Cody JW wrote: Believe what you want , if you want to use 4 bars you go right ahead. I will use my long rack and will be just fine . I have been vertical for over 22 years and know what works for me.
I didn't intend to be critical of your experience or methods. I have no doubt that a long-frame rack solves many of these issues for longer drops. I was just offering a different perspective for those with less experience.
Cody JW wrote: All you have to do is engage all 6 bars on a regular rack with a 11 mil rope running through it and you will see there is NO room to move the lower bar, add a couple inches to the rack frame and presto , you have room.
No argument here. That lack of play on a standard length rack is what leads many people to "feed" rope for progress. If someone isn't using a long-frame rack I believe a much safer technique is to drop a bar.
Cody JW wrote: As for your "theory" of bottom belaying the wrong rope, we watched several members of our team come off that same rope prior to the belay attempt. Ever heard of rope stretch on longer ropes. I am sure when the person out of control got close enough to the bottom belayer that he would stop, but I sure would not want to be the guy on the bottom with an out of control person was coming at him for several hundred feet. Also all the "good technique" in the world is not going to make all that rope weight hanging under you ( at the bridge) easy to lift to facilitate adding or removing a bar.
My comment about the "wrong rope" was a bit smart ass because I have a hard time picturing this much tension below a rack (40lbs rope + 200lb person = 240lbs) not having some effect on rate of descent, but I have no first-hand experience. Rope stretch may make it difficult to apply full body weight to the bottom of the rope, but once a person is hanging there then rope stretch has no influence on the tension.