What is belaying?
Belaying is the technique of controlling the rope so that a falling climber does not fall very far. At Exposure, all of our rope stations are equiped with auto-lockin belay devices. If you do not know how to belay, just ask any of our friendly staff and we will be more than happy to teach you. Also, no one under the age of 14 is allowed to belay (work the safety ropes), and must have some over the age of 14 to belay them while they climb. Belayers must also fill out a liability release form. AC_FL_RunContent( ‘codebase’,’http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=9,0,28,0′,’width’,’500′,’height’,’282′,’base’,’.’,’src’,’videogallery/belay’,’quality’,’high’,’pluginspage’,’http://www.adobe.com/shockwave/download/download.cgi?
Belaying is a critical technique used in rock climbing. It consists of securing the climber to a rope, or belayer, so he doesn’t fall very far in case of slipping off the rock. In the past, belaying was accomplished simply by tying a rope around the waist of the climber. While basically effective, this technique also posed a higher risk of injury to the climber. Modern belaying techniques use a belay device, a straightforward system consisting of a climbing harness, an automatic pulley, and a belay loop, all of which are attached to the climbing rope. Depending on the weight difference between climbers, an equalized anchor may also be used for stability. This system is known as semi-direct belaying, since most of the load is taken by the belay device rather than by the climber. Belaying is done in pairs most of the time. The rope is controlled by either the leading climber or a designated partner who remains on the ground. Known as the belayer, this person is in control of the rope and
Belaying is the act of controlling a rope to protect a climber. The person belaying takes up slack in the rope when someone is climbing, arrests the climber if they fall and lowers the climber to the ground when they are finished climbing. If you know how to belay you can meet other climbers in the gym and trade belays with them. If you do not know how to belay you may learn through the Intro to Climbing class if you are over 14. If you are under 14 a parent may take the Intro to Climbing Class to learn to belay for you.
When climbing in a group, belaying provides the necessary safety factor, allowing the group to climb with a minimum of danger. Two or three climbers are tied into a climbing rope. The use of a rope in group climbing can be a hazard without belaying skills. It may be necessary to use one of several belay positions. Either with the body, or mechanical belay device. Belaying involves a stationary climber managing and controlling the rope that is tied to a load. It is used to control descent on rope installations. There are always three aspects common to any belay. These are: a type of belay (direct or indirect); a method of controlling the rope (static or dynamic); and a means of managing the rope (body or mechanical). The two basic types of belay are direct and indirect. The direct belay involves using a mechanical device. The belayer is connected to a point of protection, and conducts the mechanical belay from another point of protection. In this type of belay the load goes directly to
