Question: lead belaying kids

The only thing that worked for me was to stand ~10-12ft from the wall and when he falls, I'd sprint into the wall then hop up the wall. Even though this works, it feels wrong being so far from the wall. My wife is 130lb and doesn't have to do much to give him a soft catch. If anyone has any experience lead belaying very small children who are 1/3 your weight, I'd love to get some tips on what you do. Thx

Primarily climb indoors

If you are outdoors on routes that require gear for pro (rather than bolts), standing 10-12 feet away from the rock is a really bad idea.

Dave K wrote:

If the climber is light enough that pre-braking is effective, then it should be easy to manage catching them using standard technique with an ATC while allowing some rope slippage. Wear a glove and try a few practice falls to get the feel of it.

Rocky mentioned earlier that he needed to use an assisted braking device.

Rocky,  I've ran out of ideas for your original challenge.

One idea was to use a rope not rated as a single, rather just half or half & twin for a noticeable force reduction.  But these tend to be pretty skinny. So I'd  look for an ABD device that is specifically for skinnies (i.e., 8.0-8.5mm). I think the Revo is not suitable. And I don't know enough or have enough experience to recommend another ABD devices for skinnies.

The other idea was to pick up the Revo and an at least single-y rated rope with lower-than-average impact force (e.g., Fixe Roca Monkey Endurance 9.0mm).   And learn to let the rope slip a little when catching a fall.  But I'm not even sure a special rope is needed ... just a rope that feeds well as we previously discussed.

If I had to recommend one, I'd suggest the Revo plus a rope diameter well within the Revo's working range, and learning to safely let a slender single rope slip a bit in a fall.

Best of luck.

I'm around 190 and my daughter is about 58 pounds. I sometimes struggle to give her a soft catch, particularly when she is on a short climb and she falls unexpectedly. I use a GriGri and give a little extra slack and move in as she falls to help give a soft catch. Of course, that's all very situational, as others have noted and it really depends if it's a steep route or something with ledges. I also often use a rope with a bit more dynamic elongation and that helps. I always wear gloves while belaying and can help provide a bit more of a soft catch with the left hand. The concerns about dropping your climber have some validity but not if you're keeping your right hand on the rope. I can do a lot to slow down my daughter with my gloved left hand and give a soft catch, all while maintaining the brake hand. It's not something I've relied on and it's often more situational for a route she's working on.

I've extensively used a number of other ABD devices like the Pilot, Smart Alpine, Jul2, and others and they can be good options and provide a bit more give but in my experience they didn't convince me to be a big difference with giving my daughter a softer catch.

The slip method can work well. I know a guy who is Ashima's preferred belayer during comps because he gives such a great soft catch and he does so with the slip method.

Rocky Bearwrote: Standing far away and sprinting in has been working for us so I guess I can keep doing that despite how ridiculous it looks. My wife said she overheard one person saying "he's way too far away from the wall". I'm new to lead belaying, so I just hate to look foolish in front of people. 

It is worth reminding ourselves why standing away from the fall is generally a bad idea while belaying. 3 elements I can think of:

1. Could zipper out protections (when trad climbing) by forcing a upward pull on the lower pieces. Doesn't apply on bolts.
2. Risks the belayer yanked hard towards the wall, and potentially knocking the belay device off his hands. Doesn't apply here, as the problem is precisely that the falling climber doesn't exert enough force on the belayer so that a soft catch is possible.
3. Harder to provide a soft catch. Typically, that's done by jumping upward. Being away from the wall creates a different angle between the belayer and the 1st piece, making jumping ineffective. Doesn't apply to you. Quite the opposite - that's actually the only way (apparently) that might allow a soft catch.

Franck Veewrote:

It is worth reminding ourselves why standing away from the fall is generally a bad idea while belaying. 3 elements I can think of:

1. Could zipper out protections (when trad climbing) by forcing a upward pull on the lower pieces. Doesn't apply on bolts.
2. Risks the belayer yanked hard towards the wall, and potentially knocking the belay device off his hands. Doesn't apply here, as the problem is precisely that the falling climber doesn't exert enough force on the belayer so that a soft catch is possible.
3. Harder to provide a soft catch. Typically, that's done by jumping upward. Being away from the wall creates a different angle between the belayer and the 1st piece, making jumping ineffective. Doesn't apply to you. Quite the opposite - that's actually the only way (apparently) that might allow a soft catch.

4. Rope coming out at an angle from the first draw create a target for the falling climber to hit.

Another option: belay from a squatting position.

This is my preferred method when the leader is significantly lighter, or is a speed-clipper. Stand up the instant the rope is weighted. This allows you to give ~3' of slack without jumping. With some practice, it translates to a very cushy catch. Also, if you have to give a body-length of slack for a speed clip, you can stand up as you feed. Finally, if the device locks up due to a lapse of attention or a twist in the rope, you can instantly give slack rather than short-rope the kid (potentially injurious).

The downside is that you'll be slower to take. But you don't want to spoil the kid, right? 

As noted above, standing out from the wall presents some safety issues, including rock-fall hitting belayer or the rope. 

Cheers.

Logan Petersonwrote:

Another option: belay from a squatting position.

This is my preferred method when the leader is significantly lighter, or is a speed-clipper. Stand up the instant the rope is weighted. This allows you to give ~3' of slack without jumping. With some practice, it translates to a very cushy catch. Also, if you have to give a body-length of slack for a speed clip, you can stand up as you feed. Finally, if the device locks up due to a lapse of attention or a twist in the rope, you can instantly give slack rather than short-rope the kid (potentially injurious).

The downside is that you'll be slower to take. But you don't want to spoil the kid, right? 

As noted above, standing out from the wall presents some safety issues, including rock-fall hitting belayer or the rope. 

Cheers.

Interesting option that hadn't been mentioned.

IMO, if rockfalls are a significant concern, I doubt I'd be lead climbing with younger children. The way I see it, the other concerns aren't really an in issue in this context. Each will make different assessment of course.