Climber falls to death

[richard]

https://www.foxnews.com/us/man-falls-death-national-park-rappelling-mistake.

 

[sierra]

Repelling is the most dangerous aspect of climbing. Me and my buddies made it a point to double check our rigs before each of us descended.

 

[ChrisB]

Repelling is the most dangerous aspect of climbing. Me and my buddies made it a point to double check our rigs before each of us descended.

Here's a sad story of a recent rappel accident where a weathered anchor sling failed.

I don't think I ever rapped off a single sling. I hated rappelling and redundancy was a must.

 

[TCD]

There are a lot of climbs (and canyons) where you have to rap to get where you want to go. But boy, you have to be careful. My wife and I have been climbing for almost 40 years, and we have become much more careful in the last few years.

Surprising amount of detail in the article for a mainstream news outlet:

"Park rangers and search and rescue team members observed that the man’s rope was not long enough to reach the ground on a long rappel. He tied a piece of webbing to the end of the rope, but the Park Service said he appeared to have made a mistake when disconnecting his rappel device to pass the knot joining the rope and webbing."

It's worth noting that anything that makes a process more complicated increases the risk of failure.

RIP

 

[skiguy]

There are a lot of climbs (and canyons) where you have to rap to get where you want to go. But boy, you have to be careful. My wife and I have been climbing for almost 40 years, and we have become much more careful in the last few years.

Surprising amount of detail in the article for a mainstream news outlet:

"Park rangers and search and rescue team members observed that the man’s rope was not long enough to reach the ground on a long rappel. He tied a piece of webbing to the end of the rope, but the Park Service said he appeared to have made a mistake when disconnecting his rappel device to pass the knot joining the rope and webbing."

It's worth noting that anything that makes a process more complicated increases the risk of failure.

RIP

Some great points. I’m always amazed at how few folks have prusiks and actually know how to use them.

 

[ChrisB]

Some great points. I’m always amazed at how few folks have prusiks and actually know how to use them.

I've started using the auto block in place of a prusick hitch.

Nice cause it is bi-directional and easy to loosen and move after loading. Worth experimenting with.

 

[OldEric]

I've started using the auto block in place of a prusick hitch.

Nice cause it is bi-directional and easy to loosen and move after loading. Worth experimenting with.

The autoblock works fine with flat webbing which you are more likely to have then the round cord that traditional prussicks use. Connect it to your belay (not leg) loop which means you should be extending your device off your harness. Knot the ends. Saddlebag the ropes (as opposed to throwing or lowering). Any other best practices?