Short rappel? Pull some rope first

Say you have multiple raps to get down a lower angle, blocky, chossy alpine route, complete with a few small trees and shrubs - prime rope eating terrain. Even though you have a 60 meter rope, you decide to keep the rappels short, because you’re concerned about rope induced rock fall, lots of friction making for a strenuous pull, or the rope getting stuck. (Yep, you might make an extra rappel or two, but that is far preferable to having a stuck rope.)

Crafty Rope Trick (CRT): If you have plenty of rope at the new stance, pull down as much rope as you can BEFORE the final person goes on rappel.

This can reduce the chances for a hangup or rockfall when the rope is pulled, because there’s less rope going over blocks, into cracks, and around shrubs that may get caught. If the rope does get caught when it's being shortened, the last person on rappel can fix it when they head down.

The last rappeller can help pull rope to shorten the strands. (The person at the lower anchor should of course have control of both ends of the rope so one end does not get pulled out of reach.)

This tip is from “The Mountaineering Handbook”, by Craig Connally