Abseiling is a very dangerous part of climbing. Primarily due to the climber having to put their entire trust in the gear. So the gear has to all be bomb proof, and secure enough to stop the climber having to worry about it if something else goes wrong.

At Guillemot ledge, Swanage, the descent to the base of the cliff is via an abseil. The guide says there is a cemented pipe at the back of the abseil ledge to go off. On our first visit to Swanage we had read the guide, and thus new of the pipe. But as we walked down to the ledge, we walked straight past the pipe, expecting it to be closer to the edge. The only man made object on the ledge was a rusty piton, behind a rather dodgy looking flake. It is on the left of the picture, under the tuft of grass.



The piton was not even over the ledge, it was just off the side, which meant leaning out while standing on loose grit. Not wanting to waste time, we simply threaded a sling through the piton, and attached the rope. Threading the sling was bad as the rusty edge could have quite easily cut the sling. The piton was backed up by a tiny cam, behind the same flake, and was not even tight on the sling. So the cam was prety much useless. The rope was clipped in the middle and both ends of the rope were used to abseil on. This was good as it allowed more effective braking, but would have made an escape back up the rope quite difficult. Luckily nothing actually went wrong, although it could have quite easily.

• If it has been there an extremely long time, it is not necessarily going to stay there.
• Backing up should be done properly, and not just as a token to the gods.
• Sharp edges eat all manner of equipment, including metallic gear.
• Abseil on a single rope, unless you will need to retrieve it from below. Ascending a single rope is a lot less problematic.
• Read the guide, and usually trust it.