Are you an adventure freak? Does heights and climbing Excite you? Have you ever imagined
yourself sliding of a cliff smoothly? Ever thought of what would be fastest way
to get off from a hill without hurting yourself? Did you ever dream of
conquering the rocks? Do you want to unleash the dare
devil in you?
Well, here is an exciting and simple answer to all of these
questions; which is Rappelling. Yes, rappelling also called as Abseiling, Deepelling,
rap jumping is a way of descending from
top of hill/cliff in a controlled manner by use of rope. It is one of the essential skills of any
climber. This technique is used when hill or slope is very steep and is
dangerous to descend without protection. The difficulties involved in descending,
steepness of rocks, need for unwavering strong will and mighty heart makes this rappelling
a dare devil adventure.
Usually rappelling is done by use of specialized ropes, keeping your face up and back towards the ground. This technique is used by
rescue teams to save the victims who are trapped and injured. I had the opportunity
to do rappelling down a steep hill few years back in Makalidurga, Karnataka. I
had done it under the supervision of professional trainers from adventure club,
Nature Admire. It was an exhilarating experience.
Recently I had chance to do Abseiling also called as
Australian rappelling descending from the height of about 130 ft. Austarlian
rappelling is slightly different compared to normal rappelling. Unlike in
rappelling, the face of the person is pointed down facing the ground and the
back towards sky in Australian rappelling, slowly descending the rope in
standing position. Australian rappelling is used as a military assault
technique, whereby a soldier is belayed, allowing them to face down the descent
and fire a weapon.
Compared to
rappelling, Austarlian rappelling seems much scary and thrilling, because you
would be witnessing the whole steepness as you descend. I had done this as part
of adventure activities organized by meetup group and adventure club GHAC .
Performing rappelling on your own needs lot of
experience, and in depth understanding of ropes, knots, clips, cleats etc.
Never venture in such activities alone. It is safe to do this along with
professionals and as a group.
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