"In direct" is not a climbing command, it's a status update!

https://www.climbing.com/skills/the-art-of-polite-hangdogging/

See #2.

FrankPS wrote:

A couple of other unnecessary communications I've admonished my newer partners about:

"Lowering" (after I've told you "Lower," you don't need to say that. I'll know I'm being lowered)

"Rappeling"  (that comment adds nothing. You've already yelled "Rope," so you don't need to tell everyone you're rappeling...just rappel)

Mostly agree with you, although if your belayer has you on fireman's belay they might want to know you are actually rappeling.  If you don't want them doing that, you're right - just come down without status reports.

EricL wrote:

Mostly agree with you, although if your belayer has you on fireman's belay they might want to know you are actually rappeling.  If you don't want them doing that, you're right - just come down without status reports.

Yes, just yesterday we were rapping in near dark at the end of the day. I got down first, started to clean things up at the base (i.e., put away our gear, etc) and it was helpful when my partner shouted "rapping" so I could switch to giving a fireman's belay. Sure I could have stood attentively the whole time while while they fiddled cleaning the anchor up top, but it was nice to do some chores until the fireman was necessary. This is a command of sorts--assuming, of course, that you have already established with your partner they will get a fireman's.

Jeremy Bauman wrote:

While we're spraying opinions on the internet: I also dislike it when I clip the first piece and my belayer now says, "belay's on now". --- what the heck? We're the ropes not ready before? I get it, but still.

For consistency I always announce when belay is on and off. And, on sport climbs where the first bolt is close to the ground, I try to have the right amount of slack in the system when I spot (hands off belay device) the first few feet, but if someone clips from a higher stance sometimes there is close to enough slack to deck, I quickly pull this in and announce that "belay is on" when it is. Then, if the move right after the bolt is dicey, the climber can make the decision to go or wait an extra second with the correct information about the system

cdec wrote:

I keep hearing “in direct” at the crag and then, invariably, actual climbing commands or a conversations ensues about what is happening next. 

“In direct” is totally unnecessary and often a source of confusion and if it isn't the cause of an accident it will be.
Again today I watched a lively cliff top to base discussion about what the climber was going to do next after declaring himself 'in direct". 

If you tell your belayer “in direct” what does that mean for them? Can they be less attentive? Take you off and walk away? Should they keep belaying as before?

Take, slack, off belay, lower, belay is on, climb on are actual climbing commands used when at the anchor.

“In direct”, when used, is the equivalent of "stand by", simply a  status update.

Everyone out there...

To the user of mountain project "cdec" if he yells "In direct" it is not a climbing command, it's a status update!

To all the other climbers out there, before you start climbing make sure to clarify that if they yell "In direct" it may be a climbing command or it may be a status update!

Just wanted to make sure that was clear to all.

cdec wrote:

Take, slack, off belay, lower, belay is on, climb on are actual climbing commands used when at the anchor.

“In direct”, when used, is the equivalent of "stand by", simply a  status update.

belay is on and climb on are both status updates ( the latter doesn't compel one to start climbing, only that the belayer is ready for the climber to start climbing), so is climbing. Also, one typical say ready to lower instead of lower (unless you are cleaning on the way down), which is also a status update. I'm really not sure what your fuss is all about.

"Falling!" is also a status update.

aikibujin wrote:

"Falling!" is also a status update.

"SHIT!" is also a status update.

What is used for signalling is less important than is a shared interpretation of whatever vocalizations are used. Back in the day in our small cluster we used to use a single word - 'yowsa' - with different intonations for pretty much everything.

P.S. "Take" is a command; "Falling" is a status update...

Nick Drake wrote:

I have to wonder if many people posting have spent much time working a project. It is so much nicer for your belayer if you clip direct to a bolt and don't rely on them to hold you the whole time. I'll use in direct as a command mid pitch for those times so that my belayer keeps me on, but can relax their focus while I read a sequence or de-pump. 

I never use that as a command at an anchor. "safe" or "secure" as a leader command is much bettter than yelling "off belay". Keep the commands totally separate to eliminate confusion. 

This.

Kyle Tarry wrote:

Standard practice at non-US crags, from what I have seen.  It is essentially equivalent to "off belay," except it doesn't sound like "on belay" so there is less chance of confusion.

BTW, it's short for "I'm safe," it's not a command for the belayer to do anything safe.

Ah, a great example of the confusion. While others up thread have said it does not mean Off belay, you state  it essentially does mean off belay.  Hmm!

Serious question to those that like to use this for hang dogging: 

 While you are leading, the rope is not taught. When you clip into a bolt to hang dog, the rope is still not taught. What does the belayer do differently at the moment you say in direct? To me, it sounds like nothing other than relax a bit. But the Belay needs to stay on.

 Now, if you fell and then had to boink your way back to a bolt, then clip in direct, I can see some benefit because now the belayer can take your weight off of him and allow it to go onto the bolt. But I'm still not sure how this would differ if you just said slack once or twice.

Greg D wrote:

Now, if you fell and then had to boink your way back to a bolt, then clip in direct, I can see some benefit because now the belayer can take your weight off of him and allow it to go onto the bolt. But I'm still not sure how this would differ if you just said slack once or twice.

This is the standard scenario. It is less common on hard sport climbs for it to be convenient to clip straight in to the bolt without weighting the rope. More often you are falling off, then pulling up and clipping in direct. Or asking your belayer to take, then using the rope to position yourself to clip in direct. In either case, once you are in direct the polite thing is to let your belayer know as such, and also to let them know about how long you expect you'll rest before you start climbing again.

Greg D wrote:

Serious question to those that like to use this for hang dogging: 

 Now, if you fell and then had to boink your way back to a bolt, then clip in direct, I can see some benefit because now the belayer can take your weight off of him and allow it to go onto the bolt. But I'm still not sure how this would differ if you just said slack once or twice.

Boinking back up and onto the wall on steep terrain after falling off is hard work for both the climber and the belayer. Often the belayer is jumping up to put full weight on the rope and taking in any slack as the climber boinks his/her way back to the bolt. The belayer is likely to also be leaning way back on the rope, heading well away from the way to give as much assistance to the boinking climber as possible. By the time the climber gets back on the wall and back to the  bolt, the belayer may be 10-15 feet away from the wall. Going in direct (or "in straight" as some may say), allows the belayer to take his/her weight off the rope and get back in proper belay position under the first bolt of the route. Some rests after boinking may be five or ten minutes so going in straight and allowing the belayer to take it a bit easier for a while is the polite, natural thing to do. 

In that scenario, its more about just communicating what's going on than issuing a specific command. "Slack. Gonna be here a while. I'll let you know when I'm moving again" is a lot more complicated than "direct" or "in direct". Especially if part of the point is that while you're not at risk of falling, you shouldn't be off belay.

I agree with Turner and Nick Drake. My climbing partners and I use in-direct all the time when working a route (hangdogging) while sport climbing. Clipping in to a bolt to go "in-direct" is usually to rest, suss out some beta, or give the rope a rest from being repeatedly fallen on. 

Once they are "in-direct", I will give slack and then I have the peace of mind to relax. I can tie off my gri-gri and then adjust my harness, take my coat off, or put one on, grab a bar from the lid of my pack, etc.  Once they are ready to climb again they will say,  "take in slack", I take in slack, They say " on you" (indicating they are no longer in-direct), I confirm I am ready to belay and be attentive, and then they say "climbing" and I say "climb on" or "I got you" or something of that nature.

I don't know where the whole idea of this military style short commands, don't talk to me, don't communicate unless we have to attitude came from. I climb on a rope to have a partnership. I want to feel supported by my partner and know they have my back and are ready to give me whatever support i need to get to the top of the route. If I didn't want to feel supported and communicate with my partner I would just go climb alone and not talk to anyone.

No matter what commands you use, make sure the people you're climbing with understand them.  Many years ago my climbing partner and I would use "slack" to mean "Hey, there's some slack in the rope, better take it up," but it was not something we had officially decided on and there was some misunderstanding when we climbed with a stranger.  Nowadays I certainly use "slack" to mean "give me some slack rope".

I personally will not use "in direct" to mean "I'm clipped in to the anchor".  If I get to a bolted anchor I probably won't say anything until I've clipped in, and then I'll just say "take", unless it's a multipitch in which case I'll say "off belay".  But I suppose it could be useful to communicate "I'm clipped in but you don't need to take up all the slack right now".

I'm not sure what the big deal is. So it's not a command, but a status update - so what? Some status updates are useful. Where is it written that the only communication between climbing partners on a climb is commands?

Missed a lot since I was last here.

To all those that are projecting I wasn't talking about the phrase being used mid-pitch. 

To those that want to chat and "be supported" talk away! Though I know that it is usually hard to carry on a conversation when you're 1/2 a rope length, or more, out.

But I still say using "in direct" at the anchor is about as useful as yelling down the current temp, cloud cover or the fact that you are hungry. Great if you really want to provide info that is meaningless to the process.

I missed this thread the first time around.  A few weeks ago I was at a crag and someone yelled "in direct", his belayer took him off belay.  A few minutes later the leader yelled "ok, you can lower".  The belayer scrambled to get him back on belay and fortunately everything worked out but that phrase stuck in my head.

I was climbing with a partner yesterday who is newer to climbing and every time he got to the anchors he yelled "in direct", I never took him off belay and nothing changed on my end of the rope.  At the end of the day I asked him why he says "in direct".  He said its so I could relax and feed him slack.  I told him about the climbers I saw a few weeks before and how it could be a confusing command.  I have been climbing for 40 years and never used the phrase and never worried about my belayer being able to relax or feed me slack and as a belayer the last thing I should be doing is relaxing. The belayer should ALWAYS have the leader on belay unless the words "off belay" are heard from YOUR partner.  "In direct" can be a confusing command or status update to the new and old (me) climber alike.   If you do decide to use this phrase do your partner and yourself a favor and explain exactly what you mean by it before climbing.   

Belay on? Belay is on. Climbing. Climb on.  Take. Lower.