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Hi,

Every now and then I run into situations where the only spot to fix an anchor for a rebelay is not where I actually want the rebelay... but I can set an anchor maybe 2 meters higher or some such... Anybody sees any issues with doing the following, or has better ideas?



Cheers,
David

Hi David.
I don't see any difference safety-wise using this type of configuration. I'm having a little trouble envisioning circumstances where you need the rebelay to be several feet (or meters) below your anchor. I guess if you had a rub spot between the rebelay anchor and a dropped rebelay knot you could put a rope protector above the knot and avoid having to deal with it when going up or down the rope.

Have fun in China!

lostgravity wrote:

Are you using a bowline to tie-off the rebelay? I'm not sure how to tie a bowline in the middle of a rope, and I'm not sure a bowline on a bight works in this situation.

Also, it's good you copyrighted this diagram. I'd hate to see others profit from your idea.

Extremeophile wrote:I guess if you had a rub spot between the rebelay anchor and a dropped rebelay knot you could put a rope protector above the knot and avoid having to deal with it when going up or down the rope.

I have seen exactly this done, and it works well.

Extremeophile wrote:

lostgravity wrote:

Are you using a bowline to tie-off the rebelay? I'm not sure how to tie a bowline in the middle of a rope, and I'm not sure a bowline on a bight works in this situation.

I was wondering the same... I also would be concerned about the bowline being loaded incorrectly if somebody clipped the loop, instead of the designated clip-in point. Remember, people will do things wrongly. There is a long discussion over double bowlines and the safety hazard related to clipping them at rebelays over on the UKCaving forum. Perhaps a different knot would be more suitable?

Hey Derek,

Extremeophile wrote:I'm having a little trouble envisioning circumstances where you need the rebelay to be several feet (or meters) below your anchor. I guess if you had a rub spot between the rebelay anchor and a dropped rebelay knot you could put a rope protector above the knot and avoid having to deal with it when going up or down the rope.

You oughta come caving with us in Texas and I'll show you. ;-)

One occasion is an entrance drop where you have to squeeze past a windmill pipe in order to do the rebelay, and there is more room to do this comfortably two meters below the actual rigging point. And then I ran into a similar situation where it came in handy in the same cave. It probably could all be rigged differently without this workaround, but since there are existing anchors... :)

Extremeophile wrote:Are you using a bowline to tie-off the rebelay? I'm not sure how to tie a bowline in the middle of a rope, and I'm not sure a bowline on a bight works in this situation.

No, I'm not, just not paying attention when drawing the diagram. It's a butterfly. Although, technically, I guess you could use a bowline on a bight, but that'd be stupid. Fixing the diagram now...

Also, it's good you copyrighted this diagram. I'd hate to see others profit from your idea.

*lol* I don't think the idea is original. The diagram is. Whateva. ;-)