BELAYING Freedom of the Hills 8th Edition Chapter 10, pages 155-187

1. BELAYINGFreedom of the Hills 8th Edition Chapter 10, pages 155-187

2. Belaying • The belayer holds the rope to limit the fall of a climber • Distance of fall depends on type of climb and amount of slack in rope 2

3. Belaying • Belaying uses your body weight to stop a climber’s fall • Rope friction allows belayers to safely belay much heavier climbers • By using a method to generate friction the rope can be stopped by an average persons grip 3

4. Different Belay Situations • Belaying a lead climber • Belaying a follower • Called Top-rope • From above or below 4

5. Belaying A Leader • Most complicated • Falls involve more force • Belayer feeds rope out as climber climbs • Will not practice in this class 5

6. Belaying a follower from below • Simplest set-up • Anchors located at top of climb • Take rope in as climber climbs • Belayer doesn’t always need to clip into an anchor 6

7. Belaying a follower from above • Requires belayer to be anchored in • Cannot verify harness and tie-in knot just before climbing • Will practice at Robber’s Roost 7

8. Belay Techniques • Hip Belay • Aperture Device • Autolocking Device • Munter Hitch • Cover later in class 8

9. Hip Belay • Earliest Belay technique • Advantages • Fast rope movement • No special gear required • Disadvantages • Friction is not totally painless • Lowering a climber can be a pain • Rope burns are possible 9

10. Hip Belay 10

11. Hip Belay 11

12. Aperture Belay Devices 12

13. Aperture Belay Devices • ADVANTAGES • Friction is painless • Lowering a climber is easy • Can rappel on devices with two slots • DISADVANTAGES • Extra piece of gear • Slow (rope movement – in or out) 13

14. Autolocking Belay Devices • ADVANTAGES • Automatically catches climber • DISADVANTAGES • Heavy • Can’t rappel with device • Slow (rope movement) 14

15. 1st Rule of Belaying • Your brake hand never lets go of the rope!! 15

16. 2nd Rule of Belaying • Your brake hand never lets go of the rope!! 16

17. Belay Device Principle 17

18. Belay Device-Braking 18

19. Belay Device Use - MARGINAL 19

20. Belay Device Use - Good 20

21. Rope Position • Rope from climber is fed into upper side of belay device • Reversed when belaying from above 21

22. Rope Position (for belay from below) To Climber Clip rope & device with locking carabiner To Brake Hand 22

23. Watch out for Hand • In a fall, it isn’t uncommon for a little rope to feed through belay device • You can catch your hand in device if not careful 23

24. Belay Anchor 24

25. Belay Anchor The belayer should be anchored in line with the climber. 25

26. Basic Signals CLIMBER: BELAYER: • On Belay? • Asking if belayer is ready • Climbing • I’m ready to climb • Off Belay • I’ve finished climbing and am in a safe place • Belay On • After double checking that everything is ready • Climb On • You can now climb • Climber should not climb before belayer signals this • Belay is off • I have removed the rope from the belay device 26

27. Other Signals(for the climber) • FALLING • ROCK – Watch Out! Loose rock is falling • THAT’S ME – Indicates to belayer that all the slack has been removed from rope (used when belayer is above and hoisting extra rope before starting the belay) • SLACK – Remove tension from rope 27

28. Other Signals(for the climber) • UP ROPE – Take up slack in rope • TAKE – Take up slack in rope and apply tension (climber needs rest or is ready to be lowered back to bottom) • WATCH ME – Used when climber might fall attempting the next move 28

29. 1st Rule of Belaying • Your brake hand never lets go of the rope!! 29

30. Summary THE BELAYER IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE CLIMBER’S SAFETY! You Must: Pay attention to the climber Avoid distractions 30