Here are some shots from my level I Rig Rescue course at the Advanced Rescue Techniques School of Canada. It was a great program, and I'd highly recommend it (or at least something like it in your area) to anyone interested in high angle rescue. We learned all about setting up anchors, rappelling, lowering loads and setting up different types of simple and complex hauling systems. The techniques & equipment used in professional ropework are a little different from what most here would use exploring, but it's still fun learning different styles and practicing with experienced instructors. Things like top belays and 1/2" mainlines are absolute standards, even when rappelling. Kinda slow and equipment intensive, but it's also pretty reassuring and lets you concentrate on the task at hand. I still prefer 11mm SRT for personal use, but it'd be great getting more involved with technical rescue. I'm signed up for my Level II in mid august

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Posted by terapr0 Here are some shots from my level I Rig Rescue course at the Advanced Rescue Techniques School of Canada. It was a great program, and I'd highly recommend it (or at least something like it in your area) to anyone interested in high angle rescue. We learned all about setting up anchors, rappelling, lowering loads and setting up different types of simple and complex hauling systems. The techniques & equipment used in professional ropework are a little different from what most here would use exploring, but it's still fun learning different styles and practicing with experienced instructors. Things like top belays and 1/2" mainlines are absolute standards, even when rappelling. Kinda slow and equipment intensive, but it's also pretty reassuring and lets you concentrate on the task at hand. I still prefer 11mm SRT for personal use, but it'd be great getting more involved with technical rescue. I'm signed up for my Level II in mid august

I REALLY want to take a class like this one day!

My second time repelling. This is me practicing at home.

lol, I can just picture that banister crashing down. what the heck would your parents say :p

Are you using an ATC with the dual ropes??

I'm very...uh...careful with it. Yes, it's the Black Diamond ATC-XP.

Pool noodles.

Those foam things they use in pools?

Buy one. Cut it in half. then slice down the length of both of them with a box-cutter.

Instant rope protector. Ease the rope into the hollow core of it, slide it down till it's placed over the edge the rope goes over, make sure the seam isn't on the bottom.

It'll also save the finish on your parent's railing.

If you're a cheap bastard and you can't afford one at $3, then wad up a sweatshirt next time and wrap it around the rope. That works too. =)


When descending past an overhang, keep your legs straight and roughly shoulder width apart, keep your feet firmly planted in place, and let out enough rope so that you go from 90 deg to the wall to around 130 deg; so your body (your head) is well below the edge of the overhang, then ease yourself inwards with your legs and just let your feet drop.
Um... I can't remember if I have a video of this somewhere....
http://www.youtube...atch?v=KgStXBaIDRQ

At just between 14sec and 15sec on this video, instead of what I did; stop yourself using your brake hand, and let your legs just drop down so you go to a sitting position.
That way you can easily bypass overhangs without smacking your face/body on them.

Thanks, good tip. On my latest rappel, I put down a bath towel over the window edge. How do you handle when your anchors are far away from where you're actually rappelling?

Handle in what way?

You mean if there's an anchor at one spot, then an edge the rope goes over further along? (otherwise, you'll have to explain exactly what you mean)

One of two ways. You can either place your anchor, and set your padding/protector at the point where it runs over the edge and rely on friction to hold it in place, or you can attach a small prusik cord to it and hold it in place on the rope using a prusik knot.

Or, sometimes I'll run one rope out to the dropoff point as my "anchor rope", then clip a biner to a figure-8-on-a-bight on the end of it and clip in another rope that actually makes the drop. Set it so that the figure-8-knot-and-biner are a couple feet back from the edge (as opposed to top roping where you'd want it actually hanging over the edge).
That way when you're ascending you don't come up and hit the end of the rope without actually being over the edge first.


If that's not what you meant, see if you can explain your question a little better.

When you're starting out, I really recommend finding a way to always have your anchor directly over where you're beginning your rappel. Having a rappel where the rope goes, say, over a 90 degree angle to an anchor at ground level, and you're trying to rappel over that 90 degree lip at the top of the rappel can very quickly make things much more complicated, and potentially dangerous if you're a beginner. On Rope does have a large section dedicated to dealing with difficult lips in the Rappelling chapter, but it's not easy.

Rappelling with PositivePressure in St. Catharines

Love the shirt.

Looks like you guys had fun!


Whats up with the rope everywhere in that last picture?

ugh...that last picture. Thats me trying to clear about 100ft of poorly coiled rope back off the edge.

We only had 2 harnesses to share between several friends that wanted to try rappelling, so I figured we could send the gear up after each descent with me hauling from above. I was going to stay up to coach them over the lip anyway so I figured this was only a minor inconvenience that would save a lot of time. Despite my very simple instructions to tie an inline figure 8 and clip their harness and STOP to it after landing, they kept coiling up the entire length of rope before telling me to haul (totally blind and unable to shout down to them). each time I pulled it up I ended up with an extra 100ft of rope, which had been pulled out of the lake, soaking wet. I kept telling & showing them what I wanted them to do, but each time they sent me up something different and equally hard to manage.

Despite the problems (and my friend crashing our boat into the property owners dock, smashing off his swimming ladder) it was a fun time. My fiancées sister & best friend rappelled for the first time and did a great job. I dont think they'll be buying their own equipment anytime soon, but they both seemed to enjoy it and would at least try again.

testing ones limits, acceding in very cold water.


making the hump with a little help


ready to rig


mike on rope


SD on rope


i have to thank Craig for this trip, it was a blast.

SD

Inside of a 100-foot grain silo.

There are no rad-tastic pics of me on rap because my old canyon partner was basically completely inept with photography.



300ft drop-in into Englestead Cyn, UT.



The "cathedral rap" at the end of Pine Creek Cyn, UT

I guess you can imagine me on those raps as I necessarily went first.

Edit: Correction, I guess there is a photo of me on rap.


Rapping into a swimming disconnect in Mystery Cyn, UT.

Nice photos dtewsacrificial! I enjoy rappelling, so those long drops would be a lot of fun. It would be ascending back up that wouldn't be quite as much fun.

Like you, I have very few of myself since I am the one who carries the camera(s). I'd rather be behind the camera anyway.

Abby Normal

Again, I wouldn't suggest that this is "superrad", but it did make a two-page layout in a magazine article I wrote about the location. The ladder just hangs out of the ceiling of the chamber. This is the way out, so the picture was taken after we had all climbed down this ladder. I'm heading back to this mine next week trying to find our way into sections of the mine that have been lost to cave-ins.



Abby Normal

Great pics guys!

Abby, I loved that ladder, how it just hangs there. That was awesome! Sadly, most of my pics underground on that trip didn't turn out very well =(

Well, and dropping my camera while rappelling down that one winze didn't help much either.