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   Techniques to improve the safety and efficiency of your climbing.
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Reverso Transitions

There are two situations in which you may want to switch from belaying to lowering with the Reverso. One is where the device is not weighted (your partner is standing on the rock) and the other is where it is weighted (your partner is hanging on the rope). Clicking on the images below will give you a larger photo with explanations.

Unweighted Transition

 

Reverso in Self-Locking Mode
(click for details)

 If the Reverso is being used in the self-locking mode and is not weighted, the transition to a lower is easy. Basically, what you will be doing is changing the way the Reverso is hanging on the anchor from the self-locking mode into a redirected normal belay mode.

First, redirect the brake strand of the rope through another point on the anchor above where the Reverso is hanging and keep your hand on the brake strand or tie it off. Put another locking carabiner on the anchor next to where the Reverso is hanging and clip the Reverso brake carabiner into this and lock it. Don't open up the brake carabiner, as this would have the potential of eliminating the belay. Unclip the Reverso plaquette carabiner from the anchor so that the device is no longer in the self-braking mode.

You are now ready to begin lowering as if using an ATC type of belay device directly off the anchor with the belay side of the rope redirected through the anchor. The set up for this lower will look like the second photo. The lowest (blue) carabiner in the photo is the plaquette carabiner that held the Reverso in the self-locking mode before you made this transition.

Ready to Lower
(click for details)

Weighted Transition


Brake Strand Muled Off
(click for details)

If the Reverso is loaded, you begin again by redirecting the brake strand of the rope through a point on the anchor above where the Reverso is connected. But, this time it might be a good idea to muenter-mule or mule the rope off on to this redirect carabiner because you'll want both hands free to work for a bit.

Put another carabiner on to the keeper bar (the one that the brake carabiner is clipped through) and run a cordelette or a section of the climbing rope from this carabiner up through another higher carabiner on the anchor to create a quick block and tackle. Either pull down on this block and tackle or step into it with your foot to rotate the Reverso about 90 degrees at which point it will no longer be in the self locking mode. Be sure that before this happens you have secured the brake strand of the climbing rope with a muenter-mule, mule, or are at least holding onto the brake strand because cranking on the block and tackle takes the device out of the self locking mode.

At this point the Reverso is in a lowering mode and you can lower your partner. Anytime you let go of the block and tackle, the Reverso goes back into the self-locking mode and everything stops. Do not unclip the Reverso plaquette carabiner from the anchor for this transition because nothing else is connecting the Reverso to the anchor and it's too much trouble to do so. This transition is pretty easy once you practice.

Notes- The Reverso was not designed by Petzl to be used as described above and as the instructions that come with the device state, "A good knowledge of mechanical advantage techniques is required to unlock the system." when used in the self-locking mode. The weighted transition is an introduction to these techniques. The keeper bar is not a load bearing part of the Reverso, but it should withstand the force required to unlock it. Even if it were to fail, the integrity of the belay would remain intact.

Ready to Lower
(click for details)

Practice both of these techniques before you actually have to use them on the rock. There are of course variations to these transitions that will also work, but these will get you started. We've been doing these transitions for quite some time with the Gi Gi before we got Reversos and they work quite well. Take your time, practice, and be sure that before you move on to the next step in either of these transitions that you have done it correctly and have not accidentally taken your partner off belay. Take care and have fun.
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