Page 114 - Rappelling

Today’s modern plates, made from high-strength They are used mainly by professional climbing
aluminum alloy, are a variation on the same basic guides as a lightweight autoblocking plate used to
design, consisting of an oval shaped plate with two belay a follower directly from an anchor.
rope slots. The two most popular devices are the The Advanced Base Camp company currently
OBO (manufactured by Camp) and the Gigi (man- sells a “Spring Plate Belay Device” that is similar to
ufactured by Kong). These plates lack the friction the old Sticht plate, touting that “the spring acts like
and smoothness of the tube devices (like an ATC), a mini shock absorber for smooth rappels.” I guess
so they’ve never become popular for rappelling. good designs are timeless.

. . . additional friction,
right.

Rappelling Methods and Devices 103

Rappelling_i-174_3pp_CS55le.indd 103 7/24/13 10:17 AM