Weekend Whipper: This Belayer Was a Sitting Duck
Sometimes, at hanging belays, there’s nowhere to hide.
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Readers, please send your Weekend Whipper videos, information, and any lessons learned to Anthony Walsh, awalsh@outsideinc.com.
Steep multi-pitch rock climbs have a lot going for them: they’re exposed, aesthetic, and often serve a venue for big, clean whippers. But steep rock typically comes with a dearth of comfortable ledges, which means that belayers are lashed tightly to the wall.
On Arco, Italy’s, Zodiac Wall (6b/5.10c A3; 720ft), the professional climber Martin Feistl was trying to make the route’s first free ascent. On the crux sixth pitch, Feistl found a clever free variation that he estimated to be around 8a+ (5.13c). The only problem? The entire crux sequence had no gear.
“It’s not an easy catch from a hanging belay, and [it has] this huge traverse,” Feistl told Climbing, so when he cratered into his belayer, Feistl changed tactics. “We switched from a GriGri to an ATC, which makes the fall longer,” he admits, “but way smoother and more controllable if you’re used to catching bigger falls with an ATC.” That’s because an ATC—or any tube-style belay device—produces more rope slippage when catching a fall. Unlike the immediate braking of a GriGri, an ATC makes it easier to provide “longer” catches, thus avoiding uncomfortable collisions like this one.
Happy Friday, and be safe out there this weekend. Thanks to Silvan Metz for the video.
The post Weekend Whipper: This Belayer Was a Sitting Duck appeared first on Climbing.