What is the best belay | rappel

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What is the best belay | rappel |autoblock device for traditional alpine mountaineering?

The best belay, rappel and autoblock device to have on your Alpine Bod Harness may be the new Trango B52. This is why I think so.

In 1971, Royal Robbins, in his landmark book "Basic Rockcraft", describes only the "body belay" where the belayer's body, braced in the correct position and perhaps anchored, provided the necessary friction for a dynamic belay of the lead or following climber who was tied into the rope by a bowline on a coil or a swami belt alone. Rappels described by Robbins were the dulfersitz or long rappels controlled by a "brake" assembled from six to eight oval carabiners with gates opposed. The traditional mountaineer at least knows and has practiced the super easy, super fast body belays. I never had to use the clumsy carabiner brake.

By 1973, Royal Robbins published "Advanced Rockcraft" including a chapter titled "Gadgets". Robbins wrote "Although I personally prefer climbing methods that are spare, there are climbers (and the number is growing) who see advantages in equipment not strictly necessary". The Gadgets Robbins described were Safety Helmets, Seat and Chest Harnesses, Descenders (the figure eight) and the Sticht Belay Plate.

Some folks still use the figure eight descender or rappel device. It is best suited for larger ropes (10 to 11 mm), and can be dangerous with smaller diameter alpine ropes (7.6 to 9 mm) because the amount of friction can not be controlled. Suggested use of the small end as a belay device is very questionable.

The Sticht belay plate can be found in second hand stores and on the racks of some very old climbers. Some (the Sticht plates not the old climbers) were equipped with a coiled spring wire to keep the carabiner away from the plate so the rope could be paid out more easily. I have always found the Sticht plate hard to use. It is either on, (jammed) or off. (A nifty use is to place the plate (sans spring) in front of the anchor pulley in a crevasse rescue to serve as a prussic block.)

A few years ago, Trango offered the Pyramid. It was designed both for belaying and for rappelling. Black Diamond produced a similar device a few months later that they called the Air Traffic Controller or ATC. The Trango Pyramid is a little easier to push a too fat rope into and could be used in two modes, providing two degrees of friction. The Trango Pyramid has fins which can dissipate rappelling heat better than the ATC, according to popular belief. I think most mountaineers prefer the Trango Pyramid over the ATC.

Both the ATC and the Trango Pyramid loose friction on the smaller diameter 7.6 to 8.9 mm alpine ropes. Trango did a novel comparison test of the braking force required by several devices. There is no standard for this test, but field reports seem to support their findings according to Malcolm Daley. The Trango Pyramid required 24.7 pounds of force for a 10.7mm rope and 36.9 for an 8.4mm rope. The ATC required 22.3 and 36.7 pounds of force.

Petzl offered the Grigri. Sport climbers take note: do not bring your Grigri to the mountains. The Petzl tech notes state: "The Grigri is designed for indoor climbing or sport climbing, NOT for alpinism or adventure climbing. The Grigri is NOT a substitute for skilled, vigilant belaying!" The Grigri is designed as an automatic rope lock in the event of a fall. This action may rip sketchy alpine anchors from the not necessarily perfect alpine rock.

Recently Petzl produced the Reverso D15 which is not only a belay device and a rappel device but also an autoblock. It appears to be stoutly built and is not too heavy. It is designed for belaying double ropes in the 8 to 9 mm range and single ropes to 11 mm. Rappelling can be done on ropes from 8 to 11 mm. It is easy to set up, even with fat sport ropes. The autoblock design causes the belay rope to be pinched by the loaded rope to the climber, when the device is set up properly. The autoblock is used in an upper belay; it does not function to belay the leader where more severe falls can occur. Provided the climber works with the belayer and does not over-take the belayer creating slack, the force stopped by the autoblock will be little more than the climbers body weight. There are three degrees of friction for rappelling. The device can be used to climb the rappel rope in an emergency. The technical notes are intimidating. The device requires a lot of practice but is pretty foolproof if you have done your homework. However, the Trango test calculated that the Petzl Reverso required 25.9 pounds of force for a 10.7mm rope and a whopping 46.5 for a single 8.4mm rope!

Now Trango has produced the B-52! It is much lighter and more simple than the Reverso. It weighs 60gm and the Reverso weighs 81gm. It looks more like the ATC or Trango Pyramid, but the advanced design makes it easier to load the rope through long slots and easier to feed rope to the leader. It is a very smooth rappel device for ropes from 8 to 11mm. The B52 will also function as an autoblock with a locking carabiner from your SARENE anchor clipped through the long slot that takes the upper belay rope. (The alloy body of the B52 reportedly tested very strong in this configuration. It was tested on an Enstron dynamometer and reportedly the carabiner broke before the B52.) The Trango test showed the B52 required 19.2 pounds of force for a 10.7mm rope and only 23.2 for an 8.4mm rope, very important for the traditional mountaineer. The B52 retails for about $23.00! It's bomber!
--Robert Speik
Copyright© 2004-2006 by Robert Speik. All rights reserved.

WARNING - *DISCLAIMER!*
Mountain climbing has inherent dangers that can in part, be mitigated

The Three Sisters and Broken Top
South Sister, Middle Sister, North Sister (the sinister sister) and Broken Top in the Three Sisters Wilderness near Bend, Oregon USA
Photo Copyright© 2004 - 2008 by Robert Speik. All rights reserved.

Warning!
Here are links to the manufacturers instructions for this gear. The notes above are only meant to point you in the right direction. Read the manufacturers instructions. Do your own research and learn to use your gear with an experienced person, practicing techniques on belay at the local crag with friends before lugging it up the hill to attempt a technical peak. --Webmeister.
Petzl Reverso
Trango B52

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Read about belaying and rappelling in this book!