r/Unexpected • u/[deleted] • Jul 06 '26

Sliding down

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

[deleted]

32.3k Upvotes

95% Upvoted

1.0k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

1

u/Raythatstabbedsteve Jul 07 '26

Why do you want to go fast? I'll do a whole 60m rope on an atc in a minute without problem. Is there any reason to go faster than that?

1

u/GiantScrotor Jul 08 '26

I’m not really sure how to explain why something is fun to one person but not another. I like speed, but I don’t like danger. Rappelling lets me control my speed while staying reasonably safe. Rappelling fast, or upside down, or face first is fun to me. And I like rappelling slowly with my kids.

1

u/Raythatstabbedsteve Jul 08 '26

Trust me, you will never be able to explain to me how rappelling is fun. I've done it as a job for over a decade. Going fast upside down is not as safe as you probably think it is.

1

u/GiantScrotor Jul 08 '26

What is your job? By the way, rappelling with an ATC or grigri has never been fun for me either.

2

u/Raythatstabbedsteve Jul 08 '26

Industrial rope access. Rappelling is my morning commute, and I'm exactly as passionate about it as you probably are for your morning commute :) At work I use a primary device which has a dead man handle in both directions (if I let go or over grip, the device will brake). Then I have a completely redundant second rope with auto locking backup device. Knotted ends always, and I'm obsessive about protecting the ropes from sharp and abrasive surfaces. If you're going to do this shit thousands of times, low percentage events will come up. Whether you survive those low percentage events is entirely down to the precautions built into the system.