For any climber being able to belay competently is vital. All novice climbers learn to belay from either their friends or an organisation. Although belaying can be perceived to be complex and confusing, many pick it up quickly with practice and patience. With practice some major fundamentals become clear when belaying. These are:
- Communication
- Body position
- Hand orientation
- Belay device
While there are a lot more, these are considered the main factors.
Communication
A climbing duo requires communication to ensure safety before and while climbing. This includes climbing calls, commands and safety calls. While there are no universal set code, some word commands are common, such as:
- That’s me (This lets the belayer know that the rope is tight to the climber and not twisted or stuck anywhere else.
- On belay (belayer has put the rope into the belay device)
- Climb when ready (belayer telling the climber he is ready to start belaying)
- Climbing (climber is ready to start climbing)
- Slack (climber letting the belayer know he/she needs more rope)
- Take (climber letting the belayer he/she needs the rope to be tight)
While these belaying calls/commands are common, several climbing partners create their own climbing commands. More fundamentally any chosen climbing commands need to be agreed before hand and be simple. This reduces confusion amongst climbers and improves safety.
Body Position
Body position is a major safety issue when it comes to belaying. Any belayer could be caught unaware from a falling climber. A climber can fall on a belayer or swing onto another climber. Having an unstable body position could be result in serious injuries. To reduce these safety concerns and injuries many climbers adopt the ‘breaking position’, which is:
- Looking at the climber.
- This is where the belayer stands with feet shoulder width apart.
- One foot in front of the other.
- Knees slightly bent.
- Alert and ready to take a fall from the climber.
While having a good body position can only reduce injuries to a certain point, it also demonstrates best practice to other climbers.
Hand orientation
As I’ve said near the beginning, ‘belaying can be perceived to be complex and confusing’. Knowing how to safely belay is important, therefore learning vital to any new climber/belayer. There are many methods of teaching belaying, different methods are various degrees of success. Here are some methods:
- V-knee-1-2-3
- Up-Down-1-2-3
- Up-Down-Slide
- Pull-Brake-Under-Slide
- 1-2-3-4-5
These are just some belaying techniques which instructors, friends and organisations teach. However, the most important aspect of teaching belaying is to ‘make it simple’.
Controlling the braking rope is key, having the right tension in the rope would enable the climber to feel safe and secure.
Belay device
Within the climbing world there are several different belay devices. Some are better than others depending on the situation when belaying. The main function of a belay device is to put a bend in the rope which increases friction. Some belay devices include:
- ATC
- Petzl GriGri
- Beal Birdie
- Click Up
- Mantis
There are two main kinds of belay devices,
- Tubular belay device
- Assisted braking belay device
Beginners tend to prefer a tubular device for two main reasons, one being price another is the tubular is simpler and easier to use. However, instructors and experienced climbers tend to use an Assisted braking belay device. Whichever device a climber/belayer uses, having control over the rope is vital.
Further Reading
- The Beginner’s Guide for Climbers – Sophie Mitchell
- Basic Rope Skills for Climbers – Nigel Shepherd
- https://www.vdiffclimbing.com/basic-top-rope-belay/.
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