Wednesday, September 26, 2012

PROPER LEAD BELAYING

In this post I want to offer some thoughts on what I think a proper lead belay is. I'm going to assume you already know how to lead belay, so this is not meant to be basic instruction. But just because you can lead belay doesn't mean that you can't improve, or even that you are doing it properly. Think about it: how many times have you been in the gym or at a crag and have seen some pretty sketchy belaying? Well, all those people "know how" to belay, but yet they aren't doing it correctly. Is there a chance you may not be doing everything as best as you can?

Monday, September 3, 2012

HANGING QUICKDRAWS


Probably most everyone reading this knows that when climbing outside you need to hang your draws while you are leading. This is one aspect where gym and outdoor climbing really differ. Despite this big difference it seems not many people spend time thinking about how to do it best, or even if there is a correct way to do it. As it turns out, how you hang your draws may actually make a difference in how safe your climb is. The other morning I made a quick video to demonstrate this. So, watch the video below to see how something as seemingly basic actually requires a bit of thought. As always, please click "Comments" below and let me know what you think. Enjoy!



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