Auto Belay Vs Top Rope Vs Rock Climbing Height Reddit Jan 4, 2021 · To better understand the value of an auto-belay device, we should briefly highlight a human belayer’s role, The taller the wall, the longer the fall, The Role of a Human Belayer In top-rope climbing, the climbing rope extends from your climbing harness, passes inside an anchor at the summit, and ends back at the belayer’s hands, He still hates it and realizes he'd burn the shit out of his hands if the auto belay were to fail and he attempted to catch himself, but it helps mentally even just a tiny bit, 10 or higher), and it’s extremely efficient to run laps on the autobelays to build endurance, 3M subscribers in the climbing community, Plus I want to dip my toes in some lead climbing this Yes, 4M subscribers in the climbing community, Let's say a route is set at a certain difficulty for top rope, However I would belay off the master point of the anchor over/at the edge to maintain visual with my climber, General rule of thumb for attaching things to your harness, There's a world of difference in terms of how 'safe' one might feel on top rope depending on how the belayer handles the rope, However, after a few falls I became more anxious and no longer wanted my belayer to use an unassisted belay device in case he/she fainted When you're using a carabiner, whether that be to belay another, rappel, or clip into an auto-belay you don't have to worry about friction between the metal and your harness, so it is appropriate to clip into your belay loop; that's why it's there, Top Rope: Shown in the photo above, top rope climbing requires prior knowledge and experience of the follow through figure 8 knot and the GriGri belay device, which are attached to all top ropes in our facilities, Practicing falling can help ease your anxiety a bit, After a fall or once the climber reaches the top of the wall, the climber is lowered by the belayer, Any hidden gems?? Also, are memberships not a thing? In defence of the belay master we use it when we're clipping kids into the rope for top roping for speed, Moving parts I can't see or inspect, Roped climbing in any form takes more equipment- harness, rope, helmet, belay device and eventually QuickDraws and stuff to make anchors if you are going to sport or top rope outside, I've seen fall arrest devices for roofers etc, 233 votes, 216 comments, The claim against usage for lead climbing is that since the device auto-locks, the belayer is required to hold the device open while feeding rope to the leader, I have only gone bouldering and today I tried auto belay for the first time, Jun 18, 2025 · Which is Better For Beginners? If you're new to climbing, top-rope is often the recommended place to start, On indoor rope routes, the rope is pre-rigged through the anchors at the top of the wall, A common mistake while belaying a lead climber is to hold open the device the entire time, thus defeating the auto-locking mechanism, I think the reality is closer to the opposite of that, Your first rope should be a 9, Top rope climbing (or top roping) is a form of rock climbing where the climber is securely attached to a climbing rope that runs through a fixed anchor at the top of the route, and back down to the belayer (or "second") at the base of the climb, While auto belays are commonly used as an alternative to ropes for protecting climbers at height, in many ways auto belaying shares more in common with bouldering than either top roping or lead climbing, Why is this? Isn't top rope a little safer, as there basically aren't falls? I'm pretty sure that there's nothing wrong with using a Gri-Gri for lead, as you can see it in use in most Sharma and Ondra videos :) I prefer the ATC myself, as I'm not comfortable with using the GriGri for belaying a lead climber, The belay point for a top rope can be either anchored to the groud or not (normally is) but for leading the belay point should not be anchored as this gives the climber a softer fall, Feb 1, 2022 · Transitioning from top roping to lead climbing can be a big challenge, In September, after a four year long legal battle over an auto belay accident, Vertical World publicly announced a shocking $6m settlement, The belayer must pay attention to the climbing rope to ensure that there’s enough slack, Something else was at play, However, I am looking to get into lead climbing and potentially start going outside once I'm comfortable with the basics of lead (and when New England winter allows it lol), I’m sure it takes some getting used to but I felt like the rope was pulling/holding me up some, so it wasn’t as good of a work out as bouldering, Here’s how it works: you’re tied into a rope that runs from your harness up to the top of the wall, loops through an anchor, and comes back down to your belay partner (or an auto-belay device), What are Vertical World’s requirements for passing the Belay Test? A top-rope Belay Check must be passed prior to use of any top-rope or auto-belay systems at Vertical World (VW),
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