How to belay safely

Belaying is the most important job in roped climbing, because you are holding another person's life on the end of a rope. It is not difficult to do well, but it does demand attention and good habits. This is an overview of the fundamentals — it is not a substitute for being taught hands-on by a qualified instructor, which everyone should have before they belay for real.

The one rule: never let go of the brake

Whatever happens, your brake hand stays on the rope below the device. This is the rule everything else is built around. The friction that holds a fall comes from the rope being bent down and back through the belay device, and your hand keeping it there. Take that hand off, even for a second, and there is nothing stopping the rope running through.

Whenever the climber is moving, the brake side of the rope should be down, in the braking position, with your hand wrapped firmly around it. You only ever let slack out or take it in through a technique that keeps a hand on the brake at all times. If you are not sure how to do that, you are not ready to belay unsupervised yet.

The checks before anyone leaves the ground

A huge proportion of serious accidents come down to a missed check, and almost all of them are preventable in the thirty seconds before climbing. Both climber and belayer run through it, out loud, every single time:

• Climber's knot tied correctly and finished — a figure-eight follow-through, dressed and with a backup or long enough tail.
• Harness buckles done up and doubled back as the manufacturer requires.
• Rope threaded through the belay device the right way and the carabiner locked.
• Belayer attached to the rope or anchor as appropriate, and ready.

Check each other, not just yourself. The partner check is there precisely because it is easy to miss your own mistake. Make it a habit you never skip, no matter how routine the climb feels or how many times you have climbed together.

Catching the fall and lowering

A good catch is a controlled one. The moment a top-rope climber weights the rope, you simply hold the brake firmly and the device locks the rope. There is little drama on top-rope because the climber barely moves. Keep the slack out as they climb so a slip is a small one, but do not yank them off the wall by pulling too tight, either.

Lowering is where beginners often get tense. Keep both hands on the brake, ease the rope through slowly and smoothly, and bring your climber down at a steady, walking pace. Watch them, not the device, so you can stop if they need to sort out feet near the ground or avoid an obstacle. A jerky lower is unpleasant and unsafe; a smooth one is the mark of a good belayer.

Pay attention, every climb

The quiet skill of belaying is simply staying switched on. Watch your climber the whole time. Anticipate when they are about to make a hard move or clip, and feed or take rope accordingly. Stand close to the wall and roughly under the first bolt or anchor line, not metres back where a fall would drag you sideways. Keep chatting to a minimum when they are in a committing position, and never belay while looking at your phone.

Belaying well is one of the most generous things you do as a climber. Your partner trusts you completely, and that trust is earned through consistent, attentive habits. Get taught properly, practise under supervision until it is second nature, and treat every check as if it is the one that matters — because one day it will be.