Devils Tower Rappel fail

I share this story as a cautionary tail, I deserve (and expect from this crowd) plenty of criticism. 

After climbing Bon Homme Variation and then the Bailey Direct route to top out on Devils Tower we decided to head down, planning on the Meadows route. I saw a cairn and some rap rings and rigged the rap, assuming I was on the Meadows Rappel route, boy was I wrong! After descending about 125 feet (using two 60 meter ropes)  I realized I was off route. I saw a (tiny) ledge with a second rap anchor at about 150 but when I got there, with no Meadows in sight, I knew I was screwed…

There was a steady 30 MPH wind with gusts to about 45 but luckily I had a small set of radios to talk with my partner. I pulled up an end and tied in and had him start belaying me. Unfortunately the climb was well above my grade and the rock was covered with lichen and offered no grip and I was going nowhere fast. He started hauling me but didn’t know how to rig something to assist so no luck. I had him tie off the ATC to fix the line. 

I knew the concepts of self-rescue/jugging but hadn’t ever practiced so I pulled out my phone and watched some YouTube videos about “jugging up a fixed line” (just kidding!) 

Seriously, I had an idea how to ascend but had to quickly figure it out. I carry a Petal MicroTraxion on my harness as well as a Hollowblock to use as a prusik. I attached the Hollowblack up high and clipped into it with the extension I was using for the rappel. I put the MicroTrax low on the rope and rigged a foot stirrup with a cordalette I (luckily) also had - all while hanging in air 500 feet above the boulder field.

I figured out the method (step up on the Trax, slide up the prussic, sit back onto the prussic, pull the slack through the Trax, repeat over and over) and started moving up. A few times I got to a spot where I thought I could climb but it was too complicated to switch from jugging to climbing and my foot kept slipping out of the stirrup.

At one point the sling to my prusik got tangled in the Microtrax and I knew I was screwed. Somehow I got the Trax opened (while just hanging on the prussic) and freed up the sling.

It’s impossible to relay the genuine fear I had during this experience. Words can’t describe what was going through my head. I KNEW I was done (and by "done" I mean dead or calling for a rescue). I literally didn’t sleep last night as every “worst case” outcome kept flashing into my head.

However, somehow in the end it worked out and in about an hour I was back on top. I learned a lot:

• I should have spent more time looking around and been 100% sure of the route, the top of the Tower is disorienting if you don’t pay attention to the landscape on the ground (i.e. look for Prairie Dog Town). 
• Make sure my partner and I know how to rig a 3:1 so he could have hauled me.
• Make sure my partner and I know how to properly tie off an ATC. He just did some stopper knots on the brake stand but I think there is safer way. 
• I had a GriGri on my harness that I didn’t use. I think I could have used that in place of the prusik.
• Take a self rescue course!

Ok, let me have it. “Yer, gonna die,” I know, but not today!

Sounds like you had yourself a proper adventure. Good work getting yourself out of it instead of calling SAR.

Google “how to tie off an ATC” and click on images. Plenty of stuff to practice.

Thanks for sharing! We have all learned some lessons the hard way! Glad you made it up and out!

Well shoot. Was just barely putting together plans this week to go climb the tower in September and now you have me second guessing myself 

I'm gonna die

Great feedback @Krimpit. I'll set up your method to practice for next time (Dear God i hope there isn't a "next time".)

I was tying a safety knot what seemed like every 12 inches or so :-) 

@Sam Parker - do it! It's a good experience but much harder than what the grades would suggest. Take your time and be prepared.

If you're rappelling with a guide-mode tube device, you can pretty easily re-rig it to ascend the rope. 

I personally like rapping with a grigri if I'm the first to rap on a multipitch, as this makes it very easy to switch to ascending--just throw a prusik above the grigri and you're good to go.

You should have used the Grigri on your harness and run the rope up through the micro.   You had everything on you it sounds like to make this a piece of cake.  

Etha Williams wrote:

If you're rappelling with a guide-mode tube device, you can pretty easily re-rig it to ascend the rope. 

I personally like rapping with a grigri if I'm the first to rap on a multipitch, as this makes it very easy to switch to ascending--just throw a prusik above the grigri and you're good to go.

Also makes it so you only have to carry one tube device and one Gri-gri going up. Seems like a solid way to streamline systems

Thanks, David!  That’s a great story for camp dinners, and good on you for making it a PSA.

Others have mentioned that grigri is a great way to ascend a rope, here's a link to what the setup looks like. Substitute any rope clamp for the ascender and any foot loop for the ladder. Good job figuring it out, I know how exhausting prussiking 60m of rope can be. 

Kinda disappointing the you tube video on your phone wasn't the actual solution, but good story anyway. thanks

Big Red wrote:

Others have mentioned that grigri is a great way to ascend a rope, here's a link to what the setup looks like. Substitute any rope clamp for the ascender and any foot loop for the ladder. Good job figuring it out, I know how exhausting prussiking 60m of rope can be. 

I had to climb a big chunk of rope last year after a fall following and found the grigri to be a HUGE help.  I basically leave my atc on the ground 90% of the time now unless a climb is going to require many rappels. 2-3 pitches?  Gri gri is so much more versatile and helpful in getting out of tight spots. 

Though it wouldn't hurt to know both, I think ascending the rope was in fact the better choice (compared to having the partner rig 3:1).  You lose a ton of energy to friction when hauling.

Serge S wrote:

Though it wouldn't hurt to know both, I think ascending the rope was in fact the better choice (compared to having the partner rig 3:1).  You lose a ton of energy to friction when hauling.

There is virtually no situation in which hauling your partner would be a better alternative to them ascending.

"Devils Tower Rappel fail" ... yeah, I was thinking, "Oh, this is bad."

But, this turned out to be a much happier thread than what I thought I was going to read.  While you might be embarrassed by the awkwardness of your ascent up the rope, no, that's just baptism by fire.  And you seemed to have it figured out.  The basics, anyway.  And you realize the GriGri could have helped out, albeit after the fact; but, that stuff happens; hard to see the full picture when wrapped up in things.

The only thing thing that has me laughing is the idea of trying to haul you back up the route.  Here, I'm laughing with you, rather than at you.  Well, more accurately, laughing with your partner, since only he can truly convey the utter futility of what he was trying to accomplish, and even then, probably not without having a thesaurus rex handy. 

If you've never really practiced this stuff before, or are years or decades out of practice, ooooffff, it's painful to flail through it. 

As mentioned above by others but perhaps not emphasized, when you redirect your belay device (either a  gri gri or plaquette in “guide mode”) off the prusik (or whatever knot/device you employ) above you, you are doing your own 3:1 z-drag on yourself.    
This is the best and most simple method and you should never really have to do it for more than short lengths. Extra devices (like Tibloc, minitrax, etc) for sure facilitate an easier climb up, but for long multi pitch raps, everything you need to ascend should already be attached to the rope — your rap device and a “third hand”wrap

Don’t let your mind wander on multi pitch rappels.  Definitely one area where an extra second or two to take a deep breath and walk thru a checklist is time well spent before potentially taking a long rap to nowhere.  

IMO the 3:1 z-drag on yourself is overrated.  You lose energy to friction, and I suspect most climbers don't really need the mechanical advantage for ascending.  Also sliding the upper prusik is harder when there is a bight of rope hanging on it - this gets annoying surprisingly fast.

David Dentry wrote:

At one point the sling to my prusik got tangled in the Microtrax and I knew I was screwed. Somehow I got the Trax opened (while just hanging on the prussic) and freed up the sling.

One quick note, you mention putting in a sh**-ton of backup knots... but, during this tangling of the micro/prusik, did you reach below the micro, pull up a small bight of rope, throw an overhand, and clip it to your belay loop? otherwise you were 100% on the prusik, with the micro disengaged and... (definitely) YGD.  :)  

really though, good on you for putting it out there and reminding us all to slow down, be prepared, and expect to self rescue.

Thanks for sharing.

Good on you for not going for that 2nd "anchor" way at the end of your rope. I think when poop hits the fan, there's often an urge to just move forward with whatever feels like a solution. Someone above asked the question as to why you didn't - I'd also be curious to know. IMO at any rate, knowing that you're off route, and knowing that if you do manage to go back up you'll be at the top was by far the safest option. Compared to being off route and going for some other anchor which may or not get to anywhere useful.

Glad you got down safe, David! That's the important part.

Serge S wrote:

IMO the 3:1 z-drag on yourself is overrated.  You lose energy to friction, and I suspect most climbers don't really need the mechanical advantage for ascending. 

you always lose energy to friction regardless of the system, but if you're ascending a loooong way,. it sure helps your lower body to get an assist!