5-6. BELAYS Belaying is any action

5-6. BELAYS Belaying is any action taken to stop a climber’s fall or to control the rate a load descends. The belayer also helps manage the rope for a climber by controlling the amount of rope that is taken out or in, or by controlling a rappeller’s rate of descent. The belayer must be stably anchored to prevent him from being pulled out of his position, and losing control of the rope. The two types of belays are body and mechanical belays. a. Body Belay. This belay (Figure 5-16) uses the belayer’s body to apply friction by routing the rope around the belayer’s body. Caution must be used when belaying from the body since the entire weight of the load may be placed on the belayer’s body.