Lowering multi pitch sport routes

Hey All, I want to preface this post with: This is research for the future. No i am not going to learn on the internet then just go try it. I am looking for information regarding lowering multi pitch routes. climbing up i understand. Lead, anchor, top belay, and of course be safe. Going down is my main concern. Do you rappel down to the next anchor point. build an anchor and let your second rappel after you clip into the anchor point. then repeat. Or is it better to lower the second then rap down after him and repeat. What are some of the main safety concern or common mistakes that occur while lowering? I will definitely be trying these techniques on flat ground, and if there is anyone looking for a belay bitch or bag boy i am itching to move towards multi pitch sport routes. I believe safety to be the most important aspect of climbing. the joy of being up on the rock follows suit. Any detailed descriptions of how to lower would be much appreciated.

standard procedure is to rap one at a time. after your follower makes it you at the last anchor, one of you (doesn't matter if it's the leader or not) will rappel to the previous anchor, get on a personal anchor, and the other member(s) of the party will follow suit. repeat as necessary.

to build off of this, lowering your follower isn't really all to feasible most of the time depending on your belay set-up. generally, lowering somebody with a device in guide mode is difficult to control and really just more of a hassle than it's worth.

Rappel anchor to anchor. One person goes, then the other...Meet up at the next anchor. Each person connects in direct to the anchor when they reach it. Lowering is too complicated and puts wear on the anchor/chains. Most common mistakes are rappelling off the end(s) of the rope (always! knot the ends), screwing up your rappel setup, or losing control of your rappel. If you need more than half a rope length between anchors then bring two ropes.

Yes, always tie knots in the end of your rope and remember to untie them before you pull the rope through the anchor above you. If you're rapping then you don't usually need to build an anchor. Typically you're just threading one end of the rope through some chains or rap rings until you get to the middle then toss the end down to the next set of anchors. You each rap down, then clip your personal anchor system to the bolts/chains, pull the rope down to your new location and repeat until you're on the ground.

Also should note that very often multi-pitch routes have a different set of rappel anchors or a descent hike trail. This makes it so that you aren't rapping down onto other parties that may be climbing the route. Route and/or area descriptions will usually list this if this is the case.

Yeah, your question seems to imply that you don't know almost all popular multipitch routes will have either a walk off option or dedicated bolted rap anchors. As others mentioned, these are often (but not always) separate from the actual climb itself and thus likely won't be used as belay anchors. In an emergency situation, you could of course build a gear anchor and rappel off of that, but then you would end up leaving that gear. Only in absolutely backwoods or alpine environments would you ever have to do that as part of the standard protocol, though.

My advice: if you're new to multipitch climbing, look for routes with a walk off option. As others have mentioned, rappelling is the most dangerous part of climbing, and multipitch rappels are the worst. There are routes that require two ropes to rappel off of or stretch the limits of a regular rope...these are not the kinds of climbs you want to be doing now, even if they're a 5.6.

And, of course: hire a guide or always climb with experienced partners before committing to something big.

edit: removed south face remark. Sorry, guys...I was under the impression that this was usually the case as weathering patterns on the North face tend to be more extreme than south due to exposure and aspect. Of course, this was in parenthesis and the main point was that walkoffs are often available (regardless of the face) and dedicated rap stations, but...you win. :p

Ted Pinson wrote:...almost all popular multipitch routes will have either a walk off option (usually the south face) or...

For long rap routes, I'm a big fan of utilizing an extended rappel setup like the one demonstrated by Jeff Ward below. It's quick, efficient, and safe.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07xUFZRQdng

You can also use a personal anchor system for this setup too. Ryan Huetter also has a great explanation of how to setup this system:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8Ej3ob0rZQ

Ted Pinson wrote:Yeah, your question seems to imply that you don't know almost all popular multipitch routes will have either a walk off option (usually the south face) or dedicated bolted rap anchors....

PRRose wrote: Somehow in 30 years of climbing I missed this essential nugget that walkoffs are usually on the south face.

Mark E Dixon wrote: Too much moss on the north faces.

Glenn Schuler wrote:ALWAYS the south face for walk off.

Lowering the second to the anchor below can be good tactic for routes where the wind tends to blow the ends of the rope around and they get stuck sideways from your rappel direction. This sometimes happens in Red Rocks, for example. I prefer to redirect the belay through the anchor, rather than belay off the anchor directly.

- Alex

Simul rapping on long sport routes is also popular especially in places like Potrero.

Kip Stavro wrote: Actually, this is the exact opposite down here in Australia, FYI.

Walked off a south face yesterday; by extrapolation we can deduce that all walk-offs are on south faces.

North Pole routes consistently use the south face.