Climbing techniques, single pitch lower-off

Crags, bolts, safety – a successful triad thanks to which more and more people have become attracted to sports climbing. But does safety necessarily mean complete absence of danger? Unfortunately not. Testament to this are the numerous accidents that still occur at crags due to climbers simply being distracted or because they make basic mistakes when carrying out rope manoeuvres. For although the crag environment requires relatively few rope manoeuvres, these must be carried out perfectly.

If we analyse a pitch we can distinguish between two different types of technique: the first refers to the actual movements of the climber, how he or she proceeds up the climb, the second refers to the rope manoeuvres. This second technique can be analysed further and broken down into various chronological stages: how to put on a harness, how to tie-in, how to belay, how to clip the quickdraws and then how to prepare the lower-off.

This article analyses the final stage, the lower-off, and what you must do should you find yourself at the top of the single-pitch with a lower-off carabiner that does not open, a ring, maillon rapide etc.

Gear:
1 quickdraw
1 screwgate carabiner

Useful advice:
Before starting the pitch make sure that you have a screwgate carabiner and an extra quickdraw to carry out the manoeuvre.
The belayer must always tie a figure-of-eight in the end of the rope to make the lower-off safe.

Notes:
During the entire rope manoeuvre the leader never unties from the end of the rope and is belayed by the second.

The leader is therefore never clipped in to only one quickdraw and does not risk dropping the end of the rope by mistake.

The technical details on which this article is based are not complete. For further information please have a look at the Technical Manual by the Italian UIAGM Mountain Guides.

This article was published in Alp Wall 204.
By Carlo Gabasio, UIAGM Mountain Guide
www.tikesaab.com