descending weighted rope

[freeclimb9]

Here is a situation to think about. Lets say you happen to be rapping down a steep blank face (no pro or intermediate anchors are available) and each belay station is 60 meters apart. You have two 60 meter ropes, then...your dumbass partner accidentaly drops one of them. Oh, and your way up off the ground in the middle of nowhere and no one knows where you are. It's either get down, or die of dehydration. What should you do?

Do you mean to ask "what should you do" after you beat your dumbass partner's dumb ass?

[Dru]

Here is a situation to think about. Lets say you happen to be rapping down a steep blank face (no pro or intermediate anchors are available) and each belay station is 60 meters apart. You have two 60 meter ropes, then...your dumbass partner accidentaly drops one of them. Oh, and your way up off the ground in the middle of nowhere and no one knows where you are. It's either get down, or die of dehydration. What should you do?

 

Bust out the drill & bolt kit and add a bunch of intermediate anchors. Retrosaurus can remove them later

[Thinker]

This is one of the most fundamental techniques required for self-rescue. David Fasulo's 'How To Rock Climb: Self Rescue', Falcon Press, 1996 has an extensive discussion of the process. In brief, it involves using any one of a variety of friction knots to descend the rope (prussiking down the rope). One needs to be keenly aware of the thermal/melting properties of the material used for the friction knots (spectra slings are generally not a good idea for long/multiple ascents/descents.

[freeclimb9]

spectra slings are generally not a good idea for long/multiple ascents/descents.

Especially when one considers that slippery spectra doesn't hold well even when configured in a Hedden knot.

[Thinker]

In reply to:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

spectra slings are generally not a good idea for long/multiple ascents/descents.

 

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 

Especially when one considers that slippery spectra doesn't hold well even when configured in a Hedden knot.

 

Spectra works OK in a pinch (I've used it in practice scenarios just to see if it would), but it would definitely not be my first choice.

[freeclimb9]

Spectra works OK in a pinch.

Yea it does. But I've noticed that once it starts slipping, it won't grab for awhile, unlike nylon which re-cinches pretty fast. Gets the blood pumping when you slip, fersure.

[Thinker]

I whole heartedly agree with you there! I'm not sure I'd even toy with Spectra in a controlled situation if the rope were wet or icy.

[Bill_Simpkins]

Yeah, just got to be a little more careful with the spectra, but it works fine. An extra wrap on the prussik knot of choice usually does the trick.

[Pencil_Pusher]

The obvious answer to Lambone's situation is that the climbers find a bag of pitons, ropes, and chocolate bars left by climbers from previous years.

I did especially like the 120m fall scenario.

Also, I was hesitant to read the answers but discovered that was my ego pushing through. So I read them with interest and liked the answers. That suicide-slip knot is for the birds. I can't say I particularly like the body-weight anchor idea, but it is a rather good one I didn't know about for a situation I wouldn't "particularly like" to be in.

[Lambone]

No-one guessed the answer to my scenareo...so I'll give it away.

 

You'd have to make multiple full 60 meter rappels using one rope, so you'd have to retrieve your rope after each drop.

 

There is a trick using a fifi hook and rubber band...but lets say that you don't have either.

 

Instead you could use a knot called the Sheep Shank. It's an old ranchers knot that they still teach in Boy Scouts for shortening the length of a rope.

 

 

You tie this at one end of the rope. And cut one of the three strands within the kont. I believe it is the top strand in this photo. If you cut the right strand, the knot will hold your weight, but the rope will be cut just bellow where it is fixed to the anchor. You rap down, and shake the rope to losen the knot, which comes undone easily when un-weighted. Then your rope falls and you repeat the process.

 

The key is to cut the right strand, and not unweight the rope until your done with the rappel. This will work, but is obviously scary at best. But hell...why not try if you were going to die anyway, right?

Edited January 4, 2003 by Lambone

[Geek_the_Greek]

Riiiiiiight.

So you pull out your palm with cell-modem, log on to cc.com, futz around until you manage to retie the knot just like Lambone's picture, hope - no pray - he was right about cutting that top strand, and hope you don't accidentally unweight the rope while rapping... (then you pray the dammed knot actually unravels when you unweight it, 'cause the only thing that sounds worse than rapping off that fucker is prussiking back up on it...)

 

Whatever. You do half-rope raps and build anchors. You can always find something in 100 feet (jammed knot, shrub, chickenhead or whatever) better than some uber-sketch trick knot. You do pendulums or whatever until you find something.

[Lambone]

Yeah, it was just a stupid theoretical problem that Charlie Fowler presented us at the end of a self-rescue course. That knot does work though...we used them back in Scout camp...back when they made you tie silly usless knots just to keep you from blowing shit up with white gas

 

Anyone use that fifi hook/rubberband trick for doing single rope rappels though? Friends of mine have told me stories about a certain light-weight fanatic who insists on leaving the second rap line at home, opting for the fifi rap instead.

[erik]

SSSSSCCCCCCCCCCCHHHHHHHHHHPRAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

\

ROD WHAT IS YOUR LEGAL ASSEMENT ON THIS LAMEBONE STATEMENT? CAN WE PURSECUTE AND PENALIZE HIS NAME DROPPING??????