Learn to Lead 0.5 - Lead Belaying

Requirements: No prior lead-climbing experience necessary. However, it would be advantageous if you have climbed in an indoor climbing gym recently, and therefore have seen how "normal" top-rope belaying works - the equipment used is more or less exactly the same!

With so many people wanting to come on the Nowra Trip this Easter holidays (22 Apr to 1 May), and the pre-requisite for that is that you MUST be proficient at belaying a lead climber, it makes sense to spend a day teaching people to do exactly that.  But don't worry, it's not THAT hard!

The focus of this one-day course is to teach people who have never belayed a leader before, how lead belaying works. 

This belayer is belaying the lead-climber who has just fallen.

• Don't know what "lead" or "belay" means?  More detail on this will be given later, but basically in a certain situation, when you (the "belayer") and your climber (the "leader") go out climbing, the climber can make his way up the rock wall from the ground upwards, trailing a rope behind him.  That rope isn't going to make much difference for a falling climber if it isn't attached to the wall anywhere - so that's exactly what the lead-climber does - he attaches the rope to the wall at regular intervals so that if he falls, he only falls past the last attachment point and (assuming it is high enough) he is saved from hitting the ground.  You, the "belayer", are the person standing at the bottom of the climb, holding the rope (with mechanical assistance).  You have two jobs - (1) you continually let out enough rope for the climber to continue upwards, and (2) in the event that the climber does fall, you "lock off" the rope (again with mechanical assistance) to make sure he doesn't fall all the way to the ground.  In other words, you are responsible for the climber's safety while they are making their way up the rock wall.  Again, this will be covered in more detail on the course.

This skill, once learned, is applicable to all areas of climbing, and the same knowledge is used in mountaineering and abseiling as well.  Coupled with a knowledge of how to lead-climb (which is not taught in this course, so if what you read above sounds scary for the "lead-climber" - don't worry you won't be forced to learn that bit just yet!), this skill enables you and a partner to cover almost any vertical terrain, while remaining completely self-sufficient and, most importantly, safe!

The nature of this course means that, while your instructors (and some volunteer lead-climbers) will be climbing, unfortunately you won't be while you are learning (unless you REALLY want to volunteer while we're teaching others... if you dare!).

I recommend this course before attending any outdoor lead climbing trip.

I plan to run this trip at various times during the first semester, with times and leaders to be confirmed.

The event is being held in Cliffhanger Climbing Gym in Altona - you will need to sort out your own transport there.  Please see www.cliffhanger.com.au for address and directions.  Also note that Cliffhanger requires all participants to have climbed in the gym before and have attended their own safety demonstration.  This means that between now and the event you will need to organise to visit the gym (ring them first) and attended their basic safety demonstration.  Members from MUMC will be climbing at that gym on Wednesday 16th and Friday 18th of March in the evening (7pm til 10pm) if you would like to join us!  Failing that, you will need to organise to turn up plenty early on the event day (again, call before you go) to attend their safety demonstration.