Searched the forum for an answer to today's scenario, but no avail...

Rap station with two regular stainless Metolius hangers placed about eight inches apart. I threaded my rope and rappelled.

This guy introduced himself at the bottom and politely told me I was sketchy, which subsequently blew my mind.

I am sure that there is always a chance I could totally F*%k my rope once I pull it, but I never have felt like I am in serious danger.There are some wide angles when I begin the rappell, but unless they look sharp, or uneven I have always been okay with threading the bolts directly to rappell.

I would be happy to read some of your insightful opinions. But somehow I feel like I am asking for cyberbullies.

Cheers.

I would try and avoid doing this too frequently, hangers are quite a bit sharper than rings. That being said I wouldn't call you out for being sketchy if I had seen this.

So they weren't these guys?
www.metoliusclimbing.com/rap_hanger.html

Ropes can get stuck very easily doing this.

A lost biner or two is a lot cheaper than a new rope. Sounds like rapping the route wasn't intended -- alternate rap route perhaps?

the real question is why would you thread the bolts directly? there is literally no precedent for this anywhere in climbing- why would you do it in the first place?

i watched two kids do this the other day- we tried to warn them off, but they didnt care. its ridiculously bad for your rope- and, to be honest, fairly dangerous depending on what the scenario is.

every bolted station in the universe that is meant to be rappelled off of has rings or links- just use them. if, for some reason it doesnt and you're bailing for whatever reason, use a friggin carabiner.

Unless they were rap hangers, the relatively sharp edges are hard on your rope. Beyond that, it could be very hard to pull the rope through standard hangers.

Take some quick links (rapides) on your harness. They're quick, easy and cheap (like my ex, beat the trolls to it!) and not a big deal if you have to leave em behind on a bail (again, like my ex.)

I have done this plenty of times, usually folks put bigger/beefier bolts up top though. Rapping of v-threads or snow bollards are sketchy. You gonna work with what you've got. Besides rapping generates very little force.

The wear on the fixed hardware seems the worst problem here. I usually just untie a sling and tread it through both bolts retie then rap off that. Cheaper than leaving a biner, easier than carrying quick links. Generally in the areas I climb if your rapping directly off regular bolt hangers, it means you missed the intended rap station...

Thanks for all of your insights on this folks. To clear things up the hangers were not the larger metolius rap hangers, they were their standard stainless hangers.

No sheath damage, stuck rope, flat spots, or dead climber... yet.

What route was this?

One of the lesser visited crags I have climbed at has regular hangers at rap stations. I've made sure to have quick links with me when climbing there, I just leave the links on the hangers. If you tie a sling through the hangers, I would be sure to tie a master point in it.

Yeah rope through sling = no good. Unless of coures you intend to leave your rope behind

I've seen where douchebags steal quicklinks off of anchors disturbingly often. When used in tandem, 5/16" is plenty strong; keep a couple with you. Remember to rap only, not lower, if you only put one on each hanger.