How to tandem rappel/abseil with a child?
So my toddler just barely fits the smallest child's harness on the market, which of course means she's big enough to go climbing and rappelling with daddy ;)
I've been playing around with different techniques of tandem rappelling with her (both walking and free rappel) and I'm wondering what established techniques people use for different ages/sizes of children?
What are some good techniques for tandem rappelling with a small child?
This post was sourced from https://outdoors.stackexchange.com/q/7982. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
1 answer
I'd probably use the same technique I'd use if I was tandem abseilling with anyone, i.e. extend the abseil and attach both parties to it:
|
|
@<- belay plate
/ \\
/ \\ <- rope to adult
child--adult
^ |
/ | <- tail of rope
/
attach child to adult as well as rope for safety
So you extend the belay away from yourself, and attch both parties to the belay, also attach the child to your harness as a backup (don't drop the baby). You then belay as normal (keeping the rope away from the child).
Add a prusik backup (don't drop the baby!!)
I actually found a photo of a similar set up:
The black rope going east from the adult's harness tie-in is also tied to a second karabiner on the child's harness and then up (behind the pink sling) to the safety belayer.
This post was sourced from https://outdoors.stackexchange.com/a/7997. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
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