DISCLAIMER
This blog has not been written by a qualified climbing instructor and is only intended for use as a reminder of good practice. All climbers should take responsibility for their own competence as a belayer and consider obtaining training by a qualified instructor prior to climbing outside. Anything written in this blog should not replace any advice given by a qualified instructor.
Responsible belaying in sport climbing is one of the most important roles you can perform when out on the crags. Sometimes it’s easy to become a bit slack and lose focus on how important it is. Sometimes you may just simply have not been taught by anyone experienced and picked up bad habits from other climbers. Either way, it’s always good to have a bit of a reminder of a few things to be aware of when you have your climbing partner’s life in your hands, literally!
CHECK YOUR EQUIPMENT AND PARTNER
It’s crucial to make sure you have the appropriate equipment with you and that you use it correctly. Does your belay device need replacing? Have you dropped or damaged it? Is your rope in good condition? It’s even worth thinking about how knotted up your rope is before your partner starts climbing. Can you pay out slack without getting tangled at the crucial point or will you end up pulling your partner off the rock when they’re desperately trying to clip? Have you got a knot tied in the end of the rope for long routes? Running out of rope and seeing your partner sailing off the side of a cliff is never a good thing! It's good to check your partner's knot before they set off. Are they tied through the right part of their harness and is their knot correct? Get them to check you've got your belay device correctly set up and the rope running through it the right way. Even experienced climbers can get distracted and make a mistake.
MAKE SURE YOU ARE COMPETENT AT BELAYING
So many of us are taught how to belay by other climbers who may or may not be competent themselves. If you’re someone who climbs indoors then the likelihood is that you’ve been assessed on your belaying before they let you loose on the wall, but some places don’t always do this. If you’re unsure if you’re belaying correctly, check with a qualified climbing instructor. Sometimes the confident climber on the crag isn’t always right or teaching you the safest way. Whatever you do, always remember to keep a hand on the dead end of the rope at all times. Even if you’ve got a breaking device you still need that back up. Ultimately, your partner could have a fatal ground fall if you’re not competent. Other considerations are the learnt skills associated with belay techniques. Do you know how to dynamically belay? When to take in or pay out slack? What to do if your partner takes a fall and what you should do to make it as 'good' a fall as possible? It's all about keeping your climber safe and there's more to it than just standing there with a rope running through a belay device. No doubt all of us could do with some refresher training at some point.
CONCENTRATE AND LISTEN
Are you someone who chats incessantly to others around you when you’re belaying? Do you pay more attention to what’s happening on the crag rather than your partner above you? We’ve probably all been in the situation where we’re leading a terrifying route and our belayer is chatting away below. It certainly undermines your confidence and performance! If others are talking to you as you’re belaying and it’s affecting your concentration or ability to hear your climbing partner, don’t be afraid to politely ask them to be quiet. If you’re not watching or listening, it makes it very difficult for your partner to trust you and you might find yourself scratching around for people that will climb with you. It also makes it hard for you as a belayer to be aware of falling rocks if you’re ignoring, or can’t hear, what your partner is shouting to you.
SLACK IN THE ROPE
It’s always good to be mindful of how much slack is in the rope when you’re belaying; probably one of the most important things to consider aside from keeping a hand on the rope. We’ve all seen people belaying with buckets of slack out and others telling them off. It may not be received well but if their rope is sagging to the floor then action needs to be taken. Always survey the route your partner is about to attempt and if there are any ledges that could result in broken ankles from a fall with too much slack out. It’s easy to be blasé about it if you’ve never taken a fall, but with rope stretch and even a small amount of slack, you can fall many metres further than expected. Don’t be one of those people in the ‘Epic Falls’ videos on You Tube!
BELAYING POSITION
Where you stand to belay is super important. You need to be able to see your partner. Sometimes they will climb out of sight as they go up higher which you can’t always control, but if you can move safely so you can see them, then think about it. You often see people stood miles away from the rock whilst belaying. When considering physics, be aware of the forces involved with the situation; if you've got a low first bolt and you're standing far back when your partner takes a fall, you could end up face-planting the wall rather than being pulled up off the floor. It’s also always worth considering falling rocks. Are you attempting a route that is marked as loose in the guide book or on the UKC logbook? Or does it just look loose? Either way, it’s definitely a good idea to consider the best place to stand to avoid falling rocks. Do you also wear a helmet in a loose area? You may not like wearing them but if you’re knocked out by a falling rock, what will happen to your climbing partner…?
BELAYING WHILE YOUR PARTNER TIES OFF
Just because your partner has reached the top bolts and is tying off, it doesn’t mean they are safe and you can take them off belay and wander off for a cuppa. What if the lower off fails? Sadly, it has happened. You cannot account for all freak accidents of course but by staying vigilant you can avoid errors. If you have an inexperienced climber with you who is tying off for the first few times, you’ll need to watch them to make sure they haven’t made a fatal error. Of course, this can also happen with experienced climbers who loose concentration but if you’re taking note of what they’re doing you could potentially prevent an accident.
USING BELAY GLASSES
These wonderful inventions can certainly help save your neck and allow you to potentially watch your partner closer and for longer without neck pain. If your partner is taking hours working out a hard crux, you can find yourself loosing concentration if you’re trying to stretch out your neck. However, it’s worth being aware that there are a few things to be mindful of when using belay glasses. Take care if it’s a sunny day as you can get blinded by the sun from above if it’s hitting the glasses at a certain angle, impairing your vision. Also, the glasses give you a different perspective of the rock and where your partner is in space, leading to confusion if your partner takes a fall or if a rock comes off. I know first-hand about this when a rock was kicked off above me; I heard the shout of ‘rock below’, saw the rock and tried to step aside but actually stepped right underneath it as I couldn’t get the right perspective of where it was going to land through the glasses. Luckily, I had a helmet on or it might have been a nasty outcome! There can also be a blind spot when using the glasses which can lead to loosing part of your view of the rock or rope and perspective of how much slack is out. Lots to consider!
SPEAK UP IF YOU SEE BAD BELAYING
Last but not least, speak up if you see someone belaying that could be putting their partner at risk with bad practices. It may not be a pleasant exchange depending on their reaction but hopefully they will realise that it’s ultimately about the safety of the person on the end of their rope. It may be that they were taught incorrectly and don’t know any better. Whatever the reason, if undertaken tactfully, most climbers will be grateful of a heads-up to improve their skills.
Written by Rob Rendall.
Photo credit: Sam Parsons from After the Send
Clipstick, Stick Clip, Cheat Stick… whatever you like to call them, clipping devices have been around in sport climbing for quite a few years now. In fact, climbing legends such as Steve McClure have been using home-made versions since the mid 1990’s. Love them or hate them, clipping devices have become an essential piece of kit for a lot of sport climbers and are common place on the crags across the world.
Clipping devices have a multitude of benefits for sport climbers of all abilities; clipping a high first bolt or above dodgy terrain, clipping above a crux to work harder moves, clipping a rope into a quickdraw, or even retrieving a quickdraw with some devices. Even the pro-climbers have to get a rope up on a project somehow. Let’s face it, leading a route can be a daunting prospect for some climbers. If they are new to the sport or suffer from ‘The Fear’, then having a clipping device to hand can really help build confidence and allow people to push through their mental and physical blocks.
Despite the benefits, it’s funny how clipping devices seem to be like Marmite; you either love them or hate them. Some climbers won’t be seen dead with them and for others they clip the first bolt as standard on every route. For a long time, they were viewed as cheat sticks, and you still see comments like that on forums and social media, but it’s much more socially acceptable to have a clipping device as a standard piece of gear now. Many climbers now clip the first bolt as standard, sometimes even the second bolt, before they start an onsight or redpoint attempt. There is lively debate about whether this is cheating or not and how many you are allowed to pre-clip, but does it really matter? Everyone has their own opinion on that. Either way, climbing is about personal enjoyment and staying safe, isn’t it?
Essentially, there’s no accounting for a foot slipping, a hand or foot hold snapping or a wrong move before you’ve clipped the first bolt. Surely most of us have had that happen at some point. Horror stories are abundant on the internet of climbers that have come a cropper in this way that really challenge old school views on pre-clipping. There’s the couple who had to be airlifted from Portland beach when the leader slipped off before the first clip, fell down between the rocks and pulled their belayer on top of them. Probably the most high-profile story was of experienced climber Toby Dunn whose foot slipped before clipping the first bolt on a route he’d climbed hundreds of times at Malham Cove and he ended up with a fractured skull, months in hospital and having to learn to function again. All horror stories, yes, but sadly accidents do happen and it’s easy for all of us to become complacent. Now, it’s not to say clipping devices solve all these problems or account for other safety measures climbers can take to protect themselves, but they sure do help!
Obviously, as you know we manufacture and sell our own Pongoose clipsticks, so of course we are biased, but you’ll never see us out on the crag without ours (unless we’ve accidentally left it in the van of course, which annoyingly does happen!). As a couple we have very different climbing histories and experience but we both find that we benefit from using a clipping device and can try routes we might otherwise get shot down on. Whether you’re a clipstick lover like us, or a purist who thinks they’re cheating by using one, it’s a great world to be in when there’s so much available to us as climbers to help us enjoy our sport safely.
Happy Climbing!
Pongoose are happy to announce we are now a supporter of Climbers Against Cancer (CAC). At the Edinburgh World Cup lead and paraclimbing event two weeks ago, we met the lovely ladies from CAC and learnt more about the fantastic work they are doing. We just had to become involved and offer our support.
At the event, a massive £25,000 donation was made to the BC Cancer Foundation in Vancouver, a worthy cause indeed. Not to mention fantastic takings from the sale of merchandise from the CAC stall throughout the weekend. This is just a snippet of what the charity is now achieving with help from the climbing community.
So, most of you have heard of CAC right? You’ve seen their T-shirts at the climbing wall or on social media? Or even own one or two? But do you know about how the charity started and the ethos? We found out more from Sue and Helan at the event. CAC was started in 2012 by the late John Ellison who sadly passed away from cancer in December 2015 at the age of 52. A climber who was an integral part of the climbing scene, John felt he belonged to a larger ‘extended family’ and wanted to share that feeling to the wider climbing community, whilst raising money to help cancer research. Following his own diagnosis and a desire to set up a legacy that would continue after his own time on this earth, he set up the organisation with a number of other Trustees, including the current world number one boulderer, Shauna Coxsey. Being open with his own diagnosis, John was able to promote dialogue within the climbing world about cancer. A topic that can still be difficult to broach, even in this day and age, but also in a world where most climbers are fit, healthy and take care of their bodies, like John did, and may not give it too much consideration.
“You can’t do anything about the length of your life, but you can do something about its width and depth” John Ellison.
We personally found John’s story so inspirational. Most people these days have had their lives touched by cancer in some shape or form, be it themselves or family and friends. Ultimately, climbers tend to be adventurous people and we are the perfect group to share his vision and also ensure our own lives have width and depth. John’s vision of the extended family has spread wide and far across the globe with the help of Ambassadors such as Alex Megos, Emily Harrington and many more, not to mention the tens of thousands of ‘normal’ climbers and children who don their CAC clothing on a daily basis.
How can you help? What a fabulous question! Pop along to the CAC website (link via logo on our homepage) and hit that donate button. You can also add your own personal story, upload your photos to the CAC ‘family album’, purchase merchandise and read more about the organisation. Keep an eye out for the CAC ladies on their stall at climbing events and festivals to buy their funky coloured T-shirts, hoodies and hats. You don’t want to miss out as those bad boys frequently sell out! If you see Pongoose at an event or demo, we will also have a donation box that you can fill up for us to send on to CAC.
Pongoose is proud to be part of the climbing ‘extended family’ John had as part of his vision for the future of CAC. We are people that believe in being kind to each other, supporting the greater good and keeping it real. This final quote from John Ellison says it all…
“The strength of a man is not in his muscles but what is in his heart” John Ellison.
The Pongoose Climber 700 launch is finally here! So PSYCHED!!!
The journey to this point has been a long and crazy adventure, but the launch is here at last! It's very exciting to be making it official and getting the Pongoose Climber 700 to market after many years of prototypes and challenges in the manufacturing process. From concept to launch, there has been blood, sweat and tears, but Pongoose is proud to finally be releasing the first multi-directional 3in1 clipstick, brushing stick and camera boom, that also retrieves quickdraws. There will always be people who will be happy taping a quickdraw, brush or action camera to the end of a stick, but for those of you that want something better quality that will last, there is finally a product that hopefully ticks all your boxes.
Pongoose would not be at this point now without the support and skills of family and friends. It has been a humbling time when people have gone out of their way in the climbing community to help in any way they could to get this project off the ground. Very special thanks goes to:
Katie - my fantastic wife and climbing partner
My parents and Auntie Val
Steph - the 'Pongoose' sister-in-law
Luke A - the genius 3D guy
Paulski - logo creater and artist
Aaron L - the cutter guy
Sam & Emmie - the 'After the Send' photographer dude and model
Tom E - Osprey sales guru
Sam B - film man extraordinaire
Marti H - Rockfax pin-up clipstick tester
Andy W - website SEO genius
Freddie N - The Project Climbing Centre's brushing stick road tester
Ian C - Flash's inspiration spreader
and all the other climbers and non-climbers that have been supportive, given advice, shared social media posts and given feedback. There are too many to mention by name!
Thank you everyone.
All the best.
Rob.
When we’ve been climbing for a while, we forget about those things that felt so alien to us when we started climbing. Things that we don’t even think about as a more experienced climber and that we have either learnt to live with or ignore. This blog is written by my wife, Katie, who I introduced to climbing three years ago...
"When I started climbing I was lucky enough to be taught by Rob who had 15 years of climbing experience and to hang out with a ready-made group of climbing friends. I learnt a lot from the group, and still continue to, but this also came with the pressure of trying not to look like a complete idiot in front of them. I was terrified of heights and even struggled on a lot of the approach paths on the cliffs and landslides of Portland, Dorset. I spent many a day out getting stressed even before I made it to the crag. Despite this though, I was hooked.
What I didn't know was that climbing would be so addictive and that it would involve such a roller coaster of emotional ups and downs over the first six months. I seemed to be completely alone in these experiences with the group seeming super confident and unaffected by anything. Perhaps they had forgotten what it was like to be a new climber, or as most of them started climbing at a younger age they had no idea how it felt to start climbing at 36 years old. Even down to how indoor climbing destroys your skin! Being a female with soft hands who worked in a hospital where I was washing them every five minutes, I struggled beyond belief with constant holes and flappers. I got frustrated how everyone else seemed to have bomb-proof skin and I was having to wrap endless amounts of tape around my fingers just to be able to climb on plastic for more than half an hour (I still have to do this indoors for a full session!).
I'm sure we all go through different experiences as a new climber, mine may or may not be unique. There will be people who will say it was no problem and it was easy as pie for them, but there may be people out there who are having a similar experience to mine and who might appreciate knowing they're not alone. So I sat down to think back to some embarrassing newbie climber moments I experienced in my first few months on plastic and rock. Here they are:
So essentially we all have to start somewhere and if you’re not starting climbing as a child then you’re likely to bring some sort of baggage with you when you first start. Luckily I got over all my issues; got used to the heights, started trusting the equipment, found shoes that fit and learnt to cope with the myriad emotions that come with climbing. Now, 3 years in, I wonder why it was all so stressful, but then I remind myself I've come so far and grown so much as a climber. Now I like to support other new climbers and let them know it does get better. So if you're having a tough time as a newbie climber, stick with it, it gets better!"
