Please Don’t Unclip and Downclimb After Missing a Rappel Anchor
I had just finished a day of guiding and was sitting at the base of MF, one of the Shawangunks’s most coveted 5.9s, when I heard a voice shout out somewhere behind me.
“Hey! I’m almost down, but our ropes are not on the ground,” one climber yelled up to their partner above them. “I’m not very high up, though, so I’m just going to come off rappel and downclimb.”
“Downclimb” sounded a lot like free solo, which sounded like an accident waiting to happen. An accident I’d inevitably have to respond to. So, with a strange feeling of selfish altruism, I walked in the direction of the shouting voice.
The two climbers were coming down the rappels for a classic Gunks multi-pitch called Three Pines (5.3). They had already completed one rappel and were in the middle of the second. There are three total raps. The first climber stood on a ledge 20 feet above the ground, well below the third rappel station they should have stopped at. Boulders littered the craggy base area directly below them. They had already taken themselves off rappel, the ropes dangling off to the side, out of reach. Their partner was still at the top of the second rap, out of sight, presumably rigging their device.
Trying to avoid being “that guide” at the cliff who inserts themselves into situations to spray down unsuspecting climbers with cunning cliffside beta, I asked if I could offer my opinion of how to get down safely. The climber accepted my offer, having begun to realize the precariousness of the situation they had put themselves in.
I advised them to sit down on the ledge. Since they had some cams on their harness, I also advised them to place a couple of pieces of protection in a nearby crack and connect themselves directly to them. Then I told the climber to relay the following information to their partner, who was now slowly descending.
“Please instruct your partner to stop at the correct rappel. It’s critical they also do not miss the third station. Then, tell them to rig a new rappel like normal. Once the ropes of the third rappel are rigged, we’ll swing them over to you. Grab control of both strands, put yourself back on rappel, and finish your descent.”
Within 10 or 15 minutes of my arriving on the scene, both climbers were back on the ground, and no one had to do any soloing. They explained that they had heard there was a third station but assumed their ropes would reach the ground after two rappels.
What To Do When You Miss a Rappel anchor
Method 1: Build an intermediate anchor and let your partner save you
If you’ve ever rappeled into the abyss, desperately scouring the cliff for the glint of a steel anchor system, only to finally glimpse that anchor way above your head, then you know how the climber I found at the Gunks might have felt.
Fortunately for them, there was a ledge to take refuge on and cracks to place gear. (Plus, they had knots in both strands, which mitigated the risk of rapping off the ends of their rope. Kudos to them.) This allowed them to deploy the relatively simple tactic I coached them through. Making themself safe with a trad anchor, taking themself off rappel to free up the ropes, and allowing the second climber to fix the situation by rappelling to the correct anchor, setting up a new rappel, and returning the ropes to the stranded climber. To perform this tactic safely, it’s important to know how to build bomber anchors and transition between two systems (i.e., the improvised anchor and the rappel) in a redundant fashion, and it should only be attempted by climbers with that experience.
But what if you’re on a steeper route with no ledges? What if there are no cracks to place gear? What if there is no heroic climbing guide at the base to help?
In that scenario, the best way to fix the problem is to ascend the rappel ropes.
Method 2: Ascend the rappel lines
Sometimes, when you miss a rappel station, you’ll find yourself stranded in a section of wall where there’s no option to build an intermediate anchor and carry out the solution outlined above. In this case, the best way to fix the problem is to ascend the ropes back to a height where you can access the appropriate anchor.
Ascending ropes safely requires an understanding of knots, friction hitches, and redundantly transitioning between systems. This process is slow going and can be physical, especially during a free-hanging rappel. It’s imperative to practice the skill in a controlled scenario before deploying it on a real climb. That said, how exactly you ascend the rap lines will vary based on (a) the rappel system you deployed to go down and (b) the extra equipment you carry on your harness. (Having a basic assortment of self-rescue gear is always a good idea for scenarios like these.)
Note: since the specifics of your system determine your options, it’s important you know how to ascend ropes using what you’ve got. I recommend this video to watch different demonstrations of ascending a rope with various tools.
One Common Way to Ascend Rappel Ropes
Let’s assume you’re performing a standard single rope rappel (i.e., two strands) with a tube-style device that has a guide-mode eyelet, is extended off your harness, and is backed up with a friction hitch. Let’s also assume you have at least a handful of locking and non-locking carabiners, a length of cordelette, or a double, triple, or quad-length sewn sling.
1. Increase security with a cat knot. To rig an ascension system, you’ll need to go hands-free. Your friction hitch backup allows you to do this, but it’s always a good idea to tie a cat knot (short for catastrophe) below the friction hitch for an extra layer of security.
2. Deploy an ascension device. Using a sewn sling, rig a klemheist (or any other friction hitch, including a basic prusik) on both strands above your rappel device. When pulled down under load, the klemheist grips the rope, allowing you to ascend; but when it’s not under load, you can smoothly slide the klemheist upwards. Check that it’s grabbing the rope (and not slipping) by tugging downward. The loop at the bottom of the sling will become your ladder.
3. Convert your rap device to guide mode. To do this, clip a locking carabiner in the guide mode eyelet of your rap device. Once that is pre-rigged, extend your klemheist up the rap lines above you. With one hand, pull down on your klemheist to get your weight out of the harness. (You may also need to step down into the ladder loop or onto the rock.) With the other hand, clip the locker into the belay loop and lock it.
With your rappel device in guide mode, it functions as a progress capture, meaning it captures the upward progress you make while ascending with the klemheist. With your device in this mode, you can remove the original third hand that was backing this process up. You can also either untie the cat knot or keep it for security.
4. Ascend the ropes. Once you’ve converted your device into a progress capture, you are ready to ascend the rap lines. Ascending the rope using this system involves a series of body weight transfers between your rope-grabbing klemheist and your harness. By transitioning back and forth, you effectively climb up the ropes.
Repeat the workflow until you’ve returned to the original rappel anchors you came from or until you’ve ascended to a high enough point where you can access the anchors you missed. As you ascend, consider tying more cat knots.
For visual learners, I recommend this video:
Practice Makes Perfect
Ascending ropes can feel uncomfortable and awkward at first. Therefore, it’s imperative to practice this skill in a controlled environment and as close to the ground as possible. There are also nuances to this system that take practice to learn. Play with how far you set your klemheist up the rope, the length of your ladder loop (it can be shortened by adding a knot, but not lengthened), the devices you deploy, and which limbs you step up and pull down with—everyone has their own preferences for these things. You should also know that terrain differences will impact your ascension process. This is much easier to do in low-angle, slabby terrain. In steep terrain, where you may be hanging in space, the process is a powerful abdominal workout. It’s a good idea to practice both.
Preventative tactics to avoid missing the rappel anchor in the first place
Missing a rappel anchor is not fun. It slows things down, and if you’re out on a big climb, it could mean you’re getting benighted or stuck in a storm, the two most common ingredients for an epic. It’s much more fun to rappel properly.
Consult the guidebook. Guidebooks are important resources of information and almost always contain beta about how to get down from multi-pitch climbs. Pay attention to how many rappels are called for, how long each rappel is, and their specific locations on the cliff.
Know how long your rope is. Nowadays, most people climb with 60- or 70-meter ropes. That means that with a standard single rope you can descend 30 or 35 meters per rappel. If the route beta calls for longer rappels than that, you’ll need two ropes.
It’s also important to consider whether the rope you’re climbing on has been shortened. If it’s your rope, you probably know whether it’s been chopped and by how much. But if it’s your partner’s rope, do you actually know its length? The factory stickers on the bitter ends of the rope will possess this information, assuming they haven’t been chopped or fallen off.
Be aware of shorter rappels. Not every rappel is full-length. Sometimes rappel lengths are shorter than you’d expect, either because of the cliff features or because rope lengths back in the day were shorter (this is especially common in older crags like the Gunks). In addition, sometimes, a short rappel sets you up for subsequent full-length rappels, like rapping from Table Ledge to Almost Table Ledge when descending the Diamond.
Not all rappels are straight down. In addition, not every subsequent rappel station is directly below the anchor above it. Sometimes, subsequent rappel stations are offset compared to where the descent line started to accommodate for terrain like rope-eating features or to reach a more comfortable stance. Therefore, if you zip down your rap lines like a secret agent and aren’t paying attention to the shiny bolted objects in the wall or colorful slings in the nearby tree, you may miss something, triggering a potential epic.
Always close your system and rappel with a backup
Missing a rappel anchor with a closed system (i.e., a barrel in each strand) and a properly functioning friction hitch backup so you can go hands-free is one thing. Missing a rap while free-snaking or rappelling without a backup is a completely different animal—one that could potentially chew you up and spit you out to the bottom of the cliff.
So when it comes time to rappel after summiting, practice good habits by closing your system and rappelling with a backup. On brand new routes where you are onsighting the descent, consider rapping with a portion of the rack just in case you need to build an anchor.
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