Posted: 10/16/2005 2:03:06 PM EDT
|
Actually two questions. When rapelling is the brake hand the strong hand. IE for a right handed person do you use your right hand for the breaking and the left hand as the guide hand. Is it easier or preferential for a beginner to learn with a device such as the Black-Diamond ACT-XP, or a traditional figure 8 device. |
|
When rapelling, it is your choice which hand you use, I have mostly used my strong hand to brake, and sometimes was told to use my weak hand; it really makes no difference IMO. As far as equipment, I couldn't answer that except to say make sure you have a very experienced rapeller to supervise before doing any rapelling at all. |
|
Just a word of caution. Regular climbing ropes are not rapelling ropes which are disigned to tolerate the heat generated by fast descent. A descender such as a figure 8 will heat in fast descent to a point where it "could" (though it's not likely) burn right through a regular kernmantle rope. |
|
Thanks for the replies. I am left handed but bat and golf right handed. Shoot a bow, rifle and shotgun left handed. Can shoot a pistol equally well with either hand, and can throw a punch equally hard with either hand. Rapelling it just seams natural for me to use my right hand as the brake hand so I was just curious if there was a standard way to do it. |