Climbing Classroom Session: Rigging Rappels

OVERVIEW

Unlike the other workshops in this series, this session will center on rappelling for canyoneering applications, although it is certainly also applicable to climbing. Anyone who wants to have the background to think through how we’re rigging our canyoneering rappels in Moab is encouraged to join, although this session is certainly open to everyone.

While anyone may sign up, you will benefit most from this information if you are already familiar how to belay/rappel and if you have a strong grasp on anchors (such as the information covered in my anchors workshop). I expect participants to have existing proficiency with the following knots, as we will not spend much time reviewing them:
– Double figure 8*
– Double fisherman’s
– Double fisherman’s on a bend*
– Barrel
– Yosemite finish
– Overhand*
– Clove hitch*
– Figure-9
*please be extra sure you know how to tie each of these

In this session (Rigging Rappels), we will discuss the pros and cons of different types of rigs, as well as how to evaluate a setup and manage risk. Topics include:
– New knots (classic prusik and French/autoblocking prusik, for those who want to study ahead; maybe also the klemheist prusik)
– Non-retrievable rigs (natural anchors/fixed lines, etc.)
– Retrievable rigs (toss and go, biner block, knot block, etc.)
– Common (and potentially fatal) mistakes

The session will be a casual/conversational workshop with intermixed discussing and doing (assuming people have materials to practice with).

If you have any of the following materials, it would be helpful to have them handy if you want to build each rig yourself:
– Spare biners or other things to act as your anchor points
– Spare rope/practice rope (even an old shoelace would be good; folks have recently used drawstrings and headphones too, so feel free to get creative)

Note that this is a virtual session. I will email out a Google Meet link the day of the workshop.