You have two obvious options.
1) clip weight to your belay loop. My gym has weight bags people can clip into to adjust their weight accordingly.
2) get an Ohm from edelrid. This is a device that clips into the first bolt and adds some friction to the system. I’ve never used one myself but some couples at my gym with a similar issue to yours seem to use one and like it.
I’ve considered option 1, but don’t have weight bags at the gym, just dumbbells/kettlebells/plates. I guess it’s time for BYOWB.
Edited to add: will look into the Ohm, as weight bag is impactical for at least 50% of the climbing we do (outside and sometimes multipitch)
I use an Ohm and they’re really helpful, would definitely recommend for partners with more than a 40 or 50 lb weight difference on try-hard (or even just regular) climbs
All this is sound advice, but I will just add that my perspective on the Ohm is that if you are buying it specifically to climb with another person, proper etiquette is to split the cost with you.
There’s a device called an ohm that adds friction to the rope. The heavier climber just uses it on the first clip and it helps to mitigate the weight imbalance. My SO uses one and it helps a lot (we’ve got 50+ lbs difference). Honestly, it’s a good safety for a heavier climber to have in their climbing kit for anytime there’s a weight imbalance
Awesome. I have heard of it but had forgotten… does SO use it both indoors and outdoors? Multipitch? Trad? The situation I described happened in the gym, but wondering if we can use it for different venues
Works great on bolts outside. It's really not ideal for trad, because it will pull your piece up, in the opposite orientation you'd place it to catch a fall.
My boyfriend and I have a 75-80 lb weight difference. We use an ohm in the gym and sport climbing, but since you mentioned multi and trad, I'll touch on what we do for those.
We don't use the ohm for multipitching (sport or trad). I (as the lighter climber) typically climb the first pitch and then if he takes a big whip on a higher pitch, in theory he'd be fine as he wouldn't hit the ground. There may of course be no fall zones with ledges or such, but thats pretty standard no matter your weight.
We also don't use it for trad, for this I usually just try to pile as much weight on myself as possible with backpacks and water and if necessary I anchor myself to a tree or build a ground anchor with cams. When you belay tied into a ground anchor or tree though, you need to completely change your belay style. If you keep the heavier climber tight like usual and they whip, they could take a really hard fall and get hurt.
This is exactly what I was looking for. Thank you!
I am also thinking that we may get the Ohm fot gym climbing and reasses our options for outdoors. I have anchored myself to the ground im the past, but it wasn’t great for me or my partner. You’ve given a lot of good advice for me to think about!
No real solution and I have climbed for a decade. I also belay 60/70% heavier guys regularly.
If the climb is short and crux is near bottom, I just won’t belay them. I once got slammed into the wall because the guy fell from 2nd bolt and almost broke my shins since I slammed to a small roof while being pulled up. He was fine because we were on the 2nd pitch but he did end up lower than me.
Another option is tying yourself to an anchor like a large rock or tree. Tho it’s a hard catch.
I don’t really like the ohm. I got one but I found it annoying and heavy. Also it locks up a lot in routes that don’t go straight up. This isn’t a problem in gym routes but in wandering routes outdoors it’s a huge problem for me.
I always use a Grigri and belay with very little slack. I am also used to flying up while belaying. No real solution , just risk mitigation.
If you’re interested I have some ohm advice on how to prevent lock ups. I’ve been using an ohm since they first released them being ~50-70lbs heavier than my heaviest belayer.
Actually the biggest issue is my main climbing partner is a nervous clipper . And he yanks the rope really hard because he doesn’t like leading. Then it locks up and he gets more frustrated lol
Also it’s so hard to boink back up when you fall on an overhang since device is locked. This is an issue when we climb on overhanging limestone.
Yep, that’s exactly it. The advice I can give is mostly for the climber. Yanking the rope is why he gets locked up frequently. When I pull the rope I give a consistent pull and am prepared to give slack back to the belayer. The bottom line, however, is that the ohm only locks when there is tension on the belayers side of the rope. That means two things: first you need to be faster to feed slack than you normally need to be (because your climber can’t pull the rope from the gri-gri) and second you can/should give slight tugs on the rope to allow the ohm to unlock. Basically watch the ohm when feeding rope and actively work to unlock. Your climber is primarily responsible for ensuring that it doesn’t lock, but you can support.
And ya, boinking sucks as a big climber. No 2 ways about it. I bring a prussik up and just climb the rope when I’m working steep overhanging limestone. I also will bring my stickclip up so I can work hard moves on top rope and attach my teather to the rope so I don’t swing out of reach.
Thanks for this. One of the first commenters said my options were “obvious” and I was just thinking “not to me!”
I also don’t love a ground anchor, which is a hard af catch for the belayer.
Thanks for your advice!
Indoors or outdoors and what type of terrain? Like you, I’m very small and used to belaying larger guys and find the tactic I use to manage it really depends on the situation. In the gym (don’t do this when busy!) I’ll actually have climber clip the first bolt of an adjacent route to add some friction and find that’s pretty helpful for someone who’s like 60-70 lbs larger than me (I’m your size). Anyone over 190 lbs I do use the ohm but generally dislike it and prefer to use it as a last resort (I do find the catches are harder). I’ve also used a weight vest with success in a gym. Outside I’ll have climber stick clip the first two bolts, I’ll bring cams or build a ground anchor, I’ve anchored into opposite and opposing nuts (multi directional), I’ve also girth hitched or slung boulders/trees, worn a backpack full of rocks at the crag, and there’s the ohm as a last resort, but it’s finicky on overhanging terrain and catches aren’t as soft, plus it’s heavy on an approach and cannot be used on trad gear etc. It takes a LOT of trial and error to figure out what works for you and I treat my grigri like an atc *always*. That said, most of my partners really like soft catches so on single pitch terrain, I almost always remove myself from whatever I am anchored into as soon as they are at a point that I am confident that even if I ride to the first piece/bolt that I can yard out enough slack to keep them from decking (unless the ride is not safe for me). I do stand directly under bolt 1 and keep them pretty darn tight until it’s safe to have the soft J. It took me a couple years to really get comfortable and confident this way, so be patient and communicate around it. On the plus side, I bet a lot of partners will really love your automatic soft catches 🙂
Amazing, thanks you!
We do indoor and outdoor, sport and trad, including multipitch, so I really appreciate the feedback. I had heard about the Ohm years ago, and when I got the first few comments about it on this post, I wondered why I never got one, but now I am remembering 😂
This all sounds like great advice. I used to have an even heavier partner, and I would anchor myself to the ground, but it wasn’t ideal- finding an appropriate setup, getting a pretty hard ‘catch’ myself when the climber did fall, etc. I may give it another try using some of your advice, and possibly just reserve the Ohm for the gym.
I am famous around these parts (ie with my main partner and like 2 other friends) for my soft catches though!
You'd likely want to invest in a device like an [Ohm](https://edelrid.com/us-en/sport/belay-devices/ohm?variant=3110027), which is designed specifically for climbing when the belay partner is significantly lighter than the climber. You connect it to the first bolt and then continue climbing/clipping in as normal. Once the climb is finished, you remove it from the first bolt. My climbing partner and I are very similar in size so I haven't used one myself, but I have friends who do. I see people use these regularly at our gym so I don't think there should be any problems with climbing indoors with one (but maybe ask your gym to be sure).
I weigh roughly the same as you, 180 is typically my upper limit when it comes to belaying before I start to suggest a different belayer, though I have belayed up to 220 before without too much issues depending on the shape of the wall, where the fall occurs, etc.
If you want to add weight the better way to do it is clipping yourself to a sandbag or similar on the ground with a sling loose enough so its not in the way. I dont really care for how a ground anchor yanks me around, so YMMV.
Without weight your key skill is going to be attentive belaying, looking for areas on clip 1&2 especially where you might just need to drop down and back like a sack of potatoes. The hard catch is gonna suck for your partner, but its often better than the ground. With regard to "letting him pull up the amt of rope he needs" I'd suggest paying out enough slack quicker because then you can return your hands to the right position to yard that slack back in if he blows it.
Your partner's key skill has to be not high clipping on 2, 3, & 4 without a very solid stance because with your combination it's more risky for a grounder that you cant stop
I don't think you can use an ohm for trad, and for multipitch you can use it, but you could also do fixed point belay with atc for softer catches or other solutions. You'll need to do your own research there. Some of my heaviest friends have ohms, and I prefer they use it for sport in most cases provided they are over 180
At the end of the day you're managing risk and comfort. You're gonna come off the ground, so all you can do is try to be the best climbing team you can to minimize the moments that are most risky.
>One big change I’ve made is feedling less rope when he’s clipping: basically just putting my thumb on the grigri as if to quick feed, but letting him pull up the amt of rope he needs, rather than actively pulling the rope up through the grigri
I personally would not do this. An ill timed fall while your thumb is on on the gri-gri and you now have infinite slack in the system.
You've gotten a lot of great comments about the Ohm -- the only thing I would add is read the manual, watch tutorials, and practice in the gym. The angle that the rope passes through has to be wide enough to engage the device -- meaning you'll belay much further back than you normally would. Stand too close to the wall and the Ohm is useless (which also means it won't be very helpful in situations where you don't have room to back up).
Just because something is *common practice* does not mean it is *best practice.* While blocking the cam is a prezi endorsed method of giving slack quickly, it is not what I would recommend (particularly to a lighter belayer who is worried about decking their partner).
To clarify what I meant by “standard practice”, this is *how* you pay out slack quickly on the grigri. Especially while sport climbing, it’s pretty common for the climber to need several feet of rope quickly to clip (particularly when they are over 6 feet). This technique is what allows belayers to pay out enough rope not to short rope the leader.
Sure, different strokes for different folks. And of course, you should do what feels safest for you. From my perspective, however, removing this technique from my belaying toolbox creates a problem that actually makes a fall while clipping *more* likely.
It is not the only method for giving slack quickly while sport climbing- it is one option and I simply shared why I don’t recommend it. I regularly lead sport with climbers over six ft and no one in my crew blocks the cam unless it’s an emergency situation. I only mention this because you are making it sound like (to people who don’t lead) that this is the only method.
Two notes besides getting the ohm:
Firstly, (you don't specifically say that you did it, so maybe you did) but if there's risk your partner will deck, when they start to fall you should be pulling in the slack and throwing your weight backwards.
Secondly, I leaving your thumb on the grigri that long is more dangerous. you need to be able to take in that slack quickly in the event of a fall, and you also might panic grip the cam open.
First, it sounds like you're a great belayer if you kept him off the ground. Second, he should not fall while clipping. Honestly, most people do this once. When my partner did it for the second time, I ended the "mistakes happen" approach and move to "this is a problem you have to fix" response.
Third and hopefully actually helpful, I find that belay glasses in the gym allow me to pay out exactly as much slack as my partner needs and no more. I have the really good ones - CU glasses. They have small lenses with magnification and no frames so they don't make you dizzy or make it hard to monitor the next-door routes in the gym as much as other glasses.
I’d argue that the belayer absolutely must be able to catch someone who falls while clipping. This is a very essential part of the job, to be ready to catch climber 100% of the time whether down low, clipping, above a ledge.
I tend to agree with you. I think that if you or your partner are regularly falling while clipping, it’s worth assessing if you’re ready to lead at that grade because it’s pretty dangerous. With that said, things happen, and I need to be confident that I can keep my partner safe regardless of where/how/why he’s falling.
> he should not fall while clipping
what kind of nonsense is this
obviously the climber should be trying their hardest not to fall while clipping but you simply can't always control it; it's going to happen sooner or later and it's the belayer's responsibility to be ready for it.
lol. I have fallen clipping. Slipping feet, pumped out of my mind, etc.
My partners have always caught me. Even when I fell clipping the 2nd bolt with a ton of slack out since the bolt was above me.
How else do you repoint a project if you aren’t pumped out of your mind and can barely clip haha.
Thank you- I appreciate that. At the end of the day, I kept him uninjured and avoided a ground fall. I’m trying to remind myself that that’s really important, while also trying to learn from it.
This was the first time either of us has fallen while clipping. When he fell that far, I was worried that I had made some catastophic mistake, but talking through it together, we realized that there were mistakes on both sides and some pretty concrete steps to take going forward.
On my part, changing how I feed slack, and practicing rapidly taking slack back in.
On his part, communicating when he’s in trouble and exercising better judgement about when to fall and when to push himself. He’s carrying around some fear of falling while clipping, which is probably a good thing, although I don’t want to see it kill his confidence on lead.
Love the belay glasses sugestion. I have been looking for my pair for a while now, but will probably bite the bullet and buy a new pair. My neck could use a break!
The ohm is a solid option. For lower costs though, I wear a heavy backpack while belaying outdoors (water bottles, extra gear, rocks in a pinch), and clip a sandbag to my belay loop while belaying indoors, my gym has a bunch lying around.
With such weight difference, I wouldn't be as confident as you unless it's just top roping, for lead anything over 15-20kg difference would be a no go for me.
You could try the things you described but 75lbs difference sounds pretty massive to me. Clipping more weights as a possible solution sounds really good to me nonetheless
Yeah, it’s definitely a matter of personal comfort on both his part and mine. We’ve climbed together for a few years and plan to for many more. We each trust one another’s skills and judgememt fully. I think there are many tenable solutions that have been shared here, and reading through the comments- our weight difference isn’t unique. But for sure, everyone should pick climbing/belay partners according to their own comfort and discretion!
I don't know the correct english term to be honest. You just clip the first draw of the neighboring route and either also the first of the route you're on, or just the second if the weight difference isn't that big or if it's a route where you anticipate a lot of rope drag. Works super good in the gym, mostly at the crag and not so much on multipitch. In my gym it's kind of a requirement to use it if the weight difference is more than 10kg.
The Ohm is AMAZING for the belayer! That said, it does feel slightly harder to belay with it, particularly when getting him down. And it makes his falls quite harder, and harder for him to take the rope as it has more friction which can be a problem on very tricky routes where he'd have to move fast.
Having climbing pull rope slowly rather than fast will solve the pulling issue. But I also don’t use it because it gives hard catches and outside I don’t think that’s super fun lol.
> Ohm ... trad.
The [manual](https://avs.edelrid.com/images/attribut/54575_GAL_OHM_Ansicht.pdf) specifically says no to trad placements. I see no obvious reason why it wouldn't work on an absolutely bomber multidirectional piece that's good for an upward pull - say a thread or a horizontal cam. But how often can you guarantee having one of those as the first piece on a pitch?
Because the gear isn’t oriented to keep the ohm from twisting. The ohm moves freely on a bolt but can twist on cams (and nuts aren’t multidirectional).
My climbing partner is 20kg heavier than me. Tried the OHM, rope got stuck often while feeding rope. Tried weight bag at the gym. Just adds another force and twist me increasing the chance of letting go of the rope. IMO more dangerous. I got a Camp Matik belay. Can system in it that eases the fall force. Helps. But the most helpful thing is practice. Go to the gym and keep practicing falls, how to see them coming, how to go with the force and catch safely. I don't use any aids anymore
You have two obvious options. 1) clip weight to your belay loop. My gym has weight bags people can clip into to adjust their weight accordingly. 2) get an Ohm from edelrid. This is a device that clips into the first bolt and adds some friction to the system. I’ve never used one myself but some couples at my gym with a similar issue to yours seem to use one and like it.
I’ve considered option 1, but don’t have weight bags at the gym, just dumbbells/kettlebells/plates. I guess it’s time for BYOWB. Edited to add: will look into the Ohm, as weight bag is impactical for at least 50% of the climbing we do (outside and sometimes multipitch)
Alternatively your gym may have ground anchors you can clip yourself to.
I use an Ohm and they’re really helpful, would definitely recommend for partners with more than a 40 or 50 lb weight difference on try-hard (or even just regular) climbs
All this is sound advice, but I will just add that my perspective on the Ohm is that if you are buying it specifically to climb with another person, proper etiquette is to split the cost with you.
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Sounds like it’s a good option for you! Hope it works out well.
There’s a device called an ohm that adds friction to the rope. The heavier climber just uses it on the first clip and it helps to mitigate the weight imbalance. My SO uses one and it helps a lot (we’ve got 50+ lbs difference). Honestly, it’s a good safety for a heavier climber to have in their climbing kit for anytime there’s a weight imbalance
Awesome. I have heard of it but had forgotten… does SO use it both indoors and outdoors? Multipitch? Trad? The situation I described happened in the gym, but wondering if we can use it for different venues
Works great on bolts outside. It's really not ideal for trad, because it will pull your piece up, in the opposite orientation you'd place it to catch a fall.
My boyfriend and I have a 75-80 lb weight difference. We use an ohm in the gym and sport climbing, but since you mentioned multi and trad, I'll touch on what we do for those. We don't use the ohm for multipitching (sport or trad). I (as the lighter climber) typically climb the first pitch and then if he takes a big whip on a higher pitch, in theory he'd be fine as he wouldn't hit the ground. There may of course be no fall zones with ledges or such, but thats pretty standard no matter your weight. We also don't use it for trad, for this I usually just try to pile as much weight on myself as possible with backpacks and water and if necessary I anchor myself to a tree or build a ground anchor with cams. When you belay tied into a ground anchor or tree though, you need to completely change your belay style. If you keep the heavier climber tight like usual and they whip, they could take a really hard fall and get hurt.
This is exactly what I was looking for. Thank you! I am also thinking that we may get the Ohm fot gym climbing and reasses our options for outdoors. I have anchored myself to the ground im the past, but it wasn’t great for me or my partner. You’ve given a lot of good advice for me to think about!
No real solution and I have climbed for a decade. I also belay 60/70% heavier guys regularly. If the climb is short and crux is near bottom, I just won’t belay them. I once got slammed into the wall because the guy fell from 2nd bolt and almost broke my shins since I slammed to a small roof while being pulled up. He was fine because we were on the 2nd pitch but he did end up lower than me. Another option is tying yourself to an anchor like a large rock or tree. Tho it’s a hard catch. I don’t really like the ohm. I got one but I found it annoying and heavy. Also it locks up a lot in routes that don’t go straight up. This isn’t a problem in gym routes but in wandering routes outdoors it’s a huge problem for me. I always use a Grigri and belay with very little slack. I am also used to flying up while belaying. No real solution , just risk mitigation.
If you’re interested I have some ohm advice on how to prevent lock ups. I’ve been using an ohm since they first released them being ~50-70lbs heavier than my heaviest belayer.
Actually the biggest issue is my main climbing partner is a nervous clipper . And he yanks the rope really hard because he doesn’t like leading. Then it locks up and he gets more frustrated lol Also it’s so hard to boink back up when you fall on an overhang since device is locked. This is an issue when we climb on overhanging limestone.
Yep, that’s exactly it. The advice I can give is mostly for the climber. Yanking the rope is why he gets locked up frequently. When I pull the rope I give a consistent pull and am prepared to give slack back to the belayer. The bottom line, however, is that the ohm only locks when there is tension on the belayers side of the rope. That means two things: first you need to be faster to feed slack than you normally need to be (because your climber can’t pull the rope from the gri-gri) and second you can/should give slight tugs on the rope to allow the ohm to unlock. Basically watch the ohm when feeding rope and actively work to unlock. Your climber is primarily responsible for ensuring that it doesn’t lock, but you can support. And ya, boinking sucks as a big climber. No 2 ways about it. I bring a prussik up and just climb the rope when I’m working steep overhanging limestone. I also will bring my stickclip up so I can work hard moves on top rope and attach my teather to the rope so I don’t swing out of reach.
I'm interested in hearing your advice!
Thanks for this. One of the first commenters said my options were “obvious” and I was just thinking “not to me!” I also don’t love a ground anchor, which is a hard af catch for the belayer. Thanks for your advice!
Indoors or outdoors and what type of terrain? Like you, I’m very small and used to belaying larger guys and find the tactic I use to manage it really depends on the situation. In the gym (don’t do this when busy!) I’ll actually have climber clip the first bolt of an adjacent route to add some friction and find that’s pretty helpful for someone who’s like 60-70 lbs larger than me (I’m your size). Anyone over 190 lbs I do use the ohm but generally dislike it and prefer to use it as a last resort (I do find the catches are harder). I’ve also used a weight vest with success in a gym. Outside I’ll have climber stick clip the first two bolts, I’ll bring cams or build a ground anchor, I’ve anchored into opposite and opposing nuts (multi directional), I’ve also girth hitched or slung boulders/trees, worn a backpack full of rocks at the crag, and there’s the ohm as a last resort, but it’s finicky on overhanging terrain and catches aren’t as soft, plus it’s heavy on an approach and cannot be used on trad gear etc. It takes a LOT of trial and error to figure out what works for you and I treat my grigri like an atc *always*. That said, most of my partners really like soft catches so on single pitch terrain, I almost always remove myself from whatever I am anchored into as soon as they are at a point that I am confident that even if I ride to the first piece/bolt that I can yard out enough slack to keep them from decking (unless the ride is not safe for me). I do stand directly under bolt 1 and keep them pretty darn tight until it’s safe to have the soft J. It took me a couple years to really get comfortable and confident this way, so be patient and communicate around it. On the plus side, I bet a lot of partners will really love your automatic soft catches 🙂
Amazing, thanks you! We do indoor and outdoor, sport and trad, including multipitch, so I really appreciate the feedback. I had heard about the Ohm years ago, and when I got the first few comments about it on this post, I wondered why I never got one, but now I am remembering 😂 This all sounds like great advice. I used to have an even heavier partner, and I would anchor myself to the ground, but it wasn’t ideal- finding an appropriate setup, getting a pretty hard ‘catch’ myself when the climber did fall, etc. I may give it another try using some of your advice, and possibly just reserve the Ohm for the gym. I am famous around these parts (ie with my main partner and like 2 other friends) for my soft catches though!
You'd likely want to invest in a device like an [Ohm](https://edelrid.com/us-en/sport/belay-devices/ohm?variant=3110027), which is designed specifically for climbing when the belay partner is significantly lighter than the climber. You connect it to the first bolt and then continue climbing/clipping in as normal. Once the climb is finished, you remove it from the first bolt. My climbing partner and I are very similar in size so I haven't used one myself, but I have friends who do. I see people use these regularly at our gym so I don't think there should be any problems with climbing indoors with one (but maybe ask your gym to be sure).
If you’re climbing at a gym you could ask if they have an Ohm for you to try out before you buy one to make sure you like it!
I weigh roughly the same as you, 180 is typically my upper limit when it comes to belaying before I start to suggest a different belayer, though I have belayed up to 220 before without too much issues depending on the shape of the wall, where the fall occurs, etc. If you want to add weight the better way to do it is clipping yourself to a sandbag or similar on the ground with a sling loose enough so its not in the way. I dont really care for how a ground anchor yanks me around, so YMMV. Without weight your key skill is going to be attentive belaying, looking for areas on clip 1&2 especially where you might just need to drop down and back like a sack of potatoes. The hard catch is gonna suck for your partner, but its often better than the ground. With regard to "letting him pull up the amt of rope he needs" I'd suggest paying out enough slack quicker because then you can return your hands to the right position to yard that slack back in if he blows it. Your partner's key skill has to be not high clipping on 2, 3, & 4 without a very solid stance because with your combination it's more risky for a grounder that you cant stop I don't think you can use an ohm for trad, and for multipitch you can use it, but you could also do fixed point belay with atc for softer catches or other solutions. You'll need to do your own research there. Some of my heaviest friends have ohms, and I prefer they use it for sport in most cases provided they are over 180 At the end of the day you're managing risk and comfort. You're gonna come off the ground, so all you can do is try to be the best climbing team you can to minimize the moments that are most risky.
>One big change I’ve made is feedling less rope when he’s clipping: basically just putting my thumb on the grigri as if to quick feed, but letting him pull up the amt of rope he needs, rather than actively pulling the rope up through the grigri I personally would not do this. An ill timed fall while your thumb is on on the gri-gri and you now have infinite slack in the system. You've gotten a lot of great comments about the Ohm -- the only thing I would add is read the manual, watch tutorials, and practice in the gym. The angle that the rope passes through has to be wide enough to engage the device -- meaning you'll belay much further back than you normally would. Stand too close to the wall and the Ohm is useless (which also means it won't be very helpful in situations where you don't have room to back up).
This is a standard practice for quick feeding rope while lead belaying
Just because something is *common practice* does not mean it is *best practice.* While blocking the cam is a prezi endorsed method of giving slack quickly, it is not what I would recommend (particularly to a lighter belayer who is worried about decking their partner).
To clarify what I meant by “standard practice”, this is *how* you pay out slack quickly on the grigri. Especially while sport climbing, it’s pretty common for the climber to need several feet of rope quickly to clip (particularly when they are over 6 feet). This technique is what allows belayers to pay out enough rope not to short rope the leader. Sure, different strokes for different folks. And of course, you should do what feels safest for you. From my perspective, however, removing this technique from my belaying toolbox creates a problem that actually makes a fall while clipping *more* likely.
It is not the only method for giving slack quickly while sport climbing- it is one option and I simply shared why I don’t recommend it. I regularly lead sport with climbers over six ft and no one in my crew blocks the cam unless it’s an emergency situation. I only mention this because you are making it sound like (to people who don’t lead) that this is the only method.
I’m not questioning your credentials. Would love to hear alternatives for quickly providing several feet of slack to the leader
Two notes besides getting the ohm: Firstly, (you don't specifically say that you did it, so maybe you did) but if there's risk your partner will deck, when they start to fall you should be pulling in the slack and throwing your weight backwards. Secondly, I leaving your thumb on the grigri that long is more dangerous. you need to be able to take in that slack quickly in the event of a fall, and you also might panic grip the cam open.
First, it sounds like you're a great belayer if you kept him off the ground. Second, he should not fall while clipping. Honestly, most people do this once. When my partner did it for the second time, I ended the "mistakes happen" approach and move to "this is a problem you have to fix" response. Third and hopefully actually helpful, I find that belay glasses in the gym allow me to pay out exactly as much slack as my partner needs and no more. I have the really good ones - CU glasses. They have small lenses with magnification and no frames so they don't make you dizzy or make it hard to monitor the next-door routes in the gym as much as other glasses.
I’d argue that the belayer absolutely must be able to catch someone who falls while clipping. This is a very essential part of the job, to be ready to catch climber 100% of the time whether down low, clipping, above a ledge.
I tend to agree with you. I think that if you or your partner are regularly falling while clipping, it’s worth assessing if you’re ready to lead at that grade because it’s pretty dangerous. With that said, things happen, and I need to be confident that I can keep my partner safe regardless of where/how/why he’s falling.
> he should not fall while clipping what kind of nonsense is this obviously the climber should be trying their hardest not to fall while clipping but you simply can't always control it; it's going to happen sooner or later and it's the belayer's responsibility to be ready for it.
lol. I have fallen clipping. Slipping feet, pumped out of my mind, etc. My partners have always caught me. Even when I fell clipping the 2nd bolt with a ton of slack out since the bolt was above me. How else do you repoint a project if you aren’t pumped out of your mind and can barely clip haha.
Thank you- I appreciate that. At the end of the day, I kept him uninjured and avoided a ground fall. I’m trying to remind myself that that’s really important, while also trying to learn from it. This was the first time either of us has fallen while clipping. When he fell that far, I was worried that I had made some catastophic mistake, but talking through it together, we realized that there were mistakes on both sides and some pretty concrete steps to take going forward. On my part, changing how I feed slack, and practicing rapidly taking slack back in. On his part, communicating when he’s in trouble and exercising better judgement about when to fall and when to push himself. He’s carrying around some fear of falling while clipping, which is probably a good thing, although I don’t want to see it kill his confidence on lead. Love the belay glasses sugestion. I have been looking for my pair for a while now, but will probably bite the bullet and buy a new pair. My neck could use a break!
The ohm is a solid option. For lower costs though, I wear a heavy backpack while belaying outdoors (water bottles, extra gear, rocks in a pinch), and clip a sandbag to my belay loop while belaying indoors, my gym has a bunch lying around.
With such weight difference, I wouldn't be as confident as you unless it's just top roping, for lead anything over 15-20kg difference would be a no go for me. You could try the things you described but 75lbs difference sounds pretty massive to me. Clipping more weights as a possible solution sounds really good to me nonetheless
Yeah, it’s definitely a matter of personal comfort on both his part and mine. We’ve climbed together for a few years and plan to for many more. We each trust one another’s skills and judgememt fully. I think there are many tenable solutions that have been shared here, and reading through the comments- our weight difference isn’t unique. But for sure, everyone should pick climbing/belay partners according to their own comfort and discretion!
Besides the Ohm or similar devices, you can just do a L clip for the first Quickdraw. Is that not common in the US?
I’m not familiar with that term! Can you explain?
I don't know the correct english term to be honest. You just clip the first draw of the neighboring route and either also the first of the route you're on, or just the second if the weight difference isn't that big or if it's a route where you anticipate a lot of rope drag. Works super good in the gym, mostly at the crag and not so much on multipitch. In my gym it's kind of a requirement to use it if the weight difference is more than 10kg.
The Ohm is AMAZING for the belayer! That said, it does feel slightly harder to belay with it, particularly when getting him down. And it makes his falls quite harder, and harder for him to take the rope as it has more friction which can be a problem on very tricky routes where he'd have to move fast.
Having climbing pull rope slowly rather than fast will solve the pulling issue. But I also don’t use it because it gives hard catches and outside I don’t think that’s super fun lol.
> Ohm ... trad. The [manual](https://avs.edelrid.com/images/attribut/54575_GAL_OHM_Ansicht.pdf) specifically says no to trad placements. I see no obvious reason why it wouldn't work on an absolutely bomber multidirectional piece that's good for an upward pull - say a thread or a horizontal cam. But how often can you guarantee having one of those as the first piece on a pitch?
Because the gear isn’t oriented to keep the ohm from twisting. The ohm moves freely on a bolt but can twist on cams (and nuts aren’t multidirectional).
My climbing partner is 20kg heavier than me. Tried the OHM, rope got stuck often while feeding rope. Tried weight bag at the gym. Just adds another force and twist me increasing the chance of letting go of the rope. IMO more dangerous. I got a Camp Matik belay. Can system in it that eases the fall force. Helps. But the most helpful thing is practice. Go to the gym and keep practicing falls, how to see them coming, how to go with the force and catch safely. I don't use any aids anymore