Page 141 - Rappelling

Simul Rappel first ascent of an obscure arch formation in the
Utah desert, and after I hand drilled a bolt anchor
This technique is used by experienced climbers for the rappel at the top, John plucked the bolts
and military special forces to facilitate a more rapid out with his bare hands. The soft sandstone had a
descent. Using this method, two people can rap- consistency more like mud than rock, so to descend
pel at the same time, each on a separate strand of with no fixed anchor we decided to simul rappel,
rope, using the other person’s body weight as a each off opposite sides of the arch. We each clipped
counterbalance. In climbing situations the rope is our rappel devices into the same rope. Facing each
typically threaded through an equalized anchor, and other, eye to eye, we leaned back, the rope taut
it is important to rig the rope through metal rappel between us. We used each other’s body weight as
rings, quick links, or carabiners and not over web- an anchor, intently mimicking each other’s steps as
bing or cord, as the rope may saw back and forth we paced backwards away from each other, before
and slice through the webbing or cord due to dif- stepping over the edge. Once the rope was firmly
ferences in rope stretch and body weight. Also, the seated on the broad back of the arch, I breathed a
two rappellers should stay close together—within sigh of relief, and after descending to the open win-
sight of each other—watching carefully for the dow of the arch, we enjoyed a free-hanging rappel,
other person to complete the rappel before unclip- gently spinning in the air about 30 feet apart.
ping, as unweighting one side of the rope leaves the
other side unanchored. An additional safety measure
is to take a long sling or cordelette and attach it to Rappelling with a
both rappellers with locking carabiners. Utmost Heavy Pack or Haul Bag
care should also be taken to account for the rope
ends, which absolutely should have stopper knots. Rappelling with an extremely heavy pack or haul
Simul rappels should only be undertaken by expe- bag can be dangerous: The weight of the pack can
rienced rappellers who are fully aware of all the make a long rappel strenuous and more difficult to
necessary precautions. Be forewarned that many control or, worse, flip you upside down. An easy
accidents have occurred during simul rappels by solution is to take a sling and hitch it to the pack or
inattentive climbers, usually with tragic results. haul bag, then clip it with a locking carabiner to the
In July 2012 Ranjit Sidhu (age 31) and Jan locking carabiner on your rappel device (carabiner
Vuong (age 25), both experienced rock climbers to carabiner). This takes the weight off you and puts
from Calgary, British Columbia, were simul rap- it on the rope, making it much easier to manage.
pelling to descend from a multipitch sport climb Make sure the sling is hitched to a bomber loop (or
on Heart Mountain in Kananskis Provincial Park, better yet, two points) on the pack. More than one
BC. There were no stopper knots in the ends of climbing team has had the misfortune of dropping
the ropes, and when one rappeller inadvertently all their gear when the attachment point to their
rappelled off the end of his rope, the weight of the pack ripped out. You can put the pack between
other rappeller pulled the rope through the anchor, your legs and straddle it as you rappel down, or
resulting in a double fatality. use a long sling to rig the bag just below your feet,
My first simul rappel was not by choice but keeping it out of your way.
necessity. John Long and I had just completed the

130 RAPPELLING

Rappelling_i-174_3pp_CS55le.indd 130 7/24/13 10:18 AM