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is at the very cliff edge, friction will be much lower, but a fall will pull the belayer directly down into his position. Such a spot will require the belayer to hang his feet over the edge, and should not be taken unless the sitting position slopes back and down into the cliff. Standing belay.—This weak belay position with the rope running around the hips, although far stronger than the frequently advocated but wholly inadequate shoulder belay, is never preferred to the sitting belay (except as varied in the piton belay). An anchor is almost always essential. Piton belay.—As soon as the leader has placed a reliable piton, the direction of pull when he falls will be forward and up on the belayer, who should therefore have a low anchor directly in line with this direction of pull, and should run the belay rope just below his buttocks. Both knees should be bent, to prevent the rope from sliding up above the buttocks. The braking arm should be extended; when a fall occurs the arm is brought in, with steadily increasing resistance, to a position in front of the hip where as much rope as necessary is then allowed to slide through the hand. A fall is easier to hold with a piton than without, especially through several pitons, because of the added friction between rope, rock, and carabiner. For this reason it is imperative that the belayer keep enough slack in the line to prevent the fall from jerking to a stop; likewise, he must not resist the fall too much when its impact first hits him. |
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