UKH

Sat here being forced by the girlfriend to watch SAS Who Dares Wins. They are doing a forward facing abseil, looks like a lot of fun! 

As expected they didn't show any close ups to the rope work. 

Is there a set practice for rigging this?

The only thing I could think of is putting the harness on backwards 😂

We just used to put a Krab around the back of the harness (some had a loop) and then the fig 8 on that, this was playing about as a teenager in Air Cadets though, probably wrong but we lived...

We used to do it on a big slab abseil. Worth the experience.

With modern padded harnesses you'd probably want to put it on backwards, but with a simple webbing harness you can put a screwgate through the back of the waistbelt.  You want the belay above the start as going over the edge would be a real ball-ache if it isn't.  It is possible to literally run off the edge if this is the case, but you'd want to know what you were doing before you get to that level.  It's normally highly uncomfortable as your guts get squashed by your weight.  You also need to work out where you will put the dead rope and how you'll grip it. Do it though, it is entertaining, as is abseiling normally and allowing yourself to go completely upsdie down (which often prevents a backup prussik from working) or doing a proper classic abseil.

Regarding a "proper classic abseil" I think "fun" isn't a word I'd use, more "painful"

Like the dulfersitz? So much fun on modern ropes  

They use to do this on adventurous training in the army as a bit of fun but then somebody clipped a belay device to a gear loop instead of the belt, by mistake as they couldn't see what they were doing apparently, and it was banned. Lesson is always check...

Caveat - this might have been urban myth though

There was a similar thread on here a few weeks ago.  The way it used to be done was just to pass the rope across the shoulders and a twist round each wrist.  Gloves and a tough jacket are highly recommended.  I did it this way with the RMC back in the 70's.

Al

I've done it loads, usually as a last hurrah off the Scout climbing tower when taking the ropes down - although I've got pics of me and a mate doing it down a waterfall in Austria.

I use a very short sling/extender round my harness, like a rear belay loop, and clip into that. Wearing a harness back to front is a common trick, as it gives you the widest part of the belt to lean on, but can be funny pulling your legs back. If you can work it down a bit, so the harness is across your hips, it's more comfortable and evens the balance point.

It is awkward to do for very long, especially slowly - it's a strain on your stomach, kills your lower back muscles and your legs tend to want to drop, risking slamming your arse into the rock. That's why you mainly only see the SAS doing it running.

CHECK and CHECK AGAIN before you start!

Only twist the dead rope around your wrist - you'll never manage that with the live side.

Actually I think the "painful" is a slight exaggeration particularly for short and less steep abs . Its very useful if one has minimal equipment. I still use it occasionally with an 8mm polypropylene rope when I want to carry minimum weight. I think its worth running the rope a little out of the main groin line. Its essential to have a shirt with a collar up, as I found to my cost once when committed on a long free ab (using krab and sit sling in this case), neck scar lasted months. The situations where one is most likely to use the method probably mean the rope will be used double for retrieval, which spreads the load and increases friction.

My first harness (Troll Mk5) came with a belay loop on the back, that'd do it

It was so long ago I don't recall.  I have it in my head that it was both wrists but I can see your point.

Al

Can I go one better?

Whilst climbing in Hodge Close in the late 80s we saw a few kids doing forward facing abseils. However this was trumped when the obvious leader of the group produced a bike, clipped into the rope (somehow) and rode/abseiled down the crag, facing front!

God alone knows how he did it, but he certainly earned the cool points from his compadres that day.

You've obviously not sussed out how to do it!  It's all in the body position, you kind of have to go down sideways so the bit between your legs runs across one of your arse cheeks/thighs (can't remember exactly).  It's certainly possible to reduce the pain significantly by adjusting your body position.