Self rescue fundamentals

I am just wondering what others consider to be the essential self rescue skills for venturing into traditional multipitch climbing.

What are the self rescue skills that any leader or follower should have before leaving the ground? What did you make sure you knew before starting? What do you make sure your partner knows before leaving the ground with them?

Do you tend to think of self rescue fundamentals as discrete skills, e.g. tying off a belay device, ascending a rope, etc., or  transitions or sequences, e.g. escaping the belay?

I know this is kind of a broad question, but I hope it yields some fruitful discussion.

I think ascending a rope with prusiks, and knowing how to belay and rappel with a Munter hitch is a starting point. Escaping the belay, tandem rappels and 3:1 hauling might be the next tier.

I have partners that can't remember a clove hitch, so those self rescue techniques are out of the question for them!

Edit: Taking a self-rescue class or getting a self rescue book, and practicing, are invaluable skills.

At the very least, knowing how to ascend with friction hitches and descend a taut line with them as well, escaping the belay, using a munter hitch, and passing a knot in case you have to isolate a coreshot. After one has mastered those skills, the next ones would be tandem rappel, counter-balance rap and hauling.

It's very rare for hauling somebody up a pitch to be a better option than descending but I think it's still important to learn because hauling somebody a few inches may be necessary or preferable in other self-rescue functions to get their weight off a non-releasable connection. 

I had a guide once in a self-rescue course. The topics were basically, escaping the belay, getting to the injured person, and tandem rappelling to the ground. I'd say those are pretty essential for multi-pitch rock with any remoteness. But more basic things like ascending on prussiks, tying off a belay, and escaping a belay I would say are pretty important for most other climbing.

He basically said, if you can't fix the problem with those skills, it's too big of a problem to fix with self-rescue, and yer gonna die anyway ;)

I agree with everything that has been said and would add don't ever forget your knife on a multipitch route. My partner and I got stuck on a 4 pitch route for an entire day early in our careers because of that mistake. Luckily some friends drove by and saw us so they came to the rescue. If we'd had a knife we could've cut our rope and had enough to get to the ground.

Having to "escape the belay" on a multi-pitch route is extraordinarily rare.

Where are you gonna go what are you gonna do when its 5 pitches up and five pitches down without a rope?

It just doesn't happen often enough and not remotely convinced there is any utility in consciously building your anchors with this in mind on any kind of a regular basis.

Hauling your partner (3:1) etc is a glacier travel tool. It just doesn't apply to rock climbing, imo. You cannot rig a haul of a 200# unconscious individual on a rock climb without specialized tools.

Number #1 reason people need a rescue? They are SLOW. Don't be slow. Have a headlamp with fresh(ish) batteries.

Number #2 reason people need a rescue? They got their rope stuck in a preventable situation (didn't mind the ends of their rope, chose a rappel with obvious hang up issues and did nothing to mitigate it or screwed up at a belay). Pay attention to every possibility for your rope to get jammed.

Number #3 reason people need a rescue? Don't know how to use a pussik to re-climb jammed rope, descent to free a rope then get back to the belay or to get back on the proper rappel line.

Don't be slow, don't get off route, don't get the rope stuck and paying attention on rappels and know how to fix trouble on a rappel will cover (or prevent) a lifetime of epics.

Knowing how to prussik and having stuff that will do it with you (like regular nylon slings, not Dynema) is very useful.

AaronJ,

There certainly are some fundamentals and re-occurring themes like the munter mule overhand, and prusik hitch to hold things in place. And doing these sorts of threads in addition to rescue scenarios are helpful with learning more. That being said, I'd highly encourage you to buy a climbing self rescue book. It was my own observation that I had a lot of gaps in my knowledge that a book helped fill in. Here's the ones I'm aware of:

https://www.amazon.com/Climbing-Self-Rescue-Improvising-Mountaineers/dp/089886772X/

https://www.amazon.com/Self-Rescue-How-Climb-David-Fasulo/dp/0762755334/

https://www.amazon.com/Mountain-Guide-Manual-Comprehensive-Reference/dp/1493025147/

The first link is the book I bought. It's really good. The only drawbacks I can think of is the diagrams are not always the best and pictures are in black and white.

The last link is the most recent book put out and seems to get reviewed very well on amazon. One of the authors, Rob Coppolillo posts here on mountainproject, so perhaps you could ask questions about how their book compares to the other two.

The King Turtle has it right, the best self rescue is the one that never needs to happen. There are a bunch of common mistakes that lead to needing rescue. I'll just tack on a couple extra points
 Prevent ropes from getting stuck on rappel in windy days is a great skill to have. (yes wind can put the rope higher than the rap station when you toss the rope) Wait for a break in the wind (if its not too strong). Otherwise flak the rope then wrap a sling around it and clip it to yourself, and just feed rope into your rap device.
Pulling the rope is another often overlooked skill. Sometimes you should give it an extra hard yank right as it gets loose from the top, this pops the end off the wall as it falls and might decrease the chance of it getting stuck on a feature.
ALWAYS knot the ends of your rope when rappeling, even if its one pitch of easy rap. Then you are less likely to forget on the rappel where it actually matters. Also, always tie a friction knot backup when you rap. This would have saved many lives.

As far as key basic self rescue techniques, the most useful by far is the munter hitch. You can belay and rappel off it, if you ever drop or forget your device you wont be hosed. Ascending stuck/fixed lines is a contender for most important basic technique as well.

Have fun practicing!

Ryan Swanson wrote:

I know you are a die-hard anti dyneema guy, but you do realize that you can ascend a rope just fine with a dyneema sling right?

You can use dyneema, but it really sucks for friction knots. Accessory cord is way better. Spectra wont work at all though

Anyone have a book they could recommend the subject?

Ross Hokett wrote: Anyone have a book they could recommend the subject?

look 4 posts above yours

Ross Hokett wrote: Anyone have a book they could recommend the subject?

I like Dave Fasulo's Self Rescue book (but he's a friend)

multipitchclimbing.com has some good info to get you started under "Getting Out of Trouble"

rafael wrote:

look 4 posts above yours

Haha thanks was not paying attention

Ryan Swanson wrote:

I know you are a die-hard anti dyneema guy, but you do realize that you can ascend a rope just fine with a dyneema sling right?

Sure bro, I'm sure the pro from Smith knows all about using a new Dynema sling on a new dry treated rope to ascend overhangs. Tell me all about your experience with actually doing it?

Other than that, I love Dynema slings.

rafael wrote:

You can use dyneema, but it really sucks for friction knots. Accessory cord is way better. Spectra wont work at all though

You do realize that spectra and dyneema are the same thing right? And yes you can use friction hitchs in both, although the performance will depend on the specific blend of nylon and spectra. I've found  that Bluewater's titan slings work better for friction hitches than 10mm spectra, probably because it has more nylon.

Yes accessory cord is better but slings will work in a pinch. You just might have to add more wraps or use a stronger hitch. Don't count on releasable hitchs being releasable in slings, however.

Ryan Swanson wrote:

They are both registered trade names of different companies, and were developed independently, so they are most likely slightly different.  But they are both made from UHMW, so I'll give you that.

For the intents and purposes of climbing slings, I think it's safe to say that they're virtually identical

Take a course in self rescue by an AMGA instructor.  I just took one a week ago and it was worth every penny to have the hands on instruction and real time correction in a realistic scenario.  And I'm an autodidact and still glad I didn't try and learn this on my own, it's ALOT to soak in.

eli poss wrote:

You do realize that spectra and dyneema are the same thing right? And yes you can use friction hitchs in both, although the performance will depend on the specific blend of nylon and spectra. I've found  that Bluewater's titan slings work better for friction hitches than 10mm spectra, probably because it has more nylon.

Yes accessory cord is better but slings will work in a pinch. You just might have to add more wraps or use a stronger hitch. Don't count on releasable hitchs being releasable in slings, however.

I know that to some extent they are chemically the same (I am a chemist) but I have never been able to get my bluewater titan (spectra) slings to grip, is it the weave? Whats your secret to getting spectra to stick?

King Tut wrote: Having to "escape the belay" on a multi-pitch route is extraordinarily rare.
Where are you gonna go when its 5 pitches up and five pitches down without a rope?
It just doesn't happen often enough and not remotely convinced there is any utility in consciously building your anchors with this in mind on any kind of a regular basis.
Hauling your partner (3:1) etc is a glacier travel tool. It just doesn't apply to rock climbing, imo.

Huh? So if your partner is injured you'll just let em' hang while you twiddle your thumbs and hope for the best? Escaping the belay (tying of the rope so you can move around) does not mean escaping the rope. If your partner is injured you must be able to assess their condition and act (lower, tandem lower, raise/haul). Hard to do if you're tied into a taunt belay (unless you're using an auto-block). And, being able to tie off the rope does need any special anchor configuration.  

AaronJ wrote: What are the self rescue skills that any leader or follower should have before leaving the ground?

A bare minimum:

1. How to call for resque.
2. Practice everything below this line on a regular basis.
3. How to escape a belay.
4. How to safely lower down a heavy load.
5. How to ascend/descend a fixed line using friction hitches.
6. How to pass a knot while ascending/descending a fixed line.
7. How to shift a load from one system to another.
8. Technical ledge.
9. Purcell prusik.
10. Mini polyspast.
11. Primitive 3-to-1 z-system.

Andy Novak wrote:

Huh? So if your partner is injured you'll just let em' hang while you twiddle your thumbs and hope for the best? Escaping the belay (tying of the rope so you can move around) does not mean escaping the rope. If your partner is injured you must be able to assess their condition and act (lower, tandem lower, raise/haul). Hard to do if you're tied into a taunt belay (unless you're using an auto-block). And, being able to tie off the rope does need any special anchor configuration.  

Anyone with knowledge of prussiks and basic first aid medical training can do as much as can be done. Its not hard to figure out and its nothing that can be learned from a book or the internet as every anchor etc is different.

It is also nothing the OP should be looking for internet experts to weigh in on. He should seek real life instruction before he leaves the ground.

ps LOL 3:1 haul.