I am a nineteen year old college student and I am considering taking up rappelling as a "relaxation" hobby, something to get me out of the college monotony. I want to get a few good opinions on whether or not it's a good idea for me, safety being the main concern.
I have taken a few safety precautions before hand - I got my belay certification through the YMCA and got familiar with most of the gear through a search and rescue team with some friends. As far as gear goes, I purchased a new 300' static line made made by Samson (9.5mm with 5700 lb test) which I plan to use as a double rope. I also purchased a few D ring non locking carabiners and a figure 8 descender from Black Diamond, along with some webbing for anchors and a swiss seat.
Anyway, I just had some second thoughts after hanging over the hundred foot drop for the first time, and I want to know if I am just being paranoid or not. Any advice is appreciated.
Be Careful with what you post on RC.com. You'll have to sort through the BS to find a decent answer here.
As for the info. Ditch the swiss seat and buy a actual harness, nothing fancy just anything that is comfortable. my first harness that I used was $40.
The rest of the gear is fine. Just make sure that you COMPLETELY understand the anchor setup before you jump onto anything. Don't ever trust the setup anchoring to just one tree.
You'll get use to dropping over the ledge. If I'm not mistaken just before you go over, your body is under twice the force than normal, but DON'T quote me.
And to all the people out there with the torches...
If you're somewhere you can rappel, you're probably somewhere you can climb - ditch the whole sport rappelling concept and learn to climb. Rappelling as an activity by itself is a bit frightening and you miss pretty much all the best vertical terrain has to offer.
I am a nineteen year old college student and I am considering taking up rappelling as a "relaxation" hobby, something to get me out of the college monotony. I want to get a few good opinions on whether or not it's a good idea for me, safety being the main concern.
I have taken a few safety precautions before hand - I got my belay certification through the YMCA and got familiar with most of the gear through a search and rescue team with some friends. As far as gear goes, I purchased a new 300' static line made made by Samson (9.5mm with 5700 lb test) which I plan to use as a double rope. I also purchased a few D ring non locking carabiners and a figure 8 descender from Black Diamond, along with some webbing for anchors and a swiss seat.
Anyway, I just had some second thoughts after hanging over the hundred foot drop for the first time, and I want to know if I am just being paranoid or not. Any advice is appreciated.
Thanks, Matt
Matt, I'm with everybody else on this one... why exclude climbing? I would think if you were to take a good course on setting up top rope anchors it would do nothing but make you safer to rap.
Also, when you are ditching the swiss seat for a harness, pick up some locking biners!!!
I'll second everything said so far. Lockers are a must. I actually like rappelling (seems a lot of people I climb with don't), but I would think it would get a little boring if that is all you did. Climbing offers more of a mental challenge and, for me, is the great relaxation. It is hard to worry about work/school/ect... when you are pushing yourself on a climb close to your limit.
Have fun, rappel, be safe. Also, want to second the advise about anchors, don't take for granted that a big tree/rock will hold, look at every anchor critically.
I'm pretty much in agreement with all the advice given so far. Two points - it's a really good idea to have someone else along with you - each of you can check over the system & each other's rig to make sure you're not making stupid mistakes. A lot of folks still get a touch of fear as they're starting the rappel. Sometimes yes, sometimes no. Personally, I find that it can be especially frightening if I am doing it alone. Finally, some rappel starts are easier than others.
Be Careful with what you post on RC.com. You'll have to sort through the BS to find a decent answer here.
i hate hearing this
abock33 wrote:
As for the info. Ditch the swiss seat and buy a actual harness, nothing fancy just anything that is comfortable. my first harness that I used was $40.
agree - good advise
abock33 wrote:
The rest of the gear is fine. Just make sure that you COMPLETELY understand the anchor setup before you jump onto anything. Don't ever trust the setup anchoring to just one tree.
best advice! (understanding anchors!) - volumes are written on this subject. often very experienced climbers/mountaineers die in repelling accidents. read about and understand anchoring techinques - take a top rope anchor course from your local gym. do these things before you go. always us a back up (prussic).
abock33 wrote:
You'll get use to dropping over the ledge. If I'm not mistaken just before you go over, your body is under twice the force than normal, but DON'T quote me.
don't be "dropping" or jumping off or stuff like you see on tv! when you stop during a repell - if your going fast (which i don't advise) and you stop quickly ( which i don't advise) you could quadruple the load on your anchor! never good! take it slow. don't abraid your rope, create two anchored "legs" to the power point. always chk & dlb chk your setup!
(This post was edited by reg on Jan 12, 2007, 1:55 PM)
Get a real harness, if only for the comfort. You're doing this for relaxation, right?
You are probably going to know if your rope is on the ground, but if you don't... don't rappel.
Learn to climb the rope. Then if your rope doesn't hit the ground, you're ok. Find out if your college has a caving club. You may be able to get instruction and/or practice time climbing a static line with them.
Also make/buy some rope pads to pad the edges or rub spots you might potentially encounter at the lip. This will make your rope last longer.
Rappelling with a safety prussic is a good idea.
Unless you have a knot in the middle of your rope which is attached to your anchor, doubling the rope for rappel really won't do that much for you. It will give you a little more to grab, which will be a good thing in the beginning, but you are perfectly safe on a single 9.5 static line provided you are in control of your rappel and your edges are padded, a safety prussic is a good idea. But, if you are planning on pulling your rope down, then doubling is the way to go. (You still have to march to the top to get your anchor material back though, right?)
Being scared going over a lip at the beginning is normal.
Rappelling is for coming down from a climb, and not one of the safest things. Most climbers, if they have a choice, will walk down, rather than rappell.
Ditch the figure eight descender for something else. ATC, rappel rack, anything. Eights have been known to crossload, and break, carabiners. Like others have pointed out, rapelling is one of the more dangerous aspects of climbing, why not just take up climbing? You'll still get to rappel.
Rappelling is how I first got into high angle rescue. I found that in the beginning it was quite exciting. But a few years later, it is not all that. I get more of a rush sending people over the edge for the first time(of course after proper class time) as I then remember my earlier fears. Climbing is by far more relaxing, healthy, and invigorating than just doing a repetitive decent!
Be Careful with what you post on RC.com. You'll have to sort through the BS to find a decent answer here.
i hate hearing this
Just a tangent. Sorry Matt. I hate it as well but it's the God's honest truth. Only moderation can change this. And that would be a full time job for every mod here.
Matt, Have fun, be safe and think reduntant thoughts. You received some great ideas above. Go research them here, use the search function above, and always make an educated decision. Hope you decide to take on rock in the upward direction in the future. We need guys like you. Welcome to RC.com
I don't know about the prussik backup guys. I've done a lot of reading on this subject (I'm an amateur arborist) and it seems that a prussik backup can actually make the situation more fatal because in an uncontrolled fall, your first instinct is to grab the rope and that usually means you grab the prussik.
I would second the idea of having a partner but have them on the ground giving you a fireman's belay, thats much safer. Also, read a LOT about anchors and SRENE. Never, never, never do this alone... most climbing accidents are on the way back down (and since you're oonly going down, it is risky).
Thanks for the info everyone. I will for sure get some locking carabiners and a harness. I had already researched the prussik safety on my own and had decided against it. Anyway, I'll probably look into climbing as a hobby instead, since I already got the gear.
I don't know about the prussik backup guys. I've done a lot of reading on this subject (I'm an amateur arborist) and it seems that a prussik backup can actually make the situation more fatal because in an uncontrolled fall, your first instinct is to grab the rope and that usually means you grab the prussik.
During a rappel its unlikely that you're going to have an "uncontrolled fall". My .02: an autoblock, prussik, klemheist, whatever you want to use (BTW, autoblock works the best) is a good idea. A small piece of cord lives on my harness for just this purpose.
Tie knots on the end o' your ropes (especialy a doubled rope through a biner.)
Ditch the Figure 8 (for listed reasons, plus a reverso/guide atc will come in handy once you get addicted to going back UP the rock with friends.)
Autoblock (your choice) UNDER your rap device, I think is highly recommended. That way it only has to hold the force that your hands use to hold you on the rope.
Learn to accend before you take big decents. My 2 cents
(This post was edited by carbonrx8 on Jan 13, 2007, 2:37 AM)
I had already researched the prussik safety on my own and had decided against it.
You might want to re-research that one and maybe re-decide too. Its not expensive and takes little time for a lot of extra safety. Possibly use a Petzl shunt if money is no object
It looks like the majority is in favor a backup prusik or autoblock or something like that. I will research more and probably end up finding that they are really useful. I would like to know a little more about why the figure 8 is a bad idea. All the published climbing guides that I have read and all the peer reviewed articles indicate that a figure 8 is an acceptable descending device. Could someone please direct me to a source that explores these dangers more fully. Until then, I'll be testing out my new locking carabiner and the prusik knot thanks to the advice of all of you.
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