Page 10 - Rappelling

military special forces all use rappelling techniques Climbing School, based at Joshua Tree, California,
for special situations where access is otherwise since 1983. I’ve taught rappelling to a wide variety
impossible. of clients, from Boy Scouts to military special forces.
Rappelling is also used by rope access techni- I’ve been fortunate to work in the film business
cians for industrial applications (known as vertical as a stunt coordinator, and I’ve coordinated more
rope access) such as inspection, maintenance, and than forty TV commercials featuring climbing and
construction on buildings, bridges, dams, and con- rappelling stunts, training numerous actors and
fined spaces, to reach work areas not accessible by stuntmen in the basics of rappelling. In this book
conventional means. I’ll share what I’ve learned over the years and the
In this book, techniques for all the various rap- insights I’ve gained by working with and teaching
pelling methods are covered, from simple sport others the art of rappelling. I’ll also share some of
rappels on a single rope to professional standards the methods professional instructors use to teach
for fixed line work. Rappel anchors, rigging, rope rappelling, which will give you valuable insight in
retrieval techniques, rappel safety, and use of state- how to progress on your own. If you’ve never done
of-the art rappel devices are discussed. In addi- any rappelling and want to learn the basic skills,
tion to rappelling methods used for descent, rope I encourage you to seek professional instruction,
ascending techniques are covered in some detail, preferably under the tutelage of an AMGA-certified
both for basic self-rescue (where you need to go instructor.
back up the rope or unweight the rappel device) Rappelling is not without risk. According to
and for situations where you are working on a fixed Accidents in North American Mountaineering, a sober-
line and need to go up and down the rope. ing tome published annually that details rock
The longest rappel I’ve ever made was in 1987, climbing and mountaineering accidents, from 1951
during the filming of the movie Star Trek V. I was the to 2010 there were 7,714 reported accidents, and
stunt double for Captain Kirk (William Shatner) in 362 (5 percent) of these involved rappelling. Of
a scene where he decides to free solo El Capitan in these accidents, many proved to be fatal, either via
Yosemite. We had finished all the on-cliff shots, and anchor failure or by simply rappelling off the end
the crew had descended, leaving me alone, high on of the rope. In this book I’ll analyze some of these
the cliff, so the cameraman could get a clean shot of accidents so that we can all learn from these unfor-
just me climbing. After it was a wrap, I had the great tunate mistakes. I’ll focus, in some detail, on the
pleasure of rappelling 1,700 feet without having to most common accidents that have occurred while
worry about retrieving any of the rope. rappelling, with a broader discussion of what can go
I’ve been a professional climbing instructor wrong, what to watch out for, and how to prevent
and the owner/director of Vertical Adventures mishaps by following some standard safeguards.

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