Belay School

Belay School


We learned how to properly belay, and wear harnesses. Then, we got to 'practice' with a rope strong across an elevated log with a 'fake' climber. Belaying was actually much harder than it looked. It took some time to get used to the proper hand movement needed to keep both hands on the rope at all times while the rope is being used to belay the person. After all the slack had been taking up in the rope, we were able to 'swing' back and forth using each others weight and the locked string to support the other person. It was kind of fun as we managed to twist ourselves around each other. Putting on the seat harness was also a challenge. At first, I had to find one that was the right size. The first one I tried was too small, then too big. Finally I found one that I could manage to fit in to, but I couldn't figure out how to get it on. After some looking around, and getting help, I finally got it on. Another challenge was getting the proper knot tied in the rope. I could not seem to remember from my Boy Scout days what knot was needed to keep the rope on. Finally, they told us, and I had no clue on how exactly to tie. After a lot of practice, I was finally able to tie the knot. (Unfortunately, when it came undone, and I had to retie it, I managed to flub it up, and someone else had to come along and redo the work to make sure that someone would be safe if they were depending upon the rope for their dear life.) This day, since Frank wasn't here, and we couldn't do anything else big (like the wall, which I really looked forward to doing) I got to leave early.

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