Page 67 - Rappelling

The RENE Principle Principles of Equalization

The RENE principle is a simple, easy to remember
acronym used for evaluating a rappel anchor system. Pre-Equalized System
RENE stands for Redundancy, Equalization, and In a pre-equalized system you anticipate the direc-
No Extension. tion that your anchor system will be loaded and tie
Redundancy means there is no place in the your slings or cord from the various anchor points
anchor system where you are relying on any one to an equalized master point, to which the rappel
single component, be it a bolt, strand of cord, sling, rope is attached. Using this system, if the anticipated
quick link, or ring—in other words, there is always direction of loading shifts slightly in any direction,
a backup. For bolt anchors the minimum would be
two bolts, preferably ⁄8-inch diameter. Clipping a
3
rappel rope into the anchor system’s master point
with a single, locking carabiner would not be redun-
dant. For retrievable rappels, threading your rope
through a single rap ring is not redundant. With
regard to natural anchors, if the anchor is a single—
but bombproof—natural feature, like a huge tree or
solid tunnel in the rock, the anchor is technically
nonredundant, but you can still have redundancy
in the way you rig your slings and/or cord around
or through the anchor. Always seek redundancy in
your rigging.
Equalization means that when the load is
applied to the master point on the anchor system,
the weight is evenly divided onto all the various
components in the anchor. An anchor can be pre-
equalized, which means that the system is tied off to
accept a force in one specific direction (most often
the case in rappelling), or self-equalizing, meaning
the anchor is rigged to adjust to loading within a
range of direction changes.
No Extension means that if any one piece in
the anchor fails, there will not be any significant
amount of slack that develops before the load can
be transferred to the remaining pieces. This is a key
concept to remember when rigging rappel anchors The most common fixed anchor you’ll encounter
that are extended over an edge, as often the anchors is a two-bolt anchor. An easy and bomber pre-
are a significant distance away from the master equalized rappel rig is a simple V configuration.
point. A good rule of thumb is to limit any exten- Thread two separate 5-foot lengths of nylon
sion in your anchor system to no more than half webbing through each bolt hanger and two rap
the length of a single (24-inch) sling. rings, then tie each sling with a water knot.

56 RAPPELLING

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