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Belayers behaving badly

sandwitch time

29-Apr-2009
4:55:06 PM

peterc wrote stuff

Yeah thats all a bit tragic ... and raises the issue of wether to climb with inexperienced but KEEN newbies ... or perserveer with regular but JADED ' rock climbers ' ...

sandwitch time

29-Apr-2009
4:57:37 PM

dmzn wrote:

>someone trying to pull you off

??

sandwitch time

29-Apr-2009
5:02:02 PM

Eduardo... with shunting , do u rap the route to clean any lose rock that might get fl icked off by the rope ala Paul Pritchard ? ... and do u pre-place a few bits of gear on non- straight up climbs so u dont pendulum n stuff like that?... do passer-bys think ur an anti-social weirdo ?

Paul

29-Apr-2009
5:16:40 PM

On 29/04/2009 sandwitch time wrote:
>On 27/04/2009 Eduardo Slabofvic wrote:
>
>>1. My shunt doesn't FIGJAM all day long
>
>Wot is figjam?
>
>>2. I only do the routes I want to
>
>Yeah I tend to be sneaky and convince em my goals are thr goals.
>
>>5 My shunt doesn't forget its wallet when its time to go to the pub
>
>:D
>
>>6 My shunt doesn't try and steal my gear
>
>:D
>
>>7 I get to climb whenever I want to
>
>Right-on !!
>
>Is a shunt reliable if the weather turns a bit drizzly ?

The petzl rescusender or microcender are better (in my opinion)


Eduardo Slabofvic

29-Apr-2009
7:24:59 PM

On 29/04/2009 sandwitch time wrote:
>Eduardo... with shunting , do u rap the route to clean any lose rock that
>might get fl icked off by the rope ala Paul Pritchard ?

No, I'm into '80s indi retro ala Died Pretty, so I kinda just shuffle backwards and forwards whilst looking at
my feet..

>and do u pre-place a few bits of gear on non- straight up climbs so u dont pendulum n stuff like that?...

Pendulumings the best part.

>do passer-bys think ur an anti-social weirdo

No, they don't think it, it's kind of obvious.


Eduardo Slabofvic

29-Apr-2009
7:42:15 PM

On 29/04/2009 Paul wrote:
>The petzl rescusender or microcender are better (in my opinion)

I used a rescuesender once and it was fine, I haven't used a microsender. The main reason why I use a
shunt is because I own one. I also like how it can take two ropes, which is good for paranoid old fatties
like me. I'm sure all the reasons why I use a shunt would apply equally to any self belay device.

sandwitch time

29-Apr-2009
7:44:44 PM

Edweirdo hanging out in the Horsham park...

http://www.demotivateus.com/posters/emo-its-like-goth-but-for-pussies-demotivational-poster.jpg

sandwitch time

29-Apr-2009
7:47:10 PM

DRIZZLE how does it handle drizzle

if I fall will i slide to the deck??


Eduardo Slabofvic

29-Apr-2009
7:51:53 PM

On 29/04/2009 sandwitch time wrote:
>Edweirdo hanging out in the Horsham park...
>
>http://www.demotivateus.com/posters/emo-its-like-goth-but-for-pussies-demotivational-post
>r.jpg

Your on the right path, but you should keep chipping away until you can get it.

sandwitch time

29-Apr-2009
8:00:45 PM

http://www.public.asu.edu/~paulcook/South%20Park%20Goths.jpg

???


macey

29-Apr-2009
9:58:14 PM

Goin back to this point, I must say that I get annoyed at naieve climbers/belayers assuming an accident won't happen because its an "easy" pitch/climb. In my opinion, if you're going to belay, do it properly. The fact is, holds break and feet pop. If your mate trusts you with his/her life, then the least you can do is be a little uncomfortable for a few moments whilst providing them with a safe belay. If its a toss up between a belayers sore neck or a climbers BROKEN neck, then I know which one i'd prefer people choose. When i belay, my comfort is not important compared to the precarious position of the leader/second. Sure, I make sure I'm in a safe and reasonably comfortable position, but if keeping the climber safe means a sore neck, sunburn and/or wind chill for me, then stiff shit, thats my problem. Also, if you have an issue with your belayer, sort it out BEFORE you begin the lead!

sandwitch time

29-Apr-2009
11:10:03 PM

>If its a toss up between a belayers sore neck or a climbers BROKEN neck...

FARK YEAH


peterc

29-Apr-2009
11:25:12 PM

To the Sand Witch,

One of the belayers was a newbie, the other two were supposedly experienced.

BTW, anyone know any good belayers up in Brisbane? I recently moved and could do with a safe belayer! Feel free to PM me.

sandwitch time

29-Apr-2009
11:32:12 PM

Eva seen this sort of thing at Dramp ??

sandwitch time

29-Apr-2009
11:47:38 PM

On 29/04/2009 peterc wrote:
>To the Sand Witch,

>BTW, anyone know any good belayers up in Brisbane? I recently moved ...

Yeah ... good luck with that , bro ... mad farcars with hammers EVERYWHERE these days ...

http://www.chockstone.org/Forum/Forum.asp?Action=DisplayTopic&ForumID=1&MessageID=70456&Replies=0&PagePos=0&Sort=#newpost

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hk-oQPfHhUA


peterc

30-Apr-2009
12:13:42 AM

From the Climbing Mag Forum:


Eduardo Slabofvic

30-Apr-2009
12:46:34 AM

On 29/04/2009 sandwitch time wrote:
>DRIZZLE how does it handle drizzle

What do you mean by "drizzle"?

Wendy

30-Apr-2009
9:51:19 AM

On 29/04/2009 sandwitch time wrote:
>DRIZZLE how does it handle drizzle
>
>if I fall will i slide to the deck??

Are you saying you climb in the rain? Or are you referring to the drool coming out the side of your mouth?

Wendy

30-Apr-2009
10:34:26 AM

Is this the sort of thing we're complaining about? I really don't have a problem with it. It is possible to be both comfortable and attentive. It is also possible to be standing up and belaying like crap. I belay sitting down all the time - as do many people on multipitch belays because it's the best position to be in. Why is it any different on the ground? If it's going to be a close call with them hitting the ground, I'd stand up ready to sit down or step backwards if they fell, but generally, being comfy makes for a happy, attentive belayer. I even lie down occasionally if it's an ok position to belay from - you can still lock off by putting your hand on the ground down by your hip. It all depends on the climb and location really. Cold, uncomfortable or sore belayers are distracted by being cold, uncomfortable or sore. I've spent many an extended belay freezing my butt off and the predominant thing in my mind is I wish they'd climb quicker because I'm dying of cold here. Others have been crappy ledges (or lack thereof) where you can't get you or the ropes into any great position and have to make do with being uncomfy or bashing your elbows into the rock as you feed out rope and again after a while, wiggling into some slight variation of your crappy position becomes a major focus.

Good belayers are good belayers regardless of position. They make do and they can keep themselves on the job despite distractions, feed out rope responsively and hold falls in all sorts of shitting positions. Crap belayers are just crap belayers regardless of time, place and position and probably don't realise that they are and would benefit from someone pointing out the problems so they can fix it. Maybe you missed something that made their belay ok. Or if they're obnoxious enough to say this is just fine when it's obviously not, don't climb with them.


gordoste

30-Apr-2009
12:46:43 PM

Totally agree wendy, you expressed it perfectly. All I can add is that if the ground is really uneven at the bottom of the climb (e.g. if there's a boulder sitting there) it can be difficult to keep your balance if you're standing up and looking upward. Rather than solving that by not looking at the leader, I choose to find a stable belaying position by sitting down.

There are 49 messages in this topic.