Atc Belay Device How To Use

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Atc belay device how to use.

Figure 8 belay device. Anatomy of an atc. Shaped like the number eight they have one larger and one smaller hole. The belayer uses a belay device to catch a fall and to lower a climber from the top of the route.

A belay device is a mechanical piece of climbing equipment used to control a rope during belaying. A more compact lighter version of our versatile atc guide the atc alpine guide is built for smash and grab ascents in the mountains. To use an atc belay device a loop of rope is threaded through one of the slots. These are the openings in the belay device to pass the ropes through most atcs have 2 rope slots which allow them to belay half or twin ropes.

When belaying a single rope you can use any one of the rope slots. Even if you belay or atc device is unretrievable you can still rappel down safely. Modern technology has given us many belay devices but the atc and the grigri are the most commonly used. Figure 8 devices are primarily used for rappelling however they can be rigged to belay a leader or a top rope climber.

With the right belay device a small weak climber can easily arrest the fall of a much heavier partner. Then a carabiner is passed through the loop of rope and the keeper loop of the atc. In the old days people belayed off shoulders hips and around waists. There are three main methods which you can rely on.

The carabiner is then attached to the belay loop of the belayer s or rappeller s climbing harness. At just 73 grams this featherweight belay rappel device is optimized for ropes between 8 1 and 8 5 millimeters in diameter yet works with ropes from 6 9 to 9mm. This is the main body of the belay device. When rappelling you feed a bight bend of rope through the large hole and loop.

The atc guide climbing belay rappel device by black diamond is lightweight and easy to use offering smooth handling while you are climbing to your greatest h. It is designed to improve belay safety for the climber by allowing the belayer to manage their duties with minimal physical effort. Some atc style belay devices have a guide mode function they can be set up in a way which locks automatically if a climber falls. You can set up guide mode as shown with one rope or two.

Simply pull the brake strands through as the climber moves up.