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farrensbooks
Jan 18, 2002, 4:46 PM
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Excuse me if someone has already asked this, but what exactly is an army rappel? And how do you spell rappel?
If you can find a website that shows it I would be much ablidged.
Thnx,
~Keith
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rck_climber
Jan 23, 2002, 11:30 AM
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First off, you spelled it right - rappel.
Secondly, "Army" rappelling is the same as any other type, except we generally use a length of rope to tie a "Swiss Seat" for a harness instead of a commercially-made harness. Add to that a big, heavy rucksack most of the time and slippery "Joe" boots and that's it.
The process is still the same as any other type, still rigging up an anchor (if one's not already present), using "Snap-links" (Army term for carabiner), and a Figure 8 device to rappel.
When done from a helicopter to the ground, we call it Air Assault, but that's it. Not much different than "regular" rappelling.
Hope this helps.
Mick
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litedawg
Jan 23, 2002, 1:10 PM
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Also, many times there is a helicopter involved, a hundred and fifty foot drop, oh and no breaking until you are about four feet off the ground. The purpose is to exit a hovering helicopter as quickly as possible without getting shot by enemy fire. Rarely is it done off of a crag.
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rck_climber
Jan 23, 2002, 1:37 PM
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Quote:Rarely is it done off of a crag.
Actually, I've done it a number of times. Guess it depends on what unit you're in and what your METL is. Light units end up doing it quite a bit, at least the ones I've been in.
Mick
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graniteboy
Jan 23, 2002, 5:34 PM
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There was an old method called the "army rappel" which, I suspect, predates the modern version, as well as the participants in this discussion. It involved simply wrapping the rappel rope several times around the biner (clipping thru each time) and usng this as a means of obtaining friction for the rappel. It was rather dangerous, and you could really get hurt (killed) if you wrapped the rope the wrong way. I suspect that's why the armed forces no longer teach it.
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gekolimit
Jan 23, 2002, 7:09 PM
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Alright so i get the picture of rappelling. It's the fancy stuff you always see in the movies.
I do quite some absailing...thats not the same is it? Absailing is going down while facing up. I take it rappelling is going down, facing down (literaly walking down the wall). How do you set up for such a descent? Do you need a special harness? is their a good homepage that shows it?
Thanks all...for anything and everything.
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cryptoboy
Jan 23, 2002, 7:26 PM
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As an American who did his first climbing in New Zealand (on a vacation), I can definitively say that absailing is what most of the english speaking world calls rappelling.
c
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floof
Jan 23, 2002, 7:44 PM
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What cryptoboy said struck me as funny, because I call rappelling face-down Aussie rappelling.
I've rappelled face-down before. It was off a ledge at the top of a tower so there was nothing but air below me. The only gear I had was rope tied around my waist and a figure 8. There's probably better gear out there.
As for links, you can check out some pictures of a largish guy aiming a handgun while on aussie rappel here: http://glock.missouri.edu/rappel/rappel2.shtml#aussie
I got over a hundred hits off of google when I searched for "rappel +aussie"
- John
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litedawg
Jan 29, 2002, 5:10 AM
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Gekolimit-
What you call absailing is what the americans call standard rappelling, going down but facing up. In north america this is the typical way to exit a crag that requires a rappell.
Going down facing forward is what is commonly refered to as "Australian style" or "Assualt style" because of its military roots and applications.
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kaptk
Feb 1, 2002, 3:57 AM
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I was a medic in the US Army for four years. I did some rappels in Swiss Seats tied with a length of rope. It's not too comfortable. I did some Aussie style rappels which were a lot of fun. There was a ledge about 40ft from the bottom of the cliff where you could stop and launch off from spreading your arms and legs out, then catch yourself right before you got to the ground. Rappelling gets boring though after awhile. Climbing is much more fun.
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coach
Feb 1, 2002, 11:26 AM
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GraniteBoy,
We still do teach the double wrap on the biner (wrap from anchor side of biner) type rapelling in the Marine Corps but do not use rapelling for helo assault entry due to the time required for the helo to remain in hover and be exposed (only one man on rope at a time). We now use what is called Fast Roping which is much quicker to deploy a large number of men from a helo into an area and get the helo out of harms way. Fast Roping uses a rope with a diameter of about 2 inches and you simply grab it with both hands (wearing gloves) and the instep of your boots and away you go. Nothing clipped to the rope at all. Several men can be going down the rope at one time. We use rapelling in mountain climbing training and urban assault where Marines would go down the sides of a building. We also still teach a tied seat know as a "Swiss seat" using about 10 feet of old static line. Hope this helps answer your question.
Climb On
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dhoyne
Feb 1, 2002, 11:39 AM
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I've rapped with a swiss seat before. It really hurts. Bad. My boys were feelin' the pain for a long time.
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miagi
Feb 3, 2002, 8:39 AM
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What exactly is the setup for the Australian rappel? I asked it in another forum because ive dont it before but have forgotten how to. Thanks
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farrensbooks
Feb 8, 2002, 7:56 PM
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Thanks for all the help guys. I feel like an expert now...
~Keith
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codey
Feb 11, 2002, 2:40 PM
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what they said!
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