Belaying - Responsibilities of a Belayer

Gri'gri's are primarily a sport climbing belay device. They add more force to a fall as compared to an ATC. This is because as a belayer arrests a fall with a regular ATC rope slips through the device, significantly extending the time it takes to stop the fall, thus decreasing the force on the rope and the protection. A gri-gri, however, instantly grabs the rope significantly decreasing the stopping time and increasing the force on the rope and protection. It is noticable to an experienced belayer the sharp jerk of a fall with a gri-gri compared to that of an ATC. When traditional climbing this difference in force can be the difference between protection holding and protection popping. Sport bolts, unless particularly dodgy, will be able to take this increased force, that dodgy nut you placed four metres below you may not.

When used correctly they are great for sport climbing, especially when the leader is spending a long time resting on the rope attempting to depump or checkout the next move. Holding a leader with the standard ATC can get mighty tiresome. Gri-gri's MUST be used correctly and be aware if you are using it for any other purpose then sport climbing.

The Gri-Gri and the Trango Cinch place much more distress on the gear. I also believe it shortens the life of your rope. Being a trad climber, I hate climbing on a Gri-Gri. The force I feel in the gym on a big fall is not a comfortable one. The gym I frequent has bolts places every 5 feet, so it is never a large fall, so its never too uncomfortable, but its more than I like to feel on a fall.

My advice, practice with all devices. A good belayer will know how to belay with more than one. Some advice though. the first device you should learn with is no device at all. A simple locking caribeaner and a hitch knot should be the first thing any climber learns. It could save your life. As for other devices:

A Rescue 8 - great device. Great for rescue, great for having locking capabilities, horrible for the rope, leads to rope twist and in turn separates the rope from the sheath. The twisting can form coils that will not travel freely through the device and therefore can put your climber at great risk while he waits for you to uncoil the rope.

Hitch Knot - It works great, it's great when other devices become worn or you don't have one, but really wears the sheath on the rope and I find that a its never a consitent belay. You have to vary the pull to get the rope to travel through the knot. It is essential to know this knot and be familiar with it in self resue applications.

The ATC - great belay device. Very easy to use. Easy on the rope. Needs a little more strength in the hands to use, but I find to be the most reliable. Can be used in both double rope and single rope climbs very easily. I recommend the Black Diamond ATC-XP or the Black Diamond ATC Sport Belay Device. It is a typical ATC with a grooved cut out that you can wedge the rope into while your climber is resting. It takes much of the stress out of belaying in a fall and while resting.

The Petzl Gri-Gri & Trango Cinch: Argued to be the safest belay device. It has a camming device that locks against the rope during a fall or any sudden jerk on the rope. When sport climbing or indoor climbing it is the safest, however, the instantanious locking action will place more force on the rope and the climber. In a Trad-Climbing environment, this sudden force may pull gear from the wall and lead to bigger falls. Bigger falls leads to earlier retirement on your rope. I definately do not reccommend either of these devices to anyone who wishes to get into the world of Trad Climbing but would highly recommend it to all sport climbers. Remember though, the locking action does not guarantee the safety of your climber, the responsibilty of safe belaying stills fall on the man on the ground!