Things that give you "the ick"

Marc801 Cwrote:

How is  lowering putting more wear on your rope than rapping?

When you lower, the rope is under body weight tension as it runs over bulges and edges. With rapping the only rope drag tension is the weight of the rope.  

If you have to lower with rope drag, the person being lowered can hold the brake side of the rope to take out some tension, or even attach their belay device to the brake side and self-lower for 5/8 the tension.

Gym ropes

water bottles on the gym floor

pbus belay technique

over-communication

Helmet-compatible hoods

Eric Mosswrote:

Gym ropes

water bottles on the gym floor

pbus belay technique

over-communication

Helmet-compatible hoods

Why don't you like the PBUS belay technique?

Which belay technique do you prefer?

Rapelling off single pitch sport routes 

Eric Mosswrote:

If you have to lower with rope drag, the person being lowered can hold the brake side of the rope to take out some tension, or even attach their belay device to the brake side and self-lower for 5/8 the tension.

Wut

Aaron Kwrote:

Wut

I think he means self lowering with a grigri as opposed to getting lowered by your belayer. If you’re just static hanging with a grigri and tied in on the other side, that’s half the tension since your bodyweight is supported by two strands. While self lowering, the friction through the anchor is helping, so the climber’s strand gets even less than half, and the belay strand gets a bit more than half.

I guess the idea is less tension in the rope means less abrasion from edges.

edit: actually i think it should be the other way around, the climber’s strand is the one that gets a bit more than half, and the belay strand a bit less, since the friction is pointing away from the descending strand and towards the rising strand.

Khoiwrote:

Why don't you like the PBUS belay technique?

Which belay technique do you prefer?

Don't know Eric's reasons, but for me it requires unnecessary hand movements ( which could lead to belay hand not on rope if not done correctly) and is slow to take in rope when top-roping, especially with a fast climber.

As for the 'belay technique' that I use, I just belay---no idea if it has a specific name, but has worked fine for many years--rope moves in and out smoothly and the brake hand remains on the rope---falls get caught.

Alan Rubinwrote:

Don't know Eric's reasons, but for me it requires unnecessary hand movements ( which could lead to belay hand not on rope if not done correctly) and is slow to take in rope when top-roping, especially with a fast climber.

As for the 'belay technique' that I use, I just belay---no idea if it has a specific name, but has worked fine for many years--rope moves in and out smoothly and the brake hand remains on the rope---falls get caught.

I find myself switching between techniques for the exact same reasons, today even while belaying on a super easy climb we probably should have been simul climbing.  

Charging 50$ extra for a grigri 2.0 that does nothing but attempt to help retards 

Seeing all the partner finder posts where the person doesn't lead and is looking for somebody to do all the hard work for them. 

Hire a guide or get over it and get on the sharp end. 

Cosmic Hotdogwrote:

Seeing all the partner finder posts where the person doesn't lead and is looking for somebody to do all the hard work for them. 

Hire a guide or get over it and get on the sharp end. 

I see the opposite almost as often in forums, "looking for someone to belay me on my hitlist, will lead everything, you just need to know how to belay"

There should be a better way to hook these folks up

Aaron Kwrote:

Wut

When you have a belayer lower you, you're adding 60% of your weight to the system, because the rope is pulling both the belayer and the climber, so the system has 160% climber weight.  When you take the belayer out of the system, that's only 100% of the climber weight in the system vs 160%, so that's how I get 5/8.  

As far as pbus, it creates an uncomfortable slumped over belay posture because you have to reach down even further than the natural braking position.  Here's what i prefer from the single pitch manual: 

You could also just walk your hands up towards the belay device after braking. Seated belay from above  benefits from this technique when you're braking to the side.  

Also, cold climbing shoes are the worst.

Very Average Climberwrote:

Climbing movies that try to make climbing seem like this super meaningful thing beyond the fact that it’s just a hobby. Can’t we just watch someone try super hard on a route and say they had fun without this nonsensical story of trials and tribulations about their lives?  

I don't watch much climbing content but I imagine a lot less ppl would if what you want were to happen.

Too long of a tail tied with some version of an overhand on experienced climbers.  Like, didn't anyone ever teach you how to measure for the perfect amount of tail?

tRumpers

Nick Goldsmithwrote:

tRumpers

Do we call you hArrisers?

Marc801 Cwrote:

How is  lowering putting more wear on your rope than rapping?

Also, the decision to rappel off the anchor bolts at the top of a single pitch route (trad or sport) is less about saving wear on the rope and more about saving wear on the anchor bolts. If you are rappelling off the bolts, there is no real wear on the bolts while the rope is under body load - only a little wear when pulling rope through at the end of the rappel. Alternatively, if you lower through the anchor bolts, you have more than single body weight (since there is a belayer in the system) on the rope as the rope runs through the rappel rings. At high traffic single pitch areas, we try to avoid wearing down the anchor bolts by instituting a practice of rappelling. Unless the anchor bolts are equipped with D-links which can be easily replaced, then the ethic is to lower through the anchor bolts since lowering is safer and any wear on the bolts can be quickly address with changing D-links.

Aaron Kwrote:

Rapelling off single pitch sport routes 

Downvote

D-links.

Aaron Kolb wrote:

Rapelling off single pitch sport routes 

There was a time when I was in this camp for the reasons stated, but equipment has changed dramatically since then, and now the former rationale just doesn’t work, esp. at sport areas that are reasonably or well maintained.