Tying off the STOP descender
When descending, it is sometimes necessary to let go of the rope to have both hands free for carrying out various tasks. To do this, various tie-offs can be used to immobilize the descender.
Warnings
- Carefully read the Instructions for Use used in this technical advice before consulting the advice itself. You must have already read and understood the information in the Instructions for Use to be able to understand this supplementary information.
- Mastering these techniques requires specific training. Work with a professional to confirm your ability to perform these techniques safely and independently before attempting them unsupervised.
- We provide examples of techniques related to your activity. There may be others that we do not describe here.
Rapid or complete tie-offs can be done in very different ways: only the most conventional ones are presented in this document.
1. Rapid tie-off
A stop that requires letting go of the rope in a place where accidental slippage of the descender would not present a risk. For example, when arriving at an intermediate anchor, stopping and hanging on the descender for the time it takes to tether yourself, before removing the descender to transfer it to the rope below. Here, any descender slippage would be quickly stopped by the rope loop of the intermediate anchor, so a rapid tie-off is sufficient. Be sure to keep your body weight on the descender to avoid any movement that could undo the tie-off.
On pre-2019 STOP, with FREINO
On pre-2019 STOP, without FREINO
On post-2019 STOP, with FREINO Z
On post-2019 STOP, without FREINO Z
2. Hands free tie-off
A stop that requires letting go of the rope in a place where accidental slippage of the descender would present a fall risk. For example, stopping to set up an intermediate anchor. Here, nothing could stop any descender slippage: if the user wants to let go of the rope, a complete tie-off must be done.
On pre-2019 STOP, with FREINO
On pre-2019 STOP, without FREINO
On post-2019 STOP, with FREINO Z
On post-2019 STOP, without FREINO Z
On post-2019 STOP, without FREINO Z
