![]() Modern guide plates (compared to flat plates) are quite easy to lower from, either place a carabiner in or use a sling against an anchor. Andy Kirkpatrick discusses the various options really well in the book he has out on multipitch (which is worth a read). If we're talking seconds having difficulty then there are advantages to using a guide plate like that over a traditional belay. In your example, it may well have been the right call for the climbers involved on the day but the other alternative (apart from belaying traditionally) is to extend the belay back with a direct isolation loop (overhand on bite on the rope) in it for the guide plate, thereby belaying in guide mode, at the edge with the plate next to your hands. The forces exerted by the second are minimal, if your belay isn't up to that then your belay is shit and certainly on summer multi-pitch there's no excuse for that. ![]() I'd shorten that to "you need bombproof anchors". Firstly I'm quite surprised at the "you need bombproof anchors to use a guide plate". etc.Ī couple of points on what the others have said. If you're swapping a guide plate over then like everything, think ahead from the beginning, where will the second be stood? Where does the next pitch go? Where is the pile of rope? etc. It's not a huge faff to change around at a stance, if you're slick then you're slick, moving a carabiner from a the power point to your harness (10 seconds) wont slow you down.that's not faff, faff is talking/eating sandwiches/looking at the view/having to sort your ropes because you turned around/stood in the wrong place/clipped over the ropes etc. Use mine mostly in winter or on long multipitch where it allows you to drink/eat while belaying. ![]() If leading through, the second does not tie in when she reaches the anchor, but just hangs off the plate to rerack, grabs the leader's plate and heads up the hill (search from trading plates). the leader can belay safely whilst reading the guidebook, going for a pee, eating lunch, reracking and putting a jacket on, taking shoes on/off. it is autolocking so the second is safer and knows she is safer and hence climbs faster. I believe it is faster and safer, and works well for multipitch in the UK. Others have questioned whether guide mode is useful, or suggested it might be slower. (photos of these options are on in the belay section) This gives you the ability to lower with the second in sight, put the ropes holding the plate can not fly out of reach. place the plate on the rope that ties you to the anchors. However if the second falls traversing onto the stance the plate will fly away from you.ģ. This is better for lowering as you will be able to watch the second as you do it. keep the plate near you by extending the anchor point. This has the advantage that if the anchors, you and the second are not in a straight line then when the second falls the rope is better under control than with option 2.Ģ. ![]() It is always a good idea to be able to watch the second(s) climb, hence you might need to sit some distance from the anchors. Have a bit of practice with it first then go from there. It is a great tool for bringing up two seconds allowing you to bring in the rope at two different speeds, this is when i mostly use it. The addition of the karabiner holes and advertisements of them being easy to release is not strictly true. I know how to lower someone off a guide plate, but it is not something I want to do regularly. Releasing a fixed load off a guide plate is not easy and can quickly turn into a disaster, therefore I only use my guide mode if I am certain my second will complete the pitch. The belay must be bomb proof, you are risking a direct load to it, if you are a little slow in taking the rope in and the second falls it will create a fair amount of shock on the anchor. The benefits of a guide plate are very good but you must understand a few points before using one. What he is doing is not best practice and the normal method of extending yourself from the belay and belay normally would have been better.
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