Vertical caving terminology and methods > SRT basic terms
An intentional short end of rope, which hangs over the lip of a pitch where there is a rub point. The caver can abseil down the short rope, then transfer to the main rope, which has too much rope rub protection, or too much tension due to the weight of the rope, to get past the rub point conveniently at the top. Transferring ropes is done by essentially performing two mid-rope changeovers, switching which rope is used part way through. The tail will also need rope rub protection (after all, if there were no rub point on the tail, then that would have been used for the main hang), but since it is only short, there is likely to be less rope rub damage since there will be only minimal bounce compared with the main rope. The tension on the tail is lower, meaning less rope rub damage, and less strength required to get past the rub point, as the caver does not have to lift so much rope away from the rock. As a result, the rope rub protection on the tail will be minimal, and easier to get past. This is a ridiculous approach used with indestructible rope technique, in a desperate attempt to avoid using a rebelay, while simultaneously creating something less convenient than a rebelay, while still forcing you to do the same basic thing as a rebelay, without anything to clip a cows tail into, all while relying on a rope rub protector instead of a much safer rebelay. Even a floating rebelay would have been better. If the problem is simply that the rope is so heavy that it is hard to lift the body up far enough to get past the lip, then an etrier could have been hung over the lip, or a sling hanging over the edge connected to the rope using a Prusik knot, which could be used as an etrier. But really, seriously; rebelay! The term comes from the USA, but there seems not to be a British alternative, because we use rebelays in Britain.
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