Totally agree. Feeding through a Grigri in order to lead belay necessitates disabling the autolockimg behavior of the device and creates an opportunity for a fall to the ground if the climber loses it unexpectedly. Belaying with an ATC still isn’t a replacement for vigilance, though. Catching a lead fall with minimal fall distance requires a combination of constant attention, deep understanding of the route, its cruxes, and your climber, anticipation of the fall based on your observation of the climber, and bulletproof mechanical memory of the process. Even still, runout is a thing on many routes. I would add on to your statement; the most dangerous part may be the drive to the crag (or perhaps, a scramble approach) but the second most dangerous part may well be the climb to the first draw.
Lol, wtf. Giving a non-lethal lead belay is not that intense. Literally all you have to do is keep your hand on the brake strand. To give a good belay, you need to pay a lot of attention to your climber so you don’t short rope them and can give them buttery soft catches. But making sure your climber doesn’t die consists entirely of “don’t let go of the brake strand” - and that’s pretty much it.
Yes, there are other things to do. Yes, you should always strive to be an excellent belayer. But pretty much everything you need to know and learn can be taught in a single day at the crag by a reasonably competent instructor. And after that, the main thing is to just not get complacent and do stupid shit.
Totally agree. Feeding through a Grigri in order to lead belay necessitates disabling the autolockimg behavior of the device and creates an opportunity for a fall to the ground if the climber loses it unexpectedly. Belaying with an ATC still isn’t a replacement for vigilance, though. Catching a lead fall with minimal fall distance requires a combination of constant attention, deep understanding of the route, its cruxes, and your climber, anticipation of the fall based on your observation of the climber, and bulletproof mechanical memory of the process. Even still, runout is a thing on many routes. I would add on to your statement; the most dangerous part may be the drive to the crag (or perhaps, a scramble approach) but the second most dangerous part may well be the climb to the first draw.
Lol, wtf. Giving a non-lethal lead belay is not that intense. Literally all you have to do is keep your hand on the brake strand. To give a good belay, you need to pay a lot of attention to your climber so you don’t short rope them and can give them buttery soft catches. But making sure your climber doesn’t die consists entirely of “don’t let go of the brake strand” - and that’s pretty much it.
Yes, there are other things to do. Yes, you should always strive to be an excellent belayer. But pretty much everything you need to know and learn can be taught in a single day at the crag by a reasonably competent instructor. And after that, the main thing is to just not get complacent and do stupid shit.