Simul-rapping is a technique by which two climbers each descend opposite strands of a rope that has been rigged through a rappel anchor, their bodies acting as counterweights to each other. While this technique saves time, it also demands close coordination and communication between the two climbers, for if one stops weighting the rope, it could mean sending the other climber into a fall.
Almost all rappelling deaths are caused because climbers fail to tie stopper knots in the ends of their ropes. Despite the fact that this life-saving step is universally known to climbers, many still avoid tying knots in the ends of their ropes simply because knots can cause ropes to get stuck.
Although they didn?t tie stopper knots, a stuck rope still appears to have played a role in this accident. According to Jacobson, he and Gobright reached an anchor at pitch nine, where there were two climbers from Costa Rica. They wondered if they could make it all the way down to a large ledge atop pitch five, but realized they didn?t have a long enough rope. Instead, they opted to go down to pitch six, just 50 feet above the ledge.
Jacobson says they didn?t bother pulling their rope to its midpoint, ?since it was such a short rap, we figured we?d be fine with an 80-meter rope,? he says. Jacobson?s side was clearly touching down on the ledge, while Gobright?s side was tangled up in a bush off to the side.
?I asked if we were good, and he said, ?Yes, we can untangle the rope on the way down,?? says Jacobson. ?We didn?t tie knots in the rope, either. We started rapping. I was a bit above him. I was on the left. He was on the right. Then all of a sudden, I felt a pop, and we started dropping.?
They were about 20 or 30 feet above the ledge atop pitch five when they both simultaneously fell. Jacobsen crashed through a bush, which slowed his fall, before striking the ledge.
?It was basically a blur,? says Jacobson. ?He screamed. I screamed. I went through some vegetation, and then all I remember is seeing his blue Gramicci shirt bounce over the edge??
Apparently, there was less rope tangled up in that bush than both Jacobson and Gobright had thought?not enough to get Gobright all the way down to the ledge. And because there were no knots in the end of the rope, it slipped through Gobright?s GriGri rappel device.