Lead Belay

[gravitycoach]

Run away!!!

[THB]

if he's paying attention "looking up" and his brake hand is on the rope, your good. How long had you been hanging on the third bolt?

(assuming that your knots are tied properly, that his belay device is threaded properly, etc...)

if staying alive is your only concern, then I agree with you.

if being able to walk away from the crag is an added concern (in other words, if you don't want to leave with broken ankles), then I disagree with you.

if someone is leaving the crag with a broken wrist or broken ankle, then chances are they either decked or got a hard catch. sitting down is a great way to give hard catches... the logic here is pretty simple... don't sit down while belaying.

[caribe]

How good is the sex? If it's fantastic keep him and get a new climbing partner. If it's only mediocre, dump him altogether.

[der uber]

Don't let him belay you if you are not comfortable or don't trust him. That goes for everyone.

[Josephine]

How good is the sex? If it's fantastic keep him and get a new climbing partner. If it's only mediocre, dump him altogether.

Good point caribe.

[krampus]

How good is the sex? If it's fantastic keep him and get a new climbing partner. If it's only mediocre, dump him altogether.

Good point caribe.

+1

[Meadows]

+1
Caribe is wise.

With your weight difference, he may not give you a soft catch even if he had the right stance and timing. Regardless, you're expressing a legitimate concern about safety and he's discounting that. Don't jump to the dump, but he does need to consider your safety.

[Shamis]

Sport climbers are pussies. Go do a long trad route sometime and you will realize that: it's common to not have sight of the climber for long periods of time, and you can't give a 'soft' catch when you're in a hanging belay.

Should a belayer watch you when possible? When near the ground, certainly the answer is yes, but after a bit it really doesn't matter much unless there are big ledges. And a soft catch is a nice luxury that isn't really necessary unless you're projecting stuff all day.

Tell him he has to watch you closely for the first 3 bolts, anything after that is fluff.

[Josephine]

Tell him he has to watch you closely for the first 3 bolts, anything after that is fluff.

I disagree. Having broken my wrist when I got a hard catch on falling at bolt #6, I will no longer climb with people who have that attitude.

I do agree that when trad climbing and multi-pitch there are many times when a soft catch would be impossible (or even watching your climber for that matter) - but she was asking about climbing in the Red and those instances are few and far between here.

[clif]

i only toprope and would never take the risk of becoming emotionally involved with another person. it is a fallacy to believe that one person could ever care for another enough to stand up and attend to their condition in place of their own comfort. stick to yoga-