Climbing safety is everyone’s business, and it’s something our editorial team is extremely passionate about. Our Tale of Whoa column demonstrates our ongoing commitment to creating a culture of safety within our community. In this edition, we’re excited to have guest contributor Mikl Law talking about GriGris, sharing his experiences on what can – and has – gone wrong.
GriGri’s have been the standard for sport climbers for over 30 years now and basically they’re great until they’re not. Most of the time they just close and you assume they’re safe and reliable, and suddenly the leader is heading toward the ground. Although they are often called “assisted insurers,” people think of them as automatic; you still have to hold on to the brake hand.
The behavior of the GriGri strongly depends on the friction of the rope (diameter and condition) and the weight of the rope below (any entanglement makes feeding impossible). So a fluffy 10mm rope will jam easily and be difficult to feed, while a new 9mm rope will feed easily but require a firm anchoring hand to grip it. (I use 10mm fluffy rope because it makes me feel safe.) A GriGri needs a well-stacked rope to feed smoothly, so organize the rope before the leader leaves, especially on hanging belays – a long hanging rope makes feeding the rope very difficult. difficult.
Even people who have used the GriGri safely since the last century have sometimes entered the “GriGri Lock”, grabbing the cam open during a surprise fall. Petzl’s “new” GriGri technique (search for “belay with a GriGri” on their website) is a big step forward since the hand that holds the open cam also holds the rope. This means that if you enter GriGri Lock, you must hold the anchor strand firmly enough to activate the cam.
GriGris produce higher impact forces on the top piece (up to 50 percent more) than an ATC, so GriGris should not be used for trade on anything less than equipment perfect… You should really learn how to use an ATC for commercial, double ropes, long rappels and World Cup competitions.
When descending or abseiling, be careful: GriGris go from locked mode to free mode very quickly. It’s like a switch. Press your brake hand hard and close the handle to get more friction.
Always check the grip action when using a different rope or GriGri: thick, thin, new, old or coated ropes will all grip very differently and GriGris can also wear a lot, changing their behavior. They are not automatic, they are “assisted” and you still have to be careful with them.
The “events” below all happened to me over a two year period, plus a few longer falls when the GriGri didn’t lock on immediately (I was also dropped on ATC three times over the course of this period).
Case 1: I took on something a little harder than usual and was feeling good when my belayer called me: “You’re the hand!” Thinking it was a hipster compliment, I continued to work my way through it until I realized he meant he had the GriGri on backwards.
Analysis: A check between friends and a rope pull would have solved this problem. Andy Kirkpatrick recommends grabbing the leader’s knot and following the rope to the GriGri, as it’s easy to pull on the wrong rope. The same goes if you abseil on it: weigh the system before unclipping your safety.
Situation 2: I fell and was hanging on the rope when the belayer told me I better hang on for a second. He had threaded the rope correctly into the GriGri, but had not closed it; it was open but still working.
Analysis: I can’t believe I managed to get four bolts up one climb without the rope falling off. And I’m even more surprised that he held the fall. It was probably almost closed when I left the ground and may have escaped my attention. Again, check with friends and shake test (and maybe turn the belayer over and shake it too for luck).
Situation 3: Lock the handle open: It only requires a little force and it will never lock. My experience was with a belayer whose screw was attached to both parts of his harness (not the confusingly named “belay loop”). Unfortunately, if you cut a GriGri this way, there’s a 50% chance the handle will rest against your stomach. I fell, it didn’t lock, broke my tailbone, burned both hands (yes, he was holding on tight).
Analysis: Anything unusual should be checked. I’ve heard of accidents where a twig or rock blocked the action of the cam. All manuals show the GriGri attached to a belay loop, so that it is free to move and not hindered.
Situation 4: I fell at the first lock, my light belay was raised until the cam hit the draw and unlocked. I was already close to the ground and was dropped on the last meter; my second stopped after traveling a short distance. After moving away from the draw, the cam worked again. No one was injured in this case.
Analysis: It’s probably best to strap yourself or a bag if you’re that light, being thrown against the rock is a “bad thing” and can hurt you or cause you to let go.
This is a strange situation because the belayer would have to hit the ground before reaching the draw, he may have stood at a high point, or jumped and caught. But this could be a big problem with light belayers on a big field where you tie a runner high at the exit of the belay, better tie him in this case.
So, GriGris: friend or enemy? This is my standard belayer for single pitch climbing, but I still have to check the system every time and hold on to the brake rope. If you are old, learn the “new” Petzl belaying technique. If you are heavy, you need to walk or jump to catch gently. Always check that it is threaded correctly, feel how grippy it is and stack the rope carefully. Insuring is difficult.
Mikl Law is an old climber who was introduced to rock climbing in the 1970s and to fear in the early 90s. He always hangs out on the rocks and thinks he’s cool.