![]() When the rope is weighted, it presses down on the strand underneath it, locking the rope. ( L oad S trand, clipped D irect to the anchor, = “ LSD ”, get it?)Ħ - Normally with a plaquette, the rope leading to the second exits the device at the top. Pull up this slack rope, and clip the load strand through the new carabiner on the master point. Doing this will cause a little slack in the load strand. Note that this carabiner needs to be the same size or smaller than the carabiner that’s holding your belay device.ĥ - When all this is set up and double checked, ask your second to unweight the rope for a moment. This is important, don't skip it.ģ - Untie your overhand or figure 8 backup knot.Ĥ - Clip a spare carabiner (non-locker is fine) to the anchor master point, with the gate opening facing down. This friction hitch will back up your brake hand when you start to lower in a moment. For whatever reason, they need to be lowered (after they’ve reached the top of the pitch, or from anywhere else, 2 feet or 200 feet.) Here's what you do.ġ - Tie a quick overhand or figure 8 on a bight as a backup knot in the brake strand of the rope.Ģ - Put a prusik, autoblock or similar friction hitch on the brake strand, and clip it to your belay loop with a locking carabiner. Scenario: You’re belaying your second directly off the anchor from a plaquette style belay device. If you want to lower your second a very long way, a better setup may be to redirect the brake strand rather than the load strand. Typically, this technique is used to lower someone a short distance, not the entire length of a pitch. As mentioned, always have a third hand back up, and gloves are recommended. As mentioned, be sure and practice in a controlled environment such as a stairway to see how it works, and consider tying an overhand on a bight catastrophe knot maybe 20 feet below you when you start to lower, in case you misjudged. Safety note: Depending on a few factors, this technique can significantly reduce the friction from your belay device. (Or use a DMM Pivot belay device, which greatly simplifies the lowering process.)Īnd, if they REALLY can’t give you any slack, there is another way to do it with a redirected sling, check the video link below. And, be smart about it - if your second might have a chance to swing out into space, you should probably be belaying with some other method all together, like with a Munter hitch, which is super easy to lower on anytime. However, those two situations are so incredibly unlikely to happen, it's certainly safe to learn this as your primary lowering technique. Even so, I can already hear the peanut gallery out there, yelping “OMG, what if they’re unconscious! What if they fell on a traverse and are hanging out in space or on a 5.15 blank wall?” True, in those two scenarios this not going to work. In just about every climbing situation, this will be possible. Note: this method does require your follower to unweight the rope for a moment and give you a small bit of slack. Plus, it has a great name - the “LSD” or “Load Strand Direct” lower. ![]() Note that this does not require any seldom used, hard-to-remember rescue geek knots like the Munter Mule Overhand (MMO), nor any sudden unweighting of the belay device that might cause your second to wish they wore their brown pants that day. Here’s a Crafty Rope Trick (CRT) that's about the easiest method you’ll find to lower your second off of a plaquette. ![]() But they do have one major drawback - if you need to lower your second, it's generally not safe, easy, nor intuitive to do so.ĭoing this incorrectly has led to numerous accidents read about one of them here. Plaquette style belay devices like the Black Diamond ATC Guide and Petzl Reverso are great, allowing smooth rappels, to be rigged as an ascender, and to autolock when belaying your second. ![]()
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