I was with my daughter and we had just climbed a nice 5.4 climb. She had been lead climbing before, but not much and not recently. We topped out and were rapping off. I let her go first and she had a tether all setup on her harness to clip the anchor. I went over the procedure before she left.
Clip into the anchor first, then get off rappel.
She rappelled down and got off the rope before clipping in. I asked her if she was clipped in and she said, no.
My heart dropped and I yelled down to clip in! There were trees between her and the prospects of falling, but not many. I should have set her up to rappel above me, then I should have rappelled down, then let her rap down after I got off the rope. That way, I would have been there when she arrived.
The lesson I learned
When rappelling with an inexperienced climber, put them on rappel, then rap down yourself so that you are there when they get to the rap station. Also, rappel with a cow’s tail and prusik for backup security.
Now to you
This a Climber Confessional: an honest recounting of a climbing experience you’re less than proud of but have learned a valuable lesson from.
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