Comments on: Backup That Rappel or Else!

By: IanJ

IanJ — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 21:12:03 +0000

Read this post and got advice about it from an experienced friend. Extending the belay off of my harness with a PAS and using the prussik off my belay loop with a locking carabiner has made me much more comfortable rappelling knowing that I have a simple, efficient way to go hands free. Back up your rappels!

By: Jake

Jake — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 22:03:28 +0000

Unless I scanned too quickly, I didn’t see anyone mention a backup via munter hitch. It’s super easy to rig, and the rappeller doesn’t have to worry about an autoblock or any similar friction knot because his/her buddy is in control of the munter. There are drawbacks however. If the route is overhung, the top belayer cannot see what’s going on, and screaming info to your belay at the top is a pain in the ass. Second, the munter hitch has been known to put kinks in a rope, and it’s also not great for the sheath. By no means would I use this method as a standard backup. It is helpful however to have as many options in your repertoire as possible. You never know when you might need it.

By: danimal7777

danimal7777 — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 00:45:23 +0000

PS, a Petzl Shunt is another airtight method for backup, at the expense of several ounces weight and a couple of twenty dollar bills.

By: danimal7777

danimal7777 — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 00:43:07 +0000

There are too many casualties in “Accidents in North American Mountaineering” to even debate the use of some kind of rap backup. Nonetheless, I observe it being used less than 10% of the time. You never know about a rock, bird strike, wasp cloud, or whatever, and the ability to go “no hands” without risk is so important. IMO, at least.

By: rgold

rgold — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 00:33:48 +0000

Hmm, just stopped by more than a year later to find,

“…to try to write off this method of backing up a rappel because of the reasoning provided is pretty ridiculous.”

Well. First of all, the method is described by providing a link to pictures of the faulty method, and no comment, other than mine, is made about the dangers of that particular set-up. And worse than that, all that has happened since is a defensive retort which can only help to desensitize readers to the danger of rigging this wrong.

Second, the extra comment about wrapping the prussic around the leg loop is,

“Here’s an easy way my friend Mike showed me to keep a small cord on my harness for use as a prussik. It’s low key and stays out of the way, but when you go to rappel you just unravel it and you’re good to go.”

This comment only describes a way to STORE the prussik loop and says nothing about how to USE it. A person reading that comment and unaware of the possible interference between device and back-up cord could easily unwrap the prussik loop from the harness and rig it exactly as shown in the site-promoted link with a biner on the leg loop. In fact, if they were going to use either a prussik knot or a kleimheist, they would HAVE to undo the girth hitch and use a biner. The girth hitch can stay on the harness only if a autoblock is used.

None of this is mentioned, no cautions are provided, and all that is really offered is “if you don’t rig it properly, then it has the potential for failure.” You bet, and one year later you still have a link to just such a situation as the primary description of what to do.

Look, it isn’t as if it is all that difficult to correct. First, get rid of the stupid link and post your own pictures of the right way to do it. Second, don’t rely on mental telepathy to convey what might be dangerous and what the solutions are. It has nothing intrinsically to do with girth-hitching a loop of cord to your harness.

Tell folks to test their set-up in a safe place to make sure that, REGARDLESS of leg motions, the back-up cord can never come into contact with the rappel device. That’s what they need to know.

By: Chris

Chris — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 04:27:30 +0000

I use the autobloc about half the time, but now I’m convinced to use it all the time. Here’s a tip from my experience. These autoblocks will fail if not used properly. How well they work depends on a few things: the thickness of sling/cord used, the diameter of rappel ropes, and the number of wraps you use in your autobloc. Thick prussic cord/sling, 3 or less wraps, and/or skinny ~8mm rap ropes may lead to failure. Be sure to test your autoblock with these various combos while close to the ground. I have found on long rappels (~200ft), the autoblock works well in the beginning while the weight of the rope is helping, but near the end of the rappel the autobloc doesn’t engage quite so well. Usually my problem was too few wraps (3-4) or too fat of a sling (~15mm).

By: EJ

EJ — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 04:31:04 +0000

I was rapping an easy sport route the other day and was lowering over a roof. I aimed my right foot for a particular hold right below the roof, and missed. So I fell off balance. I’ll be damned if I didn’t find my brake hand off the ropes! In the blink of an eye (or in less time) I’d instinctively reached out to brace myself. This, despite years of training myself to never let go, to lower over roofs slowly and carefully to maintain balance, and years of rapping experience. Damn! Fortunately my ATC XP on the teeth side held me…at least that is what I believe kept me from plummeting. This experience was so shocking that now, even on short raps on sport crags, I put an auto-block loop and a locker on my leg loop. It is a hassle rapping with that extra tension on the rope. But I don’t want to test my luck a second time. It can happen to anyone, in the most common of circumstances!

By: Mike

Mike — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 19:55:34 +0000

The method described on rc.com is not quite the same as the one described here. When the method described here is used properly the concern mentioned on rc.com won’t happen. As with anything, if you don’t rig it properly, it has the potential for failure. Hence, to try to write off this method of backing up a rappel because of the reasoning provided is pretty ridiculous. The method BJ describes here entail leaving the prusik girth hitched into the leg loop of the harness, thereby significantly shortening the length of the prusik so if you apply the proper number of wraps, with an appropriate length of prusik, then it won’t interfere or obstruct the rappel device. If you’re worried about it, then you can extend the rappel device with a sling. A fireman’s belay, while good to know, is not a feasible option for every rappel backup. Part of the idea behind the backup described by BJ is that it gives you a readily accessible rappel backup that takes a few seconds to apply because how many times have you seen people say, “I should probably back this up but I don’t feel like getting out a sling.” It is a method thoroughly espoused by the AMGA and if you take an AMGA course, chances are you’ll add one to your harness too after seeing its usefulness.

By: rgold

rgold — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 05:00:17 +0000

The set-up pictured in the referenced account is potentially dangerous; the back-up knot is too close to the rappel device. For more info, see http://www.rockclimbing.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=2080626#2080626.

It is worth at least mentioning that there are other ways of making rappelling more secure that don’t have the drawbacks of a backup knot (such as rigging it so that it may not work). The fireman’s belay from below is a better alternative, so the only person who needs some other type of backup is the first person down. But the first person down can easily rap on a single strand while being belayed with the other strand. The main drawback of this is that it isn’t macho enough for most folks.

By: Craig

Craig — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 07:02:30 +0000

Cool. If you don’t have a prusik, you can use a sling. The old GRB (guides rappel backup). Tie it around the rope below your rap device with a prusik knot and clip or tie it the leg loop on your harness. You do have to hold onto the prusik while rapping or it will bind up in the rap device, which is bad!