Three Ways to Lower a Climber Off of a Plaquette (Auto-Blocking Tube) Device

(This post may contain affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links and make a purchase, I’ll receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. This helps support the channel and allows us to continue to make videos like this. Thank you for the support!)

Options.

I think options are important when we are off in the wild or in situations that have risks. When we think about the “standard” categories for addressing risk, there are: “acceptance” do nothing, just let the probability of the risk happening play out; “avoidance,” for example we could not go into the wild at all; “transference,” of having someone else take on the risk - have your climbing partner go on lead rather than you; and “mitigation,” using other methods to reduce either the probability or consequence of the risk - maybe heading up a snowy mountain early before the snow warms up and has a chance to slide.

Okay, why does that matter? Well, the better the options we have at our disposal, the more effective our mitigation efforts prove to be.

Many of the recent videos have been about options, including why we might choose a single rope and tagline versus two double ropes and three ways to toss a rope for a rappel. Even the video on the equivocation hitch, which allows us to set a rappel without anchor hardware, is another skill that gives us options.

Come to think of it, the coming videos are going to be about options, too. You’ll have to come back to take a look at how different rope techniques can make your scrambling over moderate terrain safer.

Having the ability to deploy various options let us better tailor mitigation strategies to specific risks. But the key to that statement is the first part: “having the ability.” I’m using all the same tools in terms of ropes, carabiners, and other items that I consistently care with me. So, with the same equipment, do I have the knowledge to deploy differing techniques? That’s where knowledge and practice come into play.

Take a look at this video about when and how we can lower a climber. We can add three more options to our risk mitigation efforts.