Mountain Project Logo

Belaying for someone twice my weight

Original Post
Short Beta · · Troy, MI · Joined Feb 2014 · Points: 45

My climbing partner weighs 220 lbs and I weigh 110 lbs. He has expressed anxiety about falling on lead and I don't really blame him.

I use a grigri and more importantly, he has total confidence in my ability to belay smartly and safely (and I do too) but you can't change physics. We have taken controlled practice falls in the climbing gym and it went how I expected, he took a small fall and I went flying. (First bolt was unclipped and I had very little to no slack out)

I feel like this is a pretty common problem with small belayers, and I would like to look into a weight vest to even the difference out. Has anyone here tried this before? Will wearing a 40 pound vest make belaying uncomfortable? Or are there better alternatives?

Yes he could find a heavier belayer but I want to try and find a solution.

Jay Eggleston · · Denver · Joined Feb 2003 · Points: 21,326

Just be anchored at the belay.

Leify Guy · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Jul 2013 · Points: 367

a local climbing couple used a rope bag and weighed it down with sand bags, then attached it to her harness and found that it made it so that she could comfortably belay, give him a soft catch, but not get wrecked by the wall when he fell...

MojoMonkey · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Jan 2009 · Points: 66
Short Beta wrote:My climbing partner weighs 220 lbs and I weigh 110 lbs. He has expressed anxiety about falling on lead and I don't really blame him. I use a grigri and more importantly, he has total confidence in my ability to belay smartly and safely (and I do too) but you can't change physics. We have taken controlled practice falls in the climbing gym and it went how I expected, he took a small fall and I went flying. (First bolt was unclipped and I had very little to no slack out) I feel like this is a pretty common problem with small belayers, and I would like to look into a weight vest to even the difference out. Has anyone here tried this before? Will wearing a 40 pound vest make belaying uncomfortable? Or are there better alternatives? Yes he could find a heavier belayer but I want to try and find a solution.
Some previous similar threads to review:
Greg Twombly · · Conifer, CO · Joined Nov 2007 · Points: 275

I prefer to climb with lighter belayers because of the "soft catch". I weigh 165 and have been caught by belayers weighing 95 to 105 lbs with no problems. I'm much more careful through the first 3 bolts. I have taken a few long falls this way, but very soft falls. The only issue has been that the belayer ends up at the first bolt, so she has to be careful not to get her rope hand caught in the rope side 'biner of the first quickdraw. The best way to avoid problems is move both hands to the braking side, and keep as little slack out as possible.

Short Beta · · Troy, MI · Joined Feb 2014 · Points: 45

This is someone twice my weight who pulls me up to the second draw with a small to moderate lead fall and the absolute minimum slack out on my part.

There is a difference between having a soft catch and worrying that you will deck purely based on the massive weight inbalance. My goal is to reduce the length of my climber's fall.

Jay, I have reservations about being anchored at the belay. I think that stopping abruptly due to the anchor could injure both me and my climber. Can someone weigh in on this who has done this technique multiple times successfully?

Xam · · Boulder, Co · Joined Dec 2011 · Points: 76

I don't sport climb much but I am curious if there is a problem with a light belayer tieing in, cloving to a ground anchor, and leaving enough slack to give a soft catch but not enough to get mangled on the first draw? You already have the gear and don't need to bring out something for ballast weight.

rocknice2 · · Montreal, QC · Joined Nov 2006 · Points: 3,847

You could anchor yourself with a reusable load limiter such as the KONG KISA .
Might need some playing around with it to dial it in. You can load different lengths of rope into it. 6 feet might be a good option. That way your not tied down and there is a lot for energy absorption.

Christian RodaoBack · · Tucson, AZ · Joined Jul 2005 · Points: 1,486

I assume the 200 lb guy would carry the 40 lb weight vest to the crag?

Would that short of a length of dynamic climbing rope really be that dynamic?

I wonder if you could do something w a heavy-duty bungee cord w reliably-closing clips to attach to the anchor? I'm sure there's some obvious reason not to I've overlooked..

John Byrnes · · Fort Collins, CO · Joined Dec 2007 · Points: 392
Jay Eggleston wrote:Just be anchored at the belay.
Not in a sport/gym climbing situation. There are plenty of threads here on MP about why not.

Add weight. Many gyms have "sandbags" that you clip to your belay loop with a long sling. You set it off to the side of where you're standing. They weigh 20 to 30 pounds. They are moveable so you can still give a soft catch. I've also seen the belayer wearing a diver's weight belt (the soft kind).

More than once I've seen parent & child outside at the crag with this type of thing. A pain to hump in, but the advantages are clear.

My question is: does he give you a soft catch?
Max Forbes · · Colorado · Joined Jan 2014 · Points: 108

I generally find that the easiest solution is to always carry a cordelette around to create a simple ground anchor. If there is nothing to anchor too, fill a backpack with rocks and securely fasten the cord to the bag.

Short Beta · · Troy, MI · Joined Feb 2014 · Points: 45

Sounds like sandbags or other methods of weighing down are pretty solid options.

rocknice2, can you provide me with more information about the Kong Kisa? I know nothing about this piece of equipment and don't want to use it for lead belaying unless I know that's a legitimate use. And if it is, I'd like some detailed information on how to use it properly.
Thanks.

Leify Guy · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Jul 2013 · Points: 367
Short Beta wrote:This is someone twice my weight who pulls me up to the second draw with a small to moderate lead fall and the absolute minimum slack out on my part. There is a difference between having a soft catch and worrying that you will deck purely based on the massive weight inbalance. My goal is to reduce the length of my climber's fall. Jay, I have reservations about being anchored at the belay. I think that stopping abruptly due to the anchor could injure both me and my climber. Can someone weigh in on this who has done this technique multiple times successfully?
I very very rarely anchor my wife down when sport climbing, the only times I ever have was when the crux was in between the first and second bolts I'd be clipping, and when that was the case I would anchor here directly to the side so that I wouldn't swing into her, the anchor would be attached to her with a biner so that when I got higher up she could unclip and continue with her normal belay practices. That said, most the time I would rather lightly graze the ground from a soft catch than swing hard into the wall... I once was given a hard catch and sprained both ankles upon impact with the wall in a situation where a soft catch would've kept me about two feet above the ground... I would much rather have gotten the soft catch if I were to replicate the situation.
Xam · · Boulder, Co · Joined Dec 2011 · Points: 76
Short Beta wrote:rocknice2, can you provide me with more information about the Kong Kisa? I know nothing about this piece of equipment and don't want to use it for lead belaying unless I know that's a legitimate use. And if it is, I'd like some detailed information on how to use it properly. Thanks.
You would have to anchor in (with slack) to use a load limiter device.
rocknice2 · · Montreal, QC · Joined Nov 2006 · Points: 3,847

I meant to use it as a load limiting device, 'when' you belay. It can be used as a belay device as well.

To rig it it's best to get a short piece of rope 6'-15'.
Tie/fix one end of the rope to a ground anchor.
Stitch the rope through all the round holes.
Plate needs to be next to ground anchor point, with large hole facing away from anchor.
Put a limit knot at the other end of the rope.
Tether to the big oblong hole with whatever [PAS,rope,sling] or clip it directly to the belay loop.

As your light belayer gets pulled up the plate will slip over the short rope.
You can play with slippage by using using all or some of the holes and/or different diameters of rope.
Travel is limited by the length of short rope.

More than that I really can't give you over the net. If you don't feel confident in figuring it out on your own ask an old-timer or hire a guide.

The Freehlings · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Jan 2011 · Points: 10

There are many methods: spend time reading through the links provided in a previous post. I learned as the heavier climber that the key is finding a method that YOU...the belayer...feel comfortable with. My skinny, cross-country running, energy drink addicted, underweight kids preferred to belay me while being anchored. This set up usually involved tying into their end of the rope and then clove hitching to some sort of creative anchor on the deck. When catching a fall, they felt the dynamic rope stretch was softer and less jolting on THEM. Expecting a soft catch was never on my mind. Having said this, I never climbed at my limit with them belaying but I did take falls and worked projects.

Eric Chabot · · Salt Lake City, UT · Joined Jul 2011 · Points: 45

If you decide to anchor in, don't use the haul loop on the back of your harness...I have seen people doing this and it does look unpleasant... Then you will get crushed. Anchor to your belay loop.

Tyler Newcomb · · New York, New York | Boston · Joined Dec 2012 · Points: 81

I regularly belay someone who weighs 80lbs more than me (lead belay that is). I have also lead belayed (and caught) someone who has 120lbs on me.

My partner says that he loves my belays (not to brag) because there is a soft catch, and I have just sort of figured out how not to go flying. It's hard to explain, but basically brace yourself, feet up, and use the wall to stop you if you can.

Knowing the climber is probably one of the most helpful things. For example, I know if his feet start to slip, not to take because it will most likely increase his chances of falling, but I am ready to catch him if and when he falls.
Make sure they are prepared to go for a ride, they can lock off even when soaring upwards, and they are able to take their upper hand off and move it to the brake strand.

Hope this helps

jktinst · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Apr 2012 · Points: 55

If you go for the weighted backpack option, you may want to loop one or two water-knotted sling(s) around it and clipping into them (threading them through the various accessory straps and loops of the backpack so they stay in place around the pack during the “getting yanked up” part of the manoeuvre. I think that the suggestions I’ve seen in the past about loading a backpack with rocks seemed to imply that you could just clip a sling from the belay loop to the pack’s haul loop. Needless to say, a regular pack is simply not built to take that kind of strain. Depending on how much you load and how tough the pack is, you may get away with it once or twice or you may fly up trailing a shredded pack and leaving a pile of rocks on the ground right from the first try.

David Coley · · UK · Joined Oct 2013 · Points: 70

If you want to see some images of how some people solve the issue, have a look at
www.multipitchclimbing.com
chapter 6 the belay
section 27: Belaying a much heavier leader

In much of Europe the answer for multi pitch with bolted anchors and single or twin ropes where the leader is unlikely to be working a pitch is to use a Munter directly on the bolts and gloves. With guides it is a common problem: big male guide with sack against small female client with no sack.

DrugDoc · · Dix, IL · Joined Jul 2013 · Points: 0

I'm 6'2", 255, and my wife is about 5'4", 105. She uses a Grigri and anchors herself (using her belay loop) to the ground, tree, whatever is available, and we've never had an issue. There has been a couple times when there was just no good/feasible spot to anchor her, and we either let her lead it, or just passed it up for a different day with friends or our sons along to belay me.

As far as the catch not being "soft", I would rather take some discomfort or even an injury (though neither has ever been an issue) rather than risk pulling her into the wall or up into a bolt/draw.

Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

General Climbing
Post a Reply to "Belaying for someone twice my weight"

Log In to Reply

Join the Community

Create your FREE account today!
Already have an account? Login to close this notice.

Get Started.