If you're going to do any climbing beyond bouldering, you're going to need to know how to belay. Belaying is one of the most critical of climbing skills because you have your partner's safety—and possibly even his or her life—in your hands.

In belaying, you control the rope's movement to protect the climber at the other end. You can do this without a belay device but having one definitely makes the job easier. A belay device acts as a brake on the climbing rope by applying friction to it. The device, plus the belayer's quick "braking hand" (which locks off the free end of the rope) stop the climber's fall.

Types of Belay/Rappel Devices

Assorted belay devices are available. Which one you choose depends on the kind of climbing you do.

Tubular
These models are the most widely used belay devices. Their shape is best described as an oversized thimble with twin holes in the bottom. The rope is folded and pushed through the device and clipped with a locking carabiner to the belayer or directly to the anchor. The bend in the rope and its contact with the device put friction on the rope to slow it down. These devices are suitable for any kind of climbing.

Advantages: Tubes or cones are compact, light and easy to use. They work with many rope diameters and can accommodate single or double ropes. They don't twist or kink ropes and they can be used for rappelling as well as belaying.

Drawbacks: Some people, especially lighter-weight climbers, find tubular belay devices to be slow for rappelling.

Examples: The Black Diamond ATC (Air Traffic Controller), the Hugh Banner Sheriff, the Trango Pyramid and the Trango Jaws. All devices have a plastic or aluminum loop on one end to keep the device attached to the carabiner when you insert or remove the rope. The Trango Jaws device is a bit more specialized, providing twin notches on one side for locking off the rope to hold a fall securely.

Auto-locking
Auto-locking belay devices have a mechanism that locks down on the rope when a sudden force is applied to it. They operate much like your car's seatbelts. The rope is threaded through the inside of the device, which is clipped to the anchor or the belayer. These devices are used mainly for sport climbing, either at gyms or climbing areas.

Advantages: Since these devices automatically lock when the climber falls, they do not require any stopping force from the belayer's hand. They feed rope smoothly and are easy to operate for lowering the climber.

Drawbacks: Auto-locking devices put high shock loads on the rope during a fall. As a result, they should not be used for lead climbing and only with extremely secure top-rope anchors. They should only be used with supple, 10 or 11mm ropes. They don't function with wet or icy ropes.

Example: The Petzl Grigri is a very popular auto-locking device used in many gyms and by sport climbers.

Figure 8
These are shaped like the number eight, as the name implies, with one larger and one smaller hole. A bight (bend) of rope is fed through the large hole and looped around the outside of the small hole till it rests on the "neck" of the figure 8. The small hole is clipped to the climber or anchor. Figure 8's are frequently used for search and rescue, caving, and traditional climbing as rappel devices. As belay devices, they are limited to top-roped situations.

Advantages: Figure 8s are very efficient and smooth for rappelling, dissipate heat efficiently and can be used with just about any rope diameter.

Drawbacks: As belay devices, figure 8's offer inadequate braking for anything but top-roping (unless used like a belay plate with rope going only through the small hole). They also require more attention and more force from the belayer's hand than other devices, and they put a twist in the climbing rope, which can make rope handling difficult.

Examples: The Black Diamond Super 8 and the Hugh Banner Hard Anodized Figure 8 are figure 8's that can be used for belaying as well as rappelling.

Other Belay Options

So, you top out on the pitch you just led, you're setting up to belay your partner and you suddenly have one of those moments when you wish you'd stayed home: You've dropped your belay device. Now what?

Luckily for you, you snap out of your disbelief and remember the two ways of belaying without a device. Enter the Münter hitch and the body belay!

Münter Hitch—The Münter hitch is a belay "device" made out of the climbing rope. It's created by artfully arranging two loops of the climbing rope around a large locking carabiner into what is known as a running knot. The rope feeds through this knot in either direction. If the climber falls, the belayer pulls on the rope's free end and the knot acts as a friction lock-off. The Münter hitch is a very fast and efficient way of reeling in a lot of rope.

There are some drawbacks to this method, which is why it is reserved as a backup. It requires a forceful brake hand and is not always reliable for stopping long leader falls. You need a large, pear-shaped locking carabiner that will allow the knot to slide through. It will not work with a regular locking D. And like the figure 8, it puts kinks and twists in the rope.

Body Belay—As the name implies, your body acts as the belay "device" that puts friction on the climbing rope. This is the simplest belay method, as it requires no special equipment. The rope is anchored behind the belayer and is wrapped around his or her waist, typically with a carabiner clipped to the harness waistbelt to keep the rope from sliding up the back. If the climber falls, the seated belayer pulls the braking hand quickly and forcefully across his or her body to the ground. While simple to set up, the body belay requires proper seated position, proper arm movements and strength. It can also be uncomfortable for the belayer to take all the climber's weight on his or her body. For these reasons, the body belay is used as a last resort.

To learn more about belaying and belay devices, take a look at instructional books such as "Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills," published by the Mountaineers, or "How to Rock Climb," by John Long.