Rappelling

Today I finally took Slade and Cayman out to learn how to rappel - something I have been promising forever. A recent trip had reminded me how much fun it could be. Although Cayman is still too small to actually go over the edge, he could at least watch and get an idea of how to do it. It took me a while to find all my equipment since I hadn't used it for ages, but eventually we rounded up the needed supplies. I checked my rope and we set out.

The sky was overcast and everything was damp. The rocks would be a bit slippery, requiring extra care. We drove past the restaurant and the camping areas along the river. We parked near the river, close to the small, concrete dam. Just up the hill were several tall blocks of rock which would be perfect for Slade's first attempt. The tallest drop was about twelve feet - straight down. Perfect!

I coached Slade through the proper set up and safety checks for the equipment, helping him only when more strength was required, getting the rope threaded through the ATC belay device.

"Check your harness...both leg clips fastened..." I coached.
"Check," he chimed. He loves check-off lists.
"Harness loop fastened through the carabiner."
"Check."
"Rope and ATC through carabiner."
"Check."
"Carabiner locked."
"Check."
"Rope secure." We inspected the rope, tied with three knots to a nearby tree.
"Check."
I had him lean back and test the rope.
"Hand down to your hip to brake. Raise it up and out to drop." I let him practice a few times. Then, on a spot where I could help him over the edge, he leaned back and began his first descent. By the time he was on the side of the rock, lying back and letting the rope support him, he was breathing hard from sheer nervousness.


"All right," I told him. "Just sit there for a minute and look at me." He looked up at me, a bit of fear showing in his eyes.
"OK," I said. "Now just breathe. You're doing great!"
"I think I'm a little nervous," he told me shakily.
"That's good." I told him, "We never want to get so comfortable that we're not nervous. Just sit there. You could sit there all day if you had to." He began to calm down. Finally, I asked, "Are you good now?"
"I think so."

He began releasing the tension to lower himself down and eventually made his way down to solid ground. He looked up proudly with a big grin.
"Can I go again?"

The next time was a bit faster, and with more confidence.


Soon he was an old pro. "Wait there and I'll get your picture from below!" I told him. He waited while I climbed down.

By now the sky was getting dark. A storm was moving in quickly.
"One more time and then we'll need to go," I told him.

After reaching the ground the last time, raindrops began to sprinkle down. Cayman had been eying the nearby river the entire time we had been here.

"I want to go 'wim in that water ," he told me over and over. I assured him numerous times that the water was too cold. He assured me numerous times that it was not. But suddenly, with the icy rain falling, he decided that his fondest wish was to stay completely dry. He hunched his shoulders up and began to cry loudly. The bottom dropped out of the sky and the rain began to pour down.

I jammed everything but the rope back into the backpack and handed it off to Slade.
"Just take this and get to the car!" I yelled out. It was amazing how loud rain could be!
Meanwhile, Cayman was crying louder and louder, "I'm wet! I'm wet!"
I had wrapped a towel around the tree to prevent the rope from causing undue damage. I threw the towel over Cayman's head and began coiling the rope up on my arm. I hefted the coiled rope onto one shoulder, scooped a wailing Cayman up on the other side, and began running and sliding down the hill. I passed Slade up along the way. I don't know if I was that fast - or he was that slow.

As I crossed the road, the hail started. Tiny chunks of ice bounced off the pavement and my skin. I threw open the car door, shoved Cayman and the rope inside, and went back for Slade. I needn't have worried. He was examining the roadway. He looked up and exclaimed happily, "It's hail!"
"I know!" I grabbed the backpack and shoved him toward the car.


By the time we were safe inside, we were absolutely drenched. And cold!


But not necessarily unhappy....

All in all, a very nice day!!