03/02/2023
We support the canyoneering community in the United States, but we do not stand by "old school" or outdated methods. We learn as time goes on, we develop better best practices, we grow as a community, we are innovative. Life safety is alays first priority in any situtation. Someone posted a video of instructing how to perform a leg wrap lock-off and re-orienting the carabiner through a gear loop to keep i from "unwinding". This is extremely unsafe, unprofessional and WILL kill or extremely injure someone.
1. You NEVER wrap or tie a rope around ANY part of your body while rappelling, especially in a high angle (60 degree or more) setting. This is knowledge that is spread across various rope related disciplines: NFPA, MR, rope access, arboriculture, SWAT/ESU, DOD, SOF, SWR and the list goes on.
2. A gear loop is not a rated attachment point and re-directing a carabiner through there will NOT keep it from unwinding. The material make up of your clothing, rope diameter, rope material, leg width, moisture, are just a few factors in the rope not unwinding.
3. What if the rope starts to slip on your "leg wrap" and you can't add another wrap on? A natural human reaction would be to grab the rope and pull down, in turn "loading the gear loop".
4. This method was in guide curriculum in the 1990's and quickly found it's way out the door do to various accidents, injuries and was never incoporated back into any rope related curriculum.
5. It was originally used by the NFPA for technical rescue and was instructed to NOT perform with a rope less than 11mm. The carabiner on the gear loop was never in any standard, not sure where that idea came from.
5. YOU NEVER WRAP A ROPE AROUND ANY PART OF YOUR BODY!
There are a million other reasons why this is unnaceptable. Yes it may help you, but guides or professionals shouldn't be instructing this to beginners or aspirant guides. Learn from actual professionals who are up on current standards, current best practices, industry innovation. Also, it doesn't matter if you've been doing something for 25, 30 or even 40 years... it doesn't mean that you've been doing it right. You should also be assessed like the rest of the guides. Keep skills current, credentials current and be professional.
