Vertical caving terminology and methods > SRT basic terms
Tying the rope around a descender in a way that prevents it from moving down a rope, so that you can safely let go of the down rope. Many descenders have a hard (or secure) and soft (or rapid) lock. The hard lock is extremely hard to accidentally disengage, and is used whenever there is likely to be significant movement after applying it. The soft lock is easier to accidentally disengage, but is considered safe enough as long as the descender remains loaded afterwards (such as when disconnecting a cows tail after testing that a descender has been connected correctly).
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