Currently, often under the term rappel understand rope descent using special descending devices, such as “figure eight”, “petal”, “ladder”, which is terminologically incorrect.
Methodology
Classic Dülfer method
According to the classic Dülfer method, the rope should be passed between the legs, circled around the right thigh, and then lifted over the chest by the left shoulder and lowered through the back into the right hand. The descent is adjusted with the right hand, and the left holds the rope. To stop the descent, you just need to hold the rope with your right hand. If you hold the rope with your elbow, then your right hand remains free and you can use it to adjust the carabiner on your chest and the like. It should be borne in mind that during this descent the rope cuts heavily on the hip and shoulder. To avoid pain, you should put a rock hammer or the shaft of an ice ax in the back pocket of the rain jacket and lower it lower, and put a mitten on your left shoulder under the rain jacket.
Application
Rope descent is used:
- In mountaineering and rock climbing, when descending from steep and steep cliffs;
- In speleology, for example in the single rope technique;
- During rescue operations;
- During military and police events;
- When descending (landing) from helicopters.
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Excerpt characterizing Dulfer
- Ready, your honor, you will split the guard in two.Petya woke up.
- It’s already dawn, really, it’s dawning! - he screamed.
The previously invisible horses became visible up to their tails, and a watery light was visible through the bare branches. Petya shook himself, jumped up, took a ruble from his pocket and gave it to Likhachev, waved, tried the saber and put it in the sheath. The Cossacks untied the horses and tightened the girths.
“Here is the commander,” said Likhachev. Denisov came out of the guardhouse and, calling out to Petya, ordered them to get ready.
Quickly in the semi-darkness they dismantled the horses, tightened the girths and sorted out the teams. Denisov stood at the guardhouse, giving the last orders. The party's infantry, slapping a hundred feet, marched forward along the road and quickly disappeared between the trees in the predawn fog. Esaul ordered something to the Cossacks. Petya held his horse on the reins, impatiently awaiting the order to mount. Washed with cold water, his face, especially his eyes, burned with fire, a chill ran down his back, and something in his whole body trembled quickly and evenly.
- Well, is everything ready for you? - Denisov said. - Give us the horses.
The horses were brought in. Denisov became angry with the Cossack because the girths were weak, and, scolding him, sat down. Petya took hold of the stirrup. The horse, out of habit, wanted to bite his leg, but Petya, not feeling his weight, quickly jumped into the saddle and, looking back at the hussars who were moving behind in the darkness, rode up to Denisov.
- Vasily Fedorovich, will you entrust me with something? Please... for God's sake... - he said. Denisov seemed to have forgotten about Petya’s existence. He looked back at him.
“I ask you about one thing,” he said sternly, “to obey me and not to interfere anywhere.”
During the entire journey, Denisov did not speak a word to Petya and rode in silence. When we arrived at the edge of the forest, the field was noticeably getting lighter. Denisov spoke in a whisper with the esaul, and the Cossacks began to drive past Petya and Denisov. When they had all passed, Denisov started his horse and rode downhill. Sitting on their hindquarters and sliding, the horses descended with their riders into the ravine. Petya rode next to Denisov. The trembling throughout his body intensified. It became lighter and lighter, only the fog hid distant objects. Moving down and looking back, Denisov nodded his head to the Cossack standing next to him.
- Signal! - he said.
The Cossack raised his hand and a shot rang out. And at the same instant, the tramp of galloping horses was heard in front, screams from different sides and more shots.
At the same instant as the first sounds of stomping and screaming were heard, Petya, hitting his horse and releasing the reins, not listening to Denisov, who was shouting at him, galloped forward. It seemed to Petya that it suddenly dawned as brightly as the middle of the day at that moment when the shot was heard. He galloped towards the bridge. Cossacks galloped along the road ahead. On the bridge he encountered a lagging Cossack and rode on. Some people ahead - they must have been French - were running from the right side of the road to the left. One fell into the mud under the feet of Petya's horse.
Cossacks crowded around one hut, doing something. A terrible scream was heard from the middle of the crowd. Petya galloped up to this crowd, and the first thing he saw was the pale face of a Frenchman with a shaking lower jaw, holding onto the shaft of a lance pointed at him.
“Hurray!.. Guys... ours...” Petya shouted and, giving the reins to the overheated horse, galloped forward down the street.
Shots were heard ahead. Cossacks, hussars and ragged Russian prisoners, running from both sides of the road, were all shouting something loudly and awkwardly. A handsome Frenchman, without a hat, with a red, frowning face, in a blue overcoat, fought off the hussars with a bayonet. When Petya galloped up, the Frenchman had already fallen. I was late again, Petya flashed in his head, and he galloped to where frequent shots were heard. Shots rang out in the courtyard of the manor house where he was with Dolokhov last night. The French sat down there behind a fence in a dense garden overgrown with bushes and fired at the Cossacks crowded at the gate. Approaching the gate, Petya, in the powder smoke, saw Dolokhov with a pale, greenish face, shouting something to the people. “Take a detour! Wait for the infantry!” - he shouted, while Petya drove up to him.
Friends! I would like to pay some attention to the technique of descending on a fixed rope.
It would seem - what could be simpler? Strap in and fly...
But that was not the case...
I suggest you study the classic rappel technique on your own. There is a link to a book that provides a short excursion into history. Curious…
Let's start with the fact that it is necessary to fasten the descender into the ring connecting the gazebo belt and the leg loops. Moreover, this ring is also necessarily used to insure a partner.
In our country, many instructors still teach how to fasten the descender (and the safety device too) into the belt and leg loops at the same time.
Although modern gazebos and modern belay devices such as Gri-gri from Petzl or ATC-guide from BD have been in use for a long time. 
But in the manuals for belay devices (belay devices) it is drawn in black and white how and where to attach it.
Probably, to the two eternal problems of Russia - fools and roads - we can safely add a third - reluctance to read instructions.
Why is it recommended to fasten into the central ring?
On the one hand, it is the strongest part of the gazebo, and on the other, the vertical location of the descent (belay) device will allow for better control of it. The fact is that devices like ATC or Reverso are very easy to block by slightly bending the outgoing rope downwards. With the “classic” attachment of the rappel to the system, the outgoing rope is in a horizontal plane, which is not a buzz (this is more important for belaying than for rappelling)! In addition, some placement of the device away from the belly makes the work much easier.
Phew...that's sorted out. For non-believers, just read the instructions. Try it and feel the difference.
There are many ways. Let's briefly look at a few of the most popular ones.
1. Release into the ring through a coupling carabiner, rope between the legs.
Personally, I read about this method quite recently. Looks very funny. They write that you can use friction about internal thigh part + gloves.
I wouldn't do that. And I think you wouldn’t either :) It’s better to take the rope to the outside and rub it there. In this case, however, the trigger device will unfold a little, but the flexibility of the ring will allow this to be done.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
2. Trigger in the ring + a pair of carabiners for friction.
But this method is very interesting. Carabiners create additional friction. I think that this method will be very useful if you are transporting a victim. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
3. Release into the ring through a carabiner + safety net with a gripping knot below.
Often during the descent you need not only to stop, but also to free your hands. How to do it? It’s very simple - tie a catching knot on the rope below the rappel. As soon as you let go of your hands, the knot will immediately work - it will just “grab” the rope a little, and it, having stopped, will “break” the belay device and the descent will stop.
Why is it not necessary to tie a grasping knot above the descender? Because, by letting go of your hands, you will hang directly on the knot and in order to continue moving you will need to make desperate attempts to relieve the load from it. In the described method, strong tightening of the knot will not occur.
4. The escapement is placed on a separate loop or daisy chain + belay with a grip below.
This is my recommended method. The picture shows a very tricky attachment using a long loop of thin sling. As a result, two independent loops are formed, with the help of which the trigger is attached to the system. Bourgeois write that when descending quickly, you can accidentally rub the line with the rope, but since you have a double line, then everything will be ok. Well, there were probably cases.
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True, you should not descend quickly on such a knot - the rope rubs against itself a lot and may even melt. In addition, this knot twists the rope a lot.
Of course, as already shown above, you can use a lower grip and a quickdraw for more convenient and safe work.
The article would be incomplete without talking about the technique for blocking trigger devices. But this is a subject for a separate discussion; I will try to write a short note on this subject in the near future.
P.S. If you forgot something, write in the comments!
Original taken from mr_aug V
Original taken from survivalpanda in Vertical training for beginners. Educational program. Entry-level theory and practice
In this article I will try, to the best of my understanding, to explain the basics of mountain training as simply as possible for absolute beginners in the topic.
I’ll tell you about the terms and simple techniques of descent and ascent that anyone can master.
Just a few months ago, I had to surf the Internet for quite a long time to collect this information, so I decided to systematize and present it as simply as possible, I think it will be useful.
The article turned out to be long, but you can’t erase the words from the song. It took a long time to write. Right along with writing, I was testing or mastering something new and including it in the article.
I also do not rule out some mistakes that I could well have made.
Warning: it is better to do such things under the supervision of professionals. Otherwise, you can very easily get killed or injured.
So. It all started with a great bang. All mountain training, according to my classification, is divided into two types of organization of rope movement. This is an upward movement i.e. ascent and downward movement i.e. descent.
Now we will slowly begin to examine each piece of equipment and term that may come across on the thorny path of a beginner who wants to get a little familiar with this topic.
The first thing we need is rope.
Without a rope, we won’t climb anywhere and then we won’t get down from there.
There are two types of ropes used in mountaineering: static(statics - slang) and dynamic(dynamics - slang). They are distinguished by dynamic qualities, namely the ability to elongate under load.
The main property of dynamic ropes is the ability to absorb the shock that occurs when a climber falls (we will talk about the fall factor below). Therefore, dynamics are very often used for insurance when climbing. For bottom belay it is generally required.
For simple descent and ascent along a rope, a beginner will only need to purchase a static rope. A bay of 50 m is enough for everything and there will still be some left. A budget option would be to purchase domestic rope (Kolomna, Dzerzhinsk, etc.).
Standard diameters used in mountaineering are 9-11 mm (in industrial alps - 10-12). The more, the stronger and heavier the rope. The more it slows down in the trigger device.
I advise you to stay at the golden mean - 10 mm.
And if we touched the ropes, then we cannot ignore cord(repik, repchik - slang). This is an auxiliary static rope with a diameter of 3-8 mm. It has a bunch of uses, from organizing self-insurance to making laces.
In general, there was no paracord lying around.
I use a 5mm cord, a coil of which is almost always in my backpack.
Looks like we've sorted out the ropes.
From the ropes we smoothly move to the knots.
There are a lot of different knots and you can learn them endlessly. I will focus only on a few that, in my opinion, are most in demand.
Firstly this eight, one might say, is the main unit that can be used in almost any case. A very reliable knot that practically does not weaken the rope.
A figure eight is used for tying both to an individual safety system (ISS) and to a support. For connecting and extending ropes, in general for almost everything.
You need to learn how to knit a figure eight stitch.
Bowline- a very common knot for tying and creating loops. Less reliable than figure eight, but knits faster. A control node is required. Not completely reliable. Better tie a figure eight.
You need to know at least one grasping knot. Then we will use them to insure ourselves.
What a knot UIAA(UIAA), needed for emergency descents and descents with a minimum of equipment.
Note! The free end of the rope should come out from the side opposite to the carabiner coupling.
Have you bought a rope, mastered the knots, can you now climb and descend?
In principle, yes, you can rappel without any equipment, just like in the good old days.
Rappelling - rappelling. Many people think that this is any descent, but this is not so. Dulfer is a technique of descent named after the inventor.
So, it is possible to go down this way, but it is not safe and inconvenient.
For convenience and safety, they have been invented for quite some time. Personal Safety Systems(ISS, system, gazebo, suspended).
They serve to distribute the load on the body when hanging and falling and prevent you from falling.
There are systems full And waist.
I use a belt system. If desired, it can be turned into a full one by purchasing special straps.
For beginners, I would recommend a regular ASC without shoulders.
If you need a budget option, then the domestic company Vento. In any case, you should not take systems consisting only of slings. People affectionately call them “egg slicers.” If you have enough money, then it’s better not to skimp and take something from famous brands Petzl, Black Diamod, etc.
The following photo shows the main elements of the safety system:
Leg loops
Waist circumference
Safety ring (green)
Loops for hanging equipment - they are not load-bearing, and under no circumstances should you belay or hang on them.
We've sorted out the safety systems.
Now we need combine the rope with the iss. There are two ways to do this. With a knot and through a carabiner.
The knot is the same figure eight, and I’ll tell you about the carbines a little lower.
The carabiner clips into the central safety loop. This is a strong recommendation from all manufacturers.
Very often they teach how to fasten into a belt loop and a leg loop at the same time - this is a mistake because... increases the chance that the carabiner will skew and it will be loaded in the transverse direction. Only a knot can be attached to both loops at the same time.
If you don’t believe me, then read the instructions for your ISS.
Now let's move on to carbines.
So, what are there carbines.
Firstly, they are either coupled or uncoupled.
Their difference is that the clutch ones are equipped with a special clutch that prevents the carbine from opening spontaneously.
Couplings There are threaded, bayonet and automatic.
Automatic ones are easy to operate with one hand, but their reliability leaves much to be desired. I recommend using carabiners with threaded couplings. And the main thing is to always make sure that the carabiner is locked.
Also, carbines differ in shape and are: oval, trapezoidal, triangular, pear-shaped, etc.
Oval carabiners are the most versatile and inexpensive.
Trapezoidal ones with the same weight have greater strength than oval ones.
Triangular and pear-shaped carabiners have increased rope clearance. They are more convenient to fasten and use the UIAA knot.
Carabiners are made from different materials. These are steel, aluminum alloys and titanium.
Steel carabiners are heavy and very durable, aluminum carabiners are much lighter. Titanium ones are quite rare and I have not communicated with them.
Now for strength.
Each carabiner is marked like this. It means that the carabiner from the photograph in a locked state will withstand a load of 22 kN (2.2 tons) in the longitudinal direction. 8 kN if the latch is open and 8 kN in the transverse direction.
You see how important it is to couple the carabiners and make sure that they are positioned as they should.
Note! The carabiner coupling should always be facing you. This way you will see if the carabiner has accidentally become loose.
If there is a possibility that the load will be applied from several sides, so-called rapids are used. These are steel carabiners that do not have a folding latch, but only a threaded coupling.
For a beginner, I would advise buying 3-4 carabiners of different shapes with threaded couplings. Manufacturing material - optional.
Let's move on to Descenders(SU, trigger).
The main principle of operation of all control systems is the creation of rope friction in the mechanism. As a result, you can control the descent with very little effort.
There are SUs manual And automatic.
In manual control systems, the speed of descent and braking depends only on the method of threading the rope and on the force with which the person pulls the rope below the control system.
Automatic release devices have a special mechanism. Pull the handle and go down. Let go of the handle and freeze. In this case, the free end of the rope must still be controlled.
In this article I will only talk about hand-held devices because... For a beginner who does not plan to engage in industrial alpine activities, automatic devices are completely redundant.
And I’ll tell you about two types of triggers - the figure eight and the Shikht washer.
SS eight- This is one of the most classic devices. It looks something like this.
The horn is needed to fix the rope, there are eights and without horns.
The disadvantage is that the figure eight twists the rope. This means that after several descents the rope will be full of “lambs” that will then have to be untangled.
The advantages include several options for threading the rope.
There are two of them. Through the carabiner (the descent speed is higher) and through the neck of the figure eight.
Well, at any moment the horned eight can be blocked by winding a rope around the horn.
Another, more modern version of the figure eight is the Petzl piranha. Has even more ways to clip in and adjust the release speed. More details about this trigger will be in a separate review.
By the way, take a look at this carbine. When it is uncoupled, the red anodizing strip is visible - a great idea, in my opinion.
The second type of manual control system is washer charge. They are: glass, basket, reverso, etc.
Works great with single and double rope. They don't spin it. In general, I recommend starting with just such a trigger.
Threading the rope is carried out as follows. A loop is created and threaded through a slot on the device. The free end of the rope is directed towards the SU jaws.
A carabiner is attached inside the loop.
Note! The cable is a non-loadable part and is used only for transportation.
Let's say the stars align. You have purchased a coil of rope, an ASC, carabiners and a belay device.
Good, still needed helmet. But I’ll leave that up to your conscience.
Although even a banal construction helmet won’t hurt.
I use ballistic helmets, which doesn't always cause a healthy reaction.
Will not be superfluous knee pads. Otherwise, bruises on the knees cannot be avoided.
Good ones are just as important. gloves. When descending quickly, the rope rubs and burns your palm; you may instinctively let go of the rope out of pain, which can be fatal.
Now we take all this and go to an impromptu climbing wall.
Don’t forget to invite a friend with you who will provide insurance. Have you forgotten? Well done!
Our climbing wall will be a small wall from which you can climb down. In the photo, for example, a retaining wall.
For the first training, the lower the better.
Now we put on the harness. Tighten and check all buckles. We ask a friend to check again.
The first step is to secure the rope. In mountaineering, it is customary to fasten either to one absolutely reliable point, or to two less reliable ones. These rope attachment points are called stations.
We will be tied to a living tree. This is a very reliable attachment point.
We tie ourselves to the tree with the same blessed eight, or with a bowline, not forgetting the control knot.
There is another option to buy yourself guy from a 120 cm long sling and use a carabiner to create a station like this.
Using a half-grabbing knot reduces strength by 50 percent, but the "noose" ( semi-grasping knot) allows you to gain a foothold higher.
We'll do it like this.
Well, in general, such sling guy lines are very useful on the farm. You should take a couple.
The station was created. First of all, we secure ourselves to it with a lanyard. If you don’t know what it is, then you can play it safe with a replica, like I do in the photo.
And while we're on the subject, I'll say a few words about lanyard mustache.
These are pieces of sling or dynamic rope, which are attached at one end to the system and at the other to the belay point.
There are industrial production and self-connected.
The purchased ones look like this.
Self-connected like that. The mustache is attached to the system using a figure eight knot.
The first mustache, as a rule, has a standard length of 55 cm. It is mainly used for securing to surrounding objects, such as the station that we made in the previous step.
The zhumar is usually attached to the second mustache. Its length should be such that, hanging on this mustache, you can reach the latch of the zhumar (I’ll tell you what the zhumar looks like, where the latch is and what it actually is a little below).
At the free ends of the lanyards, knots are tied into which carabiners are fastened. I use a half grapevine with three turns. If you don’t know how to do this kind of knot, use a figure eight.
Now let's go back to the beginning of the "cycle". We found support. We created a station on it, clicked on the lanyard. Happened? Well done!
Now, at the end of the rope along which we will go down, we knit a figure eight and snap it into the carabiner that we hung at the station.
At the other end of the rope we also tie a knot and throw the bay into the “abyss”.
This knot ensures that even if the rope does not reach the bottom, you will simply stop and not fall by slipping past the end.
Even if you think the rope has reached the bottom, you still need to make sure. Ask a friend below.
If the rope passes through the edge of the wall and rubs against it, then you should put it on it tread. This is a strip of dense material (teza, a piece of fire hose, etc.) with Velcro. Wraps around the rope and protects against abrasion.
If you don’t put on the protector, then after a couple of times you get this picture. Agree, that’s not the point.
We thread the rope into the descender (I hope you didn’t forget it below). Pull the free end up and take up the slack.
Now, if you pull the free end of the rope, you will not be able to fall.
At this stage, you can snap the lanyard arm out of the station.
By the way, your insurance will be based on the same principle. There should be a belayer standing below, and it is advisable that this is not your worst enemy, who is already rubbing his sweaty palms in anticipation of your fall.
The belayer must be ready to pull the free end of the rope.
He should not be distracted from belaying by pretty climbers or talking on his cell phone. All his attention should be focused on you.
We place the hand with the rope under the butt, while the rope will be additionally controlled on the thigh.
We go out with our backs to the edge, slowly releasing the rope by slightly relaxing our palms.
While resting your feet, we hang the fifth point so that your legs are at right angles to the wall. The back is straight and parallel to the wall.
We make the first descent slowly, in steps. We rearrange our legs and slowly release the rope until we touch the ground.
Congratulations, the first descent is completed!
In the future, the descents can be made more difficult as desired.
You can and should move from an insuring comrade to self-insurance(and also, for maximum security, both of these options can be combined).
This is precisely why we learned the grasping knot.
The knot is usually knitted either above the SU or below. What's the difference?
If we knit a grasping knot above the suction knot, then in case of failure we hang on it. The descender becomes unloaded.
To continue the descent, we need to loosen the knot and load the descender again. In order to loosen the knot we need to rise a little. To do this, we will need a clamp (I will talk about them later) or tie a stirrup on a rope.
In general, the task is not very trivial.
A simpler option is to tie a catching knot below the tie knot. The autoblock unit is used in the photo.
In this case, during a breakdown, we remain hanging on the knot, while the trigger remains loaded.
We only need to grab the rope between the control system and the knot, thereby unloading the knot, it will be possible to loosen it and continue the descent.
It seems like a good method, but it also has drawbacks. If the reason for the failure is the destruction of the control system, then we will be turned upside down, which is very unpleasant. Although this probability is quite small, it should not be neglected.
Read more about attaching lanyards below the control system in a very sensible article:
That's it, the descent is mastered. You can not stop there, but continue training, for example, master the elements of assault mountaineering, which basically consists of spectacular descents.
Even if you stop after mastering only the basics, you have already acquired skills that can, in the event of certain circumstances, such as a fire in a stairwell, save your life.
Everything about the descent.
Now is the moment to touch upon climb along the rope, but first I’ll tell you a little about the clamps.
Clamp- a device that moves freely along the rope, but when a load occurs, the device is fixed, clamping the rope, hence the name.
To climb a rope you need two clamps or one clamp + an automatic belay device.
The most common clamp is zhumar. This is a clamp with a handle that is comfortable to hold. The most convenient tool for lifting (this is where the term zhumarit comes from, meaning to rise). It is advisable to have at least one.
Jumars can be left or right, for any hand.
The operating principle of the zhumar is quite simple. It is based on pressing the rope with a spring-loaded cam with spikes.
We put the open jumar on a rope and snap it into place. It slides upward freely along the rope, and when loaded it is fixed. It is impossible to remove a loaded jumar.
For greater security, you can click the carabiner like this.
A pedal is attached to the handle of the jumar. Still, the strongest muscles in a person are in the legs.
The pedal should be such a length that when standing in it with a fully straightened leg, the jumar is at chest level.
Let the jumar be our first clamp. The second clamp can also be a jumar, but for the left hand.
Lifting on two zhumars is done like this.
We stand on the left pedal. We push the right jumar along the rope as high as possible, while bending the right leg at the knee. We push with our right foot - “climb the step.” Then we push the left jumar, etc.
It is better to secure both jumars with a self-insurance mustache.
Instead of the second zhumar, you can (and even need) take crawl. This is a clamp that is very similar to a jumar with a sawn-off handle. He hangs himself on his chest. In case of use with a waist-mounted ASC, you must additionally hang a special rope around your neck.
The principle of lifting on a pair of jumar + crawl.
I will further demonstrate this method in a separate video.
We hang out on the crawl. We push the jumar as high as possible, bending the leg with the pedal on the knee. We pull ourselves up on the pedal. The rope itself passes through the crawl. Then we hang on the crawl and push the jumar further.
In this case, you can hold onto the jumar with both hands, and put both legs into the stirrup of the jumar.
Lifting using jumar + crawl is the fastest and easiest to learn.
There is an option to do without jumar altogether.
For example, using the crawl + pantin pattern.
Pantin- this is the same crawl, only attached to the boot. The lifting principle is similar.
But I would advise you to buy at least one zhumar. In addition to climbing, you can also insure yourself on it, although it is not recommended.
The second type of clips that I highlight are safety clips.
You climb, and the belay clip rides next to you on the second rope, or above you if there is only one rope.
They go up freely, and when they fall down they are blocked and prevent you from falling. The most famous representatives: various drops, shants, backups and asaps.
I also want to mention the various mini-clamps. They are capable of performing functions similar to large ones, although they are less reliable and convenient. Their undeniable advantage is their low weight and size.
As a result, one or two of these clips can always be kept on the harness. You can read more about them in the review.
In general terms, everything about the climb.
Now about the unpleasant, namely about breakdowns. And even more specifically about the jerk factor.
A newcomer entering any forum to discuss any hardware almost immediately sees this term.
Its essence is very simple to understand.
"Jerk Factor" is the ratio of the height of the fall to the length of the rope that stops it.
A rather rough indicator by which it is easy to determine whether a given piece of hardware will fall apart when jerked or not.
I strongly recommend avoiding falls with a factor greater than one.
It’s quite simple: if we secure ourselves to something (a quickdraw, a belay device on the second rope, etc.), the belay point should not be below the waist.
That's all. Thank you for your attention!
Such situations do not arise often, but still... imagine that you need to go down a rope, but there is no descender at hand. No “ladder”, no “eight”, not even a run-down carbine – even that is missing. This is where the experience of our ancestors comes in - the classic Dülfer method!
Descent using the Dülfer method
Climber Hans Johannes Emil Dülfer became famous for proposing the first effective and at the same time relatively safe method of rappelling from a cliff. This happened at the very beginning of the 20th century and, as you understand, modern trigger devices were unheard of then. Nowadays, “rappelling” or “dulfing” is called in his honor any descent on a rope, including the use of all the necessary equipment.
So, what is the Dülfer method? The process looks something like this: the rope is secured to a support, then its free end must be passed between the legs and wrapped around the right thigh. Then pass the rope through the chest over the left shoulder and through the back to the right hand. Are you already confused?)) Everything is clearer in the picture.
Of course, this rappelling requires some skill and this method cannot be called completely safe. But it’s still better than just moving the rope with your hands! There are a couple of tricks that early climbers used: to prevent the rope from cutting your thigh, put a rock hammer in the back pocket of your trousers so that the shaft passes under the rope, or use the shaft of an ice ax. And to “cushion” the shoulder, you can put a glove or hat under the jacket. And, of course, the tighter your clothes are, the better.
Rope descent with a carabiner (UIAA knot)
If you don’t have a trigger, but have at least one carbine, you can descend with greater comfort. Instead of the sophisticated rappelling, let's try to make some kind of “ladder” or “figure eight” from a carbine. To do this, you can use the well-known UIAA knot, also known as the “half stirrup”, also known as the Munter knot.
With such a descent, it is important not to rush - the rope will rub a lot and there may be damage. Also try to keep your feet on the rock as much as possible so as not to twist the rope and lose control of the descent.
There is another option for descending a rope using a carabiner - it is in the picture below. With this method, the rope rubs against itself less, but the risk of twisting is also very high, and in addition, the movement will be quite slow.
Of course, we do not recommend such unsafe descents. Why, if there are a lot of convenient and reliable trigger devices? But still, if you often go to the mountains, it is worth practicing these methods and from time to time training each of them at least at low altitudes (or with insurance). Maybe someday the Dülfer method or the UIAA knot will help you save life and health...