Belaying for someone twice my weight

there is one more solution that no one has mentioned but is a viable solution should you have sufficient social skills

in many cases of mismtached weight its usually a large male bringing out their significant other lighter female

what you, the male, need to do is to bring out two light females

then tie them in series on the rope for the belay, belay device on the rope loop (alpine butterfly)

this way the counter weight will be much more even ... and the second female can keep the rope moving smoothly for the belayer as well as act as a backup brake hand

also if you are in one of those top rope bangest situations where the belayer is exceptionally light, you can just clip her to another person if there are no ground anchors like the gym ... of course ive seen some durty ole men deliberately have lighter attractive women belay up heavier men on TR, and when they get pulled up, theyll grab her "for her safetly"

now it is possible, but very rare, that it is a much larger female who prefers skinny male partners ... so in that case you would have to tie two skinny men together for the belays ... i havent seen that myself, but i know that there are skinny men who prefer larger women, i remember seeing it on the jerry springer show years ago

in theory one could also daisy chain a few kids to give the proper counter weight, but ive only tried it with two women, so i cant say how kids would behave

you do the above at your own risk, and you might even end up on the jerry springer show

;)

I did not read all the comments so if this has already been covered forgive me. As a light climber who has climbed with heavy climbers that out weight me by 100 lbs I would be more concerned with how he catches you. The heavy climbers is almost always guaranteed a soft catch. When the heavier climbers belays you make sure he really jumps into it and watch the slack.

Yeah but how is it done in Squamish?

Miike wrote:Yeah but how is it done in Squamish?

"If your not belaying then yr just climbing"

youtube.com/watch?v=XSL1IAV…

;)

Jon Powell wrote: The heavy climbers is almost always guaranteed a soft catch. When the heavier climbers belays you make sure he really jumps into it and watch the slack.

I got badly slammed into the wall this summer by a guy who weighs at least 20lbs less than I do. Why? He braced himself when I fell and didn't have enough slack out (my waist was only 2 feet above the last draw).

So I'd expand your comment. Belayers don't need to be heavier to give a harsh catch, they can be quite a bit lighter.

I've found that jumping works, but it's very hard to time the jump perfectly every time. Taking a few steps back from the wall and just stepping forward naturally when the leader falls consistently gives a soft catch.

I also have a friend who weighs 40lbs more than I do, and his catches are always perfect. The skill of the belayer is the most important factor.

bearbreeder wrote:there is one more solution that no one has mentioned but is a viable solution should you have sufficient social skills in many cases of mismtached weight its usually a large male bringing out their significant other lighter female what you, the male, need to do is to bring out two light females then tie them in series on the rope for the belay, belay device on the rope loop (alpine butterfly) this way the counter weight will be much more even ... and the second female can keep the rope moving smoothly

I've been told that this is how the Mormons do it in Utah.

John Byrnes wrote: I got badly slammed into the wall this summer by a guy who weighs at least 20lbs less than I do. Why? He braced himself when I fell and didn't have enough slack out (my waist was only 2 feet above the last draw). So I'd expand your comment. Belayers don't need to be heavier to give a harsh catch, they can be quite a bit lighter. I've found that jumping works, but it's very hard to time the jump perfectly every time. Taking a few steps back from the wall and just stepping forward naturally when the leader falls consistently gives a soft catch. I also have a friend who weighs 40lbs more than I do, and his catches are always perfect. The skill of the belayer is the most important factor.

I agree and should have went into more detail explaining. Anyone can give a soft or hard catch but it is easier for a much heavier belayer to give a hard catch if things go wrong than a climber/belayer that are close to the same size. I received a hard catch last February when my belayer who out weighted me by 100 lbs set back into the rope as I came off. Ended up with a severly broken ankle and foot. 3 months in a half leg cast another month in a boot, a couple months on a cane and 6 months before I got back to climbing.

ahh.. relax people.
I've read a few comments that say to just give out less slack, and I've previously stated that I have the absolute minimum slack out for my climber. He's TWICE my weight... the issue here is finding a way to lessen how big of a fall he takes (I do not want him to deck because of the huge weight difference)
If the answer was to give less slack then I would have to be at least partially retarded to post an entire thread about this scenario.

If you don't have an actual solution to offer me please refrain from commenting. thank you thank you.

Short Beta wrote:ahh.. relax people. I've read a few comments that say to just give out less slack, and I've previously stated that I have the absolute minimum slack out for my climber. He's TWICE my weight... the issue here is finding a way to lessen how big of a fall he takes (I do not want him to deck because of the huge weight difference) If the answer was to give less slack then I would have to be at least partially retarded to post an entire thread about this scenario. If you don't have an actual solution to offer me please refrain from commenting. thank you thank you.

Why can't he just lose weight? Is he really all that much muscle? I doubt it. Cmmon. It will solve a lot of problems.
If he is very sensitive about u on saying it just have him read this:

Hello fellow climber! It's much easier for men to lose weight than it is for women. You don't Have Chocolate cravings and all that testosterone makes your metabolism much higher than ours. So just do it.

bearbreeder wrote: "If your not belaying then yr just climbing" youtube.com/watch?v=XSL1IAV… ;)

Would this be him having a difficult, enjoyable flash? Did he receive the great satisfaction? It would be seeming that he received happy ending on the climbing rocks.

eyesonice2014 wrote: Why can't he just lose weight? Is he really all that much muscle? I doubt it. Cmmon. It will solve a lot of problems. If he is very sensitive about u on saying it just have him read this: Hello fellow climber! It's much easier for men to lose weight than it is for women. You don't Have Chocolate cravings and all that testosterone makes your metabolism much higher than ours. So just do it.

The guy eats healthier than I do, really.. Most of his diet is composed of veggies and he works out every day.
He really does care about his body and works really hard so it's tough for me to ask him to lose weight. He seems to be doing everything right.
It could be worth mentioning kindly though.

Short Beta wrote: The guy eats healthier than I do, really.. Most of his diet is composed of veggies and he works out every day. He really does care about his body and works really hard so it's tough for me to ask him to lose weight. He seems to be doing everything right. It could be worth mentioning kindly though.

Also worth checking into his thyroid and testosterone levels. Those can be huge factors.

bearbreeder wrote:what you, the male, need to do is to bring out two light females then tie them in series on the rope for the belay, belay device on the rope loop (alpine butterfly)

UR GUNNA DIE

I always always always equalize my partners with a sliding x

"I need a woman 'bout twice my weight
A ton of fun who packs a gun with all her freight
Find her in a sideshow leave her in L.A.
Ride her like a surfer running on a tidal wave."

I haven't gotten to test this yet, but here's an idea (at least for single pitch sport):

This is basically a redneck edelrid ohm, tie a munter hitch on a locking hms on your first bolt, in addition to your regular belay (grigri, atc, whatever).  The munter and the first bolt should absorb much of the fall force, while allowing some dynamism to the belay.

Perhaps you should test it yourself before resurrecting 4 year old threads to give unsolicited advice to people who probably don’t even post here anymore?

Ted Pinson wrote: Perhaps you should test it yourself before resurrecting 4 year old threads to give unsolicited advice to people who probably don’t even post here anymore?

Actually, I think it's better to discuss ideas before testing them on humans ;)

If you have any specific concerns about this idea, I'd love to hear them.

I don't see any problem with this. Post the footage so everyone can see how great of a solution this is. 

Tyler Newcomb wrote: Weight difference is not the only variable. What type of routes are they climbing? Are they very steep, straight lines with very little friction in the line? Are they low angle wandering lines? How big are the falls? IMO 70-80 lbs is still pretty big. I'm 140-150 and when I belay people in excess of 200 I get lifted a good amount, especially if it is a line with little rope friction. I get lifted whether I want to or not, even sitting on the rope duringa fall will not keep me on the ground. THis is fine if we are talking about steep sport lines, but if there are ledges that can be hit, it is not reasonable to expect that I'd be able to shorten a fall. Yes, it is a big difference, and I do get lifted some, but I have learned to manage it to only be lifted usually a foot or two (on regular lead falls, not 50 foot whippers). A few weekends ago i belayed on a bolted slab climb that was hard for my partner, and he fell plenty of times above the first bolt, which i could catch without leaving the ground. Again, this is for reasonable lead falls, not giant whippers. If this is accurate for you Personal: Male Favorite Climbs: Thin air Other Interests: Everything outdoors Personal/Favorite web site: none specified Likes to climb: Trad, Sport, TR, Gym climbs Trad: Leads 5.7 Follows 5.9 Sport: Leads 5.8 Follows 5.10a Boulders: V3 Then you actually have no right to your opinion. You should be spending your time learning from experienced climbers. Come back in 20 years. I'm sorry, but why do I have no right to my opinion? No, I don't have 30 or 20 or even ten years of climbing experience, but I am not a noob either, and I am learning from more experienced climbers. Last time I checked I had a right to disagree with you, has that changed recently?

He means climbers that used to climb 5.12 and up but now only lead 5.8 do to injury or old age have no right to an opinion. You might think they still have the experience even though they now can't climb as hard. This is not the case. As you get older you forget things, thus voiding your right to an opinion. The same is true for injuries. Weak body, weak mind. It all just goes away. That's what he means. There is this 12 year old girl that climbs 5.12 a gym I sometimes go to. Forget Long's book, if you need some rigging advice, I will give you her parents contact info.