How to Use a Pull Cord/Rap Line
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 19 พ.ย. 2021
- Pull cords, also called rap lines and tag lines, have a variety of uses. They can be used to pull-up extra gear on aid climbs, extend the length of rappels by pairing them with lead ropes, and in an alpine context be used as ultralight fixed ropes or additional anchor material. Some can even be used for glacier travel and crevasse rescue. This video will look at their use for rappelling.
On climbs that have rappels that are longer than 35 meters it is generally necessary to carry two ropes (if you rappel with a single 70m rope folded in half, you can rappel a maximum of 35m). Pull-cords are often preferred over carrying a second climbing rope because they are much lighter weight and more compact. In fact, carrying a skinny single-rated rope and a thin pull cord is often lighter and more compact than carrying two half-ropes or twin ropes. Using a pull-cord an single-rated rope also greatly simplifies rope management at belays compared to systems that rely on two ropes in the belay system for lead climber fall protection (such as half or twin ropes).
Although there are many advantages, using pull cords requires a thorough understanding of how these cords can cause systems to fail due to differences in rope diameter and rope friction in a rappel device. This video shows a way to use a pull-cord coupled with a single-rated rope that greatly reduces the risk of system failure.
good advice! One thing I would add is that when you use a carabiner block, be aware of what ledges or cracks its gonna hit on the way down as you pull the rope after rappelling. I've gotten my rope stuck a few times because of that.
That’s a great video on a complicated method. For anyone who’s thinking of trying this in the wild, I highly recommend practicing it in person from a qualified instructor. There are some subtleties to this technique, and loads of ways you could do it wrong and die. Yes, you could say that about most everything and climbing, but I think it especially applies to rope blocks. This video is a great start to learning the basics, but please practice it in a controlled environment first.
Excellent demonstration thank you Glen.
Thanks for watching @chriskaplan6109! Happy it was helpful!
Very useful video
Nice video, thanks. One point to note, a tag/rap whatever line should be 10% longer than the rope you're using, to account for the stretch when you load it on rappel/abseil. Could be a bit embarrassing if you lost the end, especially if it's windy...
Good point. That’s why the Petzl Pur line comes in a 65 m length.
I use a butterfly there, and always link it to the main rope. that way I can still flick it early on. This way I have a knot and a binder block. I have been using 4mm spectra lately as a tag line which is hard to grip and digs in so I need to use gloves, but it fits into a tiny little bag smaller than a small chalk bag. There are pros and cons to such a small rope and to using spectra.
Thanks so much for your addition @samsara592000! The reapshnur, as you describe, is another great method for working with ropes of different diameters. I use a micro-traction for retrieving my Petzl Purline (not pictured in the video), as it provides a solid grip and ratchet function for the pull. Yeah, thin cords can be tangly :)
Climbing for me so far has been all about redundancy and safety. I was thinking of getting myself a 35m rope for multi pitching and grabbing a 6mm 40m rope pull strand, that way I can swing lead every pitch with my partner and not have to haul so much rope (currently have a 70m rope). My question is, if you get to an anchor and it has just two anchors with no rap rings how would you set this up? Just put your rope through both bolts and use the carabiner block as shown in this video? Any insight would be great! Thanks :)
My 2cents:
1. It's not worth the hassle, just get a full 70 m rope. There are times where you'll need more than 35 m of rope. eg. you missed the last good belay ledge and the next one is a few meters more than 35 m. Or linking pitches
2. Just put a bail alpine draw on the bolt (girth hitch the bolt and biner and you can bail with 1x 60 m sling and 1 biner on 2 bolts). If the angle of rappelling is off on the bolt your rope can easily get stuck, not worth the risk imo
3. Also I try to avoid using a biner block because it's a lot easier to get the rope stuck this way (depends on the terrain of course). But I'd say a lot of things can go wrong when you're rapping with a skinny pull cord, and it's an unnecessary risk for a lot of times
I'm just a regular climber tho, not a guide or a pro, just my 2 cents... Happy climbing :)
Is there any reason not to clip the biner back to the rappelling rope as well?
@@skillsforclimbing thanks for this really well written response. Great video as well.
There’s actually another potential problem when you clip the load strand to the pull strand. Doing this creates a closed loop, which moves down the rope when you pull the retrieval cord. If there’s any kind of obstruction, such as a rock spike, boulder, snow/ice blob, shrub, etc. this loop can get caught above the obstruction and your rope is stuck.
If you do not clip the load cord to the pull cord, then you don’t create this closed loop, and you’re more likely to have a successful pull.
It may be a little hard to visualize this when you read about it, but you can set it up on your floor and you should see how it works.
If you have a nice clean rappel route, then this may not be an issue. But that’s often not the case in the alpine world.
@@johngo6283 thanks for the clarification.
What kind of backpack was that?
You did talk about the rap ring/quicklink being a solid block for the biner, but you really should have emphasized the fact that with carabiners at the top it is possible for the ‘block’ to pop through and be catastrophic. Excellent video otherwise