How to Belay a Climber in Indoor Rock Climbing

A Flash player plugin is required to watch a video.

To get the latest Flash player plugin please visit
get.adobe.com/flashplayer/

eHowLearn how to control a climber when belaying indoors in this free indoor rock climbing video lesson.

Transcript for: How to Belay a Climber in Indoor Rock Climbing

"Hey guys! This is Danny Logan and on behalf of Expert Village, I'm here to talk about indoor rock climbing. Okay, in this clip, I'm going to be explaining how to control the climber which is the person who's on the ground, making sure the climber is climbing safely. To use this...we call it...to use a belaying device, this is called the ATC (which stands for Air Traffic Control), which means you are controlling if he falls, whether you are going to catch him or not. There's many types of belaying devices. I'm going to use this one. It's really quite simple. What you are going to do is approach the rope, you grab a bite (this is called a bite of rope), you grab it and you notice how there's two sides. Technically, you can use either side. This side is more for friction climbs, which means if you fall, it's going to be harder for him to fall all the way down because there's more friction. This side is for a more smoother belay. I'm going to place it in like so; it's down like that. I attach it to my carabiner, and attach it to my belay loop like so. I keep my hand here, as he climbs here on this rope, I'll bring up. Notice how that goes up. I'll bring this down, put my hand here and bring up my hand to do it again. So if he falls at any moment, I always will have a hand on this rope, locking it in this position to where he cannot fall. To let him go down, I gently relax my fingers, bring up the rope and he goes. To lock it, bring it down."

Write for Trails.com
  • Editor's Pick

    Backcountry Camping Tips

    Backcountry Camping Tips

    You've already tried car and RV camping. You've camped at commercial campsites that had a convenient restroom and water supply. Now, you want to explore the road less traveled. Backcountry camping, also known as primitive camping, is a wonderful way to explore the remote...

    More Backcountry Camping...
  • Popular Article

    Beach Camping Near Pismo Beach, California

    Beach Camping Near Pismo Beach, California

    Pismo State Beach, California, has many attractions and activities including camping, swimming, hiking and wildlife viewing. Birdwatching is one of the primary activities in the area. The park also has the largest over-wintering colony of monarch butterflies in the natio...

    More Beach Camping...
  • Featured Video

    Common Sense Hiking Tips

    Common Sense Hiking Tips

    The first and most fundamental thing is never hike alone. There are too many situations, especially as an unexperienced hiker, where you may find yourself without anyone to help you. So the buddy system works and applies very much in hiking.

    More Camping Basics...

Outdoor Gear & Equipment

ALL NEW Trails Gear Store powered by:

Trail Finder

US Map

Search by Keyword