Gri-Gri Brake Hand

Other Crags, Aid Climbing, Bouldering, etc...

Do you feel it is safe to take your brake hand off the rope while belaying with a gri-gri?

YES
32
44%
NO
41
56%
 
Total votes: 73

dbarless
Posts: 30
Joined: Sun Mar 25, 2007 8:33 pm

Post by dbarless »

justin whats suspicious about using an ATC?!?
jschnell
Posts: 14
Joined: Sat Apr 05, 2008 3:37 pm

Post by jschnell »

imo, the gri gri should be treated as an atc. if my partner is hanging for a while, i dont see anything wrong with tying off the brake with an overhand (although he would have to hang for quite a long time before i got tired of holding the brake on a LOCKED gri gri), but there is WAY too much misuse with the gri gri.

i saw a belayer at midnight surf sitting on the ground with his hands in his pockets while on belay, feeding out a couple of feet of slack every so often before putting his hands back in his pockets, and i think this is incredibly lazy and totally inexcusable.

i've also seen a belayer with a brand-new gri gri here at rockquest belaying without the rope in his hands who tried to grab the climber's end of the rope when he fell.

besides any of that, petzl's own instructions indicate to never let go of the brake, just like an atc. it's designed to catch falls only as long as the brake is held. so don't blame them when your brand new 9.8 zips through when you're not paying attention.
also, x2 what andrew said.

-jon, who would be ecstatic to never have to fill out another injury incident report at RockQuest.
Last edited by jschnell on Sun Apr 13, 2008 7:40 pm, edited 1 time in total.
jschnell
Posts: 14
Joined: Sat Apr 05, 2008 3:37 pm

Post by jschnell »

Shamis wrote:
whilojo wrote:From Petzl's website:

http://en.petzl.com/ProduitsServices/GR ... 4601-I.pdf
Their picture on how to feed out slack is a joke.
what's wrong with it? i feed out slack all the time without holding the cam, and all the other picture is saying is use minimal pressure on the cam when pulling out slack quickly and to put your hand back on the brake afterwards. looks pretty obvious to me.
JR
Posts: 1128
Joined: Tue Oct 08, 2002 6:18 pm

Post by JR »

dbarless wrote:justin whats suspicious about using an ATC?!?
It is just one of many red flags that go up when I am letting someone partake in my safety. Here is a small list of other red flags.

1. The daisy chain girth hitched to the belay loop. Especially purple.
2. Matching draws.
3. Sportiva Mythos climbing shoes.
4. 5.10 dragon size 12 for a person 5 foot 8 inches tall.
5. Helmets. Any color.
6. Keys on carabiners.
7. Any talk about skydiving.
8. Wacky Weed
9. Very small dogs.
10. Men over 6 feet 5 inches tall. In other words, Andrew "sister dropper" Wheatly.

But oddly enough I see no problem using a rope that is destroyed or a gri-gri with the hand off the brake side even if I am hanging on it.
kidney_dave
Posts: 61
Joined: Sun Apr 13, 2008 7:07 pm

Post by kidney_dave »

OK justin but if your belayer is comfortable with an ATC vs the GriGri, wouldnt you rather have them catch you on that? i am OK with either belay device, as long as they are properly used....
helmets are a good thing too, as BMT as to why...matching draws?!??! a draw is a draw, especially if you get a good deal on a bunch of them....right? :mrgreen:
Crankmas
Posts: 3961
Joined: Wed Jan 15, 2003 5:24 pm

Post by Crankmas »

people still get killed crossing the street, was at Paradise one time years ago and some dude's all bent out of shape saying his bro got hit on Winchester Road and he's all why did it happen and we're all how did it happen, like look both ways or something before crossing the street and get in the habit of the partner check before someone leaves the ground-belayer checks climber -climber checks belayer for those of you playing at home-
512OW
Posts: 3040
Joined: Mon Oct 21, 2002 9:43 pm

Post by 512OW »

Wow Crank... that was the craziest non sentence ramble I've ever read.

I use a GriGri with people my size or larger... and rarely remove my hand.

With smaller people, I use an ATC because i can catch them softer with it.

That said, I rope soloed to warm up a few times this past weekend with a Gri Gri and never worried about my hand being on the brake...
"Sticking feathers up your butt does not make you a chicken."
-Tyler Durden

www.odubmusic.com
User avatar
der uber
Posts: 1044
Joined: Sat Apr 29, 2006 2:42 am

Post by der uber »

That said, I rope soloed to warm up a few times this past weekend with a Gri Gri and never worried about my hand being on the brake...
So, do you figure eight the end of the rope to a locking biner on the first bolt? Or what?
512OW
Posts: 3040
Joined: Mon Oct 21, 2002 9:43 pm

Post by 512OW »

Since I'm just doin 10ish and under that way, I lead it once on a clove hitch through a locker on my harness (other end anchored to the ground.). Then run up it a few more times with a knot tied to me, and the grigri on me. Just pull up slack as you climb.

Simple, and if you're with a party of 3 and want to stay warm before a project, its a good way to do it and maximize time.
"Sticking feathers up your butt does not make you a chicken."
-Tyler Durden

www.odubmusic.com
BMT
Posts: 31
Joined: Tue Apr 01, 2008 10:05 am

Post by BMT »

5. Helmets. Any color
Kidney dave dropped a rock on my head and not sandstone a big metal one with wire attaches

wheres my heads up dave?
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