go rappelling

I got into rappelling to be able to explore more of the caves in my area and have progressed to longer and longer rappels. My first long rappel was Surprise Pit in Alabama at 404 ft, then I did Fantastic Pit (GA) at 586 ft, then Whitesides Mountain, NC at 620 ft.

What? No longer in a cave?

That’s right. Fantastic Pit is the longest in-cave rappel in the US so I had to go above ground. Following that I have since rappelled the Bridge over the New River Gorge (876’), The Black Canyon of the Gunnison, CO (1,570’) and El Capitan at 2,650 feet, the longest rappel in the US.

But I craved more.

What was left? A friend of mine invited me on an expedition to Baffin Island, Canada to set a new WORLD RECORD in 2004. Seven members carried a mile-long rope to the summit of Thor Peak only to be turned back by bad weather. Thor Peak sits inside the Arctic Circle in a Canadian National Park. The expedition, even though it was a failure, prompted Sports Illustrated to publish a story entitled “Toil and Trouble on Mount Thor”. We did all the hard work with none of the glory but it steeled me not to quit.

Determined not to live life without achieving my goals, I assembled and led an expedition back to Thor in 2006. This time, the weather cooperated and we achieved our goal of setting a NEW WORLD RECORD. Four members of the original expedition, including myself, went back and all did the rappel of a lifetime.

At 4,200 feet, we bested the current record by almost 600 feet. Unfortunately, a Parcs Canada Patrol officer died when he lost control of his descent on our rope and 2 members of the expedition didn’t get to do the rappel because Parc officials halted the expedition.

To learn more, please visit www.whitewaterunderground.com.

Be safe,

The Dirtman

I rappelled two summers ago, off of a 100-ft tower in England. Definately a really fun experience. I totally want to do it again.

I did it last year in San Rafael, Mendoza – Argentina.

At the beginning it s terrible. You just feel panic when you have to stand by the limit of the rock with meters of nothing below yourself.

Then, after you gave the first three steps, it’s ok. and when you finish you realize that it was great.. and may be you would like to do it again.

Its an awesome experience to hang hundreds of feet above the ground on a rope. Man, I’ve become a big fan.

80’ cliff in southeastern tennessee. or perhaps it was northwestern georgia. either way, it was awesome. i’ve been rappelling on three different occasions and rappelled seven or eight times total. i haven’t tried aussie style yet, though. hmmm…