A new rock climber typically starts with a style of climbing called toproping, where the rope runs from the belayer's device and harness up through the anchor at the top of the climb and back down to ...

The Mule Knot (a.k.a releasable knot) is ideal to lock off the rope on the belay plate. There are many occasions in climbing when, belaying from the harness using a device which does not self-arrest ...

Take your climbing skills to the next level and learn how to belay! You will learn proper knotting, commands, and techniques. Successful completion of this course allows you to serve as an anchor ...

Toprope soloing is when the climber is not tied into the rope directly. Instead, she sets up a fixed line from a solid anchor above the route, attaches herself to the rope with two PCDs (e.g., Petzl ...

Last February, I was getting ready to belay a surfer friend of mine, a beginner, on a top-rope, and I was demonstrating how to tie a figure-eight when I felt a tap on my shoulder. "Umm, you're not ...

Like Butch Cassidy without the Sundance Kid, Thelma without Louise, Batman without Robin, a climber is nothing without his mighty sidekick, the belayer. "A what?" you ask. Belayer -- the person who ...

Which belay devices are best? When partaking in a sport like climbing that’s equally exhilarating and dangerous, safety precautions take priority. Armed with a good braking hand, harness and rope, the ...