wouldn't climb with him if I'd known. But, of course, I'd have drilled him more. The descent was six back to back rappels down unclimbable (for me) territory. I went first on each, to take responsibility for safely finding the next anchor. After my third rappel, I hear "ping, ping ping ping..." of a dropped ATC. Then my name called .... "pete pete, how do you do that Munter hitch thingy?" Damn... I carried two belay plates just in case, but they were both with me. But described it again, and he was convinced it was taking his weight and running correctly. I tied off the rope as tight as possible and wrapped it round a limb and put full body weight tension on it too, to maximise the friction. He had indeed tied the knot right as I had shown him, used my spare belay plate for the rest of the descent. But damn... that scares me still 20 years on. (In hindsight, I should have prussiked back up, and not trusted his belief the knot was good and he was confidentt. Could have had his death on my conscience.) Munter hitch can save lives. This does happen from time to time.

[@PB-sk9jn]

Never get on a multipitch with someone who doesn't know how to rappel without a belay plate. Never get on a multipitch with someone who doesn't know how to escape a belay system, prussik, or lower a climber.

[@ascentionism]

Thanks for the story! That sounds like a scary experience, and I'm glad that you were able to make it down safely. About 4 weeks after posting this video, my friend fumbled and dropped my ATC while we were bailing on a climb. I went with the 6-biner method to avoid kinking up his ropes, but I was just thankful that I had taken the opportunity to learn and practice it at home!

[@PB-sk9jn]

@@ascentionism Cool... some decent epics when noone gets hurt make for good stories, even for older folks later (19 years specifically... ). Stay safe dude ! Also, Handbook of Climbing, Alan Ffyfe. www.amazon.com/Handbook-Climbing-Fully-Revised/dp/0720720540 15 page chapter on emergency procdures, escapnig belay, lowering or prussik pulley on lead rope etc.. It's a British trad bible, but not well known elsewhere. Equivalent quality but different to John Long's Climbing Anchors book.

[@PB-sk9jn]

@@ascentionism Actually, the next day in the alps (I camped on vallee blanche glacier) we (same partner) did an easy route. Just a snowy walk up the easy side of the Tour Ronde. But part way up we heard cries of "au secours". This had crossed over the border to Italy. We ascended snow slopes, sort of scottish grade 2, pitching it with random trad pro in rocky patches, to a ridge. Somewhere up there found a crazy French maths teacher from Bordeaux and his daughter Stephanie. They'd started the glacier face of the Tour Ronde the previous afternoon. All my friends started these tthinigs at 2am to get the snow/ice frozen. The french family found it too soft, heavy going went too slow and got lost on the descent. They seemed hypothermic. They had a stove but shaking hands and couldn't light it. Ran out of matches. I had a cigarette lighter (I went prepared :) ) and lit their stove, gave them some Mars Bars. We gave them my survival bag. Rappelled down 3 pitches, leaving gear (ouch) on each anchor. Started marching double time to the nearest hut. A guide (weird - climbed 8 routes, met the exact same guide 3 times - we were climbing unguided) recognised me from an earlier route and asked me "Monsieur, what is wrong, why are you going so fast". Lovely guy. We explained "Il'y a deux gens la bas, sur ... shit up there. Au Secours. Pidgin french." He beamed, pulled out a radio called up the whirlybird. We turned around hightailed it up the path up the rest of the Tour Ronde and watched our little french family being lifted off by Helicopter while sitting on the summit with our harnesses securely clove hitched to the throat of summit Virgin Mary statue (We'd crossed to Italy !) They dropped some fine wine and some climbing gear as a thanks by our campsite a week later. Lovely folks. I actually was 6 days on the glacier continuous. Went through 3 partners, being resupplied. Did the Pyramid du Tacul, Tour Ronde (twice), Rebuffat Route on the South face of Aiguille du Midi, Cosmic Arete, Guollotte Chere couloir/ice climb on Mont Blanc du Tacul.

[@ascentionism]

@@PB-sk9jn Awesome stories man! It sounds like you've had some wicked adventures out there and I'm glad that you've been able to do it and stay safe. I'll definitely check out the handbook - thanks for the recommendation!!

[@billbowdren932]

Watched your video yesterday and successfully rappelled down a very steep slope to recover dumped trash in a wood.

[@melvinpasik7920]

Thank you for your postings.. I'm very new but want to learn

[@mentalitydesignvideo]

What about the clamp arrangement used in crevasse rescue? I forgot the term of art for it. It's two carabiners attached to the same point (loop, biner, sling). A bight of rope wraps around both and then goes into the space between the two, that's the live strand. The exiting strand is the braking strand.

[@ianpuleston3952]

Two comments: The 6-biner rappel looks like it should really be a 5-biner one. I see no reason for using 2 carabiners to clip it into the harness if you are using a locking one - not really any different to clipping in with a single biner when rappelling with an ATC or figure-8 (or am I missing something there?). I first learned to rappel in boy scouts back in the mid 70s before we had rappel devices, and so used a body friction technique. One thing different that we were taught was that for safety the rope should be wrapped once around the control arm, not just held in the hand (but we learned using a harness, as follows, so may be different?). To answer @Meowskiii's question, we learned to do it using a harness, and instead of passing the rope under your crotch, you clip it through a locking biner in the harness, then pass it over the left shoulder, controlling it with the right arm (or vice-versa) with a wrap around the arm. But back then climbing ropes were 11mm so rather less uncomfortable for this than today's relatively skinny ropes.

[@jamescarrot2813]

7:45

[@syindrome]

Patagonia nano air hybrid for the win

[@Meowskiii]

no information about the harness. How is this emergency rappeling without repalling equipment, when you have a rappeling harness on?

[@you2tooyou2too]

The most essential of the '6-biner rappel are the two 'frame' biners. Remember that these biners are cross-loaded, and only the thin, sharp cut, tangs of the hinge stands between you and death. They are not designed to take ANY load perpendicular to the plane of the biner, but that is exactly what you are doing! With two 'frame' biners, you have at least one solid biner shaft supporting each 'end' of the brake-bar biners. . The least needed of the six is the redundant locking harness connector biner. Next, the second braking biner (unless you are very heavy with pack or adipose). . It is also possible to do this (with 3 or 4 biners) without either connector, by clipping the double frame biners into your harness, but extra care must be taken to control the rappel line(s) AWAY from the abrasive/melting contact with your harness. re 12:10 Never run the rap line(s) around your neck as he shows here. See his better (not quite right but usable) vid of just this wrap rap (kzbin.info/www/bejne/eX20YXyiqcmMmpI). NB 13:00 for a momentary improvement. . The other common "shoulder" or "angel wing" rap, only for low angle surfaces, is much easier and shown at kzbin.info/www/bejne/l6Col6t4m6asi9E

[@gabrielsolis7513]

Off topic, I feel like I'm looking at my doppelganger.

[@andrewrobertson530]

So, noob question...any reason you couldn't do this with three carabiners instead of six? Three singles instead of three pairs?

[@ascentionism]

It definitely works with 3 carabiners (and I had a guide show me how to do it with 3, although he used a slightly different set-up). The extra carabiners help create more friction and redundancies - as someone who had to rap off a 60m pitch using this set up, it feels pretty janky, and having each carabiner be backed up just increases the safety of the system.

[@andrewrobertson530]

@@ascentionism makes sense, I just wanted to be sure! I tried it today of a 6ft rappel in my back yard with 6, with 3, and with 5. The 6 felt more secure than the 3, for sure. But I didn't notice a difference taking one of the carabiners off my harness... Thanks for writing back so quickly! I will keep asking with it off these low rappels!

[@ascentionism]

@@andrewrobertson530 Yeah, if you're every short, you can get away with only have 1 carabiner that connects the system to your harness. If you only have 4, I would go with 1 connector, 1 frame, 2 friction, just because it'll be easier to control the system. Yeah man, keep practicing! Literally 2 months after recording this video, I used this technique to bail off of a multi after my partner dropped my belay device. Glad that you're finding it useful