Читать книгу Canyoning in the Alps. Graded routes in Northern Italy and Ticino, Austria, Slovenia and the Valais Alps онлайн

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Using a guide-line to steer clear of the current during a ‘wet run’ in Cormor (Route 49 in the Lake Como region)

Although double-rope technique has its place, single-rope technique is infinitely more suited to canyoning. The main advantage is that the rope length can be ‘set’ to the length of the pitch. Where pitch length is uncertain, the first person can be put on belay using one of the releasable rigs described below. They can then be lowered if the rope turns out to be too short (communicating this need may have to be through pre-agreed shouts, whistle blasts or hand gestures). The remainder of the rope, still in the bag, can either be brought down by the next person, zip-lined down the abseil rope or (if sensible to do so) thrown down to waiting team mates. The two ends of the rope can now be kept well clear of each other, ensuring a trouble-free pull-through.

Another advantage of single-rope technique is that it is easier to steer the course of an otherwise aquatic abseil by means of deviations (where the abseil rope is clipped into intermediate anchors) and guided abseils (a taut line secured between the top and base of a pitch, into which abseiling canyoners can clip their cow’s tails).