The Dülfersitz (named after its inventor,

mountaineer Mountaineering or alpinism, is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending tall mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas. Indoor climbing, sport climbing, an ...

Hans (Johannes Emil) Dülfer was a German mountain climb ...

), also known as body rappel is a classical, or non-mechanical

abseiling Abseiling ( ; ), also known as rappelling ( ; ), is the controlled descent of a steep slope, such as a rock face, by moving down a rope. When abseiling the person descending controls their own movement down the rope, in contrast to Bela ...

technique, used in

rock climbing Rock climbing is a sport in which participants climb up, across, or down natural rock formations. The goal is to reach the summit of a formation or the endpoint of a usually pre-defined route without falling. Rock climbing is a physically and ...

and mountaineering. It is not used frequently any more, since the introduction of

belay device A belay device is a mechanical piece of climbing equipment used to control a rope during belaying. It is designed to improve belay safety for the climber by allowing the belayer to manage their duties with minimal physical effort. With the right ...

s. In the Dülfersitz, the rope is wound around the body, and the speed of descent is controlled using the

friction Friction is the force resisting the relative motion of solid surfaces, fluid layers, and material elements sliding against each other. There are several types of friction: *Dry friction is a force that opposes the relative lateral motion of t ...

of the rope against the body. The advantages of the Dülfersitz are that one can descend without a

climbing harness A climbing harness is a device which allows a climber access to the safety of a rope. It is used in rock and ice climbing, abseiling, and lowering; this is in contrast to other activities requiring ropes for access or safety such as industrial ro ...

or belay device, and because the rope is not kinked or subjected to concentrated forces, it does not experience as much wear. The major disadvantage of this method is that intense heat is generated by the friction on the shoulder, neck and thigh, which can be painful, and can damage clothing. Abseilen-Duelfersitz

Abseiling by means of the Dülfersitz

*The doubled rope is passed between the legs *The rope is passed behind one thigh *Crossing the chest, the rope is taken to the opposite shoulder *From the shoulder, the rope is passed diagonally across the back to the braking hand (the hand on the same side as the thigh around which the rope has been passed) *The rope is placed under load *The free hand is held forward, maintaining the balance *The braking hand controls the movement of the rope: to allow the rope to move, the braking hand moves backwards; to arrest movement, it moves forwards. Although the Dülfersitz is an effective method of abseiling when practised correctly, it is less safe than some modern methods: if the braking hand releases the rope (due to panic, impact from a falling stone, or cramp), a fall is unavoidable if no additional means of security, such as

prusik A Prusik ( ) is a friction hitch or knot used to attach a loop of cord around a rope, applied in climbing, canyoneering, mountaineering, caving, rope rescue, ziplining, and by arborists. The term Prusik is a name for both the loops of cord used ...

cords, is used.Günter Sturm/Fritz Zintl: ''Alpin-Lehrplan 2, Felsklettern'', BLV München, Bern, Wien 1979, , S. 64 f.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dulfersitz Climbing techniques