Written by Gavin Raubenheimer
Yip, the thing, which we often call a Reverso, is in fact called a Plaquette. The word means, “plate” in French and the first to be brought out were the Plaquette Magique or “Magic Plate” made by the New Alp brand. In English speaking countries it was known by this name, but when Petzl brought out their version in the early 2000s the term Reverso certainly caught on in South Africa and other countries. But to be true, when using it in the auto-locking mode it should be said to be in “plaquette mode”. Black Diamond also soon had their version called the ATC Guide. Other companies such as Singing Rock have also brought out versions.
The person who first sat down and decided to invent this device needs the Nobel Prize of climbing gear inventions. What makes it so darn clever is that there are no moving parts, its very simple, robust and yet has many uses. As you will see, they can be used in the conventional manner, right up to high angle rescue situations. Let’s look at some uses and tips about when and where to use them.
The number one use is in the mode of an ordinary tubular type belay or abseil device. One side has the live rope running, the other must always be held by your hand or better still, both hands. There are two slots to take UIAA certified 2 x Half or Twin ropes. It is also quite acceptable to use just one slot, as when belaying a Sport route. In ordinary mode it can be used to belay a Leader or a Second or in a bottom-rope belay set up.
The second use is in plaquette mode (sometimes called Guide mode). This is where a bite of rope/s is inserted through the slot/s and threaded with a karabiner. Then the configuration is clipped to another karabiner onto the belay anchor (master point). Both these karabiners should be a locking type and the karabiner that has the rope running over it should be a round profile type. Plaquette mode is mainly for use by a leader who is bringing one or two climbers up the pitch that has just been completed. If a force is applied to the rope from the Second/s to the Plaquette, it locks off automatically. This mode also allows the belayer’s hands not to be always holding the ropes. When used like this, it is best to set the belay system’s master point to the side or even slightly behind where the leader/ belayer will be located (that is don’t set in plaquette mode attached to the front of your harness belay loop). Working the ropes with the Plaquette behind the belayer, is the most comfortable way. If using two Half ropes and one Seconder, simply put both ropes through the device and belay them up.
In a party of three, it is possible for the belayer/ leader to attach both the Seconds on each end of a Half rope and belay them up at the same time. When doing this simul-belay, the faster of the two climbers should climb first, a few metres ahead of the third person. Or alternatively, whoever is going to lead the next pitch would usually climb first.
Simul belaying like this should not be done on traverse pitches or on crags where there is lots of loose rock. On traverses, if one of the Seconds fell while both were climbing, there is a very real chance of one rope cutting through the other. Belaying two climbers like this is very easy and each rope can be pulled up individually while letting the other go. In this mode the Plaquette passes what is commonly called a “whistle test”. This means that should the belayer had to not attend the device, it would still activate. e.g. Belayer becomes unconscious due to being hit by rocks from above.
When used in Plaquette mode there are another three very nice adaptations to the system:
1) If a second cannot get up a difficult section, do the following. Pull the rope through the Plaquette as tight as possible. Then take the “dead” rope and pull a bight forwards with a karabiner. Attach a prusik-loop or Tibloc on the live rope and you instantly have a 3:1 haul system. The Plaquette acts as a one-way clutch or progress capture pulley. Its quick and easy and gets climbers up any section they can’t do. This is especially useful when dealing with beginner or inexperienced climbers.
2) A situation which can present itself on bigger routes is when there is a party of just two climbers using two Half ropes and carrying a rucksack. In places such as chimneys or off-width cracks where the second cannot climb easily with the rucksack on, simply tie one rope to the bag and the other to the second. Then the leader/ belayer hauls the rucksack slightly ahead of the Second. If the bag snags on the rock, then the Second is right there to sort out the problem.
3) If needing to ascend a fixed rope, the device can be set in the Plaquette mode onto the climbers’ front belay-loop. Then a Tibloc or prusik-loop is set above the device with a long foot loop. Then to ascend, stand up on the foot-loop and pull the slack rope through the Plaquette. It then automatically locks off allowing the climber to sit back and move the prusik/ foot-loop higher.
There is a fourth use and that is in high-angle rescue situations, when a patient on a stretcher with a medic attached, needs to be lowered down a cliff. In these situations, very high impact forces can occur, and the braking system has to be very good (far higher impacts forces than what occur in leader falls).
Here the lowering rope is set in the Plaquette mode and in front of it is another tubular belay device set in the usual manner. The lowered rope first scrubs off some of it’s energy on the ordinary tubular device and then runs through the Plaquette. The Plaquette is released by pulling up on the threaded karabiner or on the release loop. Lowering a “rescue-load” in this manner works extremely well.
Tips on use in the Plaquette mode
When the device is under load, it can be difficult to release. There are two methods to do this. Either attach a third karabiner and long sling to the threaded karabiner and pull hard upwards, while with the other hand is holding the blunt rope. If a very heavy climber is hanging on the rope, then it can be useful to take the long sling and thread it back through the belay set up and then push down with your foot. Both these can be awkward and need to be practiced before having to use them “in anger”. On the Black Diamond ATC Guide there is a special attachment point to help with releasing.
The second way is to just push the threaded karabiner up and down and this causes the rope to release in small amounts. This can be used when a Second just needs to descend a short distance.
Because it can be difficult to lower people in Plaquette mode there are a few simple rules to follow.
- Use it in Plaquette mode when the Second/s are not expected to have to be lowered.
- Use in Plaquette mode when climbing routes that are on-balance and the Second/s can partially get their weight off the rope if they need to be lowered down.
- Use in Plaquette mode if you think the Second/s will need to be hauled up a short section and have your prusik loop handy.
- Don’t use Plaquette mode if a heavy climber is expected to fall off and dangle in midair and need to be lowered to the ground. Use the device in normal mode.
Safety tips
1) Don’t use two ropes of vastly different diameters. It is conceivable that the smaller may not lock-off completely.
2) Beware if the belay setup is set a long way back from the cliff edge and skinny dynamic ropes are used for the setup. The danger is: If a heavy climber puts their weight on the Master point, the whole setup can be stretched over the lip of the cliff. This can in turn cause the belayer to instinctively pull on the belay side rope and then inadvertently release the Plaquette! This very problem has occurred at the top of Makaza ice climb in the Drakensberg.
Definitions of rope types
All dynamic climbing ropes are made to meet and exceed the minimum specifications set out by the UIAA.
Single-rope. Also called a Full-rope or sometimes a Sport-rope. It is demarcated by a figure 1 on each end of the rope. It can be used in a single strand for the lead climbing.
Double-ropes. Also called Half-ropes or sometimes Trad ropes. They are demarcated by the figure ½ at the end of each rope. The leader must tie into TWO of these ropes. The Second can tie onto the other two ends or in the case of a three-person group, each second can tie into just one of these Half-ropes.
Twin-ropes. They are demarcated by two interlocked circles. These ropes are seldom seen in South Africa. The leader and second, always tie into both ropes.
Gavin Raubenheimer is the owner of Peak High Mountaineering and the convener of mountain rescue in KZN. He is an MDT Mountaineering Instructor and NQF Mountain Guide and has guided clients all over southern Africa, Mt Kenya, the Alps, Jordan, The Andes and Canadian Rockies.