There's nothing quite like the feeling of scaling a rock surface with nothing holding you up but a harness, rope, anchor, and a buddy or two. It takes skill, trust and a lot of preparation to ensure you'll come back safely after your outdoor or indoor rock climbing adventure. Always check your gear for wear before heading out, and when in doubt, throw it out. It's better to have peace of mind than to wonder if your harness or rope will last the trip.
Check Your Harness
Climbing harnesses consist of a waist band and two leg bands that you can adjust to fit your body. Each band has an individual buckle loop to tighten the band. When you put the harness on, pull the waist band all the way up around your belly button before tightening it. Tighten the waist buckle to the point where you can insert two fingers into the side of the band and turn them comfortably. Tug down on the waistband to ensure that you can't slide it over your hips.
After tightening the waist band, tighten the leg bands to a comfortable tightness, pulled up close to the tops of your thighs. On each of the buckles, double-check to make sure you have doubled-back each of the loose ends through the buckle. When looking at the buckle, rather than seeing a full circle of metal, one side should be blocked by the doubled-over end, forming a "C" for "cool" rather than an "O" for "oops." Failing to double-back a buckle could result in a fatal or near-fatal fall.
Check the Carabiners
You and your partner, when top roping, both tie in to opposite sides of a single rope for safety. If you're climbing, generally you either tie the rope directly to your harness, or you use a carabiner to attach the rope to your harness. Likewise, your partner uses a carabiner to attach a belay device and the rope safely to his harness. Check to make sure each carabiner is locked, and double-check your partner's carabiner to make sure that both the rope and the belay device are clipped into the carabiner. Don't count on your partner to check his own equipment; you should both take the initiative to "buddy check" and check each other's equipment. For extra safety, you can use two carabiners at each attachment point, turned so that the gate, or opening, of each carabiner faces away from the other carabiner.
Talk to Each Other
Rock climbing requires teamwork, and teamwork requires talking. Before starting a climb, review common belay commands and commit yourself to using them. This back-and-forth talking ensures you're both paying attention and ready to help throughout a climb.
As the climber, you should always initiate the belay commands with the belayer. Before touching the wall, make sure that your partner is ready for you by asking, "On belay?" When your partner has pulled the slack out of the rope, he'll answer, "Belay on." At this point, you ask for permission to climb by stating, "Climbing?" and your partner answers "Climb on." If you want your partner to give you more rope, say "Slack," but if there's too much slack in the rope, say "Take." Finally, if you think you're about to fall, give your partner a heads-up by yelling "Watch me!" and if you unexpectedly fall, let your partner know by yelling "Falling!"
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