Canyoneering 101

Ascending Pickoff

If someone is ascending a rope and gets stuck or is too tired to continue, you can perform a pickoff by doing the following:

Start ascending the same rope as the stuck person.
When you reach the person, release each of your ascenders one at a time and reconnect them above their ascenders.
1. Because ascenders can fail, you shouldn't rely on just a single point of attachment. Ensure you have a third attachment point you can use as you're connecting and disconnecting so you always maintain two connected.
After you ascend past the stuck person, connect a cowstail or PAS from your harness to the stuck person's harness.
Continue ascending with the person suspended below you.

Pickoffs are a resue of last resort. They take tremendous strength and put a lot of stress on the gear involved.