Bitterroot Mountaineering
Casey went first, traversing a cliff face and setting gear while his girlfriend Helena was belaying him and I was watching. I hadn't done anything like this before so I'll try to explain so you can imagine. When we were climbing up the rocks the first person set gear as they went to protect themselves in case they fell, then set up a belay at the top so it was impossible for the other two climbing up behind them to fall more than a foot or two. Casey doing what I just described However, when climbing sideways on a cliff like we were at that moment it's a little different. Even if there is a belay, the distance between you and the next piece of gear determines how far you fall. If you unclip from a piece and the next one is 10 feet away if you fall you'll swing on a 10 foot long rope until you're directly under the next piece of gear, and at least 10 feet down from it. Scary, right? Helena coming across part of the traverse Casey was taking