Corrected entry: I know Jack was able to fold the handcuffs in half to slide down - but how did he get off? There must have been something the pole was attached to at the end... and he just drops off. Shouldn't he have hit something at the other end of the rope?
Correction: The handcuffs don't go over the rope with his hands on either side. If you watch closely, he throws the chain of the handcuffs over the top of the rope and then holds on to that as he slides down. Then, when he gets to the bottom, he simply lets go of the folded chain. It took a few times watching that scene to figure out how he did that. As for not hitting something at the end, the rope continues for a bit longer, to whatever it is tied to, but Jack simply lets go of the folded chain when he's near enough to the ground, and hits the ground running.
wolfchild