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General Climbing Discussion

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Belayers behaving badly 27-Apr-2009 At 9:41:20 PM peterc

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E.g. #1 - One guy I climbed with had just led a pitch to the top of a pillar. I seconded, and as I was completing a tricky mantle to top out and join him at the belay stance, I noticed (mid-mantle) that my belayer had taken BOTH hands off the brake side of the belay device.

E.g. #2 - On another occasion, after reaching the anchors of a climb, I looked over my shoulder and checked in with my belayer. She gave me the okay and I weighted the rope. She believes that she must have let go of the rope, because a moment later I was on the ground with two broken vertebrae.

E.g. #3 - I was climbing with someone who had both hands stuffed into his down jacket whilst belaying with a gri-gri. Neither hand was anywhere near the rope. And when I yelled at him, and asked him what the freaking f*&k he was doing, he told me that he was cold. I downclimbed (back past the crux), yelled at him some more, picked up my gear and found someone else to climb with.

And re: the prone belaying stance - I have also looked back down and seen my belayer lying on the ground working on his suntan. That was the last time I climbed with him.

If I had taken a decent fall, I'm not sure how his back would have handled the strain. And besides, my favourite belayers actively belay me. In a sports climbing situation for example, they are constantly adjusting their positions, moving slightly in or away from the cliff depending on what is happening. If a climber is in danger of hitting a ledge, yarding in the slack and stepping back (or jumping backwards) can be the difference between a safe catch and an injury. And an attentive belayer also makes for soft catches as well.