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gramps
Jul 22, 2004, 6:25 AM
Post #1 of 11
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Registered: Jun 22, 2004
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I've been out climbing probably 8 or so times now, and have never been belaying someone when they took a whipper until yesterday. This is mostly because the only leader I ever belay is the guy who has been showing me the ropes and is pretty good compared to me. I mean he rarely falls, and has always told me a second or two before he comes off, even on 11s, and the only times he's fallen was on toprope, or below his last clip. I saw him take a whipper once when he was trad leading a long 10a, but even then I saw he was struggling for about 15 secs before he fell.
So you can imagine my surprise when he lets out a "fuck!' already coming off while leading a 6 we had been doing just to practice a two pitch route. I mean, this is a route I led my second day of climbing. There wasn't time for me to get scared, or even to think a single thought. My head was just blank. I locked off and looked at the slab in front of me just in time to put my feet out as I was lifted about 3 feet into the air. He fell onto the second bolt from about 5-6 feet above, and ended up only about 6 feet off the ground, which kind of has me second guessing the job I did. I was giving him quite a bit of slack to work with, since he was moving up the thing fast, and I got lifted off the ground about 3 feet, so I think that coupled with the fact that I wasn't prepared to give him a dynamic belay explains the fall distance (not that I'm comfortable with it).
I was surprised by how soft the catch was. The rope stretch and me getting lifted into the air definitely reduced the impact by a lot. I feel like I could have done things better, but that I didn't make any major mistakes. He was just glad he didn't hit the ground, and seemed happy with my performance. Just thought I'd share the experience and see if you guys had any pointers for next time.
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phreakdigital
Jul 22, 2004, 6:32 AM
Post #2 of 11
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Registered: Apr 24, 2002
Posts: 228
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no problems until he hits the ground...you can make a belay anchor if there is somewhere to build one...
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holdplease2
Jul 22, 2004, 6:39 AM
Post #3 of 11
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Registered: Dec 18, 2002
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Bare Minum Belay Requirements -Most importantly...it sounds like the critical in-the-moment thing that needed to happen, happened. Its great that you didnt have to think to yourself "hey my climbers falling! What do I do! Oh, I'll lock off now!" This is how decking and roap burns happen.
You said your mind went blank and you locked off. Thats great, and what is expected from belayers first and foremost.
Now...what could you have done better?
Planning Ahead - Now you know from experience that any leader can fall at any time...no matter how good they are...so you want to balance their need for "plenty of play" in the rope so that they can climb fast with thinking about "will this slack be too much if they fall?" Maybe you had a bit too much line out because you had faith your leader wouldn't fall...the leader could always fall.
More Advanced - As you get better, there are more things that you will begin to be able to do while belaying...if your leader is trad leading and is really run out you may need to be able to yard in slack but still give a dynamic belay. If your leader has climbed a roof and is now going to fall, you may need to pay out a bit of rope so his face doesn't smack the rock.
In all, be proud you kept your leader off the deck. Be glad you learned the "my leader could fall" lesson about paying out too much line in a situation where he didn't deck. And finally, now that you have caught your first "simple" fall with success, look to gain a better understanding of "more advanced" belaying techniques so that when you need to apply them, you can.
Congrats, again, and thanks for sharing. These "first leader fall" posts usually start off with "I decked, why" or "my leader decked, my grigri did it" or whatever. So good for you.
Just my opinions, I know others have differing opinions on paying out or sucking in line, so I look forward to reading those.
:)
-Kate.
Edited because I wrote dumb stuff like "road burns" instead of "rope burns" and other things because it is late. And Red Bull doesn't really work.
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over_the_hill
Jul 22, 2004, 6:48 AM
Post #4 of 11
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Registered: Feb 6, 2004
Posts: 56
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Just curious: Which climb were you on, and who was the leader?
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gramps
Jul 22, 2004, 8:00 PM
Post #5 of 11
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Registered: Jun 22, 2004
Posts: 40
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It was the Arete at the slips. He felt pretty stupid afterwards (I mean he must have been being real sloppy up there to fall on that climb). He finished that route, then led one of the 10s around the corner in a minute or two, but the rain came in before I got to try it.
One thing I forgot to mention in my first post, was I've been telling him I wanted to practice both taking falls myself on lead and belaying him on a few little practice falls. He's just not the type who wants to do stuff like that I guess. I didn't know what it felt like to catch a falling climber, so to be honest the only thing that flashed through my head was "how hard is this gonna toss me?" I feel guilty even having thought that, cause while it's good to think about ahead of time, it's nothing I should have thought about while he was falling. I should have insisted on practicing first, cause then I would have realized how soft the catch was, and that thought about me getting flung into the rock wouldn't have distracted me.
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over_the_hill
Jul 22, 2004, 8:50 PM
Post #6 of 11
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Registered: Feb 6, 2004
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Now knowing the climb, I think you did just fine in catching your climber. Not a great route to fall on...............but for my two cents, no injuries = good job.
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caughtinside
Jul 22, 2004, 9:20 PM
Post #7 of 11
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Registered: Jan 8, 2003
Posts: 30603
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Nicely done!
All you have to do is catch ALL lead falls, and you're on your way to becoming a great partner! :D :lol:
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t.vegas
Deleted
Jul 24, 2004, 2:05 AM
Post #8 of 11
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Good job on your catch, and congrats on not decking your partner!
You mentioned that you had wanted to practice lead falls with your partner. Unfortunatly, that doesn't always work. I spent quite some time with my new partner in a gym practicing lead falls. We both felt comfortable in the ability to catch each other, but when we went outside, my partner decked me on rope stretch on my first lead fall. No injuries other than a real light rope burn, so I was fortunate. Important lesson learned though; always use a backline anchor when you can, especially when using an ATC.
Good work man, climb on!
Blue skies!
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lv2climb7
Jul 24, 2004, 2:16 AM
Post #9 of 11
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Registered: Apr 21, 2004
Posts: 164
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555
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musicman
Jul 26, 2004, 12:34 AM
Post #10 of 11
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Registered: Apr 16, 2004
Posts: 828
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[quote="holdplease2]You said your mind went blank and you locked off. Thats great, and what is expected from belayers first and foremost.
...the leader could always fall.
"my leader decked, my grigri did it" or whatever. So good for you.
exactly what i was thinking. people always think, 'oh, he's too good to fall on a 5.6, or whatever it is, people will always screw up and no ones perfect. i especially liked the part about 'my gri gri did it' haha, genius
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ajkclay
Jul 26, 2004, 12:44 AM
Post #11 of 11
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Registered: May 9, 2002
Posts: 1567
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Is that the same roap they use for sope on a roap?
:lol:
sorry just tickled my fancy
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