Preventing Rappelling Accidents: How to Safely Use Girth Hitched Rappel Rings

David Lottmann Climbing Education, Ice Climbing, Mountaineering, Rock Climbing, Self-Rescue, Tech Tips, Tech Tips, , , , , , ,

On April 28th, 2024 a climber fell almost 400 feet sustaining serious injuries when their rappel system failed. The suspected mechanism of failure was an improperly threaded girth hitched rappel ring. In this video I demonstrate how this occurrence is possible.

Some key take home points;

  • For better and/or worse we are seeing girth hitched rappel rings on fixed rappel anchors
  • Careful inspection of the hitch and proper placement of your threaded rope is CRITICAL
  • Best practice is to ALWAYS stress test your rappel connection BEFORE you remove your lanyard from the anchor.

    Alpine Savvy also has a nice post with more information and some opinions on this situation here.

    See you in the mountains,

    Northeast Alpine Start

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