This is the term that I learned in the military for using ropes and other military hardware to descend from heights which are too steep to descend by foot. The German derivitave of this word is “abseiling.”
Rappelling was introduced to the world by Jean Esteril Charlet who was a mountain guide. The military application of rappelling is normally with light infantry units, spec ops units, and air assault units.
This is typically a technique that you would see a unit such as the 10th Mountain Division use frequently.
There are several different types of rappelling techniques which may be used depending on the circumstances that the descender finds himself in.
The technique that we are most familiar with is the regular feet first rappell where the descender leans back over the edge of the cliff and allows his upper body to descend until he begins to fall. At that time he or she will take two or three small steps to maintain balance. Ideally the descender will keep his body at a 90 degree angle and descend using either small steps or jumps. This is what you see pictured above.
The Australian rappell is used when the descender needs to look down as he or she descends. This position is good if he needs to return fire or just needs to know whats happening on the ground below.
The final military application that I will talk about here is the technique that Special Operations, and Airmobile ring customers use to descend from helicopters. The technique which was used more when I was in the military was to exit in the same position as the regular rappell, but now I think fast roping is used more. With fast roping the operator simply grabs the rope and slides down. This is convenient because when he gets to the ground he doesn’t have toremove a harness or any other equipment. He simply releases the rope and continues the mission. Now I don’t know that much about this last one because I’ve never done it, but if any of you custom military ring customers can explain it better please do so.
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