RIGGING - RAISING AND LOWERING SYSTEMS
Rigging Home >> Raising and Lowering System
Commands:
Down! ------ lower
Raise! ----- up
Tension! ---- remove all slack from the line
Slower! ---- raise or lower more slowly
Stop! ------- Stop can be said by anyone, but only Control can give the command to start again.
Notes:
We set up a pulley system, even for a lowering. Experience has shown us that often lowerings require a bit of raising to negotiate the irregularities of the face. Because we are always prepared to raise the mainline, we could dispense with a load-releasing hitch; but the shock absorbing feature of the load-releasing hitch makes it a valuable addition on the belay. If the belay Prusiks set, we can develop slack in the belay line by raising the main line as well as by loosening the load-releasing hitch. The pulley system is attached to the main line with a single quick release prusik.
The dog 'n tails replaces the brake bar rack (also called a rappel rack) during a raising. Unlike a prusik, a dog 'n tails can be released under pressure. When going from a raising to a lowering, this allows us to gently transfer the weight back onto the brake bar rack.
For a belay we use a 540 device (not shown in drawing) or a prusik minding pulley and triple wrapped tandem prusiks.
