Light belayer but no ground anchor, how?

And this is why we have a "Cotton Wool Generation", "Bubble-wrap Generation", Helicopter Parents, etc...
telegraph.co.uk/education/e…

A kid helping his father out on the family farm faces similar risks of physical or psychological harm.

You don't need the kid to weigh 140, but bring a haul bag and fill it with gear and other stuff to get the kid at least above 100. If he is competent in belaying, there shouldn't be a problem here.

Shane1234 wrote:What is the set up/equipment needed if the belayer (my son) is less than half my weight and there are no ground anchor points around to attach him to? Basically I want to lead climb up so I can set up a top rope.

Just curious if I'm the only one that finds it interesting that Shane doesn't trust glue in bolts to hold body weight, but is perfectly fine with allowing a 12 year old to belay him?

Backpack fulla rocks. Or with your beer in it (better)

Huge fan of the megajul for light & inexperienced folks. Very intuitive to use and you can't possible override it. I'd recommend taking a look!

What is the maximum difference in weight percentage between two people top roping VS Lead belaying?

I have a twelve year old Daughter who is 5'8" and 120 pounds and my wife is 5'6" and around 130-140 pounds. I'm thinking they could belay each other no problem, once she is fully competent at belaying of course.

The next question is, could my wife belay me in either situation being that I'm 5'11" and close to 200 pounds.

Please, I'm not looking for sarcasm or innuendo, I honestly need to know.
We are going out to Jasper camping for a week and want to do a little bit of toprope climbing, and if no one else is there, it would still be nice if she could belay me.

Thanks,

Johnny

trollin

Johnny Kipp wrote:What is the maximum difference in weight percentage between two people top roping VS Lead belaying? I have a twelve year old Daughter who is 5'8" and 120 pounds and my wife is 5'6" and around 130-140 pounds. I'm thinking they could belay each other no problem, once she is fully competent at belaying of course. The next question is, could my wife belay me in either situation being that I'm 5'11" and close to 200 pounds. Please, I'm not looking for sarcasm or innuendo, I honestly need to know. We are going out to Jasper camping for a week and want to do a little bit of toprope climbing, and if no one else is there, it would still be nice if she could belay me. Thanks, Johnny

Your wife and daughter should be able to belay each other without difficulty.

They may be able to belay you TRing if there's sufficient friction in the system. A ground anchor (eg pack with rocks) would be needed if you are leading. Might be worthwhile on TR too.

Have fun.

Thanks Mark.
I'll get a an old back pack and fill it with rocks on site and attach it to the bottom of the belay loop.
That should work?

Failing that, on TR what are ways to add friction? Is that a recommended practice?
I know at our local gym they have the toprope go around the pipe at the top twice to add friction.

Johnny Kipp wrote: Failing that, on TR what are ways to add friction? Is that a recommended practice? I know at our local gym they have the toprope go around the pipe at the top twice to add friction.

I'll have to let somebody else weigh in on friction adding strategies, having never done that.

However, there is a range of friction depending on the TR setup. An overhanging route with the rope leading straight through the air to the anchor and back to the belayer isn't going to have much friction.
If you fall, your wife might be catapaulted into the air.

On the other hand, a slab route with the rope running over several lips and past a few trees, etc, might be hard for her to even take in slack, but would be easy to hold any fall.

Johnny Kipp wrote:Thanks Mark. I'll get a an old back pack and fill it with rocks on site and attach it to the bottom of the belay loop. That should work? Failing that, on TR what are ways to add friction? Is that a recommended practice? I know at our local gym they have the toprope go around the pipe at the top twice to add friction.

It's easy to add friction for TR, just add a couple twists to the rope. (as in, have the climber walk 1-2 circles around the belayer before climbing)

Yikes ! No!! do not do this!!!

Nathanael wrote: It's easy to add friction for TR, just add a couple twists to the rope. (as in, have the climber walk 1-2 circles around the belayer before climbing)

The ways to add friction into 'sling-shot ' top rope set up, starts to involve redirecting the rope through a second anchor point or a piece of gear creating more friction.,
I hesitate to try to recommend the specifics . Gear placement for this purpose means, understanding the direction of the forces and the need for a bomb proof multi-directional anchor point is critical.

Shane1234 wrote:What is the set up/equipment needed if the belayer (my son) is less than half my weight and there are no ground anchor points around to attach him to? Basically I want to lead climb up so I can set up a top rope.

Shane, there is a new product from Edelrid that could be a solution to your problem once it becomes available.

edelrid.de/en/ohm/

Michael Schneider wrote:Yikes ! No!! do not do this!!!

I mean the friction/wear is distributed over the entire rope and in my experience it does not do any damage. But whatever, you can set up some zig-zag anchor setup or whatever you're recommending.

That Elderid setup is interesting.