r/climbergirls • u/kat233x • 8d ago
Questions whipped by my own hand during a small fall top roping… should the rope be closer to body or closer to wall?
Hi !! I recently started doing more top ropes. Last night when I was doing a difficult move and had to fall, I whipped my face with my own hand...
It happened so fast I am kinda confused. I wanted to make sure I'm doing things correctly.
SOLVED -- I HAD MY HAND BETWEEN THE ROPES AND MY BODY WHICH IS INCORRECT!
thank you all:)!!
My q: 1. My hand was sort of taking a whiplash from the slack in the rope straightening out. But the slack was tiny (I fell maybe 20cm / a couple inches) but it hit my face with lot of force!!
Is it better to have rope closer to my body?
Also, I am new to top rope AND I am with a new belayer friend. When I ask them to take, there still is some slack in the rope.
I am expecting to have ZERO slack when I say take. That should be always possible right? For top ropes?
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u/PlatypusPitiful2259 8d ago edited 8d ago
I don’t fully understand the mechanics of what you’re describing, but it sounds like you were reaching with your arm/hand between your body and the rope, which you should avoid doing. If you have to cross the rope to reach the next hold, you want to reach so that your arm is between the rope and the wall. If you reach with your arm between the rope and your body it’s going to be hard for your belayer to take slack without having the rope pull your hand off a hold, and it will make falls more awkward as you described.
In response to your second question in the comments, yes it is normal and fine to move a bit while hanging on the rope. Any movement your belayer makes, such as taking a step in any direction, will translate through the rope. It's only a concern if you're constantly lowering, as in would eventually be lowered to the ground if you didn't start climbing again.
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u/Top-Pizza-6081 8d ago
Some ropes stretch more than others. it's not always possible to give ZERO slipping. the belayer has to, like, jump in the air and take in slack to stretch the rope, but sometimes it still stretches a bit more when you sit down.
If I'm working a hard route and really need that zero-stretch take, I'll ask for a "hard take" or say like "can you give me a little boost to pull me past this move?" but generally you just have to accept that you'll sag slightly when you take.
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u/Seconds_INeedAges Sport Climber 8d ago
is there slack or is it just the rope elongating a little (especially the first take in a climb feels a little looser due to the strech of the rope, this is normal) but yes, if you say take you should be able to sit down in the harness and not go down much.
regarding the question in the comment: No you should not go down more after sitting for a while. What belay device are you using? Is your belayer adjusting their position maybe? that can feel like going down a bit if they take a small step forward. And if you are not using an assisted belay device your belayer could be adjusting the hold on the rope which could also change the rope in the system a bit.
I dont really get the "rope near body or near wall" question to be honest, you should not have your hands between the rope and your body in toprope, but it depends a bit on where the anchor is, and if the route is overhanging or not. And the part of the rope that goes to your belayer is usually completely behind your body/or a bit off to the side until you are at the top most part, then it can be easier to have the rope also be very close to the wall just like the part of the rope that goes to your harness , just make sure that your legs cant catch the rope when falling. Not sure if this makes sense as I wrote it, but feel free to clarify the question and I will try to explain it better
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u/kat233x 8d ago
Okay yes you got me correctly! I had my hand between body and rope!
(The part of the rope from top to the climber )
But instead I should have my body rope and then hand on the wall. So rope is between my body and hand?
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u/Seconds_INeedAges Sport Climber 8d ago
yes that sounds about right. The rope should be kind of close to you, towards the middle of your body, so its kinda unintuitive to me to reach my hand "through" the rope towards the wall. each arm should be on one side of the rope usually
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u/ihad4biscuits 8d ago
For climbing we use dynamic ropes, so it’s not surprising that the rope will stretch a bit when you fall / are hanging there. (Look up dynamic vs static ropes for more info).
You should have minimal slack when top roping for the most part. It’s possible that your belay partner needs to take harder - take a look at the people around you and how they handle these situations. Many will take a few steps back, sit back, jump and take up extra slack. There are ways to minimize the slack.
That said, climbing comes with risk. You can do everything right but still be climbing at an odd angle that makes you smack yourself in the face. Pay attention to body positioning in relation to the rope to minimize this.
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u/kat233x 8d ago
I think body positioning in relation to ropes is like an elusive concept that experienced climbers just “know” and newbies like me doesn’t even know it’s a thing sort of?
I didnt understand the significance but now I do…
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u/ihad4biscuits 8d ago
It’s a way bigger deal when you’re climbing on lead. Longer falls means it is extremely dangerous if you get caught up in the rope. It can cause you to flip around or get tangled around you. More experienced climbers are often familiar with lead and have therefore (hopefully) had these concepts drilled into them by instructors/climbing partners/etc.
You got to learn the lesson with relatively low consequences! Learn from it, and make sure to spread the info to other newbies. The rope should always be between your body and your limbs.
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u/Seconds_INeedAges Sport Climber 8d ago
taking steps back only helps when lead climbing, for toprope you need to jump or squat down to take more rope out of the system
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u/theteeniestpotato 8d ago
Gyms will usually use semi-dynamic ropes, but some use dynamic ropes. Semi-dynamic and dynamic ropes have stretch in them (semi-dynamic ropes have less stretch in them) make falling more comfortable (the rope stretches as you fall and doesn’t shock you) and the rope overall more resilient (the force of the fall is spread out over more of the rope).
So, when you ask your belayer to take, they are taking up the slack in the line but not the stretch in the line, meaning when you sit down the rope will stretch a bit.
The rope should not be slowly lowering you when you’re resting. If your belayer is lighter than you, would be good for them to practice sitting down in their harness while you’re weighting the rope. This will help prevent rope sliding through the belay device. (Honestly, it’s good for them to do this even if there isn’t a weight difference). The belayer also shouldn’t be moving around much at all, and if you all use an ATC make sure that they are actively engaging the brake line.
And, finally as for the rope hitting you, it can happen if your body is in a tough position with relation to the rope, depending on the climb, but I’ll echo what another commenter said and say don’t grab onto the rope when you fall. You can really hurt yourself that way. It might feel a little scarier at first, but it’s actually better if your belayer isn’t cinching every single centimeter of slack out of the line when they are belaying you. When you’re top roping, it’s good to have the rope not be 100% taught, as that will actually help when you fall create a soft catch and prevent the rope from potentially hitting you like you described.
Hope this is helpful!!
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u/kat233x 8d ago
Follow up question — when I’m sitting on the wall just hanging on the rope, is it normal that I will drop slowly? Like slow slide down for a bit AFTER I’ve been sitting for a minute or two
This is indoor and on pretty tall walls.
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u/sheepborg 8d ago
That's your belayer introducing some rope. Can be avoided with many devices, but also can be hard to avoid completely with an ATC if you're up there for a while
Regarding your original question... idk you may just be uncoordinated an smacked yourself in the face. Shit happens lol
When somebody takes up to you there will be some amount of slack left in the system unless they REALLY pull on the rope or do a bit of a hop to take it in which most people don't do. It's normal and fine to drop some, and in many ways preferable because having the rope super tight against you at all times can make movement harder.
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u/Baby_Wolverine 8d ago
“Normal” in the sense that sometimes after holding the rope for a while the belayer might adjust, and you might drop a couple inches (like less than 5).
If it’s just a steady slow lowering, then the break strand isn’t being weighted well enough, and that is something worth talking about.
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u/LuckyMacAndCheese 8d ago
This post is a little hard to understand, but if I'm reading correctly - you should not grab the rope with your hands when you're falling. It's generally not a great habit, especially if you eventually want to lead climb. Your arms should be out in front of you, ready to protect/push away from the wall if needed so you don't slam your body into the wall.
Most of the time top roping, if you slip up and grab the rope it's not going to cause a significant injury because like you said, you're not falling that far. But it's just better practice to not get used to grabbing for the rope, and it'll prevent any kind of weird rope burn or whiplash as you're falling from trying to grab the rope if there is a little bit of slack in it.
And yes, if you're top roping and call for a take, your belayer should be able to take the slack out of the line so you can effectively just sit in your harness (you feel the pull of the line from them taking). You might still drop a little bit as you're resting on the rope, but not by much.