Tyber,

You said "Believe it or not, with the materials listed above you can accomplish a true emergency rappel. Safety will be at a minimal but you can do it."

With a swiss seat, locking biners and rated rope, you can be just as safe as the finest harness and rack of equipment. There are lots of reasons to use the modern equipment, but for most rappels saftey is not improved. As far as I know, climbing accidents due to equipment have increased with the new equipment (not because of it). If the equipment will handle the required loads, stay in place and not apply incorrect loads on the body (all possible with the gear we used 40+ years ago) it CAN be done saftely.

Bill,

That leads me to "I over estimated my abilities and got myself stuck on this ledge and there is a thunderstorm coming". That would probably require a full rack and multiple rappels. Bad place to get yourself into.

Why do you need a full rack? With proper technique this can be done with a proper rope and a good anchor. No rack is likely to be necessary. I have rescued a number of people who only required 20 - 30 feet of drop to get to a safe position. Only if the ledge is on the East Face of Long's Peak would the rest be of great comfort ;-).

Respectfully,

Jerry