Rappel Anchors: A few thoughts

Rappel Anchors

Going up results in coming back down and naturally, rappelling is an ever important part of climbing. In addition, many people use rappels that are not involved in technical climbing with some examples being canyoneering, sport rappelling and challenging scrambles. Since rappelling puts your well-being entirely at the mercy of the technical system that you have established, if any point of the system fails you are likely going to be injured (or worse). Rappel accidents occur every year due a wide variety of mostly avoidable scenarios and even experienced climbers fall prey. Lastly, anchor skills for rappells are similar to climb (belay) anchors but do carry a slightly different set of rules. This article is not intended to serve as an instruction manual or a "how to" on rappelling, but is written to give a small analysis of different portions of a rappelling set up. Seek instruction from an experienced climber before attempting anything on your own.

Commonly Used Anchors

The most crucial portion of any rappel is the anchor. A wide variety of things are used to anchor the rope at the top of a drop, and as long as they are solid/strong they can be used safely to descend. Always analyze what you will be using to anchor the rope, and if you have any doubt about the integrity of your anchor, either back it up yourself or find a different anchor. Here are several of the most common things that people rappel on and a short list of thoughts about them.

**Climbers often become complacent when using pre-exisiting anchors. Just because someone else trusted it does not mean that you should.
**Also, always be very critical and thorough when inspecting and trusting pre-existing cord and webbing. It's easy to place new cord.

Photos taken from the internet...

Soft Goods aka Webbing/Cord

Once a proper source of an anchor is found, you must create a way to attach the rope to it. Unless the anchor is a set of good bolts with rings (don't rappel directly off a bolt!), climbers will most often tie off or equalize with a length of tubular webbing or accessory cord. Here is a short list of different types of cord and a comparison of breaking strength and a few pros/cons.

**Diameters and widths can vary widely and many people use different things. I chose the one that I most often use to be able to include breaking strengths.

Knots

It's critical that your cord is tied in a way that it will not come undone under weight. The knot that you use is what holds the system together and should be looked at carefully. Here are a few of the most common knots used in rappelling.

**Very, very approximate. Taken from info on the internet found HERE and HERE. This is added more for interest than anything. All of these knots will hold your weight if tied correctly.

SERENE - What does it mean?

S-Strong, E-Equalized, R-Redundant, E-Efficient, NE-Non-extending.
This acronym is often taught to help people remember the foundations of a solid climbing anchor. This is a good saying, and there is no doubt that every aspect mentioned is tremendously important. That said, rappel anchors can slightly alter the framework of SERENE while still creating a strong and safe anchor. Here is a slight detail on each element of the acronym, and ideally you should be able to answer yes to every question listed...

Although it is recommended, climbers often tie off an anchor source (i.e. tree) with a single loop of non-redundant cord. There is a wide variety of reason why climbers do not make their rappel anchors redundant, these reasons include wanting to save cord, trusting pre-existing cord, laziness, or a belief that it is simply not needed for a rappel anchor. Although creating a redundancy will undoubtedly create another level of safety (unless the whole anchor fails), a competent climber can safely descend on a strong, non-redundant anchor. Also, slinging a large boulder takes a lot of cord and it may be unrealistic to create an anchor that is redundant while still being efficient. With an undoubtedly solid anchor like a large tree or giant boulder and a new piece of cord, it is not necessary to equalize it with another anchor source nor is it necessary to make it redundant. Double check every aspect of your anchor (especially the knots that tie your cord together), and if there is any doubt of its integrity, add another loop of cord to cause redundancy or find something else to use to create equalization. If you find yourself creating an anchor out of something that is slightly weaker, attempt to find something to use to equalize and share the load. Once again, seek qualified instruction before attempting this.

If it looks like a mess then it probably is!

As a habit, always treat established anchors as suspect regardless of what they are made out of. Even "bomber" bolts and chain anchors can develop dangerous grooves in them and anything that is a "soft good" (i.e. webbing and cord) is at the mercy of the weather. Fortunately, many anchors as easy to inspect and assess the overall condition. A quick twist of a bolt will show if it spins and a flip of a maillon or carabiner will show any grooves. If you come across an anchor that has so many slings or wads of cord that it is impossible to tell what is going on, you should consider cutting it apart and making a new one. Usually if it looks like a mess, it probably is and the parties before you may not have set up a safe anchor. Just because it has held in the past, doesn't mean that it will hold you. Several accidents happen every year when pre-existing anchors fail and these incidents could easily be avoided by placing your own gear.

Ring or Not to Ring

Often a member of a climber's rack, rappel rings are considered by many to be a critical portion of a rappel anchor. They serve the purpose of providing a solid point of entry and exit for the rope, and are strong and abrasion resistant. The allow anchors to become safe to use for several parties, as pulling the rope through the cord can burn through it completely, or worse, cause damage invisibly. Rings also offer much less resistance for pulling the rope and help decrease your chance of stuck ropes. That said, safe rappels are possible without using rings and many parties chose to forgo their use. Here is a brief look at popular rappel rings.

Remember, ALWAYS back up a pre-existing anchor that does not have a ring as the previous party's rope pulled will have damaged it.

**Using REI to get cost. Other retailers often sell these for less money.
***I chose 3/8ths as it's a common size to use. Not all are strong enough to use so make sure to check the ratings stamped on the side of the maillon.

Don't be complacent!

Always careful inspect rappel anchors no matter how they appear at first glance. Don't assume that all anchors on a popular climb are safe just because lots of people use them. Not all bolts are bomber and not all trees will hold your weight. The price of anchor failure on a rappel can be lethal, so always backup or find an alternate descent instead of trusting a sketchy anchor.

Specialty Anchors (Canyoneering)

Once enough experience is gained, a competent and experienced rappel can make many things work. A rappel anchor only has to be strong enough to hold your weight and specialty "anchors" are often made and used. The place that these most often are seen is canyoneering, where the choice of solid anchors often doesn't exist or a copious amount of webbing may be required. Canyoneers pride themselves on being able to descend on seemingly impossible anchors and also use clever ways to leave nothing behind in a canyon. I will leave these specialty anchors for somebody else to address as the intention of this article is geared toward basic anchors that are commonly seen. Here are a few photos of canyoneering anchors, and as always, don't try this unless trained by an experienced person...

Here is an article on retrievable anchors written by Scott P... https://www.summitpost.org/retreivable-rappel-anchor/172233

Conclusion

Hopefully this serves as a brief reflection on standard rappel anchors and a small look into the fundamental portions of each anchor. Rappelling is often a relaxing portion of a climb but is still a place to keep up your guard. As mentioned in the beginning of this article, always seek instruction from a qualified instructor before attempting anything discussed. I am not an expert and nobody should listen to anything that I say.

Climb on!

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