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Topic Date User

Omiros, 7b fall 24-Jun-2015 At 2:07:31 PM The good Dr

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Ah, Macciza, playing the man and not the ball. Yes, the belayer could have done much better, taking in the rope was bad form. Yes, the leader could also have made better decisions. Accidents are always a combination of factors. From actual experience belaying people on the route I can tell you that it is an awkward stance and that a soft catch is extremely difficult due to the terrain, distance you need to be situated from the wall and the location of the first bolt. In that case you may end up with an injured belayer as well. As I have said, more slack in the system may well have helped, but there are no guarantees as to the outcome with that either. There is no one solution for every belay situation and a suitable assessment needs to be made by all parties involved and discussed before climbing begins.

BTW, planning to get hurt as a belayer is a very curious suggestion. There is no way to really control the outcome when you 'take one for the team'. An injured belayer is a huge risk for any climbing team.