Basic Belay Technique
Once you have acquired the necessary equipment you are ready to begin practicing basic belay techniques that will be used any time you tie into the rope. The following is a brief overview of these methods. While relatively straightforward, basic belay techniques are best learned in a safe environment, such as a climbing gym, from a certified belay instructor. This is especially important because the quality and efficiency of the belay is the link between you safely leaving and returning to the ground. A bombproof anchor built with the world’s sturdiest gear is meaningless if the quality of the belay is lacking in any way, shape, or form.
Tying Into The Rope
To tie into the rope, the climber uses a figure eight knot tied through both the bottom and top loops of his or her harness and backs this knot up with a fisherman’s or overhand knot.
Double check that the figure eight knot is tied correctly, the tail has been tied into a backup knot, that the harness straps are double-backed and that the figure eight passes through both the top and bottom loops of the harness.
Belay Technique Using an ATC
To belay your partner using an ATC device, clip the device through the harness belay loop with a locking carabiner. Pass a bight of rope through one of the slots of the device and make sure that both the gear loop on the ATC and the rope are securely inside the locking carabiner. Make sure that the rope is running through the device such that the rope going up to the climber is on top, and the rope going down to the brake hand is on the bottom. The hand you use as your brake hand will almost always be your right hand if you are right handed and vice versa.
Once the climber is ready to climb, he or she will ask ‘Belaying?’ to which the belayer - if prepared to belay - will respond, ‘Belay on.’ The climber will then announce that he or she is ‘Climbing’ to which the belayer will respond, ‘Climb on.’
Once the climber begins to climb, the belayer will begin pulling the rope in to remove slack with the guide hand, while pulling the rope through the ATC with the brake hand. The belayer will then bring the guide hand down to the brake side of the rope near the ATC and will grasp the rope firmly. The brake hand will then slide up next to the guide hand. The guide hand will be brought back up to the original position and will be ready to pull in more slack as the climber continues to make upward progress.
This process should be as smooth as possible so that there are no unexpected jerks or tension in the rope which could hinder the climbers’ ability to move efficiently.
The most important part of this entire process is that the brake hand must NEVER let go of the brake side of the rope. Let me repeat this again so that it is absolutely clear. THE BRAKE HAND MUST NEVER LET GO OF THE ROPE! The belayer must be ready to stop a climber’s fall at all times. If you release the brake hand from the rope, there is nothing to stop the rope from running straight through the belay device. Should the climber fall in this scenario, it is very unlikely the belayer would be able to catch the rope and stop a fall.
To catch a fall, the belayer bends the rope across the belay device creating enough friction to stop the rope from running through the device.
To lower a climber, begin in a fully braked position, and slowly let the rope slide through the device using both the guide hand and brake hand on the brake side of the rope to control the rate of descent. Lower the climber slowly and evenly back to the ground. Watch for overhangs, bulges, or other features on the rock that may require you to slow down so that the climber can pass these obstacles smoothly and without hitting their head or causing other injury.
Once safely on the ground and solidly balanced, the climber should announce that they are ‘Off Belay.’ Once the ATC has been disengaged from the rope, the belayer should state that the ‘Belay is Off.’
One way to get comfortable using proper belay technique is to rig an anchor to a tree and have the ‘climber’ walk towards the tree, while the ‘belayer’ practices taking in slack without ever letting go of the rope. The climber then walks backwards to the starting point, so the belayer can practice slowly and evenly ‘lowering’ the climber back to the ground.
Discloures & Disclaimers: The author is not a certified guide or instructor and the above post represents only what the author believes to be an accurate overview of the basic techniques for belaying a climber. There is no warranty that this information is accurate or up to date, and the author and BayAreaClimbing.com assume no liability whatsoever in the event that climbers misinterpret or otherwise come to harm after reading the above information. Climbing is inherently dangerous. Climb at your own risk.
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