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Rappelling 101

emrah.oruc.7 said:
So I’m sure it’s been covered, but how do you get your tether down once you’re on the ground?

Emrah


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Just to be clear, that’s my rappel rope which could be used as a tether and I assume that’s what you meant. My separate tether is stowed in a SYS hauler before I rappel down but that’s not a necessary step if you’re using the rappel rope as your tether.


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So I rappelled about 40 times from 6' today with the oplux/ATC Sport. From what I've read and seen in videos, belay devices are supposed to give enough friction to hold you in place by just holding the tail end straight down, and the autoblock is just a backup to stop you if you let go of the tail. The Sport/oplux combo definitely did not give me enough friction to hold safely in place. I tried a 1/2 soft sheath rope and you could bounce in place and the ATC held great, so the diameter and smoothness of the oplux definitely has a negative impact on the ATC's functionality. Many posts in the climbing forums recommended using two carabiners with the belay device, to create more friction, like in the first pic. This definitely made it easier to hold in place when holding the tail end straight down, but still nowhere near enough to reliably hold yourself in place without the autoblock. Using the Sterling Hollow Block as the autoblock and two carabiners on the ATC, the line didn't slip at all and was a MUCH smoother rappel than the bumpy ride with only one carabiner. I'm also using my rappel rope as my tether and leaving the bridge connected to the Beal Jammy for the rappel down. I just held it loose in my left hand with my hand resting on the ATC and didn't have any issues with it catching. Since all my trees are bolted, even if it does catch, I can just step on a bolt to take the pressure off the prusik and loosen it. The two biners connected to the ATC aren't the ones I'm going to use, but were the largest ones I had so gave the most friction.

Has anyone here used the Edelrid Micro Jul? It's rated for 6.9mm to 8.9mm when using a single rope so might give that a shot.

EDELRID

www.edelrid.de www.edelrid.de
 

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dalton916 said:
That’s a LOT of wraps on that Jammy.
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Yep, it holds super tight yet still easy to slide up after being loaded. And not in that pic is the backup prusik above it that I attach my linesmans belt to once at hunting height. I'm in the data backup business so like lots of redundancy.
 
I know that this is probably a stupid question but how do you get the rope down from the tree after rappelling? Something I’ve been trying to find out but can’t seem to find anyone mention that aspect of rappelling.


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There’s a few responses to this. Basically attach a paracord to your line where it is hitched to the tree. When you reach the ground, pull the paracord to bring the line down.
 
I bought the Edelrid Giga Jul and tested it with 8mm to 11.4mm ropes and it would not lock on any rope. I returned it. I have the Mega Jul now and it does lock on Sterling HTP 9mm and larger ropes I tried. It does not lock on 8.5mm or 8mm ropes. I think I will return it and just stick with my GriGri and Madrock Lifeguard and Safeguard. These lock on every rope I have. I don't think I will try the Micro Jul since I am tired of returning these manual belay devices. Mechanically assisted devices were invented for a reason and this must be it. A few extra ounces for trouble free reliability is worth a few more dollars for me. My life is worth more than the few dollars these have cost me.
 
Zackfrantz said:
I know that this is probably a stupid question but how do you get the rope down from the tree after rappelling? Something I’ve been trying to find out but can’t seem to find anyone mention that aspect of rappelling.


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Look at the second pic in post number 4 in this thread to see how @weekender21 connects the pull down line behind the Knott on the girth hitch.

I've been having a difficult time getting the oplux line to pull down with this method. Seems the girth hitch just doesn't want to loosen up. Anyone else have that issue?

Sent from up in a tree
 
GTel said:
Look at the second pic in post number 4 in this thread to see how @weekender21 connects the pull down line behind the Knott on the girth hitch.

I've been having a difficult time getting the oplux line to pull down with this method. Seems the girth hitch just doesn't want to loosen up. Anyone else have that issue?

Sent from up in a tree
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What tree species are you having issues with? Rough bark? Try stepping away from the tree a few yards. Changing the angle can make retrieval easier.

I haven’t personally had issues but I could see a rough bark tree potentially being more challenging. Some guys are putting a 1” tubular sheath over the part of their rope that contacts the tree, that might be worth trying too.


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GTel said:
Look at the second pic in post number 4 in this thread to see how @weekender21 connects the pull down line behind the Knott on the girth hitch.

I've been having a difficult time getting the oplux line to pull down with this method. Seems the girth hitch just doesn't want to loosen up. Anyone else have that issue?

Sent from up in a tree
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Total speculation but maybe your eye is cinching on the tag end a bit much? Could try what I do: a small prusic tied inside the eye and a clip my retrieval rope to the loop of the prusic.
 

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GTel said:
Look at the second pic in post number 4 in this thread to see how @weekender21 connects the pull down line behind the Knott on the girth hitch.

I've been having a difficult time getting the oplux line to pull down with this method. Seems the girth hitch just doesn't want to loosen up. Anyone else have that issue?

Sent from up in a tree
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Hook your pull down rope the loop and hold it in your left hand. Hold your rappel line in your right hand. Tug on the pull down rope and give the rappel rope a quick little flip and it will all come down with the swiftness.
 
gphil said:
Does anyone rappel on sterling TRC?

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I haven’t but I wouldn’t because it’s probably too thin to work nicely. I’m thinking rope burn. That’s without even looking at the strength rating. Not to mention it’d be out of spec for the most popular devices.
 
Sterling says. It can be used for rappelling, but I dont know if any device that would work with 6mm cord (I think a figure 8 style would but I dont know that) I'm looking to get my first rappel setup and I'm mulling over options.

Sterling says this:

6.0 mm Cord

Core/Sheath: Nylon/Technora

The 6 mm TRC is a high strength specialty cord that features a Technora sheath and nylon core. Designed for high strength and low-elongation applications such as personal escape, rappels, or haul systems.



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I think it would be difficult trying to find cord that would work as a friction hitch. I use the 6mm TRC for my distel on 8mm Oplux and options that I know of are somewhat limited with that.
 
I'm using TRC on my OpLux as well. It would be awkward rappelling with line that small and I'm not aware of any friction hitch material in the 3mm range that would be suitable (rated). Same goes for mechanical devices.

The MBS rating is significantly lower than OpLux and you're not really saving much weight or packability.
 
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Thats what I was thinking also there isnt much product support for that small of a diameter rope, I am also looking at oplux with a edelrid micro jul but I dont have any experience with either of those, I have used 10mm htp but im I'm not a fan of how stiff it is, isnt oplux more flexable than htp?

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gphil said:
Thats what I was thinking also there isnt much product support for that small of a diameter rope, I am also looking at oplux with a edelrid micro jul but I dont have any experience with either of those, I have used 10mm htp but im I'm not a fan of how stiff it is, isnt oplux more flexable than htp?

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OpLux is much more flexible than HTP. I actually prefer the stiffness in a rappelling rope but that's probably because that's what I've always used.
 
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