Page 133 - Rappelling

anchor with a nylon sling or PAS (personal anchor sys-
tem) like the Metolious PAS or Sterling Chain Reactor.
Remember, a traditional daisy chain with bartacked
pockets is not recommended as a tether or for rappel
extensions, because clipping a carabiner into two loops
is a very weak connection (3 kN or 674 lbs.).
Girth-hitch the PAS or sling through both tie-in
points on your harness, then clip in with a locking
carabiner directly to the anchor whenever you’re going
to untie from the rope and rig the rappel. The loop-
to-loop design of the PAS allows you to conveniently
adjust the length. Be cautious when using slings or
a PAS not to climb above the anchor, because if you
slip you’ll generate a high-impact force on both your-
self and the anchor—essentially a fall factor 2 (total
distance of the fall divided by the length from the

I can’t say this often or emphatically enough: A
traditional daisy chain with bartacked pockets is
not recommended for rappel extensions or as a
personal tether, because if you clip a carabiner into
two loops, this is an extremely weak connection (3
kN or 674 lbs.).

Multipitch Rappelling Safety Checks

Once the rappel ropes are set and threaded through the anchor, do an ABCDE safety check.

A Check the ANCHOR to make sure the rope is properly threaded and that the anchor rigging is
redundant.

B Check the BUCKLES on your harness.
C Check the CARABINER on your rappel device to make sure it’s locked and that both bights of
rope are clipped into the carabiner.
D Look DOWN and check the ropes to make sure they’re not tangled and are long enough to reach
the next anchor or the ground.

E Tie stopper knots in the ENDS of the rope. If using a figure eight descender, tie both ends
together with a BHK, and make sure the knot will be bulky enough to jam in the device.

122 RAPPELLING

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