Long Rappel After Climb

Question
I am considering climbing at Looking Glass Rock in North Carolina.  The rappels after many of the climbs have sections greater than the 100 feet of my rope.  I know some people tie two ropes together to get down, but this is something I have not had to do before.  What is your recommendation?

Answer
Hi Angie,

Good old Looking Glass?  Tons of memories there, Wow!  While you are there you MUST climb The Nose, Rat's Ass, and Peregrine.  All are stellar routes at a moderate grade that protect fairly well.  If this is your first trip there make sure to bring a FULL set of Metolious TCU's (I carry two full sets there).  Wow, I am envious!

Now as for your question, Yes, Looking Glass has some long rappels.  If you stick to the trade routes like The Nose (if I remember correctly) you can get away with single rope rappels.  However, if you venture to other less traveled routes you are going to need two ropes (recommend 60 meter) to get down.  I would suggest going with two 60 meter ropes regardless.  I know of one route we did there that my partner Rick had to flip upside down on the rappel to clip the anchors with his daisy chain, then lowered himself off the ends of the rope.  I had to do the same but had to keep control of the rope so we didn't lose it when I went off the ends myself.  That was with two 50 meter ropes, so two 60 meter ropes would have been a better choice.

To tie them together is easy but be careful.  You will be hanging from most of the rappels, not on a ledge, so rope management is essential.  Keep your ropes organized!  Also, make sure that your ropes are different colors.  You don't want to use the same rope for this, it will become more clear later.  Also, use the same diameter and length rope.  Anyway, to do this before untying from harness or the belay rig, tie a Figure 8 on a bight leaving at least 4 feet of rope to work with.  Clip this figure 8 to your harness.  This is so you can't drop the rope and end up stuck on the route.  Make sure you and your partner are anchored in to the route with a daisy chain or sling to both rappel anchors, then untie the figure 8 you climbed on from the rope you just clipped into your harness with the Figure 8 on a bight.  Leave the Figure 8 you used to tie in with in the end of the rope.  Take the other rope and tie a figure 8 on a bight in this one as well with about 4-6 feet from the end and clip it into your harness as well.  Take the end of this rope and feed it through the rappel anchors then weave it back through the figure 8 of the other rope.  When you get done weaving it back through the Figure 8 you should have one short line 12?(at least) coming out each end of the knot.  Now it is time to analyze some things before getting on rappel.  Look at the anchors and which side of the anchors the knot is on.  Remember that color of rope because that is the end you will need to pull when you get to the next anchors.  Looking Glass (and most every multi-pitch route for that matter, especially granite domes) has a tendency to want to make pulling ropes as hard as possible.  I swear the rock is looking to keep souvenirs.  So if you pull the wrong end you could pull the knot into the anchors making it damn near impossible to pull, even pulling the right end requires a great deal of force and you might question whether you are pulling the right end to begin with.  Another thing you can do to make the rope pulling thing easier is to move the knot about 2 feet away (pull the rope through the anchors about 2 feet) from the anchors before rigging up for the rappel.  When it comes time to pull the rope, that 2 feet will greatly ease the beginning on the rope pulling fun.

Now you are ready to rig up to rappel.  First, untie the Figure 8's you clipped to your harness and pull up the ends of the ropes.  Tie the hanging ends of the rope together or tie knots into the individual ends (your choice) so you can't rappel off the end of the rope.  Then rig up your ATC, clean up the belay and head down to the next rap station.  Once you get to the next station, keep the rappel locked off and clip into the anchors with your daisy chain/ sling.  Once you are safely clipped in to both anchors, lower out onto the anchors, unrig your belay, and your partner can follow you down.

Once you are both safely in the belay (rap station), pull the correct colored rope a few feet and tie a figure 8 on the bight in the end and clip it into your harness.  This is so that when the rope falls from the old anchors you don't drop it.  Continue pulling until the rope comes down and re-do the above steps. A neat little trick here though? While you are pulling the rope, have your partner pull the end of the rope through the anchors you are on.  As you pull your end, he or she feeds the rope through, then when the rope falls from the top, nearly half the rope is through the anchors you are hanging from, then all you have to do is pull the end fed through the anchors until the knot is 2 feet from the anchors, and rap again.  This way saves a ton of time, just be careful to hold onto the rope when the rope from the anchors above falls.  You don't want any chance of losing your ropes!

Well, I hope this is helpful.  Good luck and have a great time out there.  Oh, one more route to try, one of my favorites, is Sun Dial.  It is about 2 routes to the right of the Nose.  Anyway, take care and climb safely.  Let me know if you need any further help, I would be glad to help.

Off Belay,
Alan Nelson