Rope pulling technique.

What's the better method when pulling a rope after a rappel? Should I yank it hard or let it fall slowly? Just curious if one method will cause the rope to get stuck less. 

Yeah, far back and a good yank right as it clears the anchor - that should send the rope end away from the rock if you do it right, minimizing the chance of a stuck rope.

I also find the rope end always goes right for my head, so I figure if I stand back that's where it will go.

I like to stand back and a hard finish is best.... but one time I had the rope tie it’s self into a nice tight overhand knot on a ring once! Needed to reclimb the pitch! 

Voice of dissent here - whipping it fast/hard through the chains is IME the best way to get the rope end to fly around and potentially tie itself in a knot. I'm a huge fan of going slowly until the rope is falling. At that point, sure, pull it down as you wish.

The exception to the hard yank away from the cliff strategy is of course if you're more concerned about the rope getting stuck in trees or something else that isn't the rock. Similar to Guy, I once had a rope coil itself into a neat little spiral on the wrong side of a rap ring and refuse to pull through, and had to reclimb. Something to be wary of is that tugging on a slightly stuck rope could dislodge loose rocks or get the rope irretrievably stuck. If it's possible to reclimb the pitch, that is the more conservative approach.

I think it depends on the route. If I am at a hanging belay, I definitely pull slow and try and keep control of as much of the rope as I can. I'll generally feed the rope end through the next anchor as I am pulling.

If I'm on the ground or a big ledge, you can be a little more robust in your pull since you can probably see the rope.  

On a multi pitch where you can't stand away from the wall, I find a yank, as in a whip away from the wall, hard to accomplish/make any difference. In this situation, I try and go for a hard pull straight down. This is easy to do consistently and seems to help the rope fall in a straight line vs. falling in a clustered bunch.

Adam Z wrote: What's the better method when pulling a rope after a rappel? Should I yank it hard or let it fall slowly? Just curious if one method will cause the rope to get stuck less. 

Let yer partner pull the rope. It is not all about snaking and sipping while they're working hard, it more about if it stucks you have an obvious person to blame for.

Nathan Sullivan wrote: Yeah, far back and a good yank right as it clears the anchor - that should send the rope end away from the rock if you do it right, minimizing the chance of a stuck rope.

I also find the rope end always goes right for my head, so I figure if I stand back that's where it will go.

Bonus points if you can grab the end as it whips by. Saves having to pull it up to TIE A KNOT IN THE END. (Obligatory public service announcement.)

Ken Tubbs wrote:

Bonus points if you can grab the end as it whips by. Saves having to pull it up to TIE A KNOT IN THE END. (Obligatory public service announcement.)

Hm, I haven't had any luck catching the falling end.. so I knot the one end after threading it through the anchor and let the other end fall past. Then both rappel devices are rigged. This means the rope is fixed for the first one to rappel and so a single strand with a stopper knot is enough. First one to rappel then fixes ropes at the new anchor, protecting the second one to rappel.

Don't give it a hard tug, just let it fall naturally. 

Fran M wrote:

Hm, I haven't had any luck catching the falling end.. so I knot the one end after threading it through the anchor and let the other end fall past. Then both rappel devices are rigged. This means the rope is fixed for the first one to rappel and so a single strand with a stopper knot is enough. First one to rappel then fixes ropes at the new anchor, protecting the second one to rappel.

Agreed. Who wants to pull up 30 meters of rope to tie a knot? You can also tie a fig eight at the middle and a knot on one end and that will serve the same purpose. If the rappeller accidentally jams into the knot, the other end wont pull through.

Another vote here for it depends.  

My default is to pull slowly.  But if I’m worried about some rope catcher up there, I’ll often give it a sharp tug which sometimes causes it to jump out and away. 

Fran M wrote:

Hm, I haven't had any luck catching the falling end.. so I knot the one end after threading it through the anchor and let the other end fall past. Then both rappel devices are rigged. This means the rope is fixed for the first one to rappel and so a single strand with a stopper knot is enough. First one to rappel then fixes ropes at the new anchor, protecting the second one to rappel.

Yeah, this is what I actually do. I just forgot the :)

If I haven’t had a good epic in a while, and especially at night, to make things interesting and keep the stoke alive, I just yank the fuck out of it....

I do a pulse, not a yank as it comes through the anchor, then try to pull as fast as possible to keep up as it falls. Definitely walk away from the wall (before you start pulling) and into an open area if you are on the ground and pulse/move it to the least featured area of the wall possible if you're at a rappel station. I've never had to cut a rope and haven't lost much time to a stuck rope in many years.

Someone above mentioned trying to grab the end of the rope as it falls, so a story... apparently these folks were in to having a contest to see who could grab the end of the rope as it fell to the ground but before the end actually hit the ground—but the rope end bounced off the rock and whacked the guy in the eyeball causing serious damage. Strange, but apparently true (since I heard it third hand, it has to be true). So, if you do this maybe consider wearing eye protection.