Sunday Skill builders: Advanced rappel tricks

Activity Notes

So, you know the basics of rappelling. Great, let's learn some more advanced skills! This will be taught all on the ground, so no rock shoes or helmet are needed. We'll cover some of the following topics:

How to cast, not throw, your rope - How to pull your rope to (hopefully) avoid snags - Rappelling on a single strand, Grigri, and Super Munter - Using the "trekking pole flip" to unstick your rope - How to descend with a damaged rope - Closing your rappel system with a J loop - The better carabiner brake rappel - How to do a pre-rigged rappel (and how this can make it safer to simul-rap) - Double rope rappel - How to move the knot past the lip - How to quickly descend 2+ rope lengths of terrain that at least one person on your team can safely downclimb - How to anchor your team on the way down - Ways to speed up a group rappel - How to rappel past a team that's going up