Lowering a lead climber from an anchor

This method is used for removing gear from a sport anchor, with a subsequent lowering of the lead climber. An alternative is to abseil from an anchor. For routes with no fixed protection at the anchor point (trad), you have either to leave some gear behind, or where it is appropriate and reasonably safe, use for example abseil with an equivocation hitch.

Lowering from a pre-built sport anchor

Preparation for lowering generally consists of five steps:

• Making a temporary tie-in in a middle of a rope to free the rope end without loosing the rope
• Removing the original tie-in
• Threading the rope end through the anchor
• Retying to the rope end
• Safety check and cleaning up

Find below a brief description of a method which works for all discussed cases. If you need more insight for any of the steps, check the detailed description.

• File:Prebuilt lowering detailed step1.png

  Pull approximately two meters of slack (1), tie a Figure 8 on a bight on it and clip it to your harness belay loop

• File:Prebuilt lowering quick step2.png

  Completely untie the Figure 8 which is directly at your harness (2)

• File:Prebuilt lowering quick step3.png

  Pull the loose rope strand through the rappel ring of the anchor (3) and attach it back to your harness by tying in by a Figure 8

• File:Prebuilt lowering quick step4.png

  Remove the carabiner at your harness (4,5), untie the Figure 8 on a bight (6), remove the toprope carabiners (7) and ask your belayer for a block while lifting yourself slightly towards the anchor (8)

• File:Prebuilt lowering quick step9.png

  Before committing to the system, check that you really can hang in the rope (your personal anchor should be loose and the rope tight) and visually inspect both the tie in and the threading through the rappel ring (9)

• File:Prebuilt lowering quick step10.png

  After you inspected and tested that the setup is safe, you can remove the rest of the gear from the anchor (10)

• File:Prebuilt lowering quick step11.png

  And you are safe to get lowered (11)

Lowering from a pre-built sport anchor - quick method

This method can be used if the anchor is equipped by a rappel ring, or if the bolts or maillons are big enough. This method have two variations - either you get lowered on a Figure 8 clipped through the carabiner as depicted below, or you re-tie to the end of the rope in similar fashion as described in the chapter above. If you decide to leave a long slack, be mindful of its placement and put it over one shoulder or clip it to your harness. Having a slack around your neck leads to a risk of potentially fatal injury.

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  Grab a bight of the rope and pull approximately two meters of slack through the rappel ring (1)

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  Tie a Figure 8 on a bight on it (2)

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  Clip the Figure 8 to your harness belay loop (3)

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  Inspect the tie-in (4)

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  Completely untie the Figure 8 which is directly at your harness (5)

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  Remove the toprope carabiners (6) and pull the loose rope strand out of the rappel ring (7)

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  To test the system, ask your belayer for a block (8)

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  Before committing to the system, check once more that you are truly hanging in the rope which is threaded through the rappel ring (9,10)

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  After you inspected and tested that the setup is safe, you can remove the rest of the gear from the anchor (11,12)

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  And you are safe to get lowered (13)

Lowering from bolts with maillons

TODO

Lowering directly from bolts or fixed ring

This method is forbidden by climbing associations in some countries and places. The ban is due to an increased bolts and fixed rings abrasion which leads to unnecessary and undesired shortening of the material replacement cycles. For example at traditional sandstone routes which are (due to a tradition) almost exclusively equipped with fixed rings, it would mean additional drilling into a rock which is often protected by a law due to nature preservation for further generations. In addition, this method cannot be used for lowering directly from hanger plates as the friction over the plates edges would severely damage the rope.

Step by step detailed descriptions

Lowering from a pre-built sport anchor - detailed description

• File:Prebuilt lowering detailed step1.png

  Pull approximately two arm lengths (two meters) of slack (1)

• File:Prebuilt lowering detailed step2.png

  Tie a Figure 8 on a bight (2)

• File:Prebuilt lowering detailed step3.png

  Clip it to your harness belay loop by a carabiner (3) and screw its gate (4)

• File:Prebuilt lowering detailed step4.png

  Undo the Figure 8 by which you were originally tied-in (5)

• File:Prebuilt lowering detailed step5.png

  And completely untie it (6)

• File:Prebuilt lowering detailed step6.png

  Pull the loose end of the rope through the rappel ring (7)

• File:Prebuilt lowering detailed step7.png

  And tie in it by a Figure 8 (8)

• File:Prebuilt lowering detailed step8.png

  You will get lowered on this knot, so inspect that its properly tied and that the loop goes through both of the harness tie-in loops (9)

• File:Prebuilt lowering detailed step9.png

  Unscrew the carabiner (10), detach it from your haness (11) and untie the Figure 8 on a bight (12), excessive extra slack will slide out (13)

• File:Prebuilt lowering detailed step14.png

  Remove the two carabiners intended for the toproping (14)

• File:Prebuilt lowering detailed step15.png

  To test the setup, ask belayer for a block (15) before removing your personal anchor

• File:Prebuilt lowering detailed step16.png

  Inspect both the tie-in (16) and the threading of the rope through the anchor rappel ring (17)

• File:Prebuilt lowering detailed step18.png

  Unscrew (18) and clean-up (19) the rest of your gear from the anchor

• File:Prebuilt lowering detailed step20.png

  And get lowered (20) by a belayer