Rock Rescue Academy Part 4: Learning To Belay

As an attendant--the person over the edge who will assist the victim--is lowered or rappels, the belayer needs to remove the slack from the belay line by pulling in excess rope if necessary.

If the attendant were to fall for some reason, they'd fall the distance of any slack until friction would stop them. That's why it's so important there isn't excess slack on the belay. The more slack there is, the farther the person on belay would fall, and the farther they'd fall, the more force there would be and the greater likelihood for injury.

At the same time, the belayer needs to keep up with the progress of the main line being let out on a lower or the attendant's rappel speed, so the weight isn't transferred to a tighter belay, locking it off.

Before going over the edge, a rescue attendant should wait for the belayer to confirm they're ready. The usual exchange is for the attendant to ask, "On Belay?" and then the belayer, if ready, would reply "Belay On."

During the descent, the attendant might request slack or tension, either directly to the belayer--often with the use of a radio in rescue situations--or through an edge person, who will relay the information.

Some form of belay device is used to minimize the physical effort required of the belayer. These devices or systems allow even a relatively weak person to stop the attendant's fall with little strain on the belayer or damage to the rope.

Here are the two methods our team typically uses to belay:

According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, tandem means, "a group of two or more arranged one behind the other or used or acting in conjunction."

And that's what happens with the tandem Prusik belay, where a short Prusik is backed up by a long Prusik to apply friction in the event of a fall.

This system requires the two Prusiks, two locking Carabiners, and a load-releasing hitch attached to an anchor as follows....

The Munter hitch (aka Italian hitch) is made with a couple of simple wraps. Friction is created by the rope rubbing on itself and on the object--usually a carabiner--that it's wrapped around.

The Munter is also reversible, meaning it can be pulled from either side and still work just the same.

Some climbers use the Munter Hitch as an emergency rappel or belay device by itself, especially in the event that a belay or rappel device was forgotten. This is not something we've done in the Rock Rescue Academy.

The 540 Rescue Belay device is self-locking, able to quickly hold falling loads. It's also symmetrical and easy to rig, which minimizes the risk of being improperly loaded. There's a built-in lever to release the tension on the belay rope, so there's no need for a load-releasing, Radium hitch. The 540 can be rigged quicker than a tandem Prusik belay.

I much prefer to use the 540 versus a tandem Prusik belay, but there are times when a lighter gear load is best, especially when hiking a significant distance to the scene of a rescue. And the 540 weighs significantly more than a couple of Prusiks.

At this point, I won't say much about self-belay, because we new tech team recruits haven't done much of that, other than in the somewhat controlled setting inside the SAR building, practicing a relatively short distance off the ground.

We have, however, used a self belay on a second rope while ascending an 80-foot cliff. In that case, we had a Prusik attached from our harness to a second (belay) line and had to remember to tend that Prusik--to move it up the rope--as we moved up the rope. Forget and it would soon be out of reach.

We've also used a Prusik as a "conditional" self-belay on the main line while ascending and then changing over to a rappel. The Prusik is attached between the two ascenders on the way up, so it's easily minded by the lower ascending device. After the changeover to a rappel, the Prusik is above the rappel device and must be moved down the rope as we descend.

In the latter case, I've read there's significant risk involved, including the fact that it's common for a falling climber or rappeller to grab the Prusik knot, causing it to slide down the rope instead of catching. I'll have to talk about this with experienced teammates and see if there is a different method of self-belay on a single rope that we can or should use if that's ever necessary.

Here's an article I found that discusses another method of self-belay called the French Wrap, as well as the Prusik system I just described: Introduction to the French Wrap. This is not something we've even discussed in our Rock Rescue Academy trainings.

For a good representation of the different types of belays, see: Rescue Belay by the Search & Rescue Institute of New Zealand.