Last person at risk

Introduction

"Last person at risk" is a term that denotes a family of techniques for defeating an obstacle in which the last person is taking some physical risk relative to the rest of the party. Or, it is used to describe the last person when such a technique is in use. While what constitutes a "risk" worth noting varies on the individual, given that the last person is almost always at a higher risk for a rappel, the term has seen interpretations as broad as the last person for all rappels.

While most commonly used to describe the last person for a rappel, the term can apply to down climbs as well, for instance when assisted with hand line via a meat anchor.

Other forms of this expression include "Last man at risk" and the corresponding abbreviations, LAPAR and LAMAR.

Significance

As a special case of sequencing, the last person has additional responsibilities and is exposed to unique risks. First, he is responsible for ensuring that the rigging system is retrievable. If using rigging systems like the stone knot or joker, or if using a safety on a releasable rigging such as a CEM Knot or a FiddleStick, the last person must have the knowledge to change the rigging before rappelling without having anyone else available to check the new rigging. Second, the last person cannot have the benefit of a meat backup, so the anchor must be proven strong before the last person rappels. This is of particular concern with marginal anchors such as cairn anchors, dead men, and the sand and water traps. Because of these special difficulties, the last person is often chosen to be one of the most experienced members of the group.

Using marginal anchors, it is the responsibility of the the last person to "own" the anchor. That is, it is their responsibility to make sure the anchor is safe for their non-backed-up use. Many marginal anchors are used safely by having a deliberate testing procedure; it is up to the owner to make sure that the testing procedure is sufficient. The last person is often the person with the most experience with that particular style of anchor. Being light in weight and being a skilled gentle-rappeller are also considerations for who elects to be the the last person.

Examples

In almost all cases, all members with the exception of the last person uses a rope, often with a meat anchor as either the primary anchor or as a back up anchor.

Releasable Anchors with a Backup

Some releasable rigging techniques such as the CEM Knot, FiddleStick, and the Escaper, require additional knowledge and practice to operate effectively, and/or have mechanisms to limit the risk of a premature release. The LAPAR takes on additional responsibilities and risks unique to each technique, and thus is usually chosen based on familiarity with the technique in use. As a natural extension of this, having both ends down for a carabiner block, or the act of removing a "catastrophe knot", can add additional risk to a rigging for any single strand system, and thus could be treated as an instance of LAPAR technique if such risk is considered significant for the individual/group.

Marginal Anchors

Many advanced natural anchors techniques have the challenges of not being able to withstand high loads, and/or being difficult to inspect/assess, and thus have high uncertainty in the load they can withstand. In these cases, it is advantageous to back up these anchors with a meat anchor back up for all but the last person. Sequencing such that the last person is the lightest and/or has the skills to rappel gently without bouncing or otherwise apply high peak loads can be highly effective in these scenarios.

• cairn anchors
• dead men
• sand and water traps
• Knot Chocks

Similarly, the technique can apply to marginal artificial anchors of varying degrees such as:

• button heads
• (uninspected) pitons
• 1/4" bolts
• single bolt anchors in questionable rock quality
• any bolt(s) showing significant signs of corrosion or damage from the elements

Non-existent Anchors

No anchors are available, but the geometry is favorable for a meat anchor. In addition, the obstacle is possible to be defeated by a skilled canyoneer involving higher physical risks, such as:

• A pack drag
• A down climb
• A jump into water

In particular, techniques whose risks can be mitigated by having additional people down below (e.g. spotting, checking the pool for submerged rocks), work well with this strategy. In these scenarios, the last person is usually whomever has the highest competency in the alternate method of defeating the obstacle.

Anchors that lead to another obstacle

An anchor is available, but it drops you into another obstacle, such as a hydraulic or a pothole that requires significant skill and/or physical risk to defeat. Another option exists, but with no anchor options in that specific spot beyond a meat anchor. In these circumstances, a meat anchor would be used to let all other members down along a different line, avoiding the second obstacle entirely. The last person would then come down the available anchor, despite the risks associated with defeating the second obstacle. Similar to the Non-existent Anchor scenario, the individual most competent with the challenges of the second obstacle is best suited to be the last person.

Difficult Rope Pulls / Rope Grooves

An anchor is available but with significant risk of getting a rope stuck, while an alternate method requiring significant skill is available that avoids the risk. In this scenario, the last person would execute a down climb, jump, or otherwise defeat the obstacle incurring additional physical risk over using an otherwise available anchor, in order to minimize the risk of losing time/energy dealing with a stuck rope. The last person must be capable of defeating the obstacle sans-rope at a high enough safety margin to outweigh the risk of the stuck rope, and should be chosen accordingly.

This technique can also be used to minimize rope grooves in soft rock. By packing up the rope at the top, you eliminate the need for a pull where most (but not all) of the wear on the rock is induced. In this case, environmental principles of Leave No Trace must be carefully weighed against skill, personal risk tolerance, and responsible safety practices to evaluate whether the trade off is net-positive.

Rappels in General

The last person for any rappel usually involves risks such as:

• Not having another person available to check their device, rigging, etc.
• Having to manage both the pull strand and rappel strand. This may be as simple as avoiding rappelling on the wrong side, or the risk of the pull side tangling with the rappel strand in a waterflow/hydraulic causing a drowning hazard.

For this reason, an argument can be made that LAPAR can be used to describe the last person for any and all rappels.

Getting the Last Person down

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History

The term was invented by Steve Allen and his cronies in association with many of the techniques they developed^{[citation needed]}. In his 1997 book Canyoneering 3, Steve Allen writes:

We use a technique called "LAMAR," or "Last Man At Risk," on most downclimbs and rappels. All but the last climber are belayed. Once the first climbers are down, they pull together on the rope from below to check anchors. The last man then rappels.

Regional Differences

In Southern California and elsewhere, the term is generally used for the last person to rappel in all circumstances because the rappel itself is a risk in all circumstances. Some critics claim this is an illegitimate use of the term because the term is intended to refer only to "unusual risks".

External links

• Initial discussion on Canyon Collective
• Off-topic discussion on Canyon Collective
• Facebook post by Tom Jones regarding proper usage of LAMAR/LAPAR term