Brand newbie with first gear questions

[pickuptrck]

Hello.

I did a little bit of rappelling in high school with ARMY R.O.T.C. and thought it was great, I'd like to get back into it, but I have no clue what to buy. Our program had a small budget, so we made swiss seats using nylon cord instead of having harnesses & rappelled using only a D-ring wrapped up a couple of times, speed controlled by the rope behind your back & a safety monitor on the ground controlling your arrest should you lose control, so I know how to do it for free practically, but I'd rather it be a little safer than that. I see here you're using 10+ devices. What do I actualy need to do some simple cliff-face rappelling? I will start on an abandoned 3-story building right up the road & progress as I get my confidence back. It will be descent only for now, I'll work on ascending next season after I work my shoulders some more. The majority of harnesses I've seen are tactical harnesses for around $30-50. I shouldn't need anymore than 30m of rope for now & I weigh in at 160lbs. This board seems to have a wealth of knowledge, so please let me know your recommendations, just keep inm mind I'm on a budget & this will probably be only a bi-weekend affair.

Thanks in advance.

-Chris.

[jwurst]

Its far safer to get first hand instruction from someone who knows what they are doing than to rely on books and forums. I originally got started using books because I didn't know anyone who could teach me at the time. I thought I was being safe all along, but in retrospect, I did a lot of really stupid things. If anything had gone wrong along the way then I'd have been in big trouble because I wasn't prepared for any contingencies and there wasn't anyone around while I was practicing to bail me out.

That said, here are some comments on your questions:
A homemade sling made of webbing can work but won't be as safe or comfortable as a real harness. Most harnesses are redundant. If the belt gives out then the leg loops will save you. If the leg loops give out then the belt will save you. If you want to do this fairly frequently then definitely get a harness.

You'd be well advised to use a descender that can be locked off. Locking off a descender means rigging the rope in some way so that you can let go of the brake and you don't move. You have to be able to do it while the break hand is weighted and you also have to be able to untie it. If the carabiner wrap you used previously can then I'm not aware of it. Figure 8 descenders are cheap and can be locked off. My experience is that smaller ones tend to be better, more friction and better lockoff. I have some larger ones that don't work well for me and don't lockoff well, but I'm heavier than you. I now use a micro-rack. You might also want to get a figure 8 with ears to help prevent the rope from sliding up to the top and forming a hitch so that you are stuck.

When you practice make sure there is someone around who can help if you get yourself in a bind. One way to let a non-experienced person back you up is to rig your rope with a descender. To do this you hook a descender to your rig point and hook the rope to the descender in a hard lockoff. A hard lockoff is one that is backed up with a knot so that if the lockoff slips then the knot will catch. If you get yourself stuck then your partner can unlock the descender and lower you down to the ground. To do this you need to make sure you rig the anchored descender at the midway point of the rope so that here is enough rope to reach the ground if you get stuck at the top of your rappel. Also, tie a knot in the end of the rope so it can't go through the descender if it is too short. If you don't rig this way then you need to make sure someone is wrong who knows how to ascend a rope to come up and help you if you get stuck. Getting you unstuck would most likely mean downclimbing on ascenders or prussiks, having the rescuer attach their harness to yours, then upclimbing and lifting you with them so your descender is unweighted and can be freed.

Before you do real world canyoneering you would be well advised to know and be well practiced on how to rappel, ascend, rig ropes, and do change-overs from rappel to ascend and ascend to rappel in mid rope. All of this can be learned fairly quickly if you find someone to teach you.

I hope I've convinced you that there is a lot more to learn than you suspected and you should seek a competent instructor.

[pickuptrck]

Yep, I'm convinced =)

Thanks for the help. How do you go about trying to find an instructor for this type of thing?

[rcwild]

Check out the courses offered by the American Canyoneering Association. Yes, as one of the instructors I am biased. Start by reading comments from our students:

http://www.canyoneering.net/comments.html

[pickuptrck]

I will be going to your basic class along with my 7yr old daughter when I get back to the states in March/April. We're both interested in the canyoneering sport now - mainly canyons like Mystery, neon & leprechaun (photos from other canyoneers are great). The ACA site says to bring your own gear. I found this list on a Utah canyoneer's home page - please tell me if I need additional gear. What about rope/tow rope, rappell device etc etc.

Helmet
Harness
Rappel Device (figure 8)
Four Screw-Lock Carabiners -
Two Small HMS, Two Utility
Four Over-the-shoulder Slings
Neoprene Socks
Dry Bag or Dry Keg
Leather or Synthetic Leather rappelling gloves
Some kind of pack.

Thank you.

[rcwild]

Helmet
Harness
Rappel Device (figure 8)
Four Screw-Lock Carabiners -
Two Small HMS, Two Utility
Four Over-the-shoulder Slings
Neoprene Socks
Dry Bag or Dry Keg
Leather or Synthetic Leather rappelling gloves
Some kind of pack.

Your list is okay, except I don't see HELMET! Four slings is more than you need. Drop that to two and add a couple prussiks. HMS carabiners are the most versatile. Might as well carry four large HMS.

Fact is, you can show up to the course with nothing. We can outfit you from head to toe. You can try a variety of different descending devices, harnesses, etc. and see what you like before you go out and spend money on your own.