You're midway down your rappel and whoops, your clothing / hair / packstrap / whatever gets caught in your rappel device. (This is actually a fairly common problem, and it’s happened to some of the best climbers.)

What do you do?

Fortunately the solution is pretty easy. Here's one approach.

1. Stop your rappel. You are using a third hand back up under your device, right? So push this up the rope as far as you can, and let it take your weight. If you don’ t have a third hand, you can use the classic method of wrapping the brake strand of the rope several times around one leg.

2. Tie a Klemheist hitch (as a foot loop) on the rope above your device. This is a great place for a cordelette if you have one. Use what you have. A short friction hitch loop with a girth hitched 120 cm sling works fine as well. Get resourceful. A klemheist will probably be better than a prusik because a) you can use any material you have to tie it, b) you can tie faster (maybe even without looking) and c) it can be a little bit sloppy and still hold.

3. Put 1 foot into your new foot loop and stand up. Now, your weight should be on the friction hitch / footloop and off of your device. Remove hair or clothing, and be sure the rope is properly installed in your rappel device.

4. Remove the foot loop hitch and continue rappelling.

Notes . . .

• You may be tempted to get out your knife and try to cut away the problem. Yo, be careful! Sharp knives and ropes under tension can be a very bad combination, so it's probably better to try the method above before you use an open blade. If you have a small knife with scissors, that could be a slightly less risky option.

• You can practice this with an old T-shirt, wig, Barbie doll, shoelace whatever, in a controlled environment, very close to the ground.

• Of course, it's great to try to prevent this problem before it ever happens. Tuck away loose clothing and hair before you start rappelling, use a hair tie, and take extra caution if it's a windy day.

• In the photo below on the left, I have a Dyneema sling girth hitched onto a Sterling Hollow Block. It's worth pointing out that Sterling recommends that you not do this. Personally, because this is only holding your body weight for a couple of seconds, I’m comfortable with it. But, if you want to follow manufacturer recommendations, connect the two with the carabiner to get full strength.

Two ways to make a friction hitch foot loop. Short friction hitch and 120 cm sling on the left, cordelette on the right.

All so you don't turn out like this person!