Belaying with weight difference. I have learned over time It’s not great on super overhanging routes (especially where bolt 2 is more overhanging than bolt 1) due to the geometry. Is it possible to belay someone heavier than you? If it is, how do you do it safely? Let’s find out! I want to climb with my friend, but I also don't want my actions to cause him injury even if he agrees to me belaying him knowing the weight difference. As a result, the clipping direction no longer matters when the device is clipped to the advice request for belaying someone with a large weight difference A friend of mine recently started climbing. Feb 2, 2025 · Sure, it’s ideal to be at the same weight or even heavier than your belay partner, but sometimes you’re faced with a situation where you end up being the lighter person in the tandem. As a lighter person than your climbing partner, you can do this with confidence. This could include weights used for lifting or something as janky as a bag of rocks. Frankly, just tell him you do not feel safe belaying, both for his sake and yours and that he should find another belayer. If your friend does not catch you regardless of weight, he needs to work on his belaying technique. com Feb 14, 2009 · The weight difference should not be a problem, there is usually enough friction as the rope passes through the karibiner (s) at the top of the wall, or the quickdraws. My friend is somewhere above 350. I dunno if there is any proven statistic or ratio, but I would not want to belay with that much of a difference. Sep 13, 2015 · So, now about the weight difference, as long as you have a belayer who can catch you, don't worry about it. One option is to tie weight directly to your harness. It might be easier in a lot of cases just to build a ground anchor. The assisted-braking resistor for increasing the braking effect when climbing in rope teams with major weight differences has a swivel joint that improves the device’s freedom of movement. Then again, I have been told that I am often too blunt. Aug 18, 2020 · The Ohm is an excellent device but is only really useful for sport or indoor. See full list on mountainknowhow. Jul 19, 2022 · Over the last 35 years of climbing and guiding, I’ve belayed innumerable partners who outweighed me, and along the way learned a few tricks both to help me catch them and feel confident belaying them. I weighed about 100 pounds when I started to climb and climbed mostly with people around twice my weight. You could use it on trad but you'd need to spend some time building an anchor that would take the upwards pull and that definitely wouldn't work loose as it moved around. Tips for Lightweights Consider using a brake-assisted device. . The ohm is great for vertical routes, for years I preached the ohm for everyone with a weight difference (and I definitely still use it). I've had my younger brother belay me when I outweighed him by 70lbs and when I fell it picked him up about 5 feet. Adding weight is more common and practical at an indoor facility, but it is still possible outside. I've been climbing for many years but everyone I've climbed with has been relatively close to my weight - I'm around 150 for context. How much weight to add depends, again, on the weight difference between you and your climbing partner. Are there other ways to further mitigate the risk, or should I just consider the risk unacceptable? Almost a 100lb difference. I generally stay within 50 lbs of my climbing partners. The second generation of our innovative and successful OHM is easier to use than ever thanks to a number of updates. hfw gkz nzgqvz tojqa unuy eclkoo hje txny lrd hdrwb