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Gris Gris banned at Sydney Indoor 29-Jun-2006 At 4:57:55 PM ironmike

Message

On 28/06/2006 Rock Weasel wrote:
>Maybe I missed something, but I always thought that the belayer's job was
>to ensure that they catch a falling leader every time, without fail. Since
>when did belayer comfort become such an issue that it has started effecting
>the leader's safety? Gri Gris seem to encourage poor/inattentive belaying
>technique (at least Neil had the integrity to fes up.) The principal benefit
>seems to be that a Gri Gri reduces the strain on the belayer's bottom hand.
>Am I the only person who is amazed by this? When you (or I, or anyone)
>belays your job is to keep the person at the other end of the line alive.
>Belayer's need to be able to perform their function (appropriate stance,
>upwards anchor, etc.), but they don't have to be comfortable. On your list
>of priorities, belayer comfort should rank somewhere between getting your
>prostate examined and spending quality time with Moussey (and I know that
>we'd all prefer the former.)
>
>Personally, I like feeling someone hanging on the other end of my belay,
>something about job satisfaction I guess. I don't see a requirement for
>auto-locking devices, as they seem to encourage laziness or entice even
>more spastics into our beloved sport.

Brilliant!!! My point exactly! I know I prefer to feel what's happening while I'm on the job belaying ... both hands on the rope etc. Wouldn't it be refreshing if you could somehow ban laziness!!!