Safety Tether

From CanyonWiki

A safety tether is basically a stout sling set up for easy and diverse use.

Commonly, safety tethers are used to clip a canyoneer into an anchor, to dangle a pack on a free rappel, and to clip into a guide line during a guided rappel. They are also used in canyon rescue to perform various pick-off and counter-weight manuevers.

The standard climbing approach is to throw a quick figure-8 on a bight in the rope tied to the harness and clip into the anchor with that. Alas, canyoneers are rarely tied to the end of the rope and so alternatives have be devised.

The simplest solution is to carry a couple of long slings over a shoulder. These can be used to set up a tether at the length that is desired. However, this is slower than the preset systems described below.

Common canyon tethers include the double Purcell, a double lanyard Spelegyca, or a single lanyard Clipster. All of these are either tied or sewn to the desired length and fixed on a canyoneer’s belay loop. This allows a canyoneer to quickly unclip an end of their tether and clip into an anchor without the fuss of tying a new tether at each rappel station.

Each system has advantages and disadvantages. The Purcell has the advantage of being quickly adjustable in the field to the needed length. However, it is a little bulkier to hang off the rappel loop all day. The Spelegyca uses a rapide to secure in to the belay loop and offers both a short and a long tether. The lighter and simpler Clipster girth hitches a single length of webbing to the belay loop.

Canyoneers should choose tethers that can safely absorb a small fall (say if one slips at a rappel station and falls two to four feet before the tether catches). Thus, they should be made from material that will hold at least 10 kN and still have a little stretch so as not to overly shock load the anchor.

---

---