Page 101 - Rappelling

nineteenth century. Like the arm rappel this tech- Carabiner Rappels
nique can cause severe rope burns if the rope comes
into contact with any bare skin, so you’ll want to Carabiner Wrap
wear protective clothing to even consider using This was a standard rappel method used by the US
the dulfersitz method. Also like the arm rappel, the Army until recent years. The beauty is in its sim-
dulfersitz should only be used to rappel down short plicity, requiring only one locking carabiner. Two
sections of low-angle terrain in an improvised situ- or three wraps of the rope are made on the spine of
ation where no harness or gear is available. This the carabiner. The amount of friction can be varied
is a dangerous technique if used on a very steep by the number of wraps, but the system does not
or overhanging cliff, as the rope can put pressure offer true variable friction control, since to add or
underneath your leg, flipping you upside down. subtract wraps once on rappel requires opening the
To rig the dulfersitz, place the rope at your carabiner—a highly dangerous proposition.
crotch, under one leg, diagonally across your chest,
and over the shoulder. The downhill hand is your
brake hand; the uphill hand (the guide hand) is used
for balance.
My first rappel, at age 12, was from a stout oak
tree in my grandmother’s backyard. It did not go
well—and ended badly. I’d seen the dulfersitz tech-
nique in a textbook I checked out from the library:
Mountaineering Freedom of the Hills. I didn’t own
a harness. I figured my grandmother’s clothesline
would serve just fine for a rappel rope. I climbed
up as high as I could in the tree and tied the rope
to a stout limb, rigging it just as I had seen in the
text. Once I was free-hanging, the thin cord burned
into my flesh; rather than endure the searing pain,
I ended up letting go to free-fall to the ground.
Luckily for me the tree wasn’t that tall, it was late
in the year, and my grandmother didn’t employ a
gardener, so there was a great pile of leaves to cush-
ion my fall. I walked away unscathed but schooled,
having learned that rappelling is indeed serious
business.

The carabiner wrap.

90 RAPPELLING

Rappelling_i-174_3pp_CS55le.indd 90 7/24/13 10:17 AM