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Emergency Body Rappels

Description

If you find yourself needing to rappel and all you have is a rope but no harness or rappel device, you can do an emergency body rappel. Like the name implies, this method should only be used in emergencies. There are 2 main techniques for emergency body rappels: the Dülfersitz (e.g. Classical) or the South African Abseil. The South African Abseil is both safer and less painful than the Dülfersitz, so that is the method I will describe here.

1. Face toward the anchor. 
2. Pass strand 1 under your right armpit, diagonal across your back to your left hip, across the top of your left leg, through your legs, behind your right leg to your right hand.
3. Do the same thing with strand 2, only reversed.

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Rappelling Past a Knot