Introduction

In order to safely attend a canyon event and abseil within the UQ Mountain Club (UQMC), you must obtain your “Pink Tape”, which is the first of three receivable tapes associated with canyoning at UQMC.

 

First and foremost, UQMC promotes a “safety first culture that guides all our activities”. That means that whatever you are doing, you must make sure that your and others safety is the number one priority at any given time.

 

This document will guide you towards a successful completion of the assessment of your “Pink Tape”. In order to get your “Pink Tape” approved, there are three main steps:

1. Read and remember the knowledge displayed in this document.

2. To Obtain your Pink Tape, head here to do the Online Program. 

3. Get yourself assessed by a member of the executive team who will ask you theoretical questions and will assess your practical skills during a UQMC events.

After a successful assessment, you will obtain your “Pink Tape” on your UQMC card, which you can display on your harness.

 

Please read the following instructions carefully.​

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NOTE: We do not endorse all the information by the content creators given below. However, we have checked the specific links and believe that they are great learning resources. These links do not replace learning practically from club members, but will be helpful to aid your learning.

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Description

"Pink tape" indicates that a member has obtained the first possible skill competency level required for canyoning: the ability to rappel using a self-managed belay system and safely navigate a canyon.

 

Members aiming for their Pink Tape assessment should practice, read and understand the practical and theoretical assessment for Pink Tape and complete the Pink Tape module on the UQMC website.

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Prerequisites

You must be a member of UQMC to be tested for the “Pink Tape” competency. You must attend an in person UQMC Pink Tape canyoning skills event to be assessed.

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Testable material

The material testable to obtain the “Pink Tape” competency can be broken down into the following categories:

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Practical skills

The member being tested must be able to perform the following physical tasks without safety errors:

• Correctly wear both a harness and helmet;

• Use fall restraint system of appropriate length to an anchor when near a cliff edge;

• Correctly connect a French prusik third hand to their harness;

• Extend an abseil device to an appropriate length;

• Correctly connect an abseiling device (both ATC and Fig8) in descending mode to their harness;

  • Identify and address any clothing or hair that may jam a prusik or abseil device;

  • Test their abseil system while still attached to the anchor;

  • Recite and complete an ABCDE check;

• Demonstrate good abseiling technique, using correct hand and feet placement and body orientation, for single and double strand abseiling;

• Correctly bottom belay an abseiler using fireman’s belay;

• Use correct communication for an abseil;

• Remove an abseiling device in a manner that does not risk dropping the device; and

• Display correct technique while ascending a rope using prusiks.

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Theoretical skills

The member being tested must verbally demonstrate an understanding of the following concepts/processes:

• The harness:

  • Its importance; 

  • Correctly fitting of the harness, and

  • How to use it

• The importance of wearing a helmet and correctly fitting it.

• Anchor redundancy

• Anchor checks (ABCDE)

• Descending device

• Communication:

  • “Buddy checks”;

  • Common canyoning communication terms; and

  • The importance and purpose of having clear and precise communication

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Theoretical material

 

Harness

Importance: Simply enough, when abseiling, the harness is used to secure the canyoner to a rope, which in turn is anchored to the top of the cliff. There are many different types of harnesses out there in the market, ranging from those aimed at indoor gym climbers to those wishing to impart on a big wall adventure to canyoning-specific equipment.

 

How to use it: When you are abseiling, it is important to highlight four main elements of the climbing harness and how to use them:

 

The waist belt: As per the name, the waist belt of the harness must sit on your waist ie above your hips. Use the buckle to tighten the waist belt until it sits snugly above your hips and cannot pass over the bone of your hip.

The leg loops: Ensure that the leg loops are not twisted before putting a leg through each loop. These loops are not required to be tight against your legs, however it’s important to reach a happy medium between being too loose or too tight. Ultimately it is on you to decide what you find comfortable when walking and hanging.

 

Belay loop: The belay loop is where you attach a device that you intend to use as a safety point, ie when connecting to a belay line or using a descending device without a french prusik

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Tie-in loops: The tie-in loops are the points through which you can attach ‘soft’ gear like a personal anchor system or sling. The club harnesses only have a single tie-in loop, which doubles as your belay loop. If a member has a harness of their own, they will more than likely have two tie-in loops and a separate belay loop as in the figure pictured right.

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Gear Loops: The gear loops are ONLY for storing equipment (ATC, prusik cord etc.). Gear loops are not rated. Ie they are not an attachment point that should be weighted.

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Helmet

Importance: The helmet is used to protect the wearer’s head from injury, for example falling rocks, hitting their head against the rock and more. As good as a photo without a helmet might look, your safety is far more important! Always wear your helmet in a canyon, even when just hanging around the top or bottom of the cliff or rock-hopping. You never know if someone might knock off a rock accidentally or if some kids above you are throwing rocks down for fun. These things happen, stay safe.

 

How to use it: Like any helmet, it is important that it sits snug on your head. Most climbing helmets will have a buckle or rachet at the back to change the tightness. Additionally, ensure the chin strap is done up so your helmet doesn’t fall off when abseiling or belaying (or even walking around).

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The rethreaded figure-8 knot

Purpose: The rethreaded figure-8 knot is used by climbers or abseilers to tie into the end of the rope. It is also easy to recognise when tied correctly/incorrectly, thus making buddy checks more simple than if an alternate knot was used. The rethreaded figure-8 is identical to a figure-8 on a bight, apart from its’ ability to be tied around existing objects (e.g. your harnesses tie-in loops), whereas the bight forms a loop that a carabiner must be clipped through to use.

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How to identify an incorrectly dressed knot: A dressed rethreaded figure-8 knot is when the rope stays parallel in the bend, as pictured in the LHS figure-8 knot. The RHS figure-8 knot is an undressed knot, with the arrow indicating the error where the rope does not stay parallel in the bend.

 

Why dress the knot? If you take a fall, a dressed figure-8 will be much easier to untie. A dressed figure-8 is also more recognisable and easier to buddy check.

The importance of the stopper knot: A figure-8 knot is essentially a stopper knot, as it jams when under strain. However when a figure-8 knot is dressed correctly, it is easier to untie than other stopper knots, for example an overhand knot.

20 cm of the tail should be ‘sticking out’ after tying the figure-8 knot. The longer tail is needed to ensure the knot is still secure when it slips while it tensions. To check if the tail has sufficient length and to keep it out of the way while climbing, you may tie a double overhand stopper knot. 

 

How to tie into the rope using the above knots: No matter how well you know the theory behind how to tie these knots, it’s essential you practice with a rope. The more you practice, the faster you will get it and the easier it will become to recognise a dressed knot or to fix an undressed knot.

The following videos (video 1 and video 2) explain how to tie into the rope correctly, along with some handy tips and tricks.

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Top Belaying

Once the anchor system has been correctly set-up and checked by the Trip Leader, the belayer will check if the abseiler’s device is loaded correctly into the abseil line, and will perform a buddy check. When setting up a top-belay, the belay device does not require to be in guide mode, and should not be an assisted braking belay device. 

 

When using a belay device:

• The belay device is clipped to the master point of the anchor with a locking carabiner.

• The carabiner and belay device are confirmed to be loading correctly, and the abseilers strand is correctly cinching down on the brake strand, thus locking off the device.

• The belayer’s rope is pulled tight and any slack is pulled through the belay device.

• A check is performed that:

  • The anchor is correctly set up.

  • The belay device is correctly attached to the anchor.

  • The rope is correctly attached to the belay device.

  • The belayer’s rope is cinching correctly on the brake strand.

  • The belayer’s rope is pulling directly on the abseiler, with no slack in the system.

  • All carabiners are locked.

• The belayer can then hold the brake rope and say ‘ON BELAY,  [name]’ clearly.

• As the abseiler descends, the belayer will let out slack from the belay device, ensuring they always keep one hand on the brake rope. The belayer ensures that the rope is running correctly through the device with the abseiler’s rope cinching down on the brake rope.

• If the abseiler is stuck due to their abseil device being jammed, the belayer will lock off their belay device, tying a calamity knot in the belay line, and will then tie a calamity knot within the excess rope behind the locked off munter hitch of the abseil line. The munter is then released, to lower the abseiler’s weight fully onto the belay rope. The abseiler can be lowered fully if required. The abseil device is then removed from the abseil line, or the abseiler can free the jammed components (such as their french prusik or hair), and re-weight their abseil device. This should be done in careful communication with the belayer that they are free to continue. 

• As the abseiler descends, the belayer will manage the rope as it runs through the belay device.

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Bottom belaying (Fireman’s belay)

To belay from the bottom, the belayer will be situated at the bottom of the abseil descent. Bottom belaying is necessary in cases where the top-belayer is unable to see the abseiler throughout the entirety of the abseil. In addition, this could be helpful in rescue situations wherein the belayer can prusik up the rope in order to retrieve the abseiler. Bottom belaying can also be used when self-belaying less experienced members. If there is a possibility of rockfall occurring during the descent of the abseiler, then the use of a bottom belay should be reconsidered.

 

Bottom belaying consists of holding the abseil rope at the bottom of the canyon and pulling upon the rope in the case of an abseiler descending the rope too quickly, in order to halt the abseiler by removing slack from which the device can run through. The belayer must watch the abseiler very carefully throughout their descent and not be distracted during a descent.

 

When completing a bottom belay in combination with a top-belay, the belayers should communicate with one-another when they are not able to see the abseiler, with the bottom belayer halting the progress of the abseil when required.

 

When the belayer situates themselves for a bottom belay, they should ensure that they are able to see the abseiler at all points of the abseil, are positioned within the canyon with good footing, and are not directly in cold water if possible.​

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Self-belaying/Abseil

Once the anchor system has been correctly set-up and checked by the Trip Leader, the following will occur:

• The abseiler should attach a fall restraint before moving to a position to begin the descent, typically this is near a cliff edge or from a hanging position on the wall.

• The abseiler should ensure that the single strand rope along which they are abseiling, reaches the bottom of the abseil comfortably, and has a stopper knot in the bottom if the bottom is not visible.

• The abseiler should additionally check that the deployed rope is not tangled. If the rope has already been used by another person then the abseiler should check that they are no longer attached to the rope.

• A belay device should be attached with a locking carabiner to the rope in the correct orientation.

• The belay device is attached to the belay loop of the harness by an extending sling, or locking quickdraw (or clipped partway along a PAS if using a dyneema chain).

• A French prusik will be wrapped around the rope on the brake strand side of the belay device and attached to the belay loop of the harness with a locking carabiner, ensuring that the prusik cannot reach the belay device.

• Any slack between the belay device and the anchor should be removed; the belay device should be weighted to ensure that it is locking correctly.

• Before removing your PAS the following checks should be made:

  • A - Anchor. Is the rope through the anchor correctly and is the anchor in a safe condition to use?

  • B - Belts and Buckles. Is your harness done up tightly and looped back in the case of older style harnesses?

  • C - Connectors. Are the carabiners on your extended belay and french prusik locked and in the correct orientation?

  • D - Devices. Is your belay device in the correct orientation with both strands of rope passing through it? Is there a French prusik backing up the rappel and correctly attached to the belay loop? Is the device extended sufficiently so that the prusik does not touch the device?

  • E - Ends and Edges. Are there knots in the ends of the rope and there are no sharp edges that the rope may abrade on? If abrasion may pose a problem, then appropriate edge protection should be used.

• Once all the checks have been made and the abseil is deemed to be safe the PAS can be removed and the abseiler may begin to descend over the edge taking care to lean back towards horizontal before stepping down over a cliff edge

• Once an abseiler has reached the bottom of an abseil and is safe (either on the ground or has clipped two PASs into the anchor below), they can take themselves off the rope.

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Communication

How to communicate whilst canyoning: Before leaving the top of an abseil make sure the abseiler and belayer know each other's name. This is highly important, so you can safely communicate, and also make a friend in the process if you have never met.

 

No manners are needed whilst on a cliff. Communication needs to be clear and concise to avoid confusion. Canyons tend to be very loud so make sure to shout calls between the top and bottom as loud as you can.

 

The following commands cover the typical communication used when canyoning:

Safe: Used by the Abseiler, this call should be repeated by someone at the top of the cliff to confirm. The abseiler has      reached the ground and no longer requires active belaying/the next person can begin to                                                         connect to the rope if bottom belay is being employed. 

Off Belay: Used by the abseiler in a top belay, This call should be repeated by the belayer to confirm they have heard. Indicates that the abseiler has reached the ground and is no-longer attached to the belay line. The belayer can               begin pulling up the line for the next person. 

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Common mistakes: Some mistakes that abseilers commonly make:

Lowering too fast

Lowering faster than your legs generally means you end up upside down! Not a danger is you’ve got your harness on correctly, just make sure you lower at a speed your feet can keep up with. If you don’t have enough friction, you can often add some by moving your hand further around your back and pressing the rope along your hip. If that isn’t enough, take note and make sure to add a bit more next time (your activity leader can help with that). 

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Feet too low

This usually happens because of our instinct to stand up. Having your feet low generally means you slip more easily and end up face-planting the rock (ouch). Keep that L-shaped position and and trust your harness and you’ll do just fine 

Test questions:

During the practical assessment for this level, your assessor will ask you a minimum of two questions from the following to test your understanding of the theoretical material:

1. Why is it important to wear a helmet in a canyon?

2. What is a redundant anchor and why is it important?

3. What is the ABCDE check and when is it used?

4. When abseiling, how is the speed of descent controlled using a descending device?

5. What is the importance and purpose of having clear and precise communication in a canyon?

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Executive Assessment Process:

Pink Tape can be awarded by any single member of the Executive team or Trip Leader with Purple Tape. The member will have to demonstrate the practical competencies and be able to answer questions regarding the theoretical material without error. The Assessor will complete a checklist, stating that they have witnessed the member completing the practical competencies, and that the questions regarding the theoretical material were answered without error.

 

Once the member has demonstrated that they are competent, their skill level will be updated on the club database and their membership profile will be updated by the assessor to display a Pink Tape badge. If a member with Pink Tape is seen making errors, is unsure of their ability or is displaying an unsafe attitude, an Executive or Trip Leader can rescind their tape.