Dec
31
2008
Alternatives to the Stone Knot
The stone knot (AKA stein knot) is used to isolate two strands of rope. It is useful to gain efficiency on short rappels where more time is spent by people rigging and de-rigging their rappel devices than is spent on the actual rappel. Using the stone, while one person is rappelling, another person can be rigging. As soon as the first person is on the ground, the second person can start rappelling and a third person can start rigging.
Proper racking of gear on your harness can make a big difference in efficiency and safety. The photo on the right illustrates poorly racked gear.
