The extended rappel, explained
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Note - This post discusses techniques and methods used in vertical rope work. If you do them wrong, you could die. Always practice vertical rope techniques under the supervision of a qualified instructor, and ideally in a progression: from flat ground, to staircase, to vertical close to the ground before you ever try them in a real climbing situation.
So, what exactly is an extended rappel?
Simply put, rather than attaching your rappel device directly to your belay loop in the standard manner, you add some sort of runner / carabiner combination to “extend” it farther away from your body.
Maybe a decade ago, the extended rappel was regarded by many as a sort of a fringe Euro rope trick. I recall seeing as a diagram in a long-ago Petzl catalog and thinking, “Hmmm, I’m not so sure about that one…”
While it’s now becoming more standard, many beginners may not be familiar with this method, or the various ways you can rig it. So, even though it’s in a lot of instructional books and websites, let's cover some rigging options and the benefits, a couple of which are not generally recognized.
There are some downsides.
It requires a bit extra gear and time to properly set up.
There’s a potential for long hair to get caught in the rappel device. Tuck away your hair, clothing, and anything that may get caught.
It also add some extra cluster onto your belay loop; depending on how you set it up, you could have three total carabiners and associated webbing on your loop, rather than just a single rappel carabiner. Ironically enough, this extra cluster can make it a little harder to do a proper safety check, because the front of your harness gets pretty busy.
If you have an awkward start to the rappel, such as having to shimmy off of a ledge in a weird way, the extended hardware can sometimes scrape on the ledge as you’re getting started.
Should you use this set up on every rappel? Probably not. If it’s just one pitch to the ground and a bluebird day, then the traditional rap off of the belay loop should work just fine. However, there are some subtle benefits to it, outlined below, that you may want to consider.
Note: If you're rappelling a single strand of rope on a Grigri or similar auto locking belay device, it's best to NOT use an extended rappel. You get better control of the Grigri lever when it's closer to your body.
Why would I want to use a extended rappel?
Excellent question! Here are some answers, in rough order of importance.
1 - Works better with an auto block “third hand” back up. With an extended rappel, you can clip an auto block directly to your belay loop. This is the most secure and comfortable place to clip it (better than your leg loop), it keeps the rope and the auto block centered in a straight line, helps the rope feed more smoothly, and ensures the auto block does not become caught in your rappel device.
(Note: With a larger group, especially beginners, adding an autoblock for every climber can take a long time. One alternative: the first person down uses an auto block, everyone else gets a firefighter’s delay from below.)
Are you doing a straightforward rappel on a bluebird day with no complicating factors? Then you can maybe skip the auto block. Or, are you rapping with one or more challenges, such as beginners, darkness, cold, wet, icy ropes, new ropes that are slick, heavy pack, heavy rappeller, vertical or free hanging, pendulum to reach the next rap station, rope cluster that needs fixing, single strand, unsure of the next anchor location, etc.? In these cases using an auto block can be an excellent idea. (Personally, I think of it like wearing a seatbelt.)
2 - Allows the whole team to “pre-rig” a rappel. This means that team members use an extension, rig for the rap at the same time, and leave their rappel devices on the rope while other people are rapping. The extension allows them to stand close to the anchor but not be pulled around by the rapelling person, who is tensioning the rope. Pre-rigging improves safety, because the last person can get a safety check, and it improves speed, because there’s no waiting around for each person to rig for the rappel. Pre-rigging is covered in depth here.
3 - Easier to rig your rappel device correctly. If you’re rapping off your belay loop, and if you’re wearing loose or bulky clothing, and/or it’s dark, it can be a struggle to look down and be SURE that your rappel device is in fact threaded correctly and the carabiner gate is locked. (Both of these mistakes are common causes of rappelling accidents.) By extending the device away from any clothing, it’s easier for you and your partner to inspect.
4 - You have less chance of your clothing getting caught in your rappel device. But there’s maybe an increased chance of getting your hair stuck, because it’s closer to your head, so this might be a trade off. Bottom line - tuck away your hair, beard, pack straps, hoodie strings, dreadlocks, and any stray clothing whenever you rappel, extended rap or not.
5 - It makes the rappel more ambidextrous. Because the rappel is in front of you and elevated, the rope runs between your legs rather than over one hip. This lets you use either hand as needed. Or, as I like to do when the rap gets faster as the friction decreases near the bottom, use both hands comfortably in front of you on the brake strands at the same time. It's very awkward to get both brake hands on the rope if you’re doing a traditional rappel off of your belay loop with the rope over one hip. Having both hands in the brake position offers more control.
One more small benefit: the rope tends to twist less when it's hanging straight between your legs, as opposed to running over your hip off to one side.
6 - Easier free hanging rappels. By moving the “pivot point” higher, a free hanging rappel done with an extension greatly reduces the tension on your abs to stay upright.
7 - Offers more braking control / power. Because your device is positioned high and in front of you, this lets the brake strand be pulled down easily 180° opposite the “top” of the rope, for maximum braking force.
8 - Advanced Crafty Rope Trick (CRT) - If you’re using a plaquette style belay device such as a Black Diamond ATC Guide, an extended rappel lets you easily “flip the plaquette” to ascend the rope. If you ever need to transition from rappelling to ascending your rope (like that time you rapped past the anchor and looked up only to find it was 20 feet above you, whoops) this is a pretty cool trick.
Clip a locking carabiner to the “ear” of of your rappel device, Find a stance where you can get a little slack in the rope, and then clip that locking carabiner back onto your belay loop. BAM, your rappel device is now an ascender! Granted, this is going to be an extremely rare thing to do the average recreational climber, but it’s still another trick in the toolbox. This Crafty Rope Trick is covered in detail here.
An extended rappel works great with an autoblock “third hand” rappel backup.
An autoblock is an optional but often used addition. The autoblock functions as your “third hand” rappel backup, and let you go hands-free on the rappel at any time.
To make the auto block, use a webbing loop designed for this such the Sterling Hollow Block, or second choice, a short prusik loop (start with 1.5 meters of 6mm cord).
Wrap a Hollow Block or prusik loop a few times around the rope, then clip both ends to a locking carabiner on your belay loop. (Use your belay loop rather than the old-school method of your leg loop.)
A note on auto block rappel backups:
This is becoming much more popular, to the point of it being taught as pretty much mandatory in some mountaineering classes. However, like everything in climbing, it comes with some downsides. It should be a conscious decision to use this technique, and not a “always yes” sort of choice.
Requires a short friction hitch which you may or may not have with you
Takes longer to rig (especially true for beginners), and is one more thing to safety check for your partner
Can cause you to rappel more slowly (especially true for beginners)
Can make for a start-stop-jerky rappel rather than a nice smooth one, which can put more load on the anchors. Avoid this by not making too many making to many wraps on the rope, which makes too much friction.
Tips: for a friction hitch, start with 1.5 meters / 5 feet of 6mm cord. See this 1 minute video from Petzl for a how-to.
One simple option to consider to reduce risk for everyone: send the first person down with an auto block backup. Everyone else on the team does not use a backup, but gets a firefighter belay from below.
A few notes on rigging methods . . .
You want to use an extension that’s roughly 1-2 feet / 30-60 cm long. Reason: you always want to be able to reach above your rappel device to put on a prusik in case you need to unweight your device. So, don’t use a double length (4 foot / 120 cm) runner at full length for an extended rappel; it’s too long.
Like most aspects of climbing, how you set this up and whether or not to use it really comes down to personal preference. Try out a few different options, and see which one makes sense for you. Your choices may depend on the gear that you have (sport climbing or alpine trad?) and the type of terrain you're rappelling (is it loose and blocky with large ledges, or is it steep or overhanging with hanging anchor stations?) Your height and arm length also influence what method you use.
Should I put the extension on my belay loops or through my tie in points? Short answer, it doesn't really matter. As long as you don't leave your extension on all the time in the same place on your harness, you can use either one. Personally, I’m a belay loop guy, so that was shown in the photos below. Here's an article that covers this in much more detail.
There are LOTS of ways to rig this. People on the inter-webs can argue about the fine points until the cows come home, but as long as your setup is strong and secure with a sewn runner or quickdraw, (and ideally not tied with a water knot) it's probably going to work just fine.
“But it’s not redundant . . . OMG, what if the runner breaks, Yer Gonna Die (YGD!)”
Some of the following set ups are not fully redundant. But, for you redundancy fans, keep in mind you are rapping on one rope, with one rappel device, one rappel carabiner, and one belay loop, so you don't need to freak out over rapping off one sling rated to 22 kN (even if it does look like Swiss dental floss.) Having said that, if redundancy gives you a warm fuzzy feeling, feel free to choose a technique that offers redundancy, or add another sling to one of the methods shown below. Remember, you are responsible for your own level of risk and comfort level; don't let it be dictated by someone else.
Okay, let’s see some ways to rig an extended rappel.
For the simplest configuration, all you need is a runner or quickdraw. Everything past this adds either convenience, redundancy or both, but with the trade off of longer setup, more gear to carry, and as mentioned, extra cluster on your harness.
Note - for all of the setups below that do not have a built in tether, simply girth hitch a separate sling into your harness, and use that to connect yourself to the anchor.
Let’s look at a few bare bones setups first, then get into more complex rigging.
Use a quickdraw(s). You may have a locking quickdraw, so use it! This is a simple approach when a single pitch climb requires a rappel, because there's no need for a tether to clip into the next anchor. Pros: fast to rig, easy to break down. Cons: you might not have one.
Sport climbers can also use two standard quickdraws, with carabiners opposite and opposed. This is the equivalent of a single quick draw with locking carabiners. Pros: fast to rig, easy to break down. Cons: depending on your draw length, it might be a bit short and not give enough extension. Longer draws are generally better. No tether for clipping to rappel anchors.
Now, let's look at some rigging that uses a double length (4 foot/120 cm) runner. Note: A sewn sling is preferred here, rather than a length of webbing that you tie with a water knot.
The blue sling I'm using here is the Edelrid Aramid 120 cm. I love it because the sheath is very abrasion resistant, and the Kevlar core is super strong. Most important, it's very easy to untie overhand knots after it’s been loaded, unlike Dyneema. Perfect for all-around anchor building and rappel extensions!
Let's start with something simple. 120 cm sling, basket hitched through your harness, overhand knot with the ends. Super strong, redundant everywhere, but no built in tether. (If you want a tether, take another 120 cm sling, girth hitch it to your harness, and clip that into the anchor.)
Double length sewn runner girth hitched through the harness tie in points, overhand knot tied for rappel carabiner and device, locker clipped to end. Pros: fairly easy to untie, redundant (with the girth hitch) has a tether for clipping to rappel anchors. Cons: None.
Bowline on a bight tied through harness. Double redundant loop, fast to tie once you know how, very easy to untie. (Yes, the bowline is ring loaded, but that doesn’t matter here.) Tie the bowline through your belay loop or tie in points. I have a more detailed article on this technique that you can read here.