Falling With a Client On Belay

My thought process for learning to trust my clients

Last season in December, I was climbing with Jason. Jason is a budding trad leader and a very competent partner. We had warmed up on Frog’s Head and Maria, and now it was time to try something a little harder. Being that Son of Easy O (5.8) was the nearest mega-classic climb, we walked over to begin preparing to climb it.

Another party had just gotten off the climb. They asked if we had ever tried the climb, and I confidently responded that I had been on the climb very many times, which was true. I knew the climb well–where the cruxes were and where to place my protection.

I calmly chatted with Jason about the lower crux moves as I left the ground. I placed a micro-camelot in a horizontal sliver of a crack and began the crux sequence. I was barely above the cam when something slipped and was off immediately. I fell a few feet, and Jason arrested my fall. It all happened in slow motion and was rather anti-climactic.

Jason inquired if I was okay, which I was, and I began climbing again. On the second attempt, I climbed through the sequence with no problem and finished the pitch. I was totally uninjured but somewhat embarrassed. I had never fallen with a client on the other side of the rope.

“Aren’t You Nervous to Climb with Clients on Belay?”

I am frequently asked how I am able to trust “random” people to belay me while I work. Most of the time, the person asking is the one holding the rope and belay device for me as I cast off up the rock. To them, it’s crazy to think that I’d trust them with my life in case I fall.

When asked this question, I do two things. I facetiously comment that “they’ll be fine” and to “not blow it” if I come off. Then, I pretend to fall. Just kidding– I don’t do that. Instead, I explain to them what I will tell you right now.

I Trust Myself First, and then I Trust Them Second

What I mean by this is that I never blindly trust a client with my life immediately. Instead, I make a series of calculated risk management decisions before, during, and after climbing to learn to trust my clients.

I trust myself to teach the necessary skills

One of the first risk management tactics I deploy is instructing in an inconsequential setting. Oftentimes, this means I prepare a client for the task of belaying without leaving the ground. With my feet on the ground, I can accurately coach the skill of belaying. And without the stressor of keeping me alive if I fall, clients can more effectively learn to belay.

Then, after instruction, I can check for learning by asking the client to repeat to me my expectations for belaying and closing the communication loop. I can then check knowledge retention by asking the client to demonstrate belaying in a simulated belaying scenario.

Quite frankly, the basic skill of belaying is rather uncomplicated. So, with high-quality instruction, clients can learn and demonstrate it quickly, gaining my trust second.

I trust myself to climb with expert precision

The second risk management tactic I deploy is ongoing– it begins immediately after leaving the ground and ends when I’m done climbing. In other words, while climbing, I continually make decisions to manage risk and keep myself out of trouble.

When I am climbing, the best way to manage risk is to climb calmly and intelligently. I place gear when necessary, I manage the rope, and I climb with precision.

When I am guiding, I move over very familiar terrain. This allows me to rely on past experience and fine-tune my decision-making. I make adjustments on the fly, but for the most part, it’s like driving a familiar road.

However, I understand familiarity can also lead to complacency.

Yes, there are lapses in judgment and mistakes and distractions, many of which create inconveniences rather than severe consequences. But if I have made conservative decisions up until that point of distraction, and there is a consequence like a fall, I can trust the gear I placed first. And if I correctly instructed my client before leaving the ground, I can trust them second.

I trust myself to always improve

I debrief after every single day of guiding. I ask myself (and annotate in a notebook):

• Where is there room for improvement in my guiding?

• Where was I most at risk? What about the client?

• What is a moment I can be proud of?

• How did the day go overall?

Debriefing my climbing days put me in a state of reflection where I can learn to improve things that didn’t go well and continue to excel with things that did. Regarding managing risks like falling, I pay special attention to the moments when I am most at risk and always refine my tactics and decision-making to mitigate the risk in those moments.

Debriefing my Day with Jason

In the case of my day out with Jason, I was most at risk when I was leading the climb and when I fell. Fortunately, the thing I was proud of was that I placed gear down low to protect myself. I don’t always place gear there, but I did that day because of a specific decision I made based on the conditions; it was cold, and my fingertips and toes were lethargic and less sensitive.

And overall, despite me falling, the day went really well. Jason followed the climb and loved it. Later, he did some leading, with me climbing second. There, I got to observe his decision-making and the application of many skills that we had been working on together and that he was trying hard to improve. Besides placing that piece that kept me safe when I fell, watching Jason lead was probably what I was most proud of.

What about you…

• Would you let a “random” person give you a lead belay?

• Why or why not?