soft catch

OldManRiver wrote: *time between initial load and peak load NOT time between fall and peak load.

If time between initial load and peak load was what mattered, then a long fall at a given fall factor would have a lower peak load than a short fall at the same fall factor, since the time between initial load and peak load is longer for the longer fall.

But falls at a given fall factor result in approximately the same load.

OldManRiver wrote:The thread is soft catch, not peak load modulation.

Ok, fair enough, so how do you measure the softness of a catch? Why does the falling climber think the catch was "softer?"

rgold wrote: Why does the falling climber think the catch was "softer?"

Seems to me that it's all about rate of deceleration. If someone falls and their belayer sits down, the climber is going to swing pretty hard into the rock, decelerating much more quickly than if the belayer gives a soft catch.

By the way, I thought this had already been covered earlier in the thread...

Squat down a bit if it feels like they're about to fall, make sure to have enough slack for them to make the next move/piece, and allow them to pull you to a standing position with some assistance, glide into a little hop at the end but not a full on leap to the first bolt like what often happens in the gym... Don't sit down after they fall, but before so there is room to soften the catch, or steer them away from hitting things.

I worry that people who jump with every fall often mistime it and make the fall worse, or unnecessarily far, scaring their poor climber, or decking/ledging them.

Also, if I'm giving them a little bit of slack I'll keep the weight of my feeding hand on it, so I can resist a little when they fall, not gripping the rope, but weighting it downwards until they reach to clip. I imagine that it might reduce the load ~20-30 lbs in addition to squat-rising when appropriate. It's more important to keep them from hitting stuff than it is to give them a soft tug on the harness. Sometimes that means softening the fall, sometimes stiffening. Consider your options(gear/obstacles etc.) before they fall. If they climber is scanning the climb for beta, so should the belayer. I have scars from belayers giving a "soft catch", when it might have been better to have kept me from hitting the ledge. (It's just as important to know how to fall properly)

Wear a glove. Input appreciated.

Just get a belay girl, they are light enough you pull them in the air everytime. Refuse to belay them because you would "only be able to give them a hard catch". Bam! Free belays!

Disclaimer, this won't work.

This thread is a good indication of who failed high school physics.

Is this a real topic? Are we really going to have 4 pages of enginerds going on and on about peak loads and soft catches? Maybe you guys need a lesson in catching falls instead of jerking off some model of peak loads.

I'm a dumb shit and know how to give and recieve a soft catch because I GO CLIMBING.

Randy W. wrote: ...because I GO CLIMBING.

That is not what this forum is about, good sir.
Take that blasphemous talk elsewhere.

Randy W. wrote:I GO CLIMBING.

Hmmm where do I put that in my logarithmic spiral of computer talk squared?