The morning after a day of hard gym bouldering, I noticed a popping or mild locking in my left middle finger when opening and closing it. The feeling soon went away, but came back worse every consecutive morning. I took two weeks off from climbing and my finger was feeling good, so I climbed very moderately two days ago, but this morning the popping returned. Any suggestions?

Kim Posati reaches with her toe and sets the tip of her climbing shoe on an edge. She pulls right, shifting her weight through the hips and locking off on a crimper. Her technique is good. She's fit. This problem is going down.

Know that even in the best circumstances, rappelling is never safe and is the number four killer of climbers, experienced and novice alike. Of course, it is conceivable that you can rappel on a static and dynamic cord and survive, but you must know a thing or two about those ropes.