Page 144 - Rappelling

signs of a nighttime epic: a dozen cigarette butts, an through the rappel anchor, then the solution is rela-
empty pint bottle of gin, and a few discarded bat- tively simple and fairly straightforward: Prusik up
teries. Upon reaching the ledge at the top of the both strands of the rope, fix the problem, and rappel
pitch, I found the rope was simply wedged deeply back down (see prusiking in chapter 9).
in a crack—jammed solid, but easily extracted from If you have only one strand of rope at your
my position. position, and the rope is jammed somewhere above
A stuck rope can be your worst nightmare. Visu- you, then you face a risky proposition and the
alizing and anticipating what might happen when worst-case scenario: Prusiking up a single strand
you pull your rope will prevent most mishaps; be with the other strand jammed on who knows what
especially vigilant for situations where your rope is not advisable. If you’re a climber in a climb-
can get pulled into a crack. If you have two ropes ing situation, you can use what rope you have for
tied together, the joining knot is what you need to a belay line (placing protection if possible) as you
watch out for on the pull-down; using the flat over- prusik up the single strand and hopefully reach the
hand will present a cleaner profile (with the tails jam. If you’re on the ground with little rope length
pointed away from the rock) if you’re concerned available, you may want to abandon the rope and
about the knot getting stuck. return with another rope to properly re-lead up to
Any twists in your rope at the anchor can make the jammed rope.
pulling the rope difficult, and even impossible Again, be aware that many rockfall accidents
if there is friction with the rope running over a occur when a rappel rope is being pulled down
ledge or contacting lots of rough rock. a cliff; sometimes the rope jams behind blocks or
If your rope is stuck at the anchor, and you loose rocks, then the vigorous pulling to free the
have both strands available, and both strands are still rope launches a barrage of rocks on those below.

“Rope!” is the universal signal to use before
tossing down a rappel rope. To prevent
tangles, butterfly coil the rope first. At crowded
climbing and rappelling sites, when people
are down below, a better method is to simply
lower the rope from the ends until the entire
rope is down.

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