What do you do if you drop or lose your rappel device on a climb? If you’re a savvy, knowledgeable climber then you know a variety of emergency methods that will get you safely down the cliff, including the Dulfursitz or body rappel, the Münter hitch, and the carabiner brake. The standard carabiner brake method is the best and safest one to know and use.
Carabiner Brake Method is Best
The carabiner brake method, a mechanical system, is, despite its shortcomings, superior and much safer than other emergency methods. Plus it requires only a handful of carabiners, which you carry with you on every climb, to create. The drawbacks to the carabiner brake system include that it’s complicated to set up, has lots of components, is easy to rig incorrectly, especially if you’re tired or it’s dark, and can malfunction.
Münter Hitch and The Dulfursitz
While the Münter hitch is fine in a pinch, it’s only good for short rappels because it not only twists and kinks the ropes but lets the ropes run across each other creating additional friction and danger. The Dulfursitz is simply a no-frills body rappel with the rope wrapped around your hips, butt, and shoulders. It’s strictly a last resort rappel since it’s not only uncomfortable but also risky since you can fall out of the rope.
Standard Climbing Lore
Every climber needs to learn and practice the carabiner brake method so he knows how to use it. Before the days of sewn harnesses and rappel and belay devices, which came in the late-1970s, every climber knew how to make a sit harness with one-inch webbing and how to rig a carabiner brake for rappelling. It was standard climbing knowledge that was taught in every instructional book and climbing class.
What is a Carabiner Brake
The carabiner brake is simply a group of interlocking carabiners with their gates reversed and opposed to each other so they don’t accidently open or a group of locking carabiners in the same arrangement. The best method to learn is the six-carabiner brake, since there is more redundancy in the system than with single lockers. Locking carabiners can, of course, be used in the system rather than regular carabiners, creating even more redundancy and safety.
Which Carabiners to Use
It’s best to use oval carabiners rather than D-shaped or bent gate ones. Since the ovals have the same dimensions on each side, they’re easier to rig correctly. The contrasting shape of the opposites sides of the D’s and bent gates make it harder to push the bight of rope through the biners and to clip the brake carabiners over them. Some of the modern ultra-light, small carabiners are inadequate for creating a carabiner brake rappel system. Always practice the system ahead of time with your equipment so you’ll know what works best and what its limitations are.
Braking Carabiners Create Friction
The beauty of the carabiner brake method is that it’s easy to add more braking carabiners, which create more friction for your descent. Usually one brake carabiner provides enough friction to control your rappel. If you do use one biner, make sure that it’s always a locking carabiner, preferably an auto-locking one that will never come open. You can, however, add a second or even a third braking carabiner to the rappel system to create more friction for long, overhanging and for thin ropes and heavy climbers.
