page_title: Belaying
section_title: Belayer responsibilities
hierarchical_section_title: Belaying / Belayer responsibilities
caption_attribution_description: English: Dinamic belaying with tuber Italiano: Assicurazione dinamica con secchiello
context_page_description: Belaying refers to a variety of techniques climbers use to exert tension on a climbing rope so that a falling climber does not fall very far. A climbing partner typically applies tension at the other end of the rope whenever the climber is not moving, and removes the tension from the rope whenever the climber needs more rope to continue climbing.
  The term "belay" also means the place where the belayer is anchored; this is typically a ledge, but may be a hanging belay, where the belayer themself is suspended from a projection in the rock.
context_section_description: The belayer should keep the rope locked off in the belay device whenever the climber is not moving. As the climber moves on the climb, the belayer must make sure that the climber has the right amount of rope by paying out or pulling in excess rope. If the climber falls, they free-fall the distance of the slack or unprotected rope before the friction applied by the belayer starts to slow their descent. Too much slack on the rope increases the distance of a possible fall, but too little slack on the rope may prevent the climber from moving up the rock. It is important for the belayer to closely monitor the climber's situation, as the belayer's role is crucial to the climber's safety.
  When belaying on overhanging bolted routes, particularly indoors, belayers often stand well back from the rock so that they can watch the climber more easily. However, when belaying a lead climber who is using traditional protection, this can be very dangerous. The belayer should stand near to the bottom of the route in order to decrease the angle of the rope through the first piece of protection. This, in turn, decreases the force pulling it up and out of the rock if the leader falls. Standing too far away from the rock can result in protection unzipping, with the lowest piece being pulled away from the rock, followed by the next, until all of the protection may potentially be pulled out. Standing too far away from the bottom of the climb also means that if the leader falls, the belayer experiences a sudden pull inwards towards the rock and may be pulled off their feet or into the rock.
caption: belay device held in the 'locked off' position and under tension. In this way, the belayer is holding the full weight of the climber with only one hand.
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