hank_moon 0 #26 December 5, 2003 I dont think the Petzl Stop is built for rappels longer than a few hundred feet This is correct. The STOP is OK for drops of up to 100 m, but this may be modified by variables such as rope brand, age, condition, diameter, and other factors. For a very long drop, the best device to use is what cavers refer to as a "long rack". Most brake bar racks are about 14" in length. There are no precise standards for what constitutes a "long rack," but I have seen them up to 24" long. The advantage of a long rack is that the friction is highly and continuously variable, even with all 6 bars rigged onto the rope. With shorter racks, one must either start with fewer bars at the top, or keep all bars on and feed the rope manually through the rack until the rope weight eases off. There are advantages and disadvantages to each approach. The best guess as to the cause of the recent accident is that David's arms/hands became tired from feeding the rope through the rack and he thus lost the ability to control the descent by gripping the free end of the rope. Not being highly experienced in such situations, other control options such a "leg wrap" perhaps did not occur to him. For what it's worth, I work for Petzl and have done the rappel in question once (on rope, not falling through the air with a chute!). I am not a BASE jumper and am posting here in reponse to an email rec'd by Petzl from a person asking about the suitability of the STOP for a very long drop.---- hank > opinion expressed in this post is mine, not Petzl's < Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TomAiello 25 #27 December 5, 2003 Now that's service. I sent the email to Petzl at 11:35. By my watch, that's 24 minutes for you to respond. Thanks!-- Tom Aiello [email protected] SnakeRiverBASE.com Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
