• The SH Membership has gone live. Only SH Members have access to post in the classifieds. All members can view the classifieds. Starting in 2020 only SH Members will be admitted to the annual hunting contest. Current members will need to follow these steps to upgrade: 1. Click on your username 2. Click on Account upgrades 3. Choose SH Member and purchase.
  • We've been working hard the past few weeks to come up with some big changes to our vendor policies to meet the changing needs of our community. Please see the new vendor rules here: Vendor Access Area Rules

Rappelling

Still Kicking said:
74 in September been rappelling since 1982. I feel it is the safest way for me to go down. Just take your time and double check every connection before you commit. Do it from 3 feet a lot then go to 5 feet. You need to get comfortable and establish your checklists before attempting climbing height descents.
Click to expand...
Yes I’m 43 and been rappelling for two years. It’s easy but I sure take a pause beforehand, assess and reassess to make sure everything looks good. No issues whatsoever so far (other than the occasional difficulty in rope retrieval from the tree) but I really really don’t want to ever mess it up.
 
I've got a few more years before I'm 60 and I've been rappelling the last two years. I will not go back to anything else. I agree with all of the previous comments especially about making sure you have all of your connections correct and any mechanical belay device properly set up. Practice on the ground until it is second nature...... like you can do it in the dark if you have too second nature. Also, if you're using a something like an MR Safegaurd, please back it up with a something like a loop of sterling hollowblock wrapped around your rope with a biner to your bridgeloop or LB loop. Also be sure to check and double check to be sure your device is in spec for the diameter of rope you will be using.
 
HuumanCreed said:
I'm always exploring new way to get up the tree. But once I discovered rappelling, its the only way I'll go down the tree. Look up any stats you want, but most tree stand/saddle accidents happened during the climb and setup, which is 5% of the whole hunting timeframe.
Click to expand...
You should also know that a majority of sport climbing accidents and death come from rappelling related incidents. Switching over to your rappel line, not double checking you set up, or even rappelling without a back up autoblock are just some ways you can end up getting hurt. Rappelling down may reduce some risks, but it also may increase risk if done improperly. Switching over to your rappel rope, especially at dark can be very dangerous. Is rappelling fun, quick and easy? Yes. But let’s not disregard the risks when we are hyping up rappelling.
 
woodsdog2 said:
I've got a few more years before I'm 60 and I've been rappelling the last two years. I will not go back to anything else. I agree with all of the previous comments especially about making sure you have all of your connections correct and any mechanical belay device properly set up. Practice on the ground until it is second nature...... like you can do it in the dark if you have too second nature. Also, if you're using a something like an MR Safegaurd, please back it up with a something like a loop of sterling hollowblock wrapped around your rope with a biner to your bridgeloop or LB loop. Also be sure to check and double check to be sure your device is in spec for the diameter of rope you will be using.
Click to expand...
woodsdog2 said:
I've got a few more years before I'm 60 and I've been rappelling the last two years. I will not go back to anything else. I agree with all of the previous comments especially about making sure you have all of your connections correct and any mechanical belay device properly set up. Practice on the ground until it is second nature...... like you can do it in the dark if you have too second nature. Also, if you're using a something like an MR Safegaurd, please back it up with a something like a loop of sterling hollowblock wrapped around your rope with a biner to your bridgeloop or LB loop. Also be sure to check and double check to be sure your device is in spec for the diameter of rope you will be using.
Click to expand...
I already have it backed up a hollow block and the rope is 9mm
woodsdog2 said:
I've got a few more years before I'm 60 and I've been rappelling the last two years. I will not go back to anything else. I agree with all of the previous comments especially about making sure you have all of your connections correct and any mechanical belay device properly set up. Practice on the ground until it is second nature...... like you can do it in the dark if you have too second nature. Also, if you're using a something like an MR Safegaurd, please back it up with a something like a loop of sterling hollowblock wrapped around your rope with a biner to your bridgeloop or LB loop. Also be sure to check and double check to be sure your device is in spec for the diameter of rope you will be using.
Click to expand...
I have the Madrock backed up with the hollow block and I use Sterling C-IV canyon it's 9mm . I been saddle hunting for a very longtime and decided to try rappelling . I did practice from the ground before I ever tried it from higher up in a tree. I am very comfortable with the Madrock and using the hollow block as a backup. I do test my equipment and it is checked before each time it is used. I worked heavy construction for 35 years and worked from heights and was trained to check everything because your life depended on it.
 
gcr0003 said:
You should also know that a majority of sport climbing accidents and death come from rappelling related incidents. Switching over to your rappel line, not double checking you set up, or even rappelling without a back up autoblock are just some ways you can end up getting hurt. Rappelling down may reduce some risks, but it also may increase risk if done improperly. Switching over to your rappel rope, especially at dark can be very dangerous. Is rappelling fun, quick and easy? Yes. But let’s not disregard the risks when we are hyping up rappelling.
Click to expand...

I agree with some caveat! Of course most sport climbing accidents and death come from rappelling! Its like saying most car accident happens on the road. I did some light reading after reading your post, so my info is still shallow. But based on some other stats, the type of terrain and weather play a big role in accidents. For our usage, those are mostly controlled, so only major possible source of accident is rappelling.

But I actually dont switch over in my system. I one stick up, then add the rappelling/tether rope as an additional tether. All setup ready to rappel. You're right that rappelling does have more steps to check. Staying vigilant is a must.
 
gcr0003 said:
You should also know that a majority of sport climbing accidents and death come from rappelling related incidents. Switching over to your rappel line, not double checking you set up, or even rappelling without a back up autoblock are just some ways you can end up getting hurt. Rappelling down may reduce some risks, but it also may increase risk if done improperly. Switching over to your rappel rope, especially at dark can be very dangerous. Is rappelling fun, quick and easy? Yes. But let’s not disregard the risks when we are hyping up rappelling.
Click to expand...
I know guys that use the rappel line as their tether. I run two bridges and both are connected to my carabiner and I am using my rappel rope as my tether so there's no transfering of anything. My Madrock is backed up with a hollow block.
 
Apex7 said:
I know guys that use the rappel line as their tether. I run two bridges and both are connected to my carabiner and I am using my rappel rope as my tether so there's no transfering of anything. My Madrock is backed up with a hollow block.
Click to expand...
any pictures of that setup?
 
HuumanCreed said:
I agree with some caveat! Of course most sport climbing accidents and death come from rappelling! Its like saying most car accident happens on the road. I did some light reading after reading your post, so my info is still shallow. But based on some other stats, the type of terrain and weather play a big role in accidents. For our usage, those are mostly controlled, so only major possible source of accident is rappelling.

But I actually dont switch over in my system. I one stick up, then add the rappelling/tether rope as an additional tether. All setup ready to rappel. You're right that rappelling does have more steps to check. Staying vigilant is a must.
Click to expand...

And a lot of the sport climbing rappelling incidents are due to climbers running out of rope (with no stopper knot) on very long rappels. So not really applicable to how we operate as saddle hunters. Safety statistics are quite easily skewed it seems. In my opinion, and in my experience, rappelling down is considerably safer than climbing down on sticks and aiders, especially in dark or wet conditions. It's the reason that I choose to rappel down.
 
slonstdy said:
HAPPY B-DAY!!

Age is irrelevant in regards to rappelling. There's no physical effort required to do it and once you master the technique you're golden.
The hard part of rappelling is getting up the tree.
Good luck and enjoy your B-Day!
Click to expand...
The main items of concern are:
  • Make sure you have a backup/recovery plan for every situation you can anticipate that's in line with your physical abilities
  • If you get a rope stuck, be willing to leave it before you do something stupid to retrieve it.
Basically don't get yourself into situations without a safe way out, and don't make stupid choices. It's rare, but equipment can fail (I recall @elk yinzer having a safeguard handle break, for example) and you don't want a "safe" failure to become dangerous because you don't have a viable backup plan.
 
d1befb0cce577a442faf59d64e1a11c2.gif
 
Rappel here At 48, but I’m sure I’ll still be doing at 60 if all goes to plan. If you hunt from your rappel line as a tether, and set up on a mechanical to avoid switch your line (where things can go wrong), good idea to tie a quick alpine butterfly below the device (mammut, gri-gri, safeguard) while you hunt, or have a backup friction hitch. These devices are designed for belay and rappel, not designed to hold you in place for 6 hours, and sometimes when you put slack in the system while standing up and putting on layers, fiddling on the platform, you can get some slippage. of course, you’ll need to untie the butterfly before you descend.

one disadvange guys don’t talk about is gnarly, limby trees can cause some annoyances in line retrieval, especially in the dark. You‘ll learn to flip the rope, walk at different angles, etc to make this easier With practice. It’s not a major factor, but some of the guys doing 2TC are opting to shimmy down with tethers (rather than rappel) to avoid this step And the weight/bulk of the rappel rope.

My early season method will be 2TC, but late season is 3 stick, movable aider with rappel. Rappel allows more aggressive stick spacing, since you don’t need the scary night time movable aider descent.
 
TommyDee said:
one disadvange guys don’t talk about is gnarly, limby trees can cause some annoyances in line retrieval, especially in the dark.
Click to expand...
Yeah this is why I say "be ready to leave your rope". You can definitely learn to be good at retrieving it...but also have the discipline to walk away if you screw up.
 
TommyDee said:
Rappel here At 48, but I’m sure I’ll still be doing at 60 if all goes to plan. If you hunt from your rappel line as a tether, and set up on a mechanical to avoid switch your line (where things can go wrong), good idea to tie a quick alpine butterfly below the device (mammut, gri-gri, safeguard) while you hunt, or have a backup friction hitch. These devices are designed for belay and rappel, not designed to hold you in place for 6 hours, and sometimes when you put slack in the system while standing up and putting on layers, fiddling on the platform, you can get some slippage. of course, you’ll need to untie the butterfly before you descend.

one disadvange guys don’t talk about is gnarly, limby trees can cause some annoyances in line retrieval, especially in the dark. You‘ll learn to flip the rope, walk at different angles, etc to make this easier With practice. It’s not a major factor, but some of the guys doing 2TC are opting to shimmy down with tethers (rather than rappel) to avoid this step And the weight/bulk of the rappel rope.

My early season method will be 2TC, but late season is 3 stick, movable aider with rappel. Rappel allows more aggressive stick spacing, since you don’t need the scary night time movable aider descent.
Click to expand...
I’ve had the rope get pretty hung up with bad branches and nasty bark but I just take my pull down line, wrap it under my butt, walk out about 15 feet from the tree and sit into my pull up line. It comes right out.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top