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Post by geneyore on Nov 11, 2013 14:44:18 GMT -8
Cats Cradle RappelBellingham has been using the Cats Cradle for over 10 years. I've tried it on 45deg steps and found it stable and very comfortable. Some issues might be that it requires a double rope and I not sure about a free rappel. Someone has found that there is a Climbing Club in South Africa that may predate us on this rappel method. Please correct any errors in my post. What do you think?
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Post by jasonmartin on Nov 12, 2013 8:46:04 GMT -8
The questions I have with this and other no harness rappel techniques are a combination of application and appropriateness. If you have a rope, then you probably have a harness. If you have a harness you probably have a belay device or something you can rig a rappel with.
So the question needs to be asked first, what the application of this technique is, and second, is it an appropriate response to a given situation?
I have some concerns that in this forum people are presenting a lot of things that someone saw somewhere once, but that are not common in the climbing or guiding communities...
Jason
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Post by gregggagliardi on Nov 14, 2013 14:18:26 GMT -8
It was popularized in South Africa and picked up in Europe. I first learned of it in a UK climbing techniques book. It is suitable for rappelling scramble routes (class 3 terrain). I believe that it's main interest to this forum is as a "safer" alternative to the Dulfersitz rappel. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_African_Abseil
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Post by steveglenn on Dec 23, 2013 12:36:52 GMT -8
I have been teaching the technique in Bellingham since 1995. Climbers and scramblers up here really like it, and there are no reported problems. Think of this as a good quick rappel to use on a steep, slick slab on a scramble. Or perhaps you have a short step to decend and you do not want to take the time to set up a hardware-based rappel. Steve
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