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Technical Slot Canyons of the Colorado Plateau > Retreivable Rappel Anchor
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| James_W | Great Work | |
Hasn't voted | I was thinking of adding articles covering basic rope skills, belays, etc...Gotta love the cardboard guy! | |
| Posted Feb 22, 2006 7:21 pm | ||
| dadndave | Nicely Explained | |
Hasn't voted | Love the cardboard climber. | |
| Posted Feb 24, 2006 3:59 am | ||
| markhyams | damage to rings? | |
Hasn't voted | One potential issue I see is that those rap rings bouncing down less than vertical terrain, their structural integrity could be comprimised. I don't know anything about rap rings and their durability, but it might be worthwhile to check out. Also, it is one thing to have a rope hurtling down at you when you pull it, but another to have two metal objects doing the same. I could see how this technique could be very useful for canyoneering, where there are numerous, short rappels, but I could also see many situations where the sling would get stuck. | |
| Posted Feb 24, 2006 9:32 pm | ||
| IceRavines | Testing time ! | |
Voted 9/10 | I will give a few trials tomorrow while ice climbing...it does have the feature of leaving no trace ! I also would like to mention that some of the rings & slings found at various sites are in really unsafe conditions. Great artical & usefull ! | |
| Posted Feb 27, 2006 7:02 pm | ||
| Tom Fralich | Good Lord | |
Hasn't voted | Now, in your opinion, which of the following sounds better for the route above (with 42 raps). A. Bring three climbing ropes (an extra one for backup) and 150 meters of sling (includes backup) to leave one behind at all 42 drops. B. Bring two climbing ropes (one for backup), two 50 meter light weight pull cords (backups are still a good idea), and maybe 20-30 meters of sling (including backup). Add three Sherpas to both A and B to carry all the stuff. Obviously the system described here works if you have some sort of stump, tree, large block, or any solid single anchor point to put the retrievable anchor behind. But in this situation, you could just put the rappel rope itself behind the tree/block in the same manner and then pull it, since the rope is no more likely to get jammed than the webbing/rings. But what if no such anchor opportunity exists and one has to resort to stoppers and pitons to construct an equalized rappel anchor? There is no way that I can see to retrieve whatever materials (slings, biners, rings) were used to equalize the anchor points. And, of course, there is no way to retrieve the stoppers/pitons. I still maintain that this is a novelty system with little practical use in alpine climbing (or any type of climbing for that matter). I think I'd prefer to downclimb or jump and take my chances than go through all the hassle described here. A pair of half ropes and a standard alpine rack will get me off anything that I need to get off of. Nice work on the cardboard man though. Two thumbs up for that. I like the photos, but we are never going to agree on the usefulness of this system. Since novices are clearly reading this article, I think it's important to state that, as a reasonably-experienced alpine climber, I cannot advocate the use of such a complex system, nor have I ever seen the necessity to employ it in any alpine or tradional climbing situation. | |
| Posted Mar 3, 2006 4:12 am | ||
| Finley | redundancy | |
Hasn't voted | Would it make any sense to attach a second retrieval rope, twice as long as the original retrieval rope, to the sling near the end of the sling opposite the point of attachment of the original retrieval rope, that would ascend as the original retrieval rope were pulled and could be used to attempt a pull in the opposite direction should the sling and rings become stuck? I'm not a climber at all, so this could very well be nonsense... | |
| Posted Mar 5, 2006 4:50 pm | ||
| old5ten | What about the rings? | |
Hasn't voted | So i'm thinking about the hypothetical 42 pitch "retrievable" rap and the alu rap rings bouncing down on slab or freefalling and cratering into the wall... seems like alot of wear and tear on the poor rings. I'm also not sold on a single knotted sling (or a single anything) on rap (unless it's an emergency and there is no other way). Just my 2 cents... | |
| Posted Nov 2, 2006 11:16 pm | ||
| Eric Sandbo | Banged-up rings | |
Voted 10/10 | I wouldn't worry about the rings getting banged up as they fall. They are hollow and light, and since they're tied into the sling they'll never get a chance to build up any speed. While a solid carabiner can drop like a missile, the sling with a couple of rings will land more gently than an 11mm rope. As long as I'm wearing my helmet, I wouldn't even bother to get out of its way. | |
| Posted Nov 4, 2006 10:55 pm | ||
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| old5ten | Re: Banged-up rings | |
Hasn't voted | I disagree. The sling ADDS to the weight of the rings at the end of the rope (or cord in this case). Think of pulling a rope on a multipitch climb. It comes flying past you and snaps into the wall like a whip. Now imagine that happening with a couple of alu rap rings. Once again, in an emergency situation (no other choice) do what you have to in order to get down, but for regular use this seems a bit questionable in the least... | |
| Posted Nov 9, 2006 11:16 pm | ||
| Corax | Not complete | |
Hasn't voted | This article isn't complete without these images:   | |
| Posted Dec 14, 2006 12:15 pm | ||
| Blair | Great Job | |
Voted 10/10 | The most usefull, easy to understand, and orignal things ive seen here on SP. Thanks for sharing the usefull info. | |
| Posted Dec 15, 2006 6:31 am | ||
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