![]() ![]() But there’s maybe an increased chance of getting your hair stuck, because it’s closer to your head, so this might be a trade off. (Both of these mistakes are common causes of rappelling accidents.) By extending the device away from any clothing, it’s easier for you and your partner to inspect.Ĥ - You have less chance of your clothing getting caught in your rappel device. If you’re rapping off your belay loop, and if you’re wearing loose or bulky clothing, and/or it’s dark, it can be a struggle to look down and be SURE that your rappel device is in fact threaded correctly and the carabiner gate is locked. Pre-rigging is covered in depth here.ģ - Easier to rig your rappel device correctly. Pre-rigging improves safety, because the last person can get a safety check, and it improves speed, because there’s no waiting around for each person to rig for the rappel. The extension allows them to stand close to the anchor but not be pulled around by the rapelling person, who is tensioning the rope. This means that team members use an extension, rig for the rap at the same time, and leave their rappel devices on the rope while other people are rapping. (Personally, I think of it like wearing a seatbelt.)Ģ - Allows the whole team to “pre-rig” a rappel. Or, are you rapping with one or more challenges, such as beginners, darkness, cold, wet, icy ropes, new ropes that are slick, heavy pack, heavy rappeller, vertical or free hanging, pendulum to reach the next rap station, rope cluster that needs fixing, single strand, unsure of the next anchor location, etc.? In these cases using an auto block can be an excellent idea. One alternative: the first person down uses an auto block, everyone else gets a firefighter’s delay from below.)Īre you doing a straightforward rappel on a bluebird day with no complicating factors? Then you can maybe skip the auto block. (Note: With a larger group, especially beginners, adding an autoblock for every climber can take a long time. ![]() This is the most secure and comfortable place to clip it (better than your leg loop), it keeps the rope and the auto block centered in a straight line, helps the rope feed more smoothly, and ensures the auto block does not become caught in your rappel device. With an extended rappel, you can clip an auto block directly to your belay loop. Why would I want to do this?Įxcellent question! Here are some answers, in rough order of importance.ġ - Works better with an auto block “third hand” back up. You get better control of the Grigri lever when it's closer to your body. Note: If you're rappelling a single strand of rope on a Grigri or similar auto locking belay device, it's best to NOT use an extended rappel. If it’s just one pitch to the ground and a bluebird day, then the traditional rap off of the belay loop should work just fine. However, there are some subtle benefits to it, outlined below, that you may want to consider. ![]() Should you use this set up on every rappel? Probably not. If you have an awkward start to the rappel, such as having to shimmy off of a ledge in a weird way, the extended hardware can sometimes scrape on the ledge as you’re getting started. Ironically enough, this extra cluster can make it a little harder to do a proper safety check, because the front of your harness gets pretty busy. It also add some extra cluster onto your belay loop depending on how you set it up, you could have three total carabiners and associated webbing on your loop, rather than just a single rappel carabiner. Tuck away your hair, clothing, and anything that may get caught. There’s a potential for long hair to get caught in the rappel device. It requires a bit extra gear and time to properly set up. So, even though it’s in a lot of instructional books and websites, let's cover some rigging options and the benefits, a couple of which are not generally recognized. While it’s now becoming more standard, many beginners may not be familiar with this method, or the various ways you can rig it. I recall seeing as a diagram in a long-ago Petzl catalog and thinking, “Hmmm, I’m not so sure about that one…” Maybe a decade ago, the extended rappel was regarded by many as a sort of a fringe Euro rope trick. Simply put, rather than attaching your rappel device directly to your belay loop in the standard manner, you add some sort of runner / carabiner combination to “extend” it farther away from your body. ![]()
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