This weekend I tried out the auto belay device at the local climbing gym. Remember, I’m not a climber. I start getting uncomfortable when I get over ten feet off the ground. And the auto belay is not giving me any solace here.
The device works like those key rings that janitors clip to their belts. The auto belay is mounted on the ceiling above your climbing pitch. Instead of a rope it uses a thick web belt. You clip a very large and reassuring carabiner into the loop in the front of your climbing harness (sort of an S&M version of a jockstrap) and the belay mechanism keeps a slight but constant upward tug on the harness, taking up all slack as you climb.
Here’s the rub: if you slip, the auto belay won’t catch you. The device is happy to let you fall, but at a survivable speed. It’s a very weird feeling. As one experienced climber puts it:
Your first thought is “my belayer has screwed up and I’m about to fall to my death”. That’s not really an easy reaction to suppress…
So I spent yesterday morning climbing near the point of panic-attack, leaping from the wall and gliding to the floor like Batman or Tinkerbell. It’s kinda fun, but definitely going to take some getting used to.