Precisely !Wes wrote:This, plus learning to do the math is key. Risk assessment is a key skill if you want to push the grades while leading.rockman wrote:Spit test is 100% effective with conditions including but possibly not limited to the following:
(a) near 0 MPH wind
(b) A-Team belayer
(7) projected spit is "dropped" and without angular momentum
(iii) when you fall, you don't push away from the wall
Also learn the difference....
A qualified belayer will keep you off the ground.
A good belayer will give soft catches where need.
An A team belayer will save your ass, even when you roll the dice and come up short.
Taking Falls
"My Shit is Fucked Up." --Warren Zevon and Terry Kindred.
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anticlmber
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anticlmber
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Myke Dronez
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anticlmber wrote:always keep two pieces between you and the ground/ledge.
I only had 4 pieces of gear--two large stoppers and two huge hexes (my "old school trad friend" gave me these 4 pieces of gear and told me to go lead some 8's.) Not very smart!
"believe in your ability" - one of the smartest copses i ever met.
Hauling a big ego up a route adds at least a full grade.
You will fall 2x distance above the last gear + 2x slack(above last piece) + 1x slack below your gear + rope stretch + belayer movement.
It takes a little experience to figure out exactly how far you'll fall, but once you get a feel for that, you only really need to look at 3 things:
1. will you hit the ground.
2. are there any ledges you can hit?
3. is there a slabby section followed by an overhang? Doing a slap followed by an overhang, or even vertical face can result of a fall off the overhang or face depositing you right on the slab for a fairly high impact.
People say a good belayer will keep you off the bad stuff, and that is often true, but be aware that a belayer using a gri-gri has very limited options compared to somebody using an atc or something similar. With an ATC its very easy to feed slack to put the falling climber past some object, or yank it in quick to shorten the fall. This is all doable with a gri-gri as well, but more difficult, and probably more prone to error. That being said, the gri-gri is probably still better all around because your belayer can be stupid, unconscious, or even dead and still hold your fall
It takes a little experience to figure out exactly how far you'll fall, but once you get a feel for that, you only really need to look at 3 things:
1. will you hit the ground.
2. are there any ledges you can hit?
3. is there a slabby section followed by an overhang? Doing a slap followed by an overhang, or even vertical face can result of a fall off the overhang or face depositing you right on the slab for a fairly high impact.
People say a good belayer will keep you off the bad stuff, and that is often true, but be aware that a belayer using a gri-gri has very limited options compared to somebody using an atc or something similar. With an ATC its very easy to feed slack to put the falling climber past some object, or yank it in quick to shorten the fall. This is all doable with a gri-gri as well, but more difficult, and probably more prone to error. That being said, the gri-gri is probably still better all around because your belayer can be stupid, unconscious, or even dead and still hold your fall