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There may be an emergency situation where I find myself needing to lower myself but with no or damaged equipment.

Assuming I only have a rope, can I lower myself to safe ground?

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3 Answers

up vote 21 down vote accepted

It is of course possible, but definitely not something I would recommend. The most common method for repelling without gear is the Dulfersitz method. It involves wrapping the rope around your body in such a way as to allow you to better control your descent.

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The rope first goes between your legs front to back, then around your leg and across your chest. Then it goes over your shoulder, and you hold the loose end of the rope with the arm opposite of the shoulder the rope just went over.

This is definitely not comfortable, and not safe unless you know exactly what you are doing.

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I've done it and +1 for "not comfortable" lol! The girl I was with did have as painful issues as I did. – Ryley Jan 26 '12 at 3:49
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Probably worth practicing at least once before you need it. – Jay Bazuzi Jan 26 '12 at 5:52
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It's good idea to "double" the rope and bend around a tree or sth instead of fixing it with knot at the top. That way you can retreive it later and use again. It unfortunatelly can only work when the rope is ~2x longer than the planned descent... – Tomáลก Fejfar Feb 5 '12 at 15:00
up vote 9 down vote

This is called natural abseiling. The method mentioned by Timothy is called classic abseiling. There is another method sometimes called the south african method where the two ends of the rope a separated and cross over your chest or back. This offers more control, higher friction against the body and no tendency to rotate the body, unlike the classic method. It is however slower to decend with this technique.

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Note that both methods should be used in an emergency only, and then only by someone trained and experienced in them. It is painful, slow, hazardous and ruins your clothes. You are almost always better off walking round the obstacle rather than going down it.

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up vote 2 down vote

There is also a swiss seat, a harness you can make out of a piece of spare webbing or rope.

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A harness is not enough. You also need a sturdy friction point(s): something metallic or at least your body. – Steed Feb 11 at 8:53

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