Rappelling is sometimes the only way to get off a route. Unfortunately, rappelling is also one of the most dangerous activities a climber can undertake. A vast majority of climbing injuries and deaths occur due to human error while rappelling. Here at The Adventure Junkies, we encourage you to use this rappelling guide simply as a starting point in your quest for learning.

Rock climbing and rappelling are dangerous. We recommend tackling these activities with the help of experts from a professional guiding company or an experienced mentor.

In this intro to rappelling guide, we assume that you are learning how to do a single pitch rappel with one rope. Further considerations are required for multi-pitch rappelling or rappelling with two ropes.

The ideas covered here are also offered under the assumption that you either have knowledge of how to build anchors or are rappelling off bolts in a fixed anchor.

WHAT IS RAPPELLING?

Rappelling is a technique used to descend a rope. Unlike the simpler act of being lowered by a belayer on the ground while tied into one end of the rope, a person on rappel can control his/her own descent.

Before you can partner up with a friend and head out for a day of climbing, you need to know how to belay. Rappelling is yet another essential skill to learn early on in your climbing career.

WHEN WILL I NEED TO RAPPEL?

The most common situation in which you will need to rappel is descending off a route when there is no other way down. When you’re out for a day of cragging, it is usually quicker and easier to clean your anchor and lower off the route. Sometimes, however, an anchor is equipped with only rap hangers or rap rings, which then forces you to rappel.

Some routes cannot be accessed from the base, and instead, require an approach from the top. Rappelling to the start of the route may be necessary for these situations. If you are accessing a route from above, it is VERY important that you know exactly where the route climbs. Never rappel blindly.

Knowing how to rappel also serves as a safety measure. If you are climbing a multi-pitch and need to bail off the route, rappelling is often your only way out.

HOW DO I SET UP A RAPPEL?

EQUIPMENT

You need a belay tool that doubles as a rappel device, a Personal Anchor System (PAS) and a backup to safely set up your rappel once you reach your anchor. The best device to use when you are learning to rappel is a tubular belay device such as an ATC.

ANCHOR

The first thing you need to do before setting up your rappel is to inspect your anchor and secure yourself with your PAS. Many climbing routes have only rap rings on bolts – two fixed points through which you can thread your rope to rappel. If you’re climbing in an older area, you may come across rap hangers (fat, rounded hangers that are larger than sport climbing hangers) at the top of the climb.

If you are satisfied with the condition of the anchor, use two locking carabiners to connect your PAS into each point. Carefully weight your PAS, then call “SECURE” to your belayer to inform him/her that you are attached to the anchor and prepared to set up your rappel.

Next, you can request that your belayer takes you “OFF BELAY.” Do not say “OFF BELAY” until you are absolutely certain that you are safely secured to the anchor. At this point, you can clean any gear off the anchor except for your PAS.

PREPARING THE ROPE

Once you have secured yourself into both anchor points with your PAS, pull up a loop of rope and attach it with a clove hitch or overhand knot to a carabiner on your harness. This quick step will prevent you from losing the rope if you accidentally drop it.

Untie your rope from your harness and thread it through the anchor. Tie a clove hitch or overhand knot in the threaded end and attach it to another carabiner on your harness. Now untie the first overhand knot you tied and pull the rope through the anchor until you reach the halfway mark. Carefully coil the rope as you pull it through.

Tie a stopper knot into each end of the rope. It only takes a few seconds and knots in the ends to prevent you from accidentally rappelling off the end of your rope. Toss the coiled half closest to the anchor followed by both ends of your rope while shouting “ROPE.”

Be sure to toss your ropes away from the cliff to reduce the chance of these getting tangled or caught up on various features. If possible, check with your belayer to see if both rope ends reached the ground.

SETTING UP YOUR BELAY DEVICE AND BACKUP

RAPPELLING FROM YOUR HARNESS

Once you are confident your rope has made it to the ground, make a bight in both rope strands and pass them through the parallel openings in your belay tube. Next, pass a locking carabiner through the two rope strands and the cable on your device. Attach the carabiner to the belay loop on your harness, ensuring it is locked.

EXTENDING YOUR BELAY DEVICE

Sometimes you may wish to extend your device away from your harness to rappel. There are several benefits to extending the belay device including easier use of the prusik. Extending your belay device can be more useful on multi-pitch rappels.

THE BACK-UP

One great way to back up your rappel is with the use of a prusik knot. To tie a prusik, you will need a length of 6mm cordelette (also known as an accessory cord). A correctly tied prusik knot will slide down the ropes in hand but will auto-block if you let go of the brake hand for any reason.

RAPPELLING DOWN

Once you are confident that your entire system is set up correctly, take up the slack through your rappel device and slowly weight the rope. After weighting the rappel, remove your PAS from the anchor.

Sit back in your harness with at least one hand holding the rope in the brake position below your device. Feed the ropes through the device as you lower yourself back to the ground. Keep your body in an “L” position and walk your feet down the wall in front of you for maximum control.

It might be wise to ask your belayer for a “fireman’s backup” from the ground when you are first learning to rappel. To do so, the person on the ground will hold both ends of the rope loosely in their hands. If any issue arises, the belayer closes his/her hands on the rope to stop the movement of the person on rappel.

If someone is rappelling after you, shout “OFF RAPPEL” once you reach the ground and have removed your belay device from the rope.

TIPS FOR STAYING SAFE

Climbing accidents can leave climbers injured, but rappelling accidents are usually fatal. A lot can go wrong while rappelling, so it is important to take every measure possible to minimize the risk. One acronym that can help with your safety checks is B.R.A.K.E.S.

B – Buckles: Double check that all the buckles on your harness are double-backed.

R – Rappel Device and Ropes: Check that the rope is threaded through two anchor points. Make sure that BOTH rope strands are through your device and clipped into your carabiner. Your carabiner should also be locked to your belay loop.

A – Anchor: Make sure you have a safe anchor. Bolts? Make sure they are solid in the rock. Webbing? Make sure it is not torn, worn, chewed or weathered. Tree? Make sure it is alive and large enough. Boulder? Make sure there’s no way it could move.

K – Knots: Double check all knots in your system particularly if you’re using two ropes to rappel.

E – Ends: Tie knots into BOTH ends of your rope.

S – Safety and Sharps: Back up your device with an auto-block such as a prusik. Make sure the rope is running over a clean face, avoiding sharp edges.

At The Adventure Junkies, we want you to stay safe out there. Practice your rappelling with an expert. Keep your systems clean and simple. Use minimal communication. Always use a backup. Have fun!

The post How To Rappel – A Practical Guide appeared first on The Adventure Junkies.

However, crack climbing can be an acquired taste, one that can bring you to a world of pain and misery. The Adventure Junkies is here to put you on the right path to enjoying, not despising, cracks. Here we will help with the basics of how to crack climb, from the right shoes to the right gloves to the right technique. (Note: this post does not cover off-width or squeeze chimney crack climbing.)

JAM IT

Cracks are often the only feature on a crack climb and therefore the only way to move up is to use the crack. Jamming various parts of your body into the crack is essential. It may be painful at first, but once you start to master the movement, it can be exhilarating to move quickly and confidently up a crack system.

HAND-CRACKS

This is the bread and butter of crack climbing. The easiest way up a crack climb is if the crack swallows your hand like a glove. The best way to hand-jam is to insert your hand into the crack and slide your thumb down towards your palm, engaging the muscles in the hand around the thumb. Flexing these muscles makes that part of your hand fatter, allowing you to easily hang off your hand as it jams into the crack.

You can either hand-jam thumbs-up or thumbs-down. Thumbs-up allows you to reach a bit higher. Thumbs-down, in general, will slot better into slightly tighter cracks.

As hand-cracks get wider, you can bend the knuckles at the base of your fingers and make cups out of them inside the crack. It’s not as secure, and you often have to straighten and engage your fingers, but cupped hands are great for the crack that is a bit wide for bomber hand-jams, and too tight for fists.

Footwork is essential to all climbing, and crack climbing is no different. Hand-cracks tend to offer great foot placements, but you have to twist your feet into them. Start with your knee facing out like you’re sitting cross-legged, and bring your foot roughly level to your other knee. With your foot tilted sideways, pinky toe at the bottom, insert as much of your shoe into the crack as you can. Then weight the foot by twisting your big toe downwards and bringing your knee more parallel to the crack.

This can put a lot of pressure on your ankles and will likely feel uncomfortable when you first try it – but will become easier and more painless the more you get used to it.

VIDEO: HOW TO JAM HAND CRACKS

FINGER-LOCKS

Inserting finger knuckles into a constriction in the crack is known as a finger-lock. Like a solid hand-jam, a well-placed finger-lock can feel like you could hang off it all day.

For a thumbs-down finger lock, look for a place in the finger crack where it constricts and start with your elbows pointing away from you. Insert the knuckles of your index and middle fingers as deep as possible and then turn your elbow down as you twist your hand and sink in your finger-lock.

For a thumbs-up finger-lock, use the knuckles of your pinky and ring fingers. Again, lock them into position by twisting and bringing your elbow down.

Footwork on finger-cracks can be challenging. Climbers usually resort to trying to use their feet as they do in hand-cracks: start with the knee facing out, and then torque the foot into the crack by bringing the leg parallel to the crack and twisting the foot. Even just a tiny bit of purchase from twisting your toes into the crack can take some weight off your arms. Keeping your heels low can increase the surface area of your climbing shoe in the crack.

Another technique is to stick your big toe, pointing up, in the crack, in the hope of finding some friction. Having any foot contact with the rock is better than having none. Remember also to make use of any holds on the face that might be available.

VIDEO: HOW TO FINGER-LOCK

RING-LOCKS

For cracks that are slightly wider than your fingers, a technique called the ring-lock can be used. This is a hard skill to master and can feel somewhat tenuous but will be vital when trying a size that climbers call “rattly fingers”.

Start with your elbow facing out, and cross the tip of your index finger on top of your thumbnail. Insert this into the crack, stacking the rest of your fingers over your index finger as the crack allows. Now when you pull your elbow down and twist into the ring-lock, your fingers should wedge against your thumb inside the crack.

FIST-CRACKS

When hand-cracks get wider, a fist sometimes slots in perfectly. Fist-jams can be palm-up or palm-down, and are used by placing your fist inside the crack and clenching your hand muscles to make the fist slightly wider to wedge it inside. You can play with the position of your thumb to make the fist slightly wider or narrower, but be wary – a wide thumb position can be very painful.

Feet often fit perfectly into wide hand-cracks or fist-jams. The technique is the same, but often you will not need to twist your foot into the crack too much, as it will slot in perfectly. If the crack is too wide for your foot, you may need to torque your foot in the crack, pushing the outside of your heel against the inside of your big toe, or the inside of your heel against the outside of your pinky toe.

VIDEO: HOW TO FIST-JAM

MAINTAIN DIRECTIONAL FORCE

When cranking up on any jam, it is important to maintain the direction of the pull. For example, for a thumbs-up hand-jam, try to keep your elbow down as you pull yourself higher in order to keep the force on your hand in the same direction. Lifting your elbow as you pull higher may change the directional force, and cause your hand to slip out of the crack.

This often makes crack climbing – especially hand-cracks – very shoulder-intensive. As the hand and arm positions stay as static as possible, most of the pulling is then done through your shoulder muscles.

LEANING CRACKS

If a crack leans a certain way, it’s often easier to shuffle your hands as you climb, rather than leap-frog them. For example, on a left-leaning hand-crack, lead with your left hand in a thumbs-down jam, and follow with your right hand in a thumbs-up position. Instead of climbing right hand over left hand, keep the left hand above the right hand and shuffle them up one at a time.

If the crack leans to the right, lead with your right hand in a thumbs-down jam, and follow with your left hand in a thumbs-up jam.

CRACK CLIMBING GRADES

Crack climbs are seemingly graded for the hand and finger size of a normal male. In very general terms, a 5.10 hand-crack will indicate that the crack size will fit a number 2 Camelot slot (usually very solid for the average-sized man) and be fairly steep. The higher the grade, the steeper the climb and the more awkward the crack size relative to a number 2 hand-jam.

This sometimes means that climbers with smaller hands and smaller fingers can find 5.11 cracks easier than 5.10 cracks. A number 1 Camelot hand crack will be difficult for the typical male, but much easier for a climber with smaller hands. Hard finger cracks will also generally be easier for tiny fingers that can sink a knuckle into the crack, rather than larger fingers that can only get fingertips to desperately cling to the edge of the crack.

In general, go for the climb that inspires you, and use the grade only as an indication of crack size and steepness.

PROTECT YOURSELF

Most crack climbs are trad climbs, meaning they have no bolts and are protected by placing quickdraws on traditional gear as you climb higher. It’s also a good idea, when trad climbing in general, to wear a helmet.

As most cracks are parallel, camming devices are often the best way to protect yourself from a fall. it’s often best to place gear at your waist; placing it higher might take up your next jamming spot.

In crack climbing paradises like Indian Creek, uniform cracks often need several of the same cam size to safely climb a single route. But don’t fret – climbers are a friendly bunch, and people at the Creek and other areas are often very open to lending gear to climb routes safely.

CRACK GLOVES

Crack climbing can be hazardous on your skin. Many cracks have torn off skin from climbers’ hands, fingers, knees, or any part of you that can be useful for stuffing into a crack. Some climbers opt for gloves made of thin sticky rubber, which not only protects your skin but also increases the friction between your hand and the rock.

Others go for gloves made of climbing tape. There are a number of ways to do this, but this method allows you to keep your palms tape-free. Make sure to cover your knuckles.

Climbers also often tape their fingers if they know they’re getting into some sharp finger locks. Simply wrap a thin strip of tape around the first knuckles of your index and middle fingers. Now when you sink in your finger locks, they should be a less painful and more joyful experience.

CRACK SHOES

Crack climbing means generally stuffing your feet into the crack and twisting it, so having an aggressive and tight sport climbing shoe is not what you want. Comfortable is better than painfully tight. Flat is better than curved; if you stuff a tight, curved shoe into a crack and twist your foot, your curled toes are never going to forgive you.

While there are a lot of shoes that are great for cracks, most crack climbers go for either the La Sportiva TC Pros or the Five Ten Moccasym shoes. The TC Pros have a very stiff toe-box and also protects the ankle, which can reduce the pain of burly footwork. Moccasyms are very soft and flexible, making them better for tighter cracks because you can stuff more of your foot inside a tight hand-crack or more of your toes into a finger-crack.

The post How To Crack Climb: A Practical Guide appeared first on The Adventure Junkies.

While belaying may seem straightforward, there are a lot of ways a belayer can make a climber feel safe and secure – and not just by catching falls. A good belayer makes the climber know that they are being well looked after, giving them the confidence to concentrate on nothing but the climb. This post is all about how to belay well, responsibly, and safely. (Note that this post does not cover multi-pitch belaying).

WHAT IS BELAYING?

For most roped climbing (excepting rope soloing), there is a climber and a belayer, tied into harnesses and connected by a climbing rope. As the climber ascends, the belayer feeds out or takes in rope, depending on the climber’s position, and is always ready to catch a fall at any moment. The belayer uses a belay device to catch a fall, and to lower a climber from the top of the route.

BELAY DEVICES

In the old days, people belayed off shoulders, hips, and around waists. Modern technology has given us many belay devices, but the ATC and the grigri are the most commonly used. Both devices are clipped to the belay loop of the belayer’s harness with a locking carabiner, and are based on the same principles, increasing the friction on the rope to make catching a fall much easier.

After feeding the rope properly through the device (refer to instruction manual), the belayer uses one hand, called the guide hand, to pull rope through the device when the climber needs more slack. The other hand, called the brake hand, takes in rope slack if the climber needs less rope.

While you should always refer to the instruction manual for how to use any device, the golden rule of belaying is to always have the brake hand on the rope below the belay device at all times, known as the brake position. The devices are designed to catch a fall simply by keeping hold of part of the rope below the belay device, allowing the device and your weight to do the rest. If you only have your hand on the rope above the belay device – or not on the rope at all – and the climber falls, then the rope may run freely through the device, which could lead to a fatal accident.

ATC

An ATC is shaped so it pinches the rope in three places. With the brake hand in the proper position, a fall will pull the rope taut, making the ATC pinch it and preventing it from moving. To feed out rope, you simply pull more rope through the ATC with the guide hand, while still keeping your brake hand in the brake position.

GRIGRI

A grigri contains a camming device that, if sufficiently weighted, pivots and traps the rope. While useful, it should not be viewed as full-proof; many accidents have occurred with grigris, and the instruction manual should always be consulted. As with an ATC, a brake hand should always be on the rope, under the device, ready to catch a fall. There are two ways to feed out rope, which are covered below under the heading: lead-belaying with a grigri.

BELAYING TECHNIQUE

Good technique means being able to feed out or take in slack quickly and smoothly, and keeping the right amount of slack in the rope at all times, without breaking the golden rule. Most belaying techniques involved sliding the brake hand on the rope as it is fed out or taken in, to ensure that it is always in the brake position and ready to catch a fall.

TOP-ROPE BELAYING

In top-rope climbing, the rope runs through an anchor at the top of the route and then down to the climber. While belaying on top-rope, you should keep the rope a tiny bit loose at all times, preventing the climber from losing much height from falling, but not so tight as to help pull the climber higher.

As the climber moves higher, you take in any extra slack, and grab hold of the rope in the brake position if the climber falls. A top-rope belayer rarely, if ever, needs to feed out rope slack until lowering the climber.

Lowering the climber from the top of a route also must follow the golden rule. Generally, you will keep at least one hand on the rope in the brake position, and then slowly let the rope run through the device to lower the climber, always in control, and always ready to grab the rope and stop the climber’s descent, if necessary.

Some helpful images on top-rope belaying with an ATC can be seen here, while this helpful video shows the PBUS technique – Pull, Brake, Under, Slide – to take in rope slack while keeping the brake hand in the brake position. It also shows how to lower a climber from the top of a route:

VIDEO: HOW TO BELAY

LEAD-BELAYING

In lead climbing, the lead climber clips protection (a bolt or a piece of trad gear) as they move up. The leader climbs unprotected until the first piece of protection is clipped. In lead-belaying, you should give the climber a spot until the first protection is clipped. This entails standing below the climber with upraised arms, ready to catch them or soften the landing in case of a fall, exactly as with bouldering.

After the first protection has been clipped, you should maintain a little bit of slack in the rope at all times. It should droop slightly as it comes out of the belay device, like a banana arc, before running up towards the climber. If the rope is too tight, the lead climber could be pulled off the rock face while trying to move higher. If it is too loose, the lead climber could fall much further than necessary.

You may need to quickly feed out slack if the lead climber grabs the rope and lifts it higher to clip into protection. As your guide hand pulls out more rope, you allow the rope to slide through the brake hand, while always being ready to grab the rope in brake position, if necessary. You should watch the climber and anticipate when they are about to clip, and start to feed out more rope just moments before the climber goes to grab the rope to clip.

After the climber has clipped the protection, the rope may become more slack as the climber moves higher. You should take in any excessive rope slack that results from the climber moving up, and then feed out the rope again as the climber moves past the protection – always maintaining the banana arc.

LEAD BELAYING WITH A GRIGRI

One way to lead-belay with a grigri is exactly the same as it is with an ATC – with a guide hand to feed rope slack and a brake hand that is always in the brake position. But if you feed rope slack too quickly, the camming device in the grigri can engage and lock the rope.

To avoid this, there is a second way to lead-belay with a grigri. While still holding the rope in the brake position, you press the thumb of your brake hand to the base of the grigri lever. This will prevent the camming action of the grigri, and allow the rope to run through the device without locking up.

It is extremely important to keep the brake hand in the brake position, because if the climber falls with the grigri in this position, then the camming device in the grigri will not engage unless the brake hand grabs the rope and the thumb stops pressing the base of the lever.

Lowering a climber from the top with a grigri is similar to using an ATC, but you have to fully open the grigri lever, while keeping the brake hand in brake position. The lever can help with the lowering, but the brake hand primarily controls the speed of the descent as the rope feeds through the grigri. If in any doubt, the belayer can release the lever and the camming device will engage, pinch the rope, and stop the descent.

CATCHING A FALL

When catching a fall, the weight and force can sometimes lift you several feet off the ground. Be aware that a fall can pull you, sometimes violently, up and towards the rock face. For this reason, it is a good idea to be wary of things you might hit if pulled up (don’t belay in front of a spiky tree, for example), wear shoes to protect your feet, and be ready to lift your legs and land with soft knees and ankles.

It is often better to belay directly under the first piece of protection. Belaying far from the base of the climb is an invitation to be thrown forcefully into the rock wall while catching a fall.

It pays to not have a huge weight difference; if your climber is much heavier than you, then a fall might lift you very high, sometimes into the first piece of protection. If you are much heavier than your climber, then you might give them a potentially injurious hard catch.

HARD CATCHES

These occur when the rope stretch is minimal, increasing the force on the climber and possibly slamming the climber into the rock-face. A number of injuries are attributed to hard catches, as it can be very hard on ankles, knees, or whatever part of the climber’s body hits the rock.

A hard catch can happen a number of ways, including if the rope is really tight, the belayer is much heavier than the climber, or if the belayer weights the brake end of the rope (by, for example, sitting down) just as the climber falls.

Sometimes a hard catch is warranted – if the climber is directly above a ledge, or in danger of a potential ground fall, then a hard catch might prevent the climber from hitting the ledge/ground. But most of the time, a soft catch is a much safer and more pleasant way to fall.

SOFT CATCHES

A soft catch maximizes the stretch of the rope in a fall, meaning that the climber will usually fall a greater distance, but in a much gentler manner. It is counterintuitive, as falling further will often evoke a sense of greater danger – but soft catches are generally safer. A soft catch means the climber is much less likely to be slammed into the rock face, instead falling more vertically, and then slowly coming to a stop.

Giving a soft catch as a belayer is a skill that takes practice. You need to give a bit more rope slack just as the climber’s weight comes onto the rope, while keeping your brake hand locked on the rope. The easiest way to do this is to belay in a bent-knee position and to straighten your legs just as the rope comes taut. You can also hop or jump, to increase the rope stretch. The catch will pull you up and into the rock-face, so it pays to stretch out your feet and land softly.

BELAYING TIPS

DO YOUR SAFETY CHECKS

Before leaving the ground, double check that the climber’s rope is knotted properly into the harness, and that the rope is properly fed through the belay device. Check both harnesses – climber’s and belayer’s – are properly double-backed through the appropriate buckle. Ensure the leader has enough protection for the climb (12 bolts means at least 14 quickdraws), and that the rope is long enough to lower the climber from the top.

Also, make sure that both the climber and belayer know what the descent plan is; accidents have occurred when, for example, the climber thought they were going to be lowered, while the belayer thought the climber was going to rappel down, and took them off belay.

PAY ATTENTION

The best thing you can do as a belayer is to be attentive. Belayers have dropped climbers or not noticed potentially dangerous situations after being distracted. A good belayer is constantly aware of where the climber is, of any potentially dangerous hazards (such as a ledge that the climber could hit), and is always watching to see if the climber is clipping protection and might need rope slack in a hurry, or is about to fall and might need a hard or a soft catch.

WATCH FOR THE ROPE BEHIND THE LEADER’S LEG

Sometimes a lead climber will climb to the side and the rope might come to rest behind the climber’s ankle. Falling like this will often see the rope trip the lead climber, flipping them upside-down (good image of how this happens halfway down the page). If the belayer sees this happen, they should warn the climber. A simple call of “watch the rope” suffices.

CLEAR CALLS

A good belayer is very receptive to clear calls from the climber, and reacts quickly. The basic calls are:

“TAKE”

Meaning to take in slack so the climber can rest on the rope. The best way to do this is quickly pull in any rope slack, hold the rope with your brake hand, and then lean back or sit down.

“SLACK”

Meaning to feed more rope slack to the climber. This call is common if the rope is too tight and the climber is trying to either move higher or pull the rope up to clip protection.

“CLIPPING”

The climber calls this as they are about to pull up the rope to clip protection, as a warning to the belayer to give more rope slack.

“CLIPPED”

The climber has clipped the protection, so any extra slack in the rope should be pulled in.

“READY TO LOWER”

The climber has reached the top and is ready to be lowered to the ground. Often follows a call of “TAKE” when the climber reaches the top.

DON’T SHORT-ROPE

Short-roping is what happens when a climber goes to pull up the rope to clip protection but doesn’t have enough rope slack to reach. It can be terrifying as a climber on the sharp end, red-lining to the maximum and fearing the worst, to pull up the rope and find that there is not enough slack. If you are paying attention to the climber and are proficient at paying out slack quickly, you should be able to avoid short-roping.

ROPE MANAGEMENT

A knot in the rope will not pass through any belay device, and dealing with it while the climber is already on a route is inconvenient, if not downright dangerous. It always pays to flake the rope before climbing, which basically means to lay it down on the ground, passing every inch through your hands, to ensure that it has no knots in it.

Rope management also means not only keeping the right amount of slack in the rope at all times (very little for top-roping, and a banana arc for lead climbing), but also checking the rest of the rope from time to time to make sure it doesn’t get snagged on a tree root or a rock, which could disrupt your belaying and, by extension, the climber.

WEAR GLOVES

Belaying can be hard on your hands, particularly when lowering a climber. There are a lot of different belaying gloves to make this easier.

LEARN IN A CONTROLLED ENVIRONMENT

Many gyms offer courses, where you can learn to top-rope belay and lead-belay under the competent supervision of gym staff in a safe environment.

The post How To Belay: A Practical Guide appeared first on The Adventure Junkies.

Lead climbing takes you closer to the edge, which makes it thrilling, and worthy of your time and effort. Countless climbers have been on The Sharp End, and learning how to control fear is a major part of climbing. But lead climbing can be dangerous if you don’t know what you’re doing, as there are many technical aspects to master. In this post, we give you some pointers on how to lead climb.

WHAT IS LEAD CLIMBING?

When you step up to lead climb, you carry all the gear you need to protect yourself from a fall. This differs from top-roping, where the rope is already running through an anchor at the top of the route to the climber. (In top-roping, you don’t really fall, but merely dangle on the rope.) The equipment is the same – you wear a harness to tie into the rope, which runs to a harness on your belayer, the person responsible for catching your fall. The protective gear you take will depend on whether the climb is a bolted sport climb, or a traditional (trad) climb.

SPORT CLIMBING

This is the form of climbing that most climbers do. A sport climb is a line of bolts up a rock face, usually a couple of meters apart, put up by one of the many developers who love establishing new climbs. Sport climbers only need to carry quickdraws – two carabiners attached via a piece of webbing or a sling – to lead climb. As you climb, you clip the top carabiner to the bolt, and then clip the rope through the bottom carabiner. If you fall, your belayer will catch you as the rope weights the highest bolt that you’ve clipped. You’ll need at least as many quickdraws as there are bolts, as well as two extra to clip the two anchor bolts.

TRAD CLIMBING

Climbing a face that has no bolts? Trad climbing means carrying up and placing protective gear as you climb. There are many different types of trad protection, but the two main ones are camming devices, or cams, and wires. Cams are spring-loaded devices with a trigger and four lobes, and are placed inside parallel cracks. A fall on a cam will attempt to open the lobes, but, if well placed, the rock keeps the lobes closed and holds the fall. Wires, also called nuts or stoppers, are trapezoid-shaped devices that are wedged inside natural nooks and crevices in the rock. Like sport climbing, you also need quickdraws, clipping the top carabiner into the trad gear you place, and the rope through the bottom carabiner.

The security of a trad placement will depend on the solidity of the rock and the placement itself. Trad climbing is considered a bolder form of climbing, as you cannot rely on the security of a pre-placed bolt. Properly placed trad gear in solid rock, however, is as secure as protection bolts.

FALLING ON LEAD

If you fall while leading, you will fall more than twice the length of the distance to your last protection piece. For example, if you fall six feet (two meters) above your piece, then you will fall 12 feet (four meters) before the rope comes taut, and then a bit more as the rope stretches and absorbs the force.

For many, this is what climbing is all about: being in the moment, controlling your fear, tackling the problems that the rock presents, and making judgment calls as to what to do. Go for it? Down-climb? Cigarette break? This is part of what makes lead climbing so exciting.

Climbers also find it useful to practice falling, not only to calm the nerves, but also to get used to the movement, and the landing. If you’re on a steep overhang, chances are you will fly through the air and not hit a thing. But on a slab, it pays to keep your feet, bend your knees, and land on the rock as softly as possible. When falling, you should be aware of objective hazards, such as ledge systems that you could hit on your way down. But if the objective hazard is low and you get used to it, you’ll discover that falling is really not as terrifying as it seems.

WATCH FOR THE ROPE BEHIND YOUR LEG

If you’re lead climbing above your protection and the rope is wrapped behind your leg, it is a dangerous recipe for an inverted fall. This can happen if you step to the side as you climb, trailing the rope in such a way that it sits behind your ankle. Falling like this will often see the rope trip you, flipping you upside-down (good image of how this happens halfway down the page). If the rope is behind your leg, calmly flip it back in front of you.

LEAD CLIMBING TIPS

CLIPPING BOLTS – TRAD PROTECTION

If you’re hanging on for dear life, then clipping a bolt or piece of trad gear can be a daunting prospect. Clipping efficiently and quickly will help your lead climbing immensely. Check out the stances and the holds around a bolt. Sometimes the best place to clip is with the bolt at your waist, rather than at the top of your reach – though it may feel counterintuitive to climb higher when you’re scared. Also, clipping with a straight arm, while not always possible, will use less energy. There are generally two ways to clip – pinch-clipping and snap-clipping – and what you will use will depend on which hand is easier to free, and which way the gate on the carabiner is facing.

PINCH-CLIPPING

Reach down and take the rope between your thumb and forefinger, pulling it up to the quickdraw. As you go to clip the rope into the lower carabiner, take your thumb to the side of the carabiner opposite the gate. This will steady the quickdraw, while the rope is draped over your forefinger. As you “pinch” the carabiner, use your forefinger to push the rope into the carabiner.

SNAP-CLIPPING

Again, reach down and grab the rope between the forefinger and thumb. As you pull the rope up to the quickdraw, put our middle finger in the carabiner to steady it. Now push the rope into the carabiner with your thumb, rolling it over as you “snap” the rope into the quickdraw. Climbing.com provides some handy drawings of pinch- and snap-clipping. Two things to be wary of and to avoid are back-clipping and z-clipping.

BACK-CLIPPING

After clipping your rope through a quickdraw, the rope should run up through the quickdraw from the back side of the carabiner, rather than the side facing you. Clipping it the other way could potentially lead to a fall where the rope unclips itself from the quickdraw.

Z-CLIPPING

If you grab the rope from below a piece of protection and clip it into a higher piece, you’ll create a ’Z’ with the rope, running from the top piece, down to a piece below, and then up to your harness. It creates such forceful rope drag that you won’t be able to move any higher. This can easily happen if protection is placed very close together, and you accidently grab the rope from below the last piece of clipped protection, instead of from above it.

VIDEO: GOOD CLIPING PRACTICES

GETTING DOWN SAFELY

Make sure you know what you’re doing when you get to the top of a climb. Many accidents have occurred after a lack of communication or understanding between the leader and the belayer about getting down. Typically, when you get to the top of a sport climb, you can clip quickdraws into a bolted anchor – usually two bolts – clip the rope through them both, and then be lowered back down.

If you’re cleaning the quickdraws off the route, then you’ll need to make yourself secure in the anchor when you get to the top, before re-threading your rope through the anchor. You can then clean the quickdraws as you are lowered down (sometimes you’ll want to rappel down, rather than be lowered).

Many descents off trad climbs also involve bolted anchors, although it is just as common to have a walk-off descent. If there are no bolted anchors, you may need to build a strong, equalized trad anchor to bring up a second. Make sure you know what the anchor set-up is and how to get down, before you head up.

START OFF EASY

Transitioning from top-roping to leading can be nerve-racking. It will help to start on a climb you have already top-roped several times, one you are unlikely to fall on, and use it to familiarize yourself with pinch- and snap-clipping quickdraws or, if it’s a trad route, placing trad protection. Being confident with placing and clipping protection will make a huge difference once you graduate to harder climbs, where there is a greater chance of falling.

If you want to lead a trad climb, spend a lot of time placing and removing gear with an experienced trad climber who can explain what makes a good placement, and what makes a poor, potentially dangerous one.

Many gyms offer lead climbing courses, where you can learn the intricacies of lead climbing under the competent supervision of gym staff. Once you have mastered all the skills you need to lead climb – clipping bolts, avoiding back-clipping, becoming familiar with falling, cleaning routes, and being lowered off – then you’ll be a lot more comfortable going outside and getting on The Sharp End.

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