For Safety’s Sake: At Least Teach Your Beginner Belayer to Load the GriGri Right
Scary (and true!) tales from a crag near you
Unbelayvable
Belay Device Unclipped Itself … And Leader Fell
It's a fantastical, unbelievable story, but the unbelievable really happened.
The Art of Calling out Newbs with Big Egos
“Should I tie in through my hard points or through my belay loop?” she said. “Tie in through your belay loop,” a boy climber responded with conviction.
Gym Mom Puts Kid in a 20-Foot High Time Out
"Her son was still on the wall, suspended about 20 feet up. The only thing holding him up was a Grigri chained to the floor."
Lessons Learned from an Unhitched Climber
If I'd hopped off the ledge or tried to weight the sling, I would've fallen a few hundred feet to the ground. I felt sick to my stomach for a couple weeks after that one.
The Horror: Accidentally Used A Not-For-Climbing Carabiner For Belay Anchor
This climber was experienced, too. Just shows that you can't be too careful when you climb.
Can You Really Use An Ascender As A Belay Device? These Guys Did.
Check out Kevin Corrigan's author page.
Used A Skinny Rope To Belay Kids—Bad Idea
Kids may be lighter than adults, but that doesn't mean you can skimp on safety thinking that your rig is "strong enough."
This Multi-Pitch Belay Mistake Could Have Spelled Disaster
"On arriving at the belay, I saw that my partner had tried to put the tube-style belay device in guide mode, but failed."
The Guide Who Could Have Killed Them
The guide was right about the loose boulder, but wrong to jiggle it.
No Holiday For Danger: A Potentially Deadly Way To Thread The Rope
Always thread the rope through the anchor, not around it.
They Climbed On a Home Depot Rope—Thought A Real Rope Was Too Expensive
They figured they knew enough about climbing to wing it, but took a dangerous risk that could have cost them.
This Climber Was Too Gripped To Rig His Own Anchor—Uncool!
Bad form all the way around, and not the safest/smartest maneuver.
She Forgot That Climbing Can Be Deadly And Texted While Belaying
Might as well be soloing with this belayer completely out to lunch.
These Kids Used Parachute Cord For Slings …. Said They Learned It From The Boy Scouts
They needed to be prepared for disaster. Fortunately, a real climber stepped in.
A Series Of Unfortunate Events—A Fortunate Groundfall Landing
A tossed rock and a lost belay would have killed this leader if not for a miraculous landing among the boulders.
Yet Another Dangerous Belay That’s Hard To Believe
A true story that could have ended any number of ways.
Leader Decks When Experienced Climber Bungles The Belay
Don't assume that because someone can climb hard that they are good belayers.
This Incident Was So Unsafe It’s Unbelievable, But It’s True
Out of draws, the leader opted to hold onto the chains and untie to thread.
The Checklist That Could Save Your Life
How many pitches do you climb in a year? For many of our readers it's probably close to 1,000. If you make a critical error one out of a thousand times, the outlook is bleak.
For Safety’s Sake Don’t Do This: American Death Triangle Entire-Rope Anchor
They were trying to be safe, but in their zeal they neglected to follow three tenets of basic anchor construction.
For Safety’s Sake Don’t Do This: Use Body Fluid for Cam Lube
This story goes beyond gross.
For Safety’s Sake Don’t Do This: Saw Through Someone Else’s Rope
An experienced climber makes the mistake of lowering over another team's rope.
For Safety’s Sake, Don’t Do This: Speed Lowering
Gyms have a lot of rules and some of them might irritate you, but speed lowering is never a good idea
For Safety’s Sake Don’t Do This: Let Your “Best Friend” Loose At The Crag
Doesn't seem like a big deal, your dog is behaved, right? Problem is, not everyone loves Fido.
For Safety’s Sake Don’t Do This: Get High and Climb
Looking for a partner on Facebook, one climber ends up with "Bob" who proceeds to hit the hippie lettuce before climbing.
Unbelayvable: The Tranquility of Nature
Check out Matt Samet's author page.
Unbelayvable: Tug of What?
Check out Kevin Corrigan's author page.
Unbelayvable: A Hairy Rappel
What to do when your hair gets hopelessly stuck in your rappel device.
Unbelayvable: Six Liters and a Dream
Check out Kevin Corrigan's author page.
Unbelayvable: The Strolling Belay
Check out Corey Buhay's author page.
Unbelayvable: An "Interesting" Anchor
Check out Matt Samet's author page.
For Safety’s Sake… Yell Something!
Check out Matt Samet's author page.
Instagram Spotlight: @JustBomberGear Is Anything But
Check out Climbing Staff's author page.
An Unbelayvable Goodbye
SCARY (AND TRUE) TALES FROM A CRAG NEAR YOU
Unbelayvable: Bad Motivation
SCARY (AND TRUE) TALES FROM A CRAG NEAR YOU
Unbelayvable: Oh, You Were Using That Anchor?
SCARY (AND TRUE) TALES FROM A CRAG NEAR YOU
Unbelayvable: A Rappel Lesson
SCARY (AND TRUE) TALES FROM A CRAG NEAR YOU
Unbelayvable: Falling Weapons
SCARY (AND TRUE) TALES FROM A CRAG NEAR YOU
Unbelayvable: A Belayer Chocolate Break
SCARY (AND TRUE) TALES FROM A CRAG NEAR YOU
Unbelayvable: A Surprise Visitor
SCARY (AND TRUE) TALES FROM A CRAG NEAR YOU
Unbelayvable: Downleading
SCARY (AND TRUE) TALES FROM A CRAG NEAR YOU
Unbelayvable: Tunes Over Safety
SCARY (AND TRUE) TALES FROM A CRAG NEAR YOU
Unbelayvable: Alan, You’re Off Belay
SCARY (AND TRUE) TALES FROM A CRAG NEAR YOU
Unbelayvable: Learning on the Fly
SCARY (AND TRUE) TALES FROM A CRAG NEAR YOU
Unbelayvable: Ledges and Slack
SCARY (AND TRUE) TALES FROM A CRAG NEAR YOU
Unbelayvable: A Toprope of Dubious Quality
SCARY (AND TRUE) TALES FROM A CRAG NEAR YOU
Unbelayvable: A Bad Anchor is Worse Than No Anchor
SCARY (AND TRUE) TALES FROM A CRAG NEAR YOU
Unbelayvable: Don't Drown Your Belayer
Scary (and true) tales from a crag near you
Unbelayvable: The Batman Descent
Scary (And True) Tales From A Crag Near You
Unbelayvable: Unclip, Unclip, Unclip, Uh Oh
Scary (and true) tales from a crag near you
Unbelayvable: Eight Awful Words
Scary (and true) tales from a crag near you
Unbelayvable: Extreme Toprope Whippers
Scary (and true) tales from a crag near you
Unbelayvable: An Ice Climbing Confession
Scary (and true) tales from a crag near you
Unbelayvable: A Questionable Belay Location
Scary (and true) tales from a crag near you
Unbelayvable: A Rope Too Short
Scary (and true) tales from a crag near you
Unbelayavable: The Slackline Belay
Check out Kevin Corrigan's author page.
Unbelayvable: Steep Routes and Swings
Check out Kevin Corrigan's author page.
Unbelayvable: Swing Potential
Check out Kevin Corrigan's author page.
Unbelayvable: A Belay Too Comfortable
Check out Kevin Corrigan's author page.
Unbelayvable: Car Doors Aren't Bomber Anchors
Check out Kevin Corrigan's author page.
Unbelayvable: 5 Photos of Absolutely Awful Belayers
Check out Kevin Corrigan's author page.
Unbelayvable: I Can't Belay You Right Now, I'm on the Phone
Check out Kevin Corrigan's author page.
Unbelayvable Archives: Scary (And True) Tales From A Crag Near You
Check out Kevin Corrigan's author page.
Unbelayvable: Don't End A First Date By Decking
SCARY (AND TRUE) TALES FROM A CRAG NEAR YOU
Unbelayvable: Bad Anchors And Bad Parents
Check out Kevin Corrigan's author page.