Feature  History  Bios  Events  Orgs  Gear  Photos  Forum  Quotes  Reads  Links  Home		This feature article was snagged from . Click here for the previous articles Practices for Belaying a Second: off the harness or off the anchor? (WARNING AND DISCLAIMER: Complete knowledge of standard climbing equipment, techniques and practices is assumed. The following is NOT to be used or construed as instruction in how to climb or how to belay. Seek professional, expert instruction before using these techniques.) It has occurred to me sometimes when I climb with many of my non-guide buddies, that they seem puzzled by some of my choices in belaying, practices that have become habits of mine in guiding. My tendency to belay a second directly off the anchor rather than off my harness is one example. I've had to explain and justify my behavior, and that has led me to ask myself if my guidely thinking is really applicable to recreational climbing? For instance, when I'm guiding a multi-pitch climb, I'm almost always leading every pitch, which means I'm always belaying only a second. For recreational climbers, this will happen only approximately half of the time. In the end, I've concluded that the reasons I do certain things while guiding often apply equally well in recreational climbing. The job of risk management is the same in both cases, though it is more evenly shared between partners in recreational climbing. The environment, its risks and constraints, is the same in both cases. So it seems to me it's worth examining some guides' tools and practices to see if they might be useful in the average climber's bag of tricks. I offer here an inside view of one guide's "brain" (I know, that might generate some derogatory humor in certain circles), for the recreational climbers inspection, to see if there's anything worth picking in there. In what follows, I am discussing the pros and cons, the wheres and whens, of a leader belaying a second directly off the anchor as opposed to off her harness. Let's begin with a review. There are essentially 3 ways to belay a second:. Off the harness : We (the leader) tie in to the anchor, position ourselves in line between it and the load (our partner), and belay off our harness with some kind of a device. In this case, if we are braced to hold the weight of a fall, we are our partner's first line of defense - we hold her weight ourselves, and only if we are pulled out of position does her weight - and ours - come onto the anchor. If we are not braced, then both our weight and our partner's are directly transferred to the anchor in case of a fall. Off the harness, re-directed : We tie into the anchor, position ourselves somewhere reasonably close to in-line with the anchor, clip the rope coming from our partner, into a carabiner on the anchor, then run it back to our belay device on our harness. In this case, if our partner falls, we hold her weight partially ourselves, but the pull is directed upward into the anchor rather than directly downward toward her. There is some reduction of what we feel of the load because of the friction of the re-direct, and the anchor bears both our partner's weight and our own as well as we are pulled toward it. Directly off the anchor : In this case we place the friction device (never a plate device, stitcht, tuber, ATC or similar, nor a figure 8 - see below for appropriate choices of devices) directly on the anchor. If our partner falls her weight is transferred directly to the anchor and our body holds none of the weight. It is this third option that I want to discuss here, since it is the one I most often use and which arouses the most comment from my non-guide partners. When to Belay Off the Anchor : Why and when would a climber consider belaying a second directly off the anchor, as opposed to off her harness? My answer would be, a lot of the time, maybe even most of the time. This is for several reasons: it takes stress off the belayer's body in case of a fall; it makes it easier and faster to escape the belay if needed; it could actually reduce the potential load forces on the anchor (see load force comparisons, below); it's faster to set up in many cases; it usually allows a more comfortable, flexible and free position for the belayer (for example, somewhere where they can see their second), which can increase safety and enjoyment for both climbers; it usually allows the belayer to take in rope more quickly and smoothly A couple of inconveniences with belaying directly off the anchor: you have to learn a new belay method (the munter hitch or plaquette device - more about these below). When you're trading off leads, you need to switch over to belaying off your harness when your second becomes the leader of the next pitch (belaying a leader directly off the anchor is NOT an option). This can usually be safely done while your partner is re- racking. When Not to Belay Off the Anchor : There are of course instances when it's not the best choice to belay directly off the anchor, such as: When the position of your anchor is too low compared to where you need to put yourself, or is otherwise inconveniently located for the motions you make in belaying, in which case sitting down and belaying off your harness may be more comfortable and efficient; When you don't have to build an anchor at all, such as when your body position is sufficient security, in which case your only choice is off the harness; When you want to essentially use your body as a directional - in other words where you want the rope to run is not in line with the anchor. In this case, you will want to belay off your harness and sit or stand where you want the rope to run. Be sure you are adequately braced or have an additional directional anchor to keep you from being pulled off your stance, in this case. When you have enough doubt about the strength of the anchor that you are not comfortable having all the weight go directly onto it. In this case you are hoping that you will be able to hold enough of the load yourself to keep it from stressing the anchor fully, and you are belaying off your harness. Hopefully this would never happen! In normal climbing it should never happen. We should naturally go to whatever lengths are necessary to feel confident in our belay anchors. However, shit happens as we all know, we get off route and end up in some dead end or chossy loose rock nightmare cul-de-sac, so I include this case here for the sake of being thorough! How to do it : Most people aren't much in the habit of belaying directly off the anchor, so I'll give you some general principles and specific do's and don'ts here. Placement, Location and Construction of the anchor: The anchor needs to have a single tie-in point from which to hang the load, and where you will put the friction device. For instance, when you have several pieces equalized by use of a cordelette, the loop in the knot you tied in the cordelette in order to create redundancy, is this single tie-in point. If you have some other configuration of the anchor, you need to somehow create a similar simple tie-in point which equalizes the load on the anchor to this single point. This can be a knot or loop in the rope, or in some cases a locking carabiner. The tie-in point (the location of your friction device) should be in a position that makes it easy for you to operate the belay: to take in and pay out rope. The ideal location is at about your shoulder to face height, or higher. If the anchor is any lower than about your waist, you will have to stoop to work the rope, and it will be harder to take in and pay out as quickly. If it is too high or far away from you, there may be too much friction through the device, making it hard for you to operate the system. Appropriate Friction Devices: The devices climbers most often use: plate devices such as the sticht, ATC or Sheriff; tubular devices, Figure 8s, are not appropriate for belaying directly off the anchor. The reason is that with all of these devices, you brake by changing the direction the rope is running, pulling the brake end back away from the load to create the friction to stop the fall. It's too awkward to change the direction of the rope this way when belaying off the anchor. You would have to position yourself behind the anchor, to be ready to brake, but close enough to it to be able to take in and pay out as well. This is much harder than doing the same thing on your harness, and constrains both your position and the position of the anchor too much, defeating one of the greatest advantages to belaying direct off the anchor, which is freedom of position and movement. There are two main "devices" used for belaying off the anchor: the Munter hitch and a plaquette... The Munter hitch : The Munter hitch isn't really a device at all, but just a hitch in the rope to create friction. Some tests have shown that it has the greatest braking power of all devices. In any case, it is more than adequate for this purpose. It is very easy to hold a fall. Your brake hand stays in the same position to hold a fall as to take in and pay out rope - below, or in line with, the anchor. This is what makes it useful for belaying off the anchor, as it allows you to stand facing the anchor and pull the rope through, either right next to the anchor or at some distance away from, and in line with, the anchor. Once you are familiar with the Munter, it is extremely fast to set up, no harder than stuffing a rope through a plate or ATC device, certainly. Especially with stiff, thick or frozen ropes, it's often easier. There is really only one problem with the Munter, and that is that it tends to twist the rope, especially if you have a great length of rope to run through it. However, with good technique you can combat this tendency and correct the problem. The Plaquette : The plaquette is a device like an elongated plate, with two long parallel slots. It works by allowing you to pull the rope through in one direction, but if weighted in the other direction it automatically locks, a bit like a ratchet. With a plaquette you can do two things: you can belay on two strands, each of which can easily be managed separately (this is really only useful to guides belaying two seconds simultaneously), and you can let go of the rope entirely if needed: this is a "hands-free", self-braking device. While no one wants to encourage doing other things while belaying, if you did need to divide your attention momentarily, you could let go with your brake hand for a second and know that if your partner falls, she is at least locked off where you last had her. The plaquette can also be used for lowering and for rappeling (though personally I really like my ATC for rappeling). It is very good for belaying a second when using a dual rope technique, such as in ice climbing. It works reasonably well when the rope is icy, at least as well as the ATC and other comparable devices. Problems with the plaquette are: it requires you to learn to use it correctly (not that hard, but it's different from all the other devices out there); once your partner has weighted the rope it is very difficult to give her slack until she can un-weight it; and it's another piece of gear on your harness to weigh you down. There are two common plaquette type devices: the Kong Gigi, and the NewAlp Magique. Here are some Do's and Don'ts for belaying off the anchor... Do's : When belaying directly off the anchor, your most comfortable and efficient position will be facing the device, either right next to it or within about 10 feet of it. Any further than that and the friction (both the Munter and the plaquette devices are rather frictious) will make it hard for you to keep the rope taut. When your partner arrives at the stance, be sure as always to either put her on belay from your harness before taking her off belay from the anchor, or to tie her in during the transition, so that she is never exposed to a fall while making the switch. Don'ts : Don't try to belay a leader off the anchor. You'll find it very difficult to pay out, you will almost certainly end up with an upward pull on the anchor, and your partner will get very irritated with you, at the very best. Load Force Comparisons... I'll end here by repeating some not-intuitively-obvious facts about potential load forces on the anchor using the 3 different belay methods. I underestimate the load forces somewhat to keep it simple, and in fact momentum in all cases makes the actual forces rather greater than described here. However, the relative forces generated by the different scenarios are fairly accurately compared. Off the Harness : If you (the belayer) successfully brace and keep the load off the anchor, obviously the load force is zero on the anchor, it all goes on you. To the extent that you are able to hold some portion of the weight, the load on the anchor varies. But if you are either not braced at all, or you get pulled off your stance, then the climber's weight and your weight both come onto the anchor at once. The climber's momentum away from the anchor multiplies the force her weight puts on the anchor somewhat, as does any movement of your body away from the anchor as you are pulled off your stance (this is why it's so important for the belayer to be in line with the anchor and with minimal slack in her tie-in). So, the force on the anchor is a minimum of 2 times body weight (once yours and once hers), possibly more depending on momentum. Off the Harness, Redirected : In this scenario, it's as if the belayer is a sort of counter-weight to the climber. When the climber falls, there are two different sources of force on the anchor: the climber moving away from the anchor, and the inertia of the belayer's body resisting movement toward the anchor, with the re-direct carabiner acting like a sort of pulley. So there is the potential to generate even slightly greater forces here than in the case above. Directly off the Anchor : You can think of this as an almost perfectly static belay. In this case the only force being added to that of the falling climber, is the force it takes the belayer to hold the fall with her hand (with the aid of the friction device of course). With a plaquette this force is almost zero, with a Munter not much more. The belayer's body is not part of the equation. If we assume that it takes a force equivalent to about .1 to .2 of body weight to hold the fall through the friction device (source: the American Mountain Guides Association Advanced Rock Guides Course Manual), then the force on the anchor begins at 1.1 to 1.2 body weight (again, assuming no momentum on the part of the climber). My analysis here completely ignores some real-life factors such as the attentiveness of the belayer and the effectiveness of her belay. This is a big part of the reason why I like the plaquette: it safeguards against a spaced-out belayer very well. If you want to try and incorporate some of these devices and techniques into your climbing, find expert instruction by someone who uses them often. For a listing of guides, visit the our guides directory, and for certified guides visit the American Mountain Guides Association website at http://www.amga.com/ Happy Climbing! - Kathy More suggestions? Different views? E-mail MW.
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