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SCIN, thats true and thats why I got pissed, but now every time I am belaying someone and they say take, I cringe when their feet hit the wall, and started thinking that it would be best to just give them the slightly softer catch. I recently gave a climber a hard catch by request and he almost hurt himself on a roof. If he did get hurt I could tell myself it was his fault but I was the more experienced climber and had a better view of the situation and therefor should have acted accordingly.

They need to learn to say "Falling" instead of "Take". It's the climber's decision. I would get pissed if my belayer made a decision for me.

if your at/near bolt take is cool. if your ten feet out and say take you're falling and you are getting the catch i give you.

now if you were to say "break my fucking ankles i don't want to do this shit anymore!!" then by all means i'll oblige.

just start saying "decking" from now on.

anticlmber wrote:if your at/near bolt take is cool. if your ten feet out and say take you're falling and you are getting the catch i give you.

Yea, true. I guess it can't be cut and dry. If someone is waaay out then "Take" obviously means "Falling". I've said "Take" before but meant falling.

yeah and i've said "climbing" and been far from that truth.

If I'm the climber, I try to focus on that, and let the belayer do their thing.

If I'm partnered with somebody I'm not used to having belay me, I may give more feedback.

But typically I just say stuff like "watch me here" "take" "I'm off", and "oh shit!".

nice way to put it anticlmber. I just prefer to start wobbling at the beginning of muscle failure.

its a soft catch always unless there are safety issues with that, then its keep your ass on the rope and of the ground ledge etc.

that can be tricky. i had the opposite experience. one time i said "falling" and my belayer took. i slammed into the rock. but at the same time - it was the first bolt and i didn't deck so all's well that end's well. i'd much rather have a bruised shin than a sprained ankle.

i think the real key is - do you trust your belayer to do their best to keep you safe? if the answer is no - don't leave the ground.

krampus wrote: I recently gave a climber a hard catch by request and he almost hurt himself on a roof. If he did get hurt I could tell myself it was his fault but I was the more experienced climber and had a better view of the situation and therefor should have acted accordingly.

I once gave someone a hard catch by request and he ended up bashing a huge gash into his shins (on a roof) and having to go to the hospital for stitches and antibiotics.

I decided then and there that since the belayer has the better perspective to see obstacles like a dangerous roof and judge approximate distances, and the climber can't always see those things, it's the belayer's job to determine how much slack to leave out, regardless of what the climber asks for.

I never thought we would see eye to eye on this issue, Krampus. I'm glad that you've chosen to see the light and mend your ways.