Who's your favorite belayer?

These guys never get the honors thry deserve. Dodging rocks,bored to death,the pack w/the food is just out of reach,nuts numb from hanging sooooo..long,and NEVER a whine.... Let's hear it for Belayers....!!

My all time favorite belayer is my wife Suzanne. At 105 she'd catch my 180 on any size fall without budging an inch. All my best onsights happened with her belaying. Unfortunately, life has pulled her away from climbing the past few years.

LMT gets runner up. He caught my 30+ Ft fall in JT, when a broken foot hold spit me off of Fear of Flying. The fist size broken hold struck him on the foot, while I bounced off a large flake for additional 10-15 feet.

I have 3 favorite belayers:

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My favorite is my GF Emily. She is super safe, super supportive, and super patient.

She has even been gracious enough on several occasions not to call my BS, when I tried to blame my flail on being short roped.

Other than her, anyone who will catch me on a an aid pitch wins.

and Lee wonders why his rope has moved on...

My 17 year old son, Jason. Steady as rock, always fun, always ready. Never tells anyone that Dad whines when sketched out.

my personal favorite is my friend Jim because he is totally safe and forces me to push myself. for example i was TRing on one of my projects the other day it is slightly overhung, i asked him to take and he refused saying go till you fall and at the same time gave me some penalty slack, i went till i feel. when i asked why he said because there is no need to take keep going till you fall.

if he isnt around i like anyone who is an onsight belayer meaning catches me first time everytime. haha

The late Robert karolick,and all the topless ones.

My epileptic, dextrously dyslexic, accident prone buddy Jason keeps me focused all the time.

My favorite belayer is the one that catches me. Since this occurs more with my girlfriend than anyone she gets the number one spot.

• Note: Making me take more falls when i climb with you, doesn't help increase your rating.

johnathan wrote: Is that Shimberg?

matthewWallace wrote:my personal favorite is my friend Jim because he is totally safe and forces me to push myself. for example i was TRing on one of my projects the other day it is slightly overhung, i asked him to take and he refused saying go till you fall and at the same time gave me some penalty slack, i went till i feel. when i asked why he said because there is no need to take keep going till you fall. if he isnt around i like anyone who is an onsight belayer meaning catches me first time everytime. haha

Dave i can see that happening and Jim has done it to me on lead sevral times, i think its the best way to push your mental limtis

I think more in terms of favorite climbing partners than favorite belayers. But if I had to pick a favorite, it would be my friend Huong. She probably weighs half what I do, but she WILL catch me if I fall, even if it means getting pulled 10' off the ground. She also gives me the kind of situational advice and encouragement I need at the time -- specific stuff like "keep breathing" and terminology we both learned from training with Arno Ilgner. For that matter, Huong is an all-around great partner, not just belayer. She's fearless on lead (even though she hasn't been doing it that long); she's reliable; and she's always positive, never whines.

Others at the top of my favorite partners list would be Larry DeAngelo and Richard Goldstone. In terms of experience, these guys probably add up to almost 80 years on the rock; just being around them is like a master class in climbing. Getting to rope up with Larry and Richard has been a privilege.

JL

Probably Dan. He tells me I'm a loser when I ask to take and tells me to suck it up. Then I fall. I stop telling him when I'm going to fall so he doesn't let out slack.

Then John, oftentimes he'll short rope me when I'm clipping so I get to work on my biceps.

The best belayer is the one who makes you stronger as a climber and gives you the mental fortitude to keep going when by all rights you should've peeled off the wall long ago.

The older I get, the less cavalier I get about my belayers. My favorites are Jay Conway or my wife Kayte. Both know the intricacies of the soft catch. And when I say "Take," they take with no questions asked.

My wife is my favorite belayer.
I've seen a couple of 'whoever catches my falls' type responses. Have you had other belayers not catch your falls?
I once decked on a slippery climb before clipping the first bolt, but that's not something you can blame on your partner.
Thanks for the penalty slack tip. :-)

Kevin Gallagher, we got on the cover of RockandIce together. If I'm gonna do a death route, Kevin will be holding the rope even if I have to pay him(which I've had to do twice). I personally would NOT belay someone on a 12dX even for money. I'd rather take a 100', gear ripping near decker than belay someone taking the same fall.

Brandon,My best friend of 13 years. We've learned to climb together (along with everything else pretty much) and if someone is gonna watch me get effed up I want it to be him haha.