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Mark Hudon
Trad climber
Hood River, OR
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Topic Author's Original Post - Sep 17, 2012 - 01:02pm PT
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Let's saw you've just done an El Cap route and you're starting down the raps, you might be tired, you might be in a hurry, it might be late in the afternoon and night is quickly approaching. Do you just jump on the ropes and go or do you prepare yourself to pass a knot that might be in the rope?
If you prepare yourself, how do you do it? What is your technique for passing that knot? Do you even think about it?
I have my technique figured out, it takes minimal gear and is simple, safe and easy.
What is your technique?
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Melissa
Gym climber
berkeley, ca
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Sep 17, 2012 - 01:14pm PT
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Practically speaking:
1. Look down the 2-3 lines that are often strung off the same anchor and pick the one that has no visible knots. Lightest load goes first to confirm.
2. Consider donating a rope to replace the shot rope if it's the only option.
3. Transfer to other line at the knot if avoiding knots is not possible. When the ropes are shot, there are usually at least two. I always have a gri-gri and ATC-type thing on my harness, so no jugs are needed for this with a reasonable load.
4. Use jug or prussic/adjustable daisy to get below knot on same line if all else fails. The daisies would already be rigged. If jugs were handy, I'd grab them, if not, I'd use slings.
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Mungeclimber
Trad climber
the crowd MUST BE MOCKED...Mocked I tell you.
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Sep 17, 2012 - 01:16pm PT
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keep a jumar handy on an adjustable daisy.
never rap with the pig on yer back.
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ontheedgeandscaredtodeath
Trad climber
San Francisco, Ca
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Sep 17, 2012 - 01:18pm PT
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Use your own ropes? All the fixed lines on El Cap are bullsh#t.
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Mark Hudon
Trad climber
Hood River, OR
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Topic Author's Reply - Sep 17, 2012 - 01:39pm PT
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Working this out in excruciating detail is a good mental exercise and might save you loads of time and agony one of these days.
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Vitaliy M.
Mountain climber
San Francisco
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Sep 17, 2012 - 01:46pm PT
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I hope to do that descent some time in near future...would be nice.
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Elcapinyoazz
Social climber
Joshua Tree
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Sep 17, 2012 - 02:08pm PT
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No the fixed lines are not bullsh#t. If you ever require a rescue, in bad weather where a chopper ain't flying and climbing the east ledges "route" is sketchy, your friendly neighborhood SAR members can jug those fixed lines in a hurry and start prepping at the top. The alternative is hours longer to get them into place. So enough with the whining about lines you'll never see unless you are using them.
The ropes WILL eventually have knots midway as people tie out bad sections with butterflies. Be prepared, passing a knot with a bag hanging off your harness isn't the simple affair that passing one with no weight on you is.
If you can't see the entire line, you can send one guy down with no weight and then lower the bag(s) with your haul-line as first guy down raps along side and steers the bags into the station or frees any snags. This is the most intuitive and simple way.
Or you can each rap with a bag and pass the knot. If you choose to do this, some kind of mini-haul and docking style lowerout will work to transfer the bag (the details will depend on what gear you are using to pass the knot, basically you'll mini haul the bag off the piece above the knot and dock it to that (ascender, prussik, grigri), get yourself onto your belay device below the knot, then lowerout/ transder the bag back onto your harness or rap device.
Probably a million ways to do it, but that's my scheme...mostly because it is stuff I'm already familiar with and it would be hard for me to screw it up...same reason I always tie in with a fig-8, sucks to untie when fallen on, but I will always tie it right, whether tired, cold, hungry, or intoxicated.
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ontheedgeandscaredtodeath
Trad climber
San Francisco, Ca
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Sep 17, 2012 - 02:16pm PT
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I'm pretty much willing to climb without having things pre-rigged for a SAR team. All the fixed ratty lines on El Cap are lame.
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climbski2
Mountain climber
Anchorage AK, Reno NV
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Sep 17, 2012 - 02:20pm PT
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Been exactly there(with haulbag dangling off harness)done exactly this
Rap down with gri-gri to just above knot about 9 inches for me. Clip ascender into rope then clip Yates adjustable daisy to ascender and cynch tight.
then rap a couple more inches till ascender takes all weight. (probably smart to clip a 48 inch sling into harness and ascender or both adjustable daisies as backup for yates buckle but I didnt do that)
Undo Gri-gri and reattach below knot.
Lower off Adjustable daisy till back on gri-gri rappel. Remove ascender and off you go
Tips
Keep you system as close together as possible so you dont run out of adjustable daisy before you are back on gri-gri. That would add some extra finagling if you blow it.
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