Rappelling 101

[Patriot]

I use spurs and love them. However climbing down is more hairy than climbing up so I’m intrigued by rappelling. It is intimidating and it seems scary to try and do but so was saddle hunting at first and now it’s second nature and I love my swings and pulleys.

I’ve been researching the threads but I can’t find any posts or videos that help me truly understand. Other rappel newbs have said the same and asked for a detailed video. If someone could do that it would be greatly appreciated.

Until that day I have some questions:

1. What will it cost? Rope and devices and backup sliders, Kong’s, choys and Ruiz or whatever these widgets are?

2. How tough is the learning curve?

3. What does a basic set up consist of? 30 feet of rope (what mm?) and then what else? What’s an entry level safe set up that I won’t want to upgrade immediately entail?

 

[weekender21]

If you've never rappelled I don't recommend learning via internet threads. Find a local rock gym and get the basics down. They'll likely teach you with a figure eight but most experienced climbers should be willing to show you with an ATC and autoblock (french prusik) backup. That's about as simple as it gets.

Here's your video, courtesy of Jamie Cline

1. You can do it fairly inexpensive, I recommend rope, ATC, autoblock and pull cord/carabiner.
-You'll need ~30-40 feet of static rappel rope ($0.84/foot for 9mm Sterling HTP)
-ATC $15-$25
-6.5mm prusik cord (low end) $10 or Sterling Hollowblock (high end) $18
-30’ of paracord and small carabiner, $5-$20

2. That's a loaded question. It's not hard but I've seen grown men knee knocking pretty bad. I guess a good bit depends on your confidence. If you're spiking up/down trees I bet you'll be fine, rappelling down is much safer.

3. See point one. You could do it with quality equipment with less than $60. Maybe $75 to be safe. It could get more expensive if you want to use a mechanical belay device but if you're only descending, I highly recommend the ATC/autoblock route.

Feel free to PM if you have any questions, I'd be happy to talk with you on the phone if you want.

 

[weekender21]

Watch this to learn how to tie an autoblock.

 

[weekender21]

This is what my set up looks like. The only real mistake you can make here would be to have your autoblock too close to your ATC. IF it gets caught in your ATC, that would be bad. You should be easily able to prevent that by testing your system out at ground level. With this system, just squeeze the autoblock and down you go.

If you decided to use a figure eight, it’s basically fool proof.

ATC with Sterling Hollowblock:

I think it’s in Jamie’s video but DON’T forget to connect your pull cord before you rappel down. I use a very small rated wire gate carabiner (Metolius Bravo) but that’s not necessary. My reasoning is just to have a backup if needed for something else. Realistically, you could probably use a keychain carabiner.

Picture from ground once the line was pulled down. I connect just behind the figure eight, wire gate out. This way, the knot comes down first and you don’t have to be concerned about pulling it through a tree crotch. Key is to ensure a clear path for your rope to come down prior to the rappel.

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[slonstdy]

Between @weekender21's posts and the Jcline84 video you're all set really.
The cost is totally dependent on your choice of gear. I use 40 ft of 9mm HTP, a Black Diamond ATC and a 35cm Beal Jammy prusik for an autoblock, a simple and relatively inexpensive set up.
What I found to be the most difficult when I first started was actually learning to trust the rope to hold me. It was "no sweat, easy peasy" testing from one stick height but on my 22' high platform I found I wasn't so confident stepping off!
The best advice I can give you is practice with your gear to the point that you can set it up blindfolded but more importantly is this: Each and every time you are about to rappel - STOP and take an extra minute to double check your rigging. Go over each piece of gear and verify carabiners are closed and everything is connected and at the proper attachment points. Remember your life is literally on the line.
Good luck and be safe.

 

[weekender21]

Between @weekender21's posts and the Jcline84 video you're all set really.
The cost is totally dependent on your choice of gear. I use 40 ft of 9mm HTP, a Black Diamond ATC and a 35cm Beal Jammy prusik for an autoblock, a simple and relatively inexpensive set up.
What I found to be the most difficult when I first started was actually learning to trust the rope to hold me. It was "no sweat, easy peasy" testing from one stick height but on my 22' high platform I found I wasn't so confident stepping off!
The best advice I can give you is practice with your gear to the point that you can set it up blindfolded but more importantly is this: Each and every time you are about to rappel - STOP and take an extra minute to double check your rigging. Go over each piece of gear and verify carabiners are closed and everything is connected and at the proper attachment points. Remember your life is literally on the line.
Good luck and be safe.

Such a great point about testing at "one stick height". I have a tree in the yard that gives me a 10-12 foot rappel opportunity. I can easily climb down if something isn't right. That tree gets used anytime I'm testing something new.

 

[tmattson]

I have watched Jamie's video numerous times, just noticed, what is he using for his auto-block rope? Like the single eye loop that connects to the caribiner.

 

[Patriot]

I love the Jamie Cline video but it didn’t dumb it down enough for me. I was really hoping he could do another one with more detail. Like an idiots guide.

 

[GTel]

Also looking to start rappelling after a hunt. I've done it a bunch of times at rock climbing places with a belayer and it's always a blast. Anyone ever use the Black Diamond ATC-XP? Any benefit to this model? Says it's lighter and has 3x the holding power. Is that a good thing? And in Jamie's video, it looks like he's using a sewn loop standard prusik with two wraps rather than a French prusik autoblock. Or did I see that incorrectly? Thanks!

Sent from up in a tree

 

[Flee]

Also looking to start rappelling after a hunt. I've done it a bunch of times at rock climbing places with a belayer and it's always a blast. Anyone ever use the Black Diamond ATC-XP? Any benefit to this model? Says it's lighter and has 3x the holding power. Is that a good thing? And in Jamie's video, it looks like he's using a sewn loop standard prusik with two wraps rather than a French prusik autoblock. Or did I see that incorrectly? Thanks!

Sent from up in a tree

I use the ATC-XP. I like it but it’s the only thing I’ve ever used.

 

[tmattson]

I have a BD ATC-XT, the Sterling Hollow Block, just need the rope. Was going to get 9mm HTP to start playing with rappel this winter, but then saw guys using OpLux. Have not decided on what rope yet, be nice to have one single rope for tether and rappel. I sent email to Sterling and they told me the ATC-XT is for 9-11mm only, but could use Oplux 8mm in double rope mode. I know guys have used and are using it "out of spec", in sigle rope mode, but if I go that route think I will get the ATC rated for OpLux.

 

[Homebrew454]

I use the madrock wingman belay device. I'm using it with 9mm htp with an autoblock below it. It works great and I think it is capable of 8mm rope as well. Madrocks website is terrible for specs but reviews I have read claim 8mm rope.

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[smcchevy]

I have been rappelling with Army 3 strand. Cheap but somewhat bulky, this is a nice setup (https://rwrope.com/collections/pres...7-16-three-strand-rope?variant=14089980346421). I would love to get oplux and a grivel master mono (https://grivel.com/products/master-mono). Maybe Santa will bring some.

 

[Red Beard]

I have a BD ATC-XT, the Sterling Hollow Block, just need the rope. Was going to get 9mm HTP to start playing with rappel this winter, but then saw guys using OpLux. Have not decided on what rope yet, be nice to have one single rope for tether and rappel. I sent email to Sterling and they told me the ATC-XT is for 9-11mm only, but could use Oplux 8mm in double rope mode. I know guys have used and are using it "out of spec", in sigle rope mode, but if I go that route think I will get the ATC rated for OpLux.

Just go ahead and jump on the OpLux wagon since you'll eventually end up there anyway. Seriously, I went from 10.5mm to 9mm HTP to OpLux. Wish I had a picture of a bee's patella to help me explain...

 

[bj139]

Go to Youtube and search for rappeling videos by certified rock climbing organizations. They are usually right. I would not blindly trust anything posted by a user who may have been shown last week how to do something and now they want to post a video.

 

[weekender21]

Also looking to start rappelling after a hunt. I've done it a bunch of times at rock climbing places with a belayer and it's always a blast. Anyone ever use the Black Diamond ATC-XP? Any benefit to this model? Says it's lighter and has 3x the holding power. Is that a good thing? And in Jamie's video, it looks like he's using a sewn loop standard prusik with two wraps rather than a French prusik autoblock. Or did I see that incorrectly? Thanks!

Sent from up in a tree

He’s using a regular Prusik. An autoblock (French Prusik) works better for this application.


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[weekender21]

I love the Jamie Cline video but it didn’t dumb it down enough for me. I was really hoping he could do another one with more detail. Like an idiots guide.

That was my point on not using this forum to learn how to rappel. That video is very intuitive for those that have rappelling experience. Don’t shortcut this, learn from someone in person.


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[dlist777]

I too want to start rappelling. I have been practicing in the backyard. I use an RC harness and add a runner to the belay loop to hook (via locking caribiner) into a black diamond sport ATC. I am using OpLux and a beal jammy as my backup. But, when I was testing tying the beal jammy into an autoblock, I found it didn't seem to grab well enough. I started tying the jammy into a prussik and it seemed to work better.

Question for the experienced: Is there any problem tying your backup into a prussik vs. an autoblock?

 

[Homebrew454]

You could try an extra loop/wrap with the autoblock or a tighter wrap. Both should help to get a better grip. Others have used the prussic with good results. I have not tried it though as it can get tight when I used it on my tether

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[smcchevy]

I too want to start rappelling. I have been practicing in the backyard. I use an RC harness and add a runner to the belay loop to hook (via locking caribiner) into a black diamond sport ATC. I am using OpLux and a beal jammy as my backup. But, when I was testing tying the beal jammy into an autoblock, I found it didn't seem to grab well enough. I started tying the jammy into a prussik and it seemed to work better.

Question for the experienced: Is there any problem tying your backup into a prussik vs. an autoblock?

Be careful with too much friction in your backup brake.

If the prussik grabs and locks down you have to re-tether and climb up the tree to get enough slack to return to descending. Don't ask how far off the ground I was when I figured this out.