Had a debate the other day with someone about belay technique that I hope some people will chime in on. Hope this makes sense:

When belaying with palm up and grasping the rope with your feeder hand so you can slide your brake hand down the rope to take up slack, and immediately put down to locked position, does it matter if you grasp the rope with your feeder hand using two fingers, three fingers, four fingers, or doesn't matter at all?

Thanks

When belaying with palm up

That's all you needed to say. Dont belay palm up. Go to a wall (outside) with a bunch of .12s and .13s and try to count how many people are belaying that way (zero). The palm-up method is a red flag that screams "noob!". It is easier to loose control of the rope with that method.

That's all you needed to say. Dont belay palm up. Go to a wall (outside) with a bunch of .12s and .13s and try to count how many people are belaying that way (zero). The palm-up method is a red flag that screams "noob!". It is easier to loose control of the rope with that method.

Thanks for the replies that answered the question. Not looking to get into a debate with others.

What are you belaying with?...the palm up method is from the munter days and does not lend itself well to a tube or stitch style method.
As for it being a sign of a "noob", it is also a sign of an old school technique being improperly applied. Does it work with a tube or stitch styles device, not the best, but a person with experience can still use it effectively. If you are not using a munter, seek further instruction on the device you are using from a competent person...the person who taught you may not be that person.

So from a complete noob climber, does anyone have a vid link to the CORRECT method.

So from a complete noob climber, does anyone have a vid link to the CORRECT method.
MANY people I have seen belaying here in OZ (in gyms at least) use a palm up method so they are obviously the wrong ones to ask in person.

That's all you needed to say. Dont belay palm up. Go to a wall (outside) with a bunch of .12s and .13s and try to count how many people are belaying that way (zero). The palm-up method is a red flag that screams "noob!". It is easier to loose control of the rope with that method.

All that said, my question related to an exchange I recently had with someone. They tried to tell me that when taking up slack, after a clip, that my non-brake hand should grasp the rope with my full hand instead of two fingers.

Their point was that if someone were to fall while my hand was in mid-slide, my non-braking hand would help to catch the fall. I disagreed, for many reasons that have been stated already, namely that anything that is preventing my brake hand from going down is a bad thing and to be avoided. I was just trying to see if anyone else had ever heard anything like this before.

Tell your friend he has no idea what he is talking about.

Not a friend- random know it all.

The palm-up hand position is a much more effective way to pump slack to a leader who is clipping. The palm-down method is not as fast, and at least in my experience, even the best belayers sometimes lock up their devices when pumping slack palms down, short-roping the leader at a critical moment.

When using half-ropes, the palm-up position is far better for managing two strands.

The palm-up position is the appropriate position for belaying with a Munter hitch. Dropping the brake hand means losing a significant amount of friction, negating one of the advantages of the hitch.

There is no reason why the device can't be kept locked off when the leader isn't moving, regardless of palm position. As for the belayer reacting to a fall, it is only in the modern era of distracted and complacent belaying that this had become an issue. The belayer is supposed to be giving full attention to the leader. If they are, there is no problem with dropping the hand to catch a fall.

The trouble with palm-up belaying is that the belayer cannot grip as hard and might have trouble holding a big fall. I know some people who burned their hands on big falls held palm up and switched to palm-down as a result. I think this is a real issue and is the primary reason for palm-down belaying.

My observation is that palm-down belaying seems to encourage a brake hand position barely below and almost touching the device. This is not at all optimal; there is the risk of pinching skin and, more critically, the inertial phase of a big-fall catch is entirely eliminated, making it more likely that rope will run if the belay load is high.

I think the solution to all these issues is an assisted-locking device. The Mammut Smart, the Alpine Up, and the Edelrid Mega Jul are the current contenders. Of these, I think the Alpine Up is best suited belaying palm-up, especially with half-ropes, but the technology is developing rapidly, and there will probably be new devices and improvements on the existing devices.

ATC-style devices are, I think, headed for extinction.

... This was posted by "rgold" a mere six weeks ago:

Using the "pinch-and-slide" belay technique, your non-brake hand is always on the non-brake side of the rope.

Not necessarily. Many people (myself included) now teach a pinch-and-slide method in which the non-brake hand comes completely off the climber-side rope when it does the "pinch". There is absolutely no benefit to leaving that hand on the climber-side rope while pinching the brake strand. And there is a serious potential downside to having the hand on both sides.

I myself originally learned the version you mention as the "only" way, but switched within a year or two. You should consider doing the same - if not for yourself, at least for any noobs you might teach.

And yes, this has all been hashed over before.

GO

I see no advantage to doing it your way in general, and it will be slower than the standard method.