The American Alpine Club has produced a handful of educational videos. The following video — concerning lead belays — is a follow up to their video on toprope belays. This video does an excellent job of going through all of the nuances of each of the following aspects of belaying a leader:
- Positioning the belay to avoid a clash of bodies.
- Consciously managing the slack.
- Securing a leader who is resting on the rope.
- Arresting falls with a solid, yet “soft” catch, or stopping the leader cold if obstacles are in the fall line.
- Hoisting a fallen leader back to their high point as needed.
This nine minute video is a must-watch for new belayers, as well as for those who have been belaying leaders for a long time. There is a tremendous amount of information within each chapter of the video.
–Jason D. Martin