How to belay from above reddit I had no idea that some gyms don't force people to belay right handed. When I give rope, I feed it through the belay device and at the same time I take a step towards the wall to speed things up. Its only got one "mode" of being a backup. Not sure I understand the question. Basically with the prussik below, it acts as a spare hand to brake your belay device, as well as a backup if your belay device totally failed. So you could belay them both up on ATC. Very time efficient ! It's generally recommend to shorten your Prussik and even extend your belay device, so the two never come in contact. It really is. I’m in Manhattan, but usually go out to Brooklyn or Queens to climb. 24M subscribers in the askscience community. The Belay Halo is an imaginary ring roughly 2 - 3 inches around your atc that your hand should never enter. Redirection is not an issue there. Especially for trad. If your hand is up above the belay device and your partner falls, the rope will slide through the belay device, burning your hand and perhaps bringing your climber down. One my boss had hired someone and said he was great to lead belay. 12 votes, 30 comments. You want to get them below the OH without smashing their face on the lip of the OH EDIT: To be clear, by "give slack" I mean allow some slippage through your belay device. If your partner starts to lead he will already have a solid jesus piece set up. Use a HMS belay or a Gri-Gri. Jul 29, 2024 · In a lead-belay scenario, he imagines the Neox will also be a better option for left-handed climbers, who can adopt traditional ATC rope-feeding tactics. If the lead climber falls, the belayer wraps the rope tightly around their waist to increase friction on the rope and arrest the fall. I'd recommend a guide plate device (bd atc, petzl reverso, etc). The sling extends the belay device above the back-up knot. " Gear works, grigri is the best multipitch device for single ropes imo, nicer to belay from above, nicer to belay from below when you have to fuck with ropes and shit, can short fix on it, can rap without a backup, can use it as an ascender to go up ropes. I've seen others deck on an atc and a gri-gri. I am a belay instructor at my gym and one thing i have not read from any of these tips is the concept of the "belay halo. Lead test is more involved. It's also lighter. if the climber is above a bolt, never do a full-on take, even if the climber yells 'take'. Belay device doesn't mean a thing. A regular aperture belay device such as the ATC does not provide enough friction to Hello! The friend I used to climb with moved out of state recently, and the auto-belays just don’t do it for me - hoping to find someone to belay/climb top-rope with somewhat regularly. I can't belay two climbers at once with a Grigri. When I belay heavier climbers, I stand closer to the wall in order to have less slack in the system and to prevent a ground fall. You can move around and control the belay better during a fall. And yes we are scared of falling. If someone says you can, don't let him belay you. I usually go with a pre-tied quad on 7mm cord for belay stations with two bomber bolts. , belaying off of your harness) when belaying from above as long as you redirect through the masterpoint of the anchor. Given ability to set timers to have email messages go out during business hours, I weed out anyone who sends weekend, late-night emails as poorly organized and sloppy. For this reason the Prussik below the device is much more common. The home of Climbing on reddit. ) So, I started asking questions. When you're approaching the belay stance as a climber: Climb a bit above the belay to a solid point of protection, clip it, climb down, build your anchor and belay through this redirection. Right, that makes sense, but the problem lies in the fact that a new leader often doesn't protect the second as well as an experienced one, which leads to situations where the second has to be I am in the comments above. The gym I work and climb at uses double wrapped ropes and weight differences don’t really matter. true That said, the very most bare minimum you need, assuming you already have your rope, draws/pro, and anchor building material, is a belay/rappel device that can belay from above or below and extra locking carabineers to use for anchoring yourself at belay stations. This is important because if the Prusik loop gets drawn into the belay device it can get jammed, making it impossible to move up or down the rope, or it can actually prevent the Prusik from jamming and so rendering the back-up useless. Personally, I prefer the ATC for a heavier climber. (Black Diamond’s ATC—or “Air Traffic Controller”—is their model of the classic tube-style belay device. One of the problems I've found with teaching new leaders to belay from above is that they are often the ones that don't know how to lower from above. - An easy to follow How To Belay From Above using an atc device. The braking power is head and shoulders above any current conventional device and the performance with thinner rope is still excellent. NOT pull out armloads or rope and leave a big loop. One of you would be tied in properly and the other would equalise the weight and rope but would be using a belay device to manage and feed rope into the system. ) I don't just teach my students how to belay; I teach them the core concepts of a belay system and what the belayers responsibility is within that system. It's nice and smooth and will handle a factor 2 fall pretty good. Some people's approach is to put the Prussik above the belay device, however now the Prussik has "getting stuck locked" potential as it's hold full body weight. I could understand why people would prefer to lead belay with a grigri on a multipitch because that's what they're used to. Belaying From Above is a climbing technique used to bring a climber up to the top of a cliff I love that my reverso can do so much in one (rap, belay from above and below, easier to lower with no redirect, etc$ and is so light. As a leader I would prefer to just carry an atc guide, as a follower I prefer to use a grigri and carry an atc for backup and as a rappel device. Top belay they don’t actually have you belay anyone, they just test your knowledge with a rope that’s hanging near the belayer and tester. Last climbing trip I was on at sea cliffs (so belaying up your second) my mate lost his belay device and didn't know how to use a munter hitch. . Or you can belay off the anchor with an autolocking device. When doing a direct belay, you need to use a self-braking belay device such as the Black Diamond ATC Guide Or Petzl’s Grigri. I like that I can have 2 hands on the brake strand when lowering someone heavier through just a single carabiner. I like that I can keep the belay super tight, stay right under the clip, and never shortrope my climber. I had just made it and went to the ground. That way, you only need to bring one gri gri for the party. Added weight. If the break line is above the belay device, then you've created a pulley with a mechanical disadvantage to yourself. But central point belay and body belay do have their place some times. Just lead climb on the single rope and tag up the half rope while clipping it to the gear, and you may have to belay your buddies up one at a time (pain in the ass). Another common mistake is to hold your hand too close to the belay device. - You can both try to rappel using single lines. When belaying from the top does the climber strand - Reddit true On the matter of fixed-point belay, guides from AMGA, IFMGA, ACMG (Canadian), ENSA (French guide school) and DAV (German) has recommended munter hitch or tube style device, and recommended against the use of Grigri bc of less rope slippage, and potential increased force on the top placement. Even though there are bolted anchors available, it is still generally much easier to belay from the top of these climbs, though often large groups set up a slingshot belay on 3 climbs and hog them all day. etc. If you fumble around with the grigri because you don't like it, then it will certainly be far less safe then an atc or something else. With it above the belay device, it is still acting as a backup if the belay device fails/you loose control, but it can't brake your belay device for you. Belaying from above is easy, you can always belay off your belay loop (like normal belaying) while you're anchored. If the belayer was sitting at the top belaying off a MP or direct isolation loop and for some reason decided she had to escape the belay all she has to do is tie off the device and untie herself from the rope. I’d strongly consider what belay device you’re using. Basically, you swap the devices back and forth every belay. Ask a science question, get a science answer. Neither the grigris nor the neox work without a hand on the brake, from above (though the grigri+ in top rope mode does, actually,) Posted by u/white_goblin_ - 1 vote and no comments I also don't waste time teaching people to belay on an ATC. Second was me convincing a friend a gri-gri was Whaaat! The gym I took my belay test at forced me to belay right handed. I learned to lead belay before current iterations of the Grigri were available. Otherwise I would pick up a belay device with an autolocking guide mode (atc guide, reverso, pivot, megajul, etc. A double piece above the anchor, with you as a belay for lead, belay device attached to your harness. , rappel with ATC, gri-gri, munter; belay from above with guide mode, off belay loop, redirected; belay from below off anchor with munter; etc. The physicality is identical (for top rope belaying. More friction in the system in that mode. com Dec 15, 2021 · The most common and safest way to belay from above is the direct belay. This is where the belayer hangs the belay device directly from the anchor’s master point. They tend to be more favoured by guides who need to belay from above on pairs of ropes, because the reduced friction reduces the effort (and commensurate strain on the body) on the guide's part. E. Got an obvious auto-generated comment at 8:10 p. I've had 2 decks sadly. g. Do you mean like literally belaying directly from one person to another person with no redirect? I think that's called a hip belay :) See full list on climbtallpeaks. You can definitely do a "normal belay" (i. "With the exception of the autolocking category this is still the non-plus-ultra of belay devices though it has some handling issues with rope twisting and using double ropes being adventurous. Any guide mode belay device, such as the ATC guide or Petzl reverso, can be used in a direct belay. Former gym worker. I find assisted braking to be overrated. Without it you could end up trying to stop the fall (potentially factor 2) with the belay device oriented downward and the brake strand not engaging properly with the belay device. It’s quite elegant. Stick to what you know and are familiar with. Neither the grigris nor the neox will slip if already locked with a climber hanging on the load strand. What does make a difference is bringing the break line down below the modern belay device. ) and start practicing top belay on single pitch sport routes (you lead, build anchor, bring up follower, and then both rap off). You're going to have to figure out how to do it so you can both climb out after you've dropped in. Reply andrew314159 • The locked-off position for your break hand is at your hip, down and away from the belay device. use whatever belay device you are most comfortable with. The Reverso (and its clones) are one, but that only applies when belaying a second climber from above. using an ATC to belay from above but they don't have an ATC Guide because when they learned the ATC Guide didn't exist and they've been using the same ATC for 35 years, so they're belaying off their harnesses with a redirect on the anchor. An atc guide or similar device will allow you to belay from the top in guide mode, belay two partners from above, and rappel off the route. This way your prussik/autoblock can go below belay plate and be connected to belay loop (not leg loop). What's the advantage in using a Grigri to belay from above? On the other hand, double wrapped ropes (looped around a cylinder rope anchor twice) make large weight differences wildly more manageable. On bolts I generally belay the follower and the leader with a munter of the anchor. m. The belay is direct because the climber’s weight hangs directly off the anchor. Quality of Life tips: When they are used to belay a follower, the most obvious difference between a guide-mode device and auto-braking device is that a guide-mode device is rigged one way when used to belay a leader and another way (guide mode) when used to belay a follower. When do you ever want to be above the belay device? Probably every time I belay a follower and am not using guide mode. I can very comfortably belay someone twice my weight. Dec 5, 2024 · The Giga Jul is the most versatile belay device on the market, by far. 3M subscribers in the climbing community. For the price, this device is a great value. Short of catching 10kg weights, you wont catch someone in that scenario. Frankly in plaquette mode from above you could belay with an ATC just fine I think. I'm exceptionally left-dominant and when I told my instructor that I was having trouble with the handedness, and was feeling concerned, she was totally dismissive and told me I was making excuses. Must demonstrate knowledge of z clip and back clip, knowledge of hard vs soft catch, pass the “lead climbing” portion and then separately the “lead belaying” portion. e. Requires both a GriGri (or similar progress capture device) and regular belay plate. Feb 17, 2024 · My standard operating procedure for multi pitch is to belay the leader with a gri gri and to belay the follower with an atc guide in guide mode off the anchor. " We teach this as a crucial concept because of this exact scenario. Hanging belay. To add to that the first comment, how to belay as a climber moves up and past a large flat ledge and how to belay as a climber moves past and above an over hang onto a wall above. The grigri is heavy as shit and when trad climbing with all that gear im always trying to hone the rack to make it easier to climb and the grigri would be the first to go. But in many other ways it seemed safer than the standard ATC I learned to climb with. He dropped me about 7 bolts up when the clip was waist high. Able to belay the second all the way to the anchor Does not actually lower the masterpoint from the anchor, so depending on the cliff angle might not be acceptable in terms of rope drag. Whether you are belaying a leader in assisted-brake mode, rappelling down long routes with two ropes, or belaying a follower from above, this device performs every task that a belay device is ever asked to do. on a Sunday night. If you can belay on a Grigri, you can belay on an ATC. A regular grigri slips under the weight of the rope when belaying someone from above. In general, keeping your hand on the brake strand is always good practice, regardless of device. However, modern abseil solution usually extend the belay plate with a sling/tape. Dec 13, 2023 · When I was learning how to use the GriGri, my main hang up was that it seemed easier to short-rope a lead climber. 1. I can't do a double-strand rap on a Grigri. In a direct belay, you are not connected directly to the climber. Learn how to do everything in multiple redundant ways. If you keep the belay device close enough to the anchor points, set up the tube as if on a harness ("belay loop" == anchor master point) and then redirect the follower through a piece above the anchor that you place, i guess that would work well enough for following. A short sling can be used eliminating the need for using a knot or a long one with a knot in the middle. That said, I don't think plaquettes accomplish other modes (belaying a leader, rappelling) better than a tube device (with, or without, a plaquette mode). Mar 16, 2022 · A body belay, also known as a hip belay, requires the belayer to hold the rope in both hands, with the rope running behind the belayer’s back. Wonderwall -> Adair by the Sea can be top roped off of bolts or staples. Climber places gear above an OH and falls. If he was belaying a leader above the ground the redirect will prevent the bad situation arising where the leader falls before getting a piece if protection in. There are very few true auto-block devices in common use. My final note would be, if you’re a pre-2009 Grigri user, to not go back and forth between the two devices, to avoid the belay confusion described above. iqsdavz jhuyc ujskvtl qrz qqocld iuhlftk ixg urijl csgzw ziuiy