pru wrote:if new (and heck old) gri gri users were taught to NEVER pinch the thing in the first place, this wouldn't be a problem, eh?
3C shows a safe way to pinch and feed quickly when necessary. Eye contact with the situation must be maintained in the half second it takes to do this. Quickly return to brake position after operation. The safe operation is outlined schematically by the manufacturer; people don't even have to read, they can just look at the pretty pictures. There is more than one way to go to hell for certain besides turning off highway 11 by Koops.
Its easy to pinch and return to braking quickly. However the fact remains that there are lots of people being dropped with gri gri's.
Ideally, everybody would have to read the gri gri manual before they use one. And they would practice in a safe environment as well. But the ideal world has nothing to do with the one we live in.
caribe wrote:...3C shows a safe way to pinch and feed quickly when necessary. Eye contact with the situation must be maintained in the half second it takes to do this. Quickly return to brake position after operation. The safe operation is outlined schematically by the manufacturer; people don't even have to read, they can just look at the pretty pictures. There is more than one way to go to hell for certain besides turning off highway 11 by Koops.
Surprised no one in this thread mentioned Petzl's video on the two (yes, two) techniques they recommend for belaying the leader:
1. Classic technique, shown above in Caribe's reprint of 3C.
2. New technique - as Petzl puts it - "A more natural technique developed by climbers."
We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand. - Randy Pausch
None are so old as those who have outlived enthusiasm. - Henry David Thoreau