IN THIS MODULE
04 THREE JOBS THE SYSTEM HAS TO DO
31 Rigging for Releasable
Releasable rigging is one of those concepts that sounds complicated until you understand the goal: if a rappeller gets stuck, hurt, hung up on gear, or simply comes up short of the bottom, the person at the anchor can convert the system and lower them without rebuilding everything from scratch.
IMPORTANT CORRECTION: Releasable rigging and retrievable rigging are not the same thing. A releasable system lets you lower a loaded rappel rope. A retrievable anchor or toggle system is designed so the anchor/rigging can be recovered after the last person. A FiddleStick or Smooth Operator belongs in the retrievable/ghosting conversation — not as the defining device in a lowerable Joker system.
WHY RIG FOR RELEASABLE?
NORMAL RAPPEL
If everything goes as planned, the system behaves like a normal rappel. The team moves through the canyon and the contingency never gets used.
WHEN PLANS CHANGE
If a rappeller needs help, a properly built releasable system gives the anchor operator a way to add rope and lower them under control.
That is the value: the rescue option is already built into the rappel before the problem happens. The ACA includes releasable twin-rope systems such as the Joker and Jester in its Assistant Canyon Leader progression, specifically emphasizing a friction mechanism, a releasable tie-off, and identifying the risks that need safeties.
PRACTICE BOUNDARY: This module is a learning map, not permission to experiment at a canyon edge. Rock Exotica’s Totem instructions explicitly call for specific training and supervised practice. Learn the system at ground level and on a short, backed-up training rappel before trusting it in consequential terrain.
MEET THE JOKER
The Joker (also shown in older Totem material as “Joker / Mickey”) is a twin-line, isolated, releasable system commonly rigged with a Rock Exotica Totem. Both rope strands are available for rappelling, but if you want the lower capability, the rappeller uses one strand while the opposite strand stays unweighted.
THE CONDITION THAT MATTERS: A Joker strand is lowerable only when the other strand is unweighted. That sounds simple on paper, but it means the anchor operator has to know exactly who is on which strand and what is loaded before converting anything.
WHAT YOU NEED
CORE HARDWARE
• A compatible canyon rope
• A secure anchor / rappel ring or quick link
• Rock Exotica Totem
• Locking carabiners / canyon quickdraws used for the Joker configuration
OPERATOR CAPABILITY
• Know the Totem and your rope combination
• Know how the backups are installed
• Know how to convert the correct side to a lower
• Know how to stop and re-secure the system
THREE JOBS THE SYSTEM HAS TO DO
1 | Create Friction The Totem provides enough friction to hold and control the loaded rappel strand. | |
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2 | Stay Secure Until Intentionally Released Safeties / backups and active rope management prevent an unintended release or rope creep. | |
3 | Become a Controlled Lower When needed, the operator removes the appropriate safety and brake-side routing, then feeds rope through the Totem under control. | |
BRETT’S OPINION: It is a valuable tool because it gives the team an answer to a very practical question: “If this rappeller suddenly cannot finish the rappel, what can I do from up here?” | ||
JOKER SETUP — PHOTO SEQUENCE 1–3
Use your own Totem and canyon quickdraws for these photos so the book shows the exact hardware you actually teach and carry. The sequence below follows the standard Joker concept described in Totem and canyoneering training references.
PHOTO 1
Wide shot of the anchor with the rope running cleanly through the rappel ring and both strands visible.
STEP 01
Set the Rope Through the Anchor
Feed the rope through the rappel ring / quick link and set the two strands for the pitch. Both ends need to be managed deliberately — do not assume “close enough” rope length is good enough.
PHOTO 2
Close-up of the Totem with both rope strands clearly visible through the Joker configuration.
STEP 02
Rig the Totem Across Both Strands
Install the Totem in the standard Joker orientation so both rope strands are isolated through the device. The exact rope path and carabiner placement must match the configuration you were trained to use.
PHOTO 3
Close-up showing the Totem tethered to the anchor webbing with the rope path unobstructed.
STEP 03
Tether the Totem to the Anchor
Connect the Totem to the anchor with the canyon quickdraw / tether used in this setup. When the anchor uses webbing plus a quick link, avoid positioning the tether where it can pinch the rope and interfere with a future lower.
DO NOT IMPROVISE THE GEOMETRY: A Totem can be rigged many ways. “Looks about right” is not a rigging standard. Use the manufacturer’s configuration, formal instruction, and your own repeatable photo sequence so the device orientation is unmistakable.
JOKER SETUP — PHOTO SEQUENCE 4–6
PHOTO 4
Close-up of the finished Joker with every locking carabiner / backup visible and labeled in the photo.
STEP 04
Install the Safety / Backup
Add the safety connections used by the standard Joker setup and confirm they are actually preventing unintended movement. The Dye Clan’s Joker reference also stresses active control of the non-rappel strand because the Joker is friction-based rather than a hard lock.
PHOTO 5
Wide shot showing a rappeller attached to one clearly identified strand and the opposite strand controlled at the anchor.
STEP 05
Rappel One Strand for Contingency
If you want the ability to lower that rappeller, they rappel on one strand while the opposite strand remains unweighted and available to the system. Double-strand rappelling changes the contingency behavior.
PHOTO 6
Close-up / medium shot of the completed system during a low, controlled load test.
STEP 06
Test Before Anyone Commits
Load the system in a controlled way. Verify the anchor, rope path, Totem orientation, locked carabiners, backups, rope length, and that the correct strand can be identified without hesitation.
BUDDY CHECK: Have another trained person identify the loaded strand, the lower strand, the backup, the brake side, and the conversion path out loud. If two experienced people cannot agree on what they are looking at, nobody should rappel on it.
WHAT MAKES THE JOKER EFFICIENT?
Because both strands are isolated, the next person can begin getting organized on the free strand while another person is still descending. That can help a larger group move efficiently. But efficiency is secondary. The lower capability and the operator’s situational awareness are the reasons to learn the system correctly.
CONVERT THE JOKER TO A LOWER
This is the whole reason the system exists. A rappeller is hung up, injured, exhausted, or needs more rope. The conversion should feel boring because you have already practiced it — not because you are trying to remember a diagram while someone is suspended below you.
BEFORE YOU TOUCH THE RIGGING: Confirm the other rope strand is completely unweighted, the rappeller understands they are about to move, the lowering path is clear, and the operator has a controlled brake hand / belay plan. Twin-line releasability is conditional on the opposite strand being free.
PHOTO 7
Close-up of the trained operator identifying the unweighted brake strand and its safety before conversion; keep the loaded strand and its friction routing visible.
STEP 07
Release the Appropriate Safety
Identify the unweighted brake strand opposite the rappeller. Using the exact configuration taught by your instructor, manage its safety while maintaining brake control; keep the loaded strand correctly routed through the Totem.
PHOTO 8
Close-up sequence showing the rope coming off the brake-side neck and out of the large opening while still controlled.
STEP 08
Open the Brake-Side Rope Path
Open only the unweighted brake-side routing, following the verified Totem Joker configuration and your hands-on training. Maintain the loaded strand's friction path and control the brake strand continuously.
PHOTO 9
Wide shot showing one person operating the Totem at the anchor while the rappeller is being lowered below.
STEP 09
Lower — Slowly and Deliberately
Feed rope through the Totem under control until the rappeller reaches a safe stance or the ground. Never dump rope. Stop if the system behaves differently from what you practiced.
LOWERING IS A SKILL: Rock Exotica warns that different rope diameters, constructions, and conditions change how the Totem performs. A configuration that feels controlled on one rope can feel very different on a smaller, slicker, wet, sandy, or newer rope.
WHERE THE JOKER CAN BITE YOU
The Joker is a friction rigging, not a magic device. That is why you need training to repeatedly emphasize backups, rope control, and testing the exact rope/device combination before you use it. But it is very effective.
1 | Rope Creep If there is not enough friction, the rope can migrate through the Totem. Smaller ropes, slick ropes, heavy rappellers, wet conditions, or abrupt loading can change how the system behaves. | |
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2 | Wrong Strand Loaded If the opposite strand is weighted, the side you want to lower may no longer be releasable. This is a system-management problem, not a hardware problem. | |
3 | Pinched Rope at the Anchor A tether or carabiner positioned against the quick link can interfere with the rope sliding during a lower. Keep the rope path physically clear. | |
4 | Backup Becomes the Problem A safety is useful only if the operator knows how to remove or manage it under the conditions they expect. A jammed or forgotten backup can make a “releasable” system effectively static. | |
5 | Too Much Rope in Moving Water Twin-line systems put more rope below the anchor. HowNOT2 cautions against this type of system where hydraulics or difficult swimming disconnects make extra rope in the water a liability. | |
THE BIG IDEA: Releasable does not mean automatically safe. It means you have created another option — and another system that has to be understood, checked, and managed correctly. | ||
LAST PERSON DOWN & RETRIEVAL
For the final rappeller, the group has to transition out of the Joker configuration. One common approach described in Joker references is for the last person to remove the Totem and Joker hardware, then rappel double strand on their normal rappel device. That is a retrieval step — not the same thing as converting a loaded Joker to a lower.
KEEP THE TERMS STRAIGHT: RELEASABLE = you can lower a loaded rappeller. RETRIEVABLE = you can recover the rope / anchor system after the last person. A system may eventually be converted for retrieval, but those are two different jobs.
WHEN THE JOKER MAKES SENSE
GOOD FIT
• A trained leader wants a lower built into the rappel.
• A larger group benefits from two isolated strands.
• The anchor area gives the operator room to see and manage the system.
• Rope/device friction has already been tested.
POOR FIT
• Nobody present has practiced the conversion.
• The rope is unfamiliar or behaving unpredictably.
• The anchor geometry pinches or hides the system.
• Moving water / difficult disconnects make extra rope hazardous.
DO NOT LET EFFICIENCY DRIVE THE DECISION
The fact that two people can stage on separate strands is useful, but it is not a reason to introduce a system the group does not understand. A static system that everybody can inspect may be safer than a releasable system that only one person recognizes.
HUMAN FACTOR: If the only person who understands the Joker is the person who just rappelled out of sight, your group has created a single point of failure. Teach the system to the team before the canyon — not while hanging over the edge.
HOW TO PRACTICE THE JOKER
Build competency in layers. The goal is not to memorize nine photos. The goal is to recognize the system, inspect it, operate it, convert it, stop the lower, and explain why each part exists.
1 | Ground-Level Rigging Rig the Joker repeatedly where nobody can fall. Have a partner intentionally misroute one element and practice catching it during inspection. |
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2 | Short, Backed-Up Rappel Use a low training drop with an independent backup. Practice normal rappels on each strand and deliberately convert one side to a lower. |
3 | Different Rope Conditions Test the exact ropes you carry. Compare clean vs. sandy, dry vs. wet, newer vs. fuzzy, and different diameters only in a controlled environment. |
4 | Communication Drill Have the anchor operator and rappeller use the same commands every time: stop, lower, hold, off rope, and which strand is active. |
5 | Scenario Practice Simulate a short rope, stuck rappeller, hair/gear entanglement, and a tired rappeller who cannot continue — then choose whether lowering is actually the best response. |
BEFORE YOU USE IT IN A CANYON
• I can rig the Joker from memory AND verify it against a known-correct reference.
• Another person in the group can independently inspect the rig.
• I can identify which strand is loaded and which strand must remain unweighted for a lower.
• I have practiced the actual conversion to lower under load in a controlled environment.
• I know how my Totem behaves on the exact rope I am carrying today.
• I have a plan if the lower does not solve the problem.
WHAT I WANT YOU TO REMEMBER: The Joker is not a trick for making a rappel look advanced. It is a pre-planned rescue option. If you cannot explain exactly how it becomes a lower — and what conditions make that lower unavailable — you are not ready to depend on it.