Abseiling or Rappelling

Rappelling, abseiling, canyoning - classic challenge of heights , the fear factor , an incredible feeling of suspension and success; and a powerful accomplishment - not every perceived risk is insurmountable! Whichever you call it, it basically is a technique of fast descent from vertical faces with the aid of ropes and specialized equipment. While a lot of the equipment for rappelling is common with rock climbing, devices that add friction, are rappelling tools known as descenders are the key difference in the equipment bag.

Rappelling is the quickest and easiest way to get a taste of mountaineering. Perfect as an introductory adventure , Rappelling also has a psychological application in training programmes in encouraging trust in unfamiliar systems and protocols and following them well to acheive something that seems extremely difficult at first sight. It helps develop respect for systems and procedures established with the benifit of other highly experienced people and learning to trust and follow instructions accurately when venturing into areas beyond personal experience, and using them to boost our development much faster than if we had to figure it out independently.

This has direct implications in corporates, schools and other structured environment, where well developed procedures can assist performance if we can trust them sufficiently and follow without hesitation.

The descender is the device that controls the speed with which helps control the speed of descent

Rappelling is also known as abseiling and originated as a means of a quick and safe descent after a climb. The idea was to slide down a rope with sufficient friction provided as to make the speed of descent controllable. Rappelling is now a full-fledged skill by itself and finds application among various fields where people work on high vertical faces and need a portable means of descent that is also reasonably quick to set-up. Some such applications can be seen among window-cleaners on high-rise buildings, among fire fighters , film stunt-men and even armed forces .

A typical session begins with an introduction of the activity with information about climbing and rappelling equipment like karabiners, descenders, harnesses and rappelling ropes. There is a demonstration of rappelling techniques and anchoring and safety system followed by guided attempts by participants.

You are attached to a rope via a harness and some hardware that you will come to know as a karabiner and descender. The rope passes through a figure 8 descender. Instruction helps participants learn how to control the friction and slow its movement. Speed of descent can be controlled by simply arresting the movement of the rope, so that it can't pass through the descender as fast (or not at all, if you need to stop).

It is very important to wear gloves with a good grip, while rappelling, as tightening grip on a moving rope causes rope burn, particularly if the rope is moving fast through the descender.

We conduct rappelling sessions for newcomers to mountain craft due to the safe and comparatively easy nature of the activity. The enjoyment on offer and control on safety is huge in spite of the high perceived risk.

Rappelling facilitates an attitude of overcoming challenges

Rappelling or abseiling brings a powerful sense of acomplishment and is a vital resource in bringing about the realization that not every perceived risk is insurmountable.

As a first time experience, it seems rather daunting to stand on the edge of a cliff or a tall building (watching minute cars traveling on roads below) knowing that we will soon be going down with only a rope for safety. But the technique is easy to learn , and the real difficulty only lies in convincing our minds. The technique easily feels 'natural' after the first couple of steps and then, the feeling of suspension over the expanse below is awesome.

The tremendous sense of achievement that follows makes this activity perfect for boosting confidence and brings about the realization that not every seemingly difficult objective is actually so, and we may even enjoy it enough to wish for a repeat!

We conduct one day rappelling experiences at many locations near Mumbai. Please contact us for further information.

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Gear

If this is a one time experience.... nothing except landing up there in fitting clothing that allows body movement with nothing fluttering around to get caught with the rope as it runs through the descender. Yeah beauties with the long hair, it needs to be tied well unless you want to risk jamming it in equipment and the subsequent emergency haircut as a part of the rescue.

If you want to do this all the time, you might want to explore possibilities of owning a harness, a pair of padded gloves that you will come to love, a descender that you call your own and prefer to use, etc. Catching hold of this stuff in India can turn into a bit of a pain, so if you're one of those who prefer to let the credit card do the talking... Adding some links to gloves and stuff that make rappelling happier, while you can check out the harnesses that have been mentioned on the rock climbing page.

I usually rely on Amazon to find interesting stuff

It gets easy to find loads of books, gear and stuff. If you think there might be something of interest..... this is what I've been looking into.

Books:

Equipment and stuff - you can always browse around and find variety and what else you want :

Rappelling