In a serious rescue situation, it might be possible that you would have
to lower an extreme weight down a rock face. For example, there is the
possibility that you might have to lower two climbers, one cradling
another one, or you might have to lower a climber and a litter. There
are many ways to do this, but there is one really smooth technique.
The
super-munter is a variation on the munter-hitch. It
creates a tremendous amount of friction and doesn't have one of the main
problems of the munter-hitch, it doesn't tangle the rope. Indeed, the
action of the rope as it goes through the super-munter twists the rope
and then twists it back.
Following is a short video on how to
make a super-munter:
The
super-munter creates a great deal of friction. I have never used this
for a rescue, but occasionally I have lowered two climbers together with
this who didn't feel comfortable rappelling. I've always found it to
provide more than enough friction to deal with 400+ lbs of dead weight.
While
it is unlikely that you will use this particular hitch very often, it
is a valuable rescue tool to have in your back-pocket.
--Jason D.
Martin
Monday, November 7, 2011
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1 comment:
This is also a viable emergency rappelling knot, especially for half or twin ropes. It's awkward, but it gets the job done, and the lack of twist is well worth it if there are multiple pitches to be descended.
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