Setting up
- It’s the big hole of the figure-8 descender that must stay captured by the carabiner
- Form a loop (bight) on the rope coming from the anchor
- Pass this loop through the big hole of the descender, from underneath
- Slip the loop over the small hole of the descender: the descender is now attached to the rope
- Open the carabiner, free the descender, tilt the small hole toward you and clip it into the carabiner
- Lock the carabiner
Taking it down
Once you reach the bottom of the rappel, do the reverse sequence. After removing it, the descender stays clipped to the belay-loop carabiner by its big hole.
Advantages and drawbacks
- This setup gives the strongest braking effect: it should, in principle, only be used on single-strand rappels
- It carries a risk of a girth hitch forming on the descender. Keeping the strand that runs over the body of the descender facing you reduces this risk (it can occur, for example, from friction when passing an overhang)
- An extra brake can be added before or during the descent
Pair this with the technique for stopping mid-descent on a foolproof figure-eight, as well as with our articles on the figure-eight knot and the overhand knot.
