Not losing a belay plate while preparing for abseiling

So imagine this, I just finish a route, I'm the last one to do it, and want to clean it. so as not to wear down the steel carabiner at the anchor, I decide to rappel down, so I secure myself, untie my knot and pass the rope up to the middle mark, then I take my belay plate, unclip it so that I pass the rope through it. At this point, if it slips my hand it falls 30m to the ground. And pulling the rope to pass through the belay plate is cumbersome cos the rope is heavy. So I thought would it be a good idea to tie a strong string from the steel wire of the belay plate to some point on the harness so if it slips my hand I don't lose it? Or any other options?

Don’t drop it.
No seriously. You could do whatever you want. To make it easier to not drop.
But I would suggest. 
You could leave the belay connected to the carabiner and slide just one bight of rope in at a time then once both are through. clip the locking carabiner in. 

Something I have found that works exceptionally well for me is to attach my third hand backup before attaching my device. Once my friction hitch is on both strands, I'll pull up a bit of slack through the friction hitch allowing me to thread my device without the weight of the rope being in the way.

This method can be extremely helpful on long rappels where I am using two single ropes for full length rappels, which can end up being quite a noticeable amount of weight.

Checking in with a guide or experienced friend to show you other rappelling options with other hardware you may have on your harness in the event you do drop your device can also be worthwhile. 

That is what the steel wire is for.

N Nelsen wrote: Something I have found that works exceptionally well for me is to attach my third hand backup before attaching my device. Once my friction hitch is on both strands, I'll pull up a bit of slack through the friction hitch allowing me to thread my device without the weight of the rope being in the way.

This method can be extremely helpful on long rappels where I am using two single ropes for full length rappels, which can end up being quite a noticeable amount of weight.

Checking in with a guide or experienced friend to show you other rappelling options with other hardware you may have on your harness in the event you do drop your device can also be worthwhile. 

You should definitely look up how to rappel (and belay) with two munter hitches. Just in case you DO somehow drop your device. Stuff happens, lightning cracks, birds attack, etc etc.

Kelley Gilleran wrote: That is what the steel wire is for.

Here is shown what I think is the best way to put in or take out the ropes from a plate. (starts at 00:46)

Combining two of the methods listed above makes this fumbly process slick and quick.  Attach your friction hitch first and then pull up a loop of slack through it; now you're not fighting the weight of the rope.  Then use the method shown in the video above, which makes it nearly impossible to drop the device.

Pull up a bight of rope and put your foot on the rope. Though easier, one does not need to detach the rappel device from the biner. And when you do drop it, learn to rappel with a biner brake or worst case a Munter Hitch (which will twist the rope).

For the OP,
#1-Don’t tie a string to your rig. It will definitely get sucked into your rappel ropes and create an epic.
#2-Lose the shit about wearing out the anchors. You don’t have enough lives to lose to be worrying about wearing out anchors. If you lose sleep over anchor guilt, donate to the ASCA or donate a few weekends to anchor replacement.
#3-The above advice looks good. Find a routine, practice it with a belay backup then do the same thing every time.

Climb Safe,
Mal

Bill B wrote:

You should definitely look up how to rappel with two munter hitches. 

I have successfully rappelled with both rope strands doubled thru a single Munter hitch. Seems much simpler than a separate hitch for each rope strand.

Chris Darmanin wrote: So imagine this, I just finish a route, I'm the last one to do it, and want to clean it. so as not to wear down the steel carabiner at the anchor, I decide to rappel down,...

Bill B wrote:

You should definitely look up how to rappel (and belay) with two munter hitches.

I like having a second ATC on me when I do multi-pitch climbs, in case I drop one.

Lowering off a biner brake in front of a bunch of new climbers makes you look like an AMGA guide even though you're the idiot for not having your device on you. Glad I watched a video one time once and went "I'll never need that, but it looks kinda neat."

Russ Keane wrote: I like having a second ATC on me when I do multi-pitch climbs, in case I drop one.

The number of belay devices I bring on a multi-pitch depends entirely on the number of rappels at the end. If there are N numbers of rappels, I will bring (N-1) belay devices with me. This way I can drop one device at each anchor, and then at the last rappel I will simply jump off because I'm ashamed for dropping all those devices.

No need to ever unclip the keeper wire. When you are taking the rope off, if you're worried about dropping it, you can use the gate of the carabiner to trap the wire.

Malcolm Daly wrote: For the OP,
#1-Don’t tie a string to your rig. It will definitely get sucked into your rappel ropes and create an epic.
#2-Lose the shit about wearing out the anchors. You don’t have enough lives to lose to be worrying about wearing out anchors. If you lose sleep over anchor guilt, donate to the ASCA or donate a few weekends to anchor replacement.
#3-The above advice looks good. Find a routine, practice it with a belay backup then do the same thing every time.

Climb Safe,
Mal

This guy is almost as smart as rgold!

"If there are N numbers of rappels, I will bring (N-1) belay devices with me."

Hilarious!  I was in the mood for some pre-algebra swag today.   'Preesh.

It is essential that you know how to do this: 

Kelley Gilleran wrote: That is what the steel wire is for.

Not necassarily. If OP truly has an actual Sticht plate, the wire is in fact a spring designed to prevent the plate from jamming tightly against the locking biner. I still have mine like that and - OP take note - there's a hole for the keeper cord. Of your doesn't have such a hole, drill one.

Gabriele Benvenuto wrote: It is essential that you know how to do this: 

Edited to add: turned out the above is not a carabiner brake, but something called a French crossed carabiner rappel. Leaving my original post below to show that an old dog can still learn new tricks.

It is essential you learn to do this correctly, and this picture is not correct. You need two carabiners for the "frame" (the middle carabiner) of a proper carabiner brake. Otherwise you are placing a sideway load on the gate of the middle carabiner, even a locker isn't meant to be loaded this way. Using two non-lockers with gates opposite and opposed is better than using one locker, as the proper setup below shows. If you don't have the right number of carabiners then just do the munter.