Accident, Rapping off of rope with a grigri

Alrighty here it is, I had been debating back and forth if I should write anything about my accident but I have decided it may help someone else so it is worth writing down.
Two weeks ago I was out at my local crag in Boise Idaho doing a couple laps solo top roping. I had been out the previous 2 days with partners but the weather had been so nice I wanted to take advantage of it, I coudnt find a partner so just decided to go out for a couple laps.
The crag was empty and I had my choice of routes, I fixed a rope at a set of chain anchors with 2 clove hitches. Essentially making two independent rope strands, I loaded a gri gri on the right strand and rapeled, tying 3 alpine butterfly knots on the left strand at different increments on my way down.
I then did 3 laps using an ascender and clipping those loops with a Quickdraw attached to my belay loop with a locking biner while I climbed to be redundant. I was taking a break when a friend approached the cliff, (we will call him bob.) Bob was up to replace a couple bolts on a nearby route. I talked with bob for 10 minutes and then he left and walked on top of the cliff to the route he was going to work on which was maybe 60-75 feet to my right, but out of sight.
I then did 2 more laps, on my second lap I went in direct to the anchors, untied my clove hitches, and began threading my rope through the chains. MISTAKE NUMBER 1 I usually always tie a triple barrel knot at the end of my rope to close the system when repelling, I didn't tie stopper knots probably because as I was feeding the rope through the chains I was untieng my alpine butterfly loops. I knew I didn't tie knots so I double checked and made sure I pulled the rope all the way to the ground plus a little extra. The route is only about 45 ft and I can easily see the ground.
With both strands on the ground I was ready to rap, I went to grab my atc guide that I try to always leave on my harness at all times and realized it was on the ground. MISTAKE NUMBER 2. Since I didn't have my atc I chose to rap with a grigri on one strand and a prusik on the other. Essentially faking out the gri gri and lowering myself, so the rope is moving through the chains as I descend, it's also pulling rope up from below the gri gri, which was my left strand the strand I didn't tie a knot in and didn't pull twice the amount of rope needed to descend. halfway down the rappel my rope shot through my device and I fell about 20 feet.
I'm still pretty fuzzy about what happened immediately after but apparently I called my girlfriend to get a friend/taxi/uber to drop her off at the crag so she can drive me to the hospital. I guess my plan was to crawl down the cliff side because there was no way I was hiking down. Lucky for me my friend was walking down at about this time, he approached me and just said hello non chalantly because he coudnt tell anything had happened, I told him I had fallen and my leg was probably broken, Bob said he heard a thud but didn't think anything of of it, which makes sense. Bob helped me pack my gear and gave me a piggy back ride down to my car. I still owe him a couple rounds for that.

I didn't realize how long this was going to be and I'm wondering if anyone is going to read this now lol. Needless to say "I CAN'T BELIEVE IT HAPPENED TO ME!" Everything I heard about accidents before happened that day.
1. It all happened so fast
2. I know better then to let what happened happen but it was one little oversight, 3. I wasn't "rushing" but I was moving efficiently, the sun was setting and I was hungry.

As much as we joke around about it always knot your rope, it would have saved me. Its unbelivable to me that I let this happen and the hardest part besides not climbing for the next 8 weeks is going to be forgiving myself. I consider myself to be a safe and knowledgeable climber but it still happens. In the end I guees I was lucky, I almost went out to the city of rocks to solo tr on elephant rock 120 ft. An accident on something bigger would have most likely ment never climbing agaian.

Have fun out there,
knot your rope
and check your knot

Michael Beasley wrote: (we will call him bob.)

First, that's pretty funny.

Michael Beasley wrote:I chose to rap with a grigri on one strand and a prusik on the other

What?? Why?? This is the mistake! Fix the other end of the rope with the myriad of different methods and just rap with the grigri.

Was your leg broken? Glad you're alive!

Interesting story.

Oh! I get to be the first one to tell you about your raping!! Type that second P right now. Haha

Phil Lauffen wrote: First, that's pretty funny. What?? Why?? This is the mistake! Fix the other end of the rope with the myriad of different methods and just rap with the grigri.

Dude that means hiking back to the top to retrieve my fixed rope, I was ready to rap and pull

haha okay rapped sorry,
yea broken talus bone, my ankle basically

Michael Beasley wrote: Dude that means hiking back to the top to retrieve my fixed rope, I was ready to rap and pull

Biner block

Use the Reepshnur method to rappel with a Grigri on a single strand.

Glad you're okay and still around to tell the story.

I could have done that, or a munter, but I had an ascender I just used that as the friction knot. I like RAPPING with a gri but from now on I will thread the rope then tie in and put the grigri on the loose strand. don't even need to count arm lengths or have a middle mark

Michael Beasley wrote: Dude that means hiking back to the top to retrieve my fixed rope, I was ready to rap and pull

Munter away, sir! Yeah it kinks your rope, but never trust your life to a single friction hitch.

Most importantly, glad you're OK and hope that ankle heals up fast.

Or just take one single locker (you had at least one with your grigri) and rap with a munter.

Assuming I'm picturing your set-up correctly, all the prussik really was doing was fixing your harness to one point on the rope - same as if you'd tied in right there - and you were essentially lowering yourself with the grigri but because you attached the prussik at the halfway point (where the rope was through the anchor) you were only lowering with half your rope length available. It seems one big mistake you made was thinking of this as rapping when it was really lowering. The crucial difference being that the rope was moving through the anchors rather than staying stationary, so your effective remaining rope length was shortening as you went - and therefore seeing the ends on the ground before you started was meaningless.

A knot in the end may have saved you from the consequences of your mistake, but your primary mistake wasn't neglecting to tie a knot in the end but setting up a lowering situation improperly while erroneously thinking of it as a rappel.

I'm very glad you're ok and that you had a friend there to help you! Thank you for sharing your experience so that hopefully other climbers can learn from it too. (PS - if you can edit your post title, may want to add that second "p")

Glad you are ok. There probably isn't much to be discussed or learnt that hasn't been rehashed hundreds of times.

Personally I rarely tie knots in my ropes. I watch my rappel ropes like a hawk. Knots are a backup for a failure that has already occurred. To me not watching my rappel is like not place protection on a lead climb. Its an essential part of my task not doing it is akin to accidentally driving with my eyes closed.

(There are times and places for knotting rappels ends, but it is no substitute for paying attention to your task.)

patto wrote:Glad you are ok. There probably isn't much to be discussed or learnt that hasn't been rehashed hundreds of times. Personally I rarely tie knots in my ropes. I watch my rappel ropes like a hawk. Knots are a backup for a failure that has already occurred. To me not watching my rappel is like not place protection on a lead climb. Its an essential part of my task not doing it is akin to accidentally driving with my eyes closed. (There are times and places for knotting rappels ends, but it is no substitute for paying attention to your task.)

absolutly true, as soon as I started descending I was thinking about a brew and a burger. Got comfortable and complacent, I climb at this crag 4 timeso a week never have a problem......

This is a link to describe how to rappel and not have to return to the top (and also not to plummet to your death).

petzl.com/US/EN/Sport/Desce…

or this

petzl.com/US/EN/Sport/Self-…

Paul Hassett wrote:This is a link to describe how to rappel and not have to return to the top (and also not to plummet to your death). petzl.com/US/EN/Sport/Desce… or this petzl.com/US/EN/Sport/Self-…

I had never thought of the first one, quick way to do a block on a half rope length rappel

It sounds like your friction hitch let go.

This hasn't been mentioned yet, another option: lower yourself with the grigri. Thread the anchor, tie into one end and put yourself on belay with the grigri on the other end and simply lower. I use this tactic frequently with clients that I'd rather not have lower me!

Sorry to hear that you were hurt.

Thank you for sharing your story. Every incident has something that we as a community can discuss and learn from. Even if everything has already been said at some point, if even one person learns something from this discussion, it was worth posting.

As for actual advice, everything I would say has already been said. Knot your rope ends, and use the petzl recommended way of descending with your grigri.

tim wrote: Biner block

So many comments, one quick and easy way...

Michael, you are lucky to be alive, hopefully you learn some more basics soon.

chris magness wrote:It sounds like your friction hitch let go. This hasn't been mentioned yet, another option: lower yourself with the grigri. Thread the anchor, tie into one end and put yourself on belay with the grigri on the other end and simply lower. I use this tactic frequently with clients that I'd rather not have lower me!

Friction hitch was in place, it was an ascender, we just shoved everything in my pack so a couple days later I pulled it out and everything was still set up and I was able to measure it I came off 22ft from the rap rings

Used a double biner rappel - here is a good example: climbing.com/skills/rappel-…

I never leave the ground without 4 ovals on my harness just in case I space my rappel device or drop it, but then I have heaps of gray facial hair.

Alternately, you can do this with 4 biners of any type really (you probably had 4 spare biners on your harness right ? - just keep the gates O&O and no problem. I like the other ideas for using a hitch rappel, but a double munter rappel is a real SOB on your rope.

Paul Hassett wrote:This is a link to describe how to rappel and not have to return to the top (and also not to plummet to your death). petzl.com/US/EN/Sport/Desce… or this petzl.com/US/EN/Sport/Self-…

Glad you're ok and will be able to climb again soon Michael, thanks for sharing. If one is intent on using a GriGri to lower/rappel, the above links look simple and bomber. Without an ATC, though, I always prefer the munter hitch, it has saved my butt several times.