Ascending on Rappel

The ability to begin ascending while still set-up on rappel is an essential skill for overcoming some common problems in multi-pitch and alpine climbing.  These problems may include having a rappel rope that does not reach the next intended anchor, over-shooting the correct rappel anchor, rappelling past the end of your rope which has become stuck in a crack, having a rappel rope that won't pull to clear the anchor above you, rappelling into and ascending out of a crevasse, descending to retrieve a piece of gear that your follower couldn't clean from a crack, and more.  In short, this is a skill that benefits all climbers.

In this video I show a simple method that converts an auto-blocking device/plaquette device into a tool for rope ascent.  In this case I am using the ATC Guide by Black Diamond.  Some devices, such as the Petzl Reverso, have idiosyncrasies that make this technique a bit more difficult with skinny ropes, as they may bind-up in the rappel slots.  It is a good idea to back this system up by placing an overhand-on-a-bite on the brake strand, and clipping this into your belay loop.  This is particularly true when you convert the system back to a lower, since failing to reapply the third-hand back-up without having your brake-hand on could result in a rapid descent down the rope with potentially dangerous consequences.

I hope you all enjoy!

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