Rappelling, bouldering, indoor and other types of climbing attract different types of people for different reasons. These include the opportunity to lose weight and increase fitness levels, the chance to lower one’s risk of getting chronic diseases like atherosclerosis and diabetes, the opportunity to challenge oneself and overcome one’s fears, and many others.
Due to its high risk for falling and injury, rappelling is considered an extreme sport. Therefore, it is important to take safety precautions, such as learning how to anchor a rope for rappelling and retrieve rappelling anchors.
What Exactly is Rappelling?
Rappelling, also referred to as abseiling, is a sport that involves descending a cliff, slope, or indoor rock wall while supported by a rope that is anchored to a cliff face or other surface.
Because the rope bears most of your weight, it is important to ensure that it is well secured in order to avoid falls and other injuries associated with abseiling.
What Does Rappelling Involve?
Rappelling is simply the process of letting yourself down a surface in controlled movements while supported by a rope. It is one of the easier ways to get down from a wall or cliff, with the other options being lowering/belaying or simply walking down the easy side of a climb.
Rappelling involves lowering yourself down a surface by yourself instead of getting help from a partner. You start by threading your rope around an anchor and then using a belay device, carabiner, or figure 8 to attach yourself to the rope.
After this, you use these devices to create tension and lower yourself down the surface by controlling the friction of the rope.
What Do All Those Rappelling Terms Mean?
Whether you are just starting abseiling or have been doing it for a while, you will need to have a good grasp of the terms involved to ensure that you remain safe during your climb. Below are some common rappelling terms and their meanings;
Anchor: This refers to the point or surface on which the rope is attached in preparation for a climb or descent. It can be at the top of a route, in the middle, or anywhere else where the climber would like to secure his rope or slings.
Auto-Lock: This is a system, such as a self-locking carabiner, that automatically locks itself without requiring human intervention.
Belay Device: This is a belay device that locks ropes and slings in place to control the rope’s movement and prevent the climber from falling too far in case they climb down too quickly.
Belayer: This refers to a person who holds on to your rappelling device to ensure that you rappel effectively and that your rappelling gear doesn’t come apart, leading to your fall.
Bolt: A bolt is a strong ring of strong metal drilled into an anchor to hold quickdraws and ropes in preparation for a climb or descent.
Bolted route: Sometimes, if many climbers use a climbing route, you may find that it has pre-placed bolts that you can use as anchors. Always ensure before using these that they are in good working condition, i.e., that they are not broken or rusty. Once you have ascertained this, you can then clip quickdraws into the bolts and clip the ropes into the quickdraws in preparation for your rappel.
Carabiner: A loop of metal that is used to connect different types of climbing gear is called a carabiner. Read further how you can rappel with carabiners.
Figure 8 Knot: A knot is woven in figure 8 shape and used to secure the climber to their rope.
Harness: The belt that climbers pass the rope through to secure themselves for a climb or descent is called a harness.
How to Anchor a Rope for Rappelling
Anchoring a rope for rappelling is key to ensuring that it remains secure and that you do not fall and injure yourself while rappelling. The following steps show you how to anchor rappelling rope and ensure a safe descent.
1. Gather your supplies
You will need the following supplies to anchor your rappelling rope:
a. Carabiners and slings;
b. Belaying device/rappelling device;
c. Harness;
d. Ring anchor/bolt hangers;
e. Quickdraw;
f. Personal anchor system.
2. Set up your ropes
Clip a quickdraw into the top of your route and thread a rope through it. Next, tie stopper knots on the rope to close the system. Toss both ends of the rope to your belayer.
3. Attach your personal anchor system to your harness
4. Use your locking carabiner to lock your personal anchor system to your tether.
5. Rappell slowly to the ground, ensuring that your system is as strong as possible to avoid falls and injuries
A special point to note here is that if you are using pre-installed anchors, ensure that they are in good working order so that they do not snap or break on your way down, causing you to fall and get injured.
How to Remove a Rappelling Anchor
Once you are safely on the ground, always ensure that you take your anchor with you. This is especially important because climbing gear is expensive.
To remove a rappelling anchor, follow the steps below to learn how to retrieve a rappelling anchor:
- Tie each end of your ropes to a quick link. Tie a figure 8 between the two ropes and rappel it to the ground.
- Once you reach the bottom of your wall or climbing surface, pull the anchor down to you and disassemble your anchor.
Learning how to anchor a rope for rappelling can sometimes mean the difference between life and death. This is because it will keep you secure until you descend from the top of your climb to the bottom without incurring injuries or falling to your death.
By learning how to anchor your rope for rappelling and discovering how to retrieve a rappelling anchor, you can enjoy a safe descent and ensure that you can climb down a route without any mishaps.
While this article tries at its best to explain how to anchor a rope for rappelling, by no means it should be used as the only source of information, especially if you are a beginner. The best way to learn how to rappel and use anchor systems is by practicing with a certified climbing trainer.
Enjoy the mountains and educate yourself further by reading our dedicated article for climbing anchors.