I was climbing at Ragged Mountain last weekend, trying to find one of the smaller areas (Owl's Lair) which get sun in the morning. I came across a couple of guys and asked if they knew if Owl's Lair was further down the trail. One dude answered, "You mean where they do all the rappeling?"

I kept walking.

Oh its annoying!

I was just thinking though...

there is a tremendous sense of ... relief! When you get down a committing series of raps. But at least for me, at times, there has also been a tremendous sense of .... satisfaction. Of a job well done.

Up in the high mountains with darkness or weather approaching, or on us... first ascents, trade walls, blah blah some serious frigging raps. And not always 'uncomplicated' either. Some of them involve copious amounts of down climbing, route finding and anchor building.

You can get seriously fucked if you do something wrong. But you can also shine.

I've been with teams of climbers oin summits, where every member has many years if not decades of experience and yet no one seems to want to take the lead on that virgin rappel over the backside.

And then a commender rises. She may not have been the strongest climber on the route, or the most stylish leader. But she's part climber part mechanic part engineer and this shit is her forte.

She takes the lead, checks the pro, rigs the anchors,pull checks, guides her partners in, and then the nail-biting moment -

THE PULL.

And down it comes. Oh shit - heart stopping moment - it hung in a tree and the three of you are on an overhanging wall in the middle of no where.

But some more pulling brings it down and you want to shout for joy, weep with relief.

Except you have 9 more just like it below you and now is not the time for celebration. At least you don't have to crank anymore, but you haven't had water in hours and you can't really smile because it cracks your lips into pieces and hurts like hell.

Alternately gray faced and sunburnt neck, she threads the anchors, rigs up, rigs her backup and down she goes. She cranes this way and that, boldly tying herself off to deal with a tangle.

She disappears below a ledge and a long silence ensues. You can't even look at each other for the stress of it all. Finally?

The PULL TEST!

Without a shout, without comment, she's rigged another anchor, secured and ready for you to go.

Down, down, down you go till finally your heels touch down at the bottom. And then the last pull.

As that last rope plops down into a ragged pile and you start the giant bow sting moves to butterfly coil it, you look at one another - your partners.

And again it hits home just how much trust you put in these people. Its amazing really. And then you glance at her - the engineer, the mechanic, the dreamer.... and you're proud to be there.

Proud.

Raps are dangerous. But they are a necessary part of the gig - part and parcel to climbing. You cannot master climbing if you don't master the descent as well.

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Cheers mates
DMT

My first time attached to a rope was when rappelling into Moaning Cavern. it was not a rock climbing thing. There was no climbing and no climbers. It was a spelunking thing and going up and down a rope is normal. It wasn't some rope trick that was frowned on at all like it is in the climbing community.

Heck. It was fun.

I've never rappelled off a multi-pitch route before and have not had to bail. I can imagine that that much rappelling and in that type of situation, it might not be fun at all. Bailing off a route in bad conditions and rappelling for the fun of it or to get to the end of the rope in some cave are just not the same thing.

Dave