Belaying is the most important safety skill in climbing, so if you want to learn how to belay, this is the place to start. When you and your partner both have the belaying basics down cold, climbing gets a whole lot safer and a whole lot more fun. It should feel like second nature before either of you leaves the ground.
This guide pulls together everything I’ve made to help you become a solid belayer and to help you pick the best belay device for the job. One thing before we go any further: reading about belaying is a great start, but it doesn’t replace hands-on instruction. Get a qualified instructor or gym staffer to check your belaying in person before you ever trust it with a real climber. If you’re brand new to the gym, my guide to getting started with indoor climbing is a good companion to this one.
What is Belaying?
Belaying is how you manage the rope while your partner climbs, so if they fall, the rope catches them before they hit the ground. You run one end of the rope through a metal device that uses friction to control how fast the rope can slide through.
Some devices are dead simple, basically a metal tube with two slots, and those are called ATCs. Others are more involved, with a camming mechanism that pinches the rope and stops it from moving without help from the belayer.
Over the past few years, a lot of climbing gyms around the world have started requiring devices with that camming mechanism, known as auto-locking or assisted-braking belay devices.
What Is The Safest Belay Device?
Your belay device is central to keeping the climber, and the belayer, safe, so it’s worth getting one that keeps you as protected as possible. Used properly, the safest belay devices are auto-locking belay devices. They have a camming mechanism that stops the rope from running through the device once real tension hits the rope.
So if the climber falls and the rope starts ripping through the device, the device pinches the rope and stops it from moving any further. That pinch happens on its own, which means even if the belayer were knocked out, the rope would still lock in place.
Basic devices like ATCs need the belayer fully switched on to keep the rope from running through the device. So if the belayer gets distracted by something across the gym, or a rock clips them in the face and knocks them out, the climber is at risk of hitting the ground. That’s not a risk I’d want to take.
My favorite overall auto-locking belay device is the Grigri. I spent a couple of years on an ATC, and since then I’ve tested just about every auto-locking device on the market.
► The Best Belay Device (Battle Tested)
► Top 6 belay devices for beginners (Alternatives to the Grigri)
How To Belay
Here’s the short version of how to belay, broken into the pieces that matter. Read it, then go learn it in person. Before you even pick up the rope, make sure you and your climber are both geared up right, from how you put on a harness to how that harness should fit.
How To Set-Up A Belay Device
Before you can belay, you have to load the rope through the belay device. As a general rule, the strand that ends up on the far side of the device, away from your body, runs up to the climber, and the strand closest to your body is the brake strand, the one you’ll give out or take in as the climber moves up the wall. Every device loads a little differently, so check the diagram printed on your specific device and have someone qualified confirm you’ve loaded it correctly before you put any weight on it.
► How To Belay: Using Assisted Locking Belay Devices
Belayer’s Stance
Once the rope is loaded correctly, you keep a hand on the brake strand, the one on the opposite side from the climber. A lot of people call this your brake hand or safety hand, and the one rule that never changes is this: it stays on the rope at all times. Never take your brake hand off the brake strand while your partner is climbing or lowering.
Belaying Movements/Technique
If you’re top-rope belaying, you pull the rope in from the climber’s side, through the device, as they go up, so the rope stays snug. If you’re lead belaying, you feed rope out to the climber as they move up and clip into each bolt.
Depending on the belay device you’re using, the exact technique and the things you watch for shift a bit. For example, setting up a belay and lowering works differently on an ATC than it does on an auto-locking device like a Grigri.
To keep both the climber and the belayer safe, get professional training before you belay for real.
Top-rope belay classes are often free at climbing gyms, and learning from a professional really matters. Don’t just assume your climbing buddy can teach it well because they belay well. Being a solid belayer isn’t the same as knowing how to teach someone else to belay safely.
► How to top-rope belay with a Grigri
Should you upgrade to an auto-locking device?
If you’re on an ATC right now, or even a semi-locking belay device, you’ve probably thought about upgrading to an auto-locking belay device.
I ran an ATC for a few years and figured it worked perfectly fine. Then, after a rock climbing accident, it hit me that there are a bunch of reasons auto-locking devices are the better call for belaying. On top of that, there’s an incredible peace of mind that comes with climbing when your belayer is using an auto-locking device.
Whichever device you land on, dialed-in belaying is only one piece of climbing safe. It’s worth knowing the common mistakes new climbers make so you can steer clear of them too.
► Considerations before purchasing an auto-locking belay device.
The History Of Belay Devices
Back when climbing was turning into a real sport, climbers used gear like a belt and rope to catch a fall. Since then, the tech behind the belay device has come a long way. The earliest belay devices worked a lot like ATCs, usually with two loops that used friction against the device to control rope speed. These days plenty of climbers reach for the newer designs with camming mechanisms like the ones in the Grigri.
► The evolution of the belay device
Want to keep sharpening your climbing between sessions? I send out one short climbing drill every week, and each one takes about 15 minutes to work through. You can grab the free newsletter here and level up a little at a time.
More About Climbing:
- My Favorite Harness For Climbing
- Belaying 101: You Shouldn’t Climb Without Reading This
- How To Belay With A Grigi For Top Rope Climbing | With Photos And Video
- How Climbing Routes Are Set: Interview With Team Usa Chief Route Setter Mike Bockino
- How To Put On A Harness
- What You Need To Know Before Starting Indoor Rock Climbing
- How To Belay: Using Assisted Locking Belay Devices
- How Should Your Climbing Harness Fit?
- How Are Climbing Routes Graded?
- What You Should Wear While Climbing
- What Affects How Climbing Shoes Fit?
- 7 Common Mistakes In Rock Climbing For Beginners
- Why Is Climbing Such A Mental Sport?
Frequently asked questions
What is belaying in climbing?
Belaying is how you manage the rope while your partner climbs, so a fall doesn’t send them to the ground. You run the rope through a friction device and keep a brake hand on the rope the entire time they’re climbing.
What’s the safest belay device for beginners?
Used properly, auto-locking (assisted-braking) devices like the Grigri are the safest option because a camming mechanism pinches the rope and locks automatically if the climber falls, even if the belayer gets distracted. ATCs work fine too, but they need your full attention every second.
Do I need a class to learn how to belay?
Yes. Reading up on the belaying basics is a great start, but you should get hands-on instruction from a qualified instructor or gym staff before you belay a real climber. A lot of gyms offer free top-rope belay classes, so take one.
Should I upgrade from an ATC to an auto-locking device?
If you climb regularly, it’s worth considering. Auto-locking devices add a big margin of safety and a lot of peace of mind, though plenty of climbers still use ATCs. Weigh the cost, the kind of climbing you do, and whatever your gym requires.
Where does the rope go when I load a belay device?
As a general rule, the strand on the far side of the device runs up to the climber, and the strand closest to your body is the brake strand you take in or feed out. Every device loads a little differently, so follow the diagram on your device and have someone qualified check it before you weight the rope.
