BRAND NEW (A HIKER that just needs how to get down SMALL steep areas in emergencies)

I am way too old (and scared of heights) to get into the REAL sport of mountaineering. I am just a hiker that occasionally finds himself in a situation where I want the added protection of ROPE when descending by myself down very steep sections.I almost KILLED myself three weeks ago when marooned on a very large section of thick ice, unable to go forward or backward.I wont get into HOW I finally got out of it but it was CLOSE! A big cliff formed the runout!

I just want to know WHAT I might be able to use to get down 50 - 100 foot sections of steep, icy HIKING areas. I guess I need rope, obviously but what kind? Is a lightweight harness something I might want (don't forget, I hopefully WON'T be using it. I may get use of it once every few years so it does NOT need to be "comfortable etc.). What about figure of eights or other "stopping devices? Which would be best for a neophyte? Obviously, LIGHT WEIGHT is important as a long distance HIKER vs. an actual mountaineer.

Please point me in the right direction.

Thanks so much,
George

When you say steep is it vertical or something you could easily walk down if it weren't icy? How many people are you with?

You need to get some instruction, be it just a day of training, before you use a rope and harness. Don't learn over the Internet.

Take a private, one-day class from a climbing guide. Tell them what you want to do before you sign-up or pay. That should do the trick. (unless you have an experienced climbing friend that can teach you how to build an anchor and how to rappel).

Search "rock climbing guides/instruction" in your area.

Thank you Frank, I appreciate your reply! :)

Medic. I generally hike alone. The area where I hike has ledges. It's not STRAIGHT down unless you slip and fall (you would bounce down a hundred feet or so). I can usually make it UP these pitches since I can SEE my footing. When coming down it becomes precarious if there is flow ice covering the ledges (like a waterfall). I am just concerned if I SLIP. I want the chance to regain my footing in that case. It's not a TRUE rappel per se it's more of a precautionary measure. I'm also scared of heights so it would give me more confidence. According to some books and other sources that I've read . . . the MAIN causes of injury are ignorance and carelessness. Following in third place is the lack of confidence. If you don't "sink in" the footing areas you tend to lean into the mountain and other dangerous things.

Have you thought about using Yaktrax or another light weight hiking crampon?

Microspikes would help with this, Yaktrax and other knock off brands don't provide the same level of stability, and while they are fine around town should not be used in life or death scenarios. They can roll out from under you especially when traversing a slope.

George: The big challenge you face here is anchors to rappel off of. Most popular climbs that do not have an easy walk-off at the top have some form of fixed anchors that climbers thread their ropes through to descend. The hikes you are talking about are likely not equipped with anchors. If it is a hike you do regularly you may wish to equip the route yourself, but that is a significant investment of time and money. You should also look into the regulations that govern the area you are looking at. With the explosion in popularity of climbing most areas have some restrictions about placing permanent anchors. Rappel anchors can be a permanent as expansion bolts drilled into the rock or as temporary as webbing and descent rings around trees or chockstones. Placing of anchors takes some training and experience. Please don't rappel directly off trees since the bark is damaged when you pull your rope around the trunk to retrieve it.

I would second the suggestion that you look into crampons or Kahtoola Microspikes. I often feel like an unpaid salesman for the latter since I love mine and often recommend them.

I'll try to clarify a bit of what some of the other posters are explaining:

Having a rope and/or harness won't really provide you with much added safety without:

A) Someone else with you to hold the other end of the rope, OR

B) Anchors, fixed (bolted or glued into the rock) or passive (you put removable gear into the rock yourself) for you to attached a doubled rope to, and yourself to safely lower yourself.

• *note: you will then be unable to retrieve whatever gear you used to build the anchor. OR

C) A strong knowledge of techniques and lots of gear for a more rope solo type experience.
(doesn't sound like what you're after)

Climbing ropes and gear can be pretty heavy and if you're finding yourself in kind of sketchy situations where you are hiking, the added weight may be more cumbersome than it's worth.

That being said, a nice axe and knowing how to self arrest could be appropriate. I second some others advice on finding a climber or guide in your area and having an actual conversation with them. Most are quite willing to help out. And anyone who has a better understanding of the places you are stomping around in will be much more qualified to help you out than any of us pounding on the keyboard from afar.

Good luck, and don't sweat it. We've all been in scary situations before and had to figure our way out.

Definitely Microspikes or a hiking crampon. Kahtoola makes both. Yaktraks are ok for icy sidewalks but not as good as Microspikes. Microspikes for iced footing that is more or less level. Crampons for inclined ice.

As for rappelling, you absolutely have to get some instruction, especially since rappelling on thin cords is a procedure with slim safety margins. But the instruction has to be tailored to your anticipated uses, which might not be what you get from a climbing guide unless you explain very carefully what you intend to be doing.

As I imagine it, you aren't going to be just dangling in midair while rappelling off overhangs (this is relatively easy). You are going to be doing something harder, which is trying to navigate ledgy terrain, where you may not always be fully weighting the rope, and you may not be directly below the anchor. You have to be very alert and aware in such circumstances, because intentionally or unintentionally weighting the rope when you are to the side of the anchor will cause you to pendulum, possibly into the wall of a corner, possibly onto a ledge, or possibly to a hanging position where your ropes no longer reach anything. You'll need instruction that covers such situations and the opportunity to practice safely, otherwise the rope and a little rappelling knowledge could turn out to be a very bad thing.

You'll also need special strategies and/or gear to handle the small-diameter ropes.

Finally, remember that you are thinking of the rope as a safety enhancement, but once you have it you might be tempted to do things you just wouldn't have done before, with results that might be bad. I don't think this can be emphasized too much. If it is something you previously wouldn't have done without the rope, you probably still shouldn't be doing it.

Advice: This may not be the best place. I'd ask the same questions on a canyoneering site; they are a more sophisticated consumer of rappelling devices.

Rap device: Talk to the canyoneers, but here is my take. I don't think I'd use any of the climbing-oriented devices. For thin ropes (~7mm), a dedicated rap device makes more sense as you don't need the gadget for belaying. You want a device that allows for a range of friction adjustments and provides a simple way to tie off the rappel. Good bets might be the Sterling ATS store.canyoneeringusa.com/c…;id=10914157 (more available friction than the canyoneering standard Petzl Pirana canyoneeringusa.com/techtip…, or maybe the Rock Exotica Mini Eight rockexotica.com/media/wysiw…. You also might be able to use the Super Munter Hitch animatedknots.com/muntersup…. This might twist your ropes a lot though.

Ropes: A 60 m rope will get you down 100 feet. Sterling makes one classified as a tag line which is meant to be used in combination with a thicker rope but which ought to fill the bill sterlingrope.com/c/climbing…;selected_cat_keys=1114670.1027513.0.0.0&selected_product=75fea6efe98fb606d9afc04c02a2ae9c&redirected_post=1. Edelrid and Mammut make even thinner ropes that are much more expensive and have features you probably don't need.

Anchors. It has been mentioned that you need to set up an anchor for your rope. If there are trees around, then all you'll need is some webbing or cord and a rappel ring. If there is nothing but rock in the vicinity, creating an anchor is probably beyond your pay grade---in any case this is certainly not the place to talk about it.

Harness. Don't bother. All you need is one tied from twenty feet of 1" webbing. See for example canyoneeringusa.com/techtip….

Squirrel suit for a quick descent...yeah--probably better off checking out another site.

I'd second all the others who have already suggested crampons - I suspect you'll get more security out of a good set of crampons, an ice axe, and a little instruction than you will from a rope.

If you do go the rope route, something like the beal rando would probably be a good bet, and a 30m length a decent compromise between weight and length. I'd find abseiling on icy ground with an improvised harness and no crampons more than a little hair-raising though. As to anchors, whilst bad juju at a crag, I wouldn't be too concerned about just looping the rope round a tree if it was an emergency (and you pulled it gently). If the tree is unlikely to be used repeatedly, the overall impact is probably less than leaving tat.

Another option to consider (if you're hiking with a heavy pack) is a length of lightweight cord to use to lower your pack before you scramble down after it.

There are plenty of ways to rappel short, near vertical sections of ice and rock without needing a harness and rappel device. Arm wraps and dulfersitz rappels can do wonders. When I'm out and about if it's time to have a rope in the winter that means it's also time to have an axe, real boots, and real crampons. Learn how to french step and use your ice axe confidently and you will be surprised how much you no longer feel the need for rope. I recommend taking a Mountaineering 101 type course. It will probably be more info than you need, but will set you up well to be successful on your chosen terrain.

Where are you typically hiking?

David Baddeley wrote: I'd find abseiling on icy ground with an improvised harness and no crampons more than a little hair-raising though.

No crampons could indeed be bad, but the improvised harness is entirely adequate for the task at hand and shouldn't raise even one extra hair. Moreover, it is going to be lighter and more compact then any commercial rig so makes the most sense for very occasional applications.

Oops -I might have put the wrong emphasis on there. It was mostly the no crampons that I'd find sketchy. I agree that an improvised harness (or even the dulfersitz) ought to be fine, although if I was abseiling on ice without crampons I'd kinda want everything else to be as familiar as possible. I'd personally take my real harness before I'd improvise one, but I've got a rather light weight one.

Micro spikes

rei.com/product/890608/kaht…;CAWELAID=120217890000754494&lsft=cm_mmc:cse_PLA_GOOG

I have not done ice climbing or mountaineering but I strong suggest an Ice ax and crampons over a rope, but if you are determined to use a rope then . . .

Having done a fair bit of canyoneering Ill add my thoughts. Low angle repels are more difficult then normal and present dangers that others have mentioned.

As to anchors you can just leave some webbing and a quick link and its pretty cheap, but its really trashy and I would be pissed to see that left along a hiking trail. If you study ghosting methods of canyoneering they have several anchors that can be retrieved from the bottom. this normally involves a double line rap with a pull cord. I would get 200' of 7mm static cord for the rap, and then 100' of 6mm for the pull cord. If you want lighter cord you could use something like the fiddle stick I wouldn't recommend rapping on anything smaller then 7mm rope as even with double line its going to be hard to control, and if you do slip you will need your hand on that right away. Also tie a knot in the end of your rope and put a locking biner through it so that the thin cord/small knot won't slip through if something terrible happens. And this doesn't even mention rope management.

As for belay devices the lights option is a single locking biner used with the munter hitch, the super munter won't twist your rope and locks much better but even with full body weight it just about has to be pushed through. A much better option would the nano 8 its light cheap, and variable friction and extremely easy to lock off.

As for a harness I would just bring 20' of webbing to tie a hasty harness, its light and cheap, if you want something you can just put on I would get something like the coulior

Now having said all of that, don't. Low angle repels on slick terrain are honestly much much more difficult then raping over the edge of a cliff face. If you must then get the stuff, and practice a ton on a hill by your home before you ever plan on doing it in the wild. If you screw it up you could still kill yourself.

Join a canyoneering group and learn

Thats all there is to it

;)

Crampons and a ice axe will be far more useful to you than rope.
Edit: don't bother with canyoneering stuff just get a eldelrid micro jul and some 6mm cord, make sure to wear a sturdy pair of leather gloves. You should get a harness though all you need is the swami for a low angle rappel so it might be worth looking at riggers belts, arc'teryx make a very sexy looking one.

I have a similar situation... There's a few spots on Mount Washington's Lion's Head trail (winter route) that are somewhat steep. I would not classify the descent in these "tricky" areas as a "rappelling situation" but the use of a rope would beneficial.
1. Is there a technique that can be used for a safe descent in these "tricky" areas by only utilizing a rope?
2. How do you then retrieve the rope when you are past the obstacle? Without leaving anything behind? Like if you used a tree as an anchor.
3. Should you use static or dynamic rope for this situation?
Thanks in advance for any advice.

Everybody read Freedom of the Hills! The answers to all of life's questions lie within.