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i feel like a good rule of thumb is to at least learn how to lead belay on an atc. from there, have someone thoroughly teach the mechanics of gri-gri use. then you are familiar how to respond should a gri-gri fail. the hand-off-the-rope thing drives me crazy. i understand in situations where you need to feed slack quickly, but by all means, keep your eyes on the climber. your brake hand is your back-up; despite the fact that a gri-gri "should" lock, we've all come up with scenarios where this did not happen. i'd rather be safe.

as a sport "climber," your NUMBER ONE responsibility is to be a safe belayer. PERIOD. you should devote more energy towards keeping your climber safe than you do towards sending your project.

I can't agree with you more Tankazz. I have always thought that learning on an atc teaches the mechanics of belaying and that is more important when starting off. Once you know, better yet, once you understand the mechanics of belaying then move on to the gri-gri

TankAzz wrote:
as a sport "climber," your NUMBER ONE responsibility is to be a safe belayer. PERIOD. you should devote more energy towards keeping your climber safe than you do towards sending your project.

and that my friends is why this woman is AWESOME!!!

there's something about being able to allow someone to push themselves well beyond their limits because they trust you so much

I've observed that the belayer's first responsibility is to do the climber's spraying and/or make excuses for their poor climbing.

I belay my best when I use my cockring like a stitch plate. It really keeps me focused and I give a really soft catch. Plus, feeding slack out is particularly stimulating. I wonder if that picture of me is still floating around...you know the one from back in the day...Ho, to ya!

Clevis Hitch wrote:I belay my best when I use my cockring like a stitch plate. It really keeps me focused and I give a really soft catch. Plus, feeding slack out is particularly stimulating. I wonder if that picture of me is still floating around...you know the one from back in the day...Ho, to ya!

yes but what about slabs?

i got a slab for ya!

hmm... not sure if i could use my cock ring like a stitch plate....

TankAzz wrote:hmm... not sure if i could use my cock ring like a stitch plate....

Not big enough?