Chockstone Forum

      Sponsored By
      ROCK
   HARDWARE

Chockstone Photography

Australian Landscape Prints

Chockstone Forum - General Discussion

General Climbing Discussion

Topic Date User

Abseiling tips, tricks, habits and advice 12-Aug-2014 At 11:13:47 AM DMWdesign

Message

On 28/05/2014 citationx wrote:

>We're not really here to discuss that you find your method the best and
>everyone else's method is therefore somehow redundant/useless/dangerous.
>And regarding your knots in the end of the rope, similar thing - I tie
>knots in the end on really long raps and then when i am attached to the
>ground or the next anchor, I then untie it if needed. Again, it's not "wrong",
>(and it's hardly less efficient - how long does it take to tie two knots
>and untie them? 6 seconds?) it's just a different way of doing it, perhaps
>with more safety. (feel free to disagree it's more safe)

I have just pick-up on this interesting discussion re autoblocks and knots

Coincidently I tried an autoblock back-up for the first time the other day and found it worked very smooth & responsively on a free-hanging abseil - no body twisting, no jerking etc.
I found it more comfortable to have the autoblock as low as possible.
see photo

Having said that, I probably won't start using a back-up (in canyoning) as I like to have both hands 'free' whilst negotiating tricky overhangs, slots, chockstones, etc.
And if I had to choose, definitely not a back-up above the descender.

I may choose to use the autoblock backup on a long straightforward abseil if I was the first person down and where there was the potential of rock-fall.

re knots, never tied them as I am always monitoring where I am descending anyway and never abseil at night, But I agree, for safety sake it doesn't take long to tie/untie a couple of knots if it makes you feel more comfortable.

re these applications - it's all horses for courses