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Oct 30, 2023

Weekend Whipper: Bad Lead Fall in Climbing Gym

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Heading out the door? Read this article on the new Outside+ app available now on iOS devices for members! >","name":"in-content-cta","type":"link"}}">Download the app.

Readers, please send your Weekend Whipper videos, information, and any lessons learned to Anthony Walsh, [email protected].

When a climber is looking strong, moving with poise, don't take it as an opportunity to neglect your side of the belay bargain: Minding the slack.

Evelyn Robinson was redpointing a 5.11 at her local gym, and she was climbing well—too well. "Unfortunately I got a little over confident and sped through a balance-move close to the start," she wrote to Climbing. "My belayer had way too much slack in his rope and was probably a bit over confident in me at that moment, [too]. He reacted a bit chaotically by taking the rope in at the last minute, causing a pretty hard catch."

Next time, Robinson says she will aim to be more purposeful in her movement and yell "falling" once she feels her balance waver. These are both good tips, but, in this scenario, the onus is really on the belayer to prevent such an uncomfortable fall. Robinson wrote: "As for my belayer, he could use more attentiveness and might need to be guided a bit more on what I need/what is correct when belaying."

So what is correct? We have three critiques: (1) Stand closer to the wall to avoid being dragged off your feet. (2) Minimize the extra rope between your belay device and the leader; if they need rope to clip then pay out rope, don't rely on an excessive cache of slack to sub in for attentiveness. (3) If your leader is lighter than you, do not sit back when they fall. Jump up to give them a softer catch—just be sure they don't hit the ground!

Happy Friday, and be safe out there this weekend.