Tag Archives: belay

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Belaying Leadership

Whenever I think of winters in Michigan, I think of the great times I’ve had ice climbing. From the guys to the weather to the climbing, everything falls into place perfectly.

We leave early in the morning and drive for hours. We arrive at our cabin and unpack. Then we decide whether or not to hit a climb the first day.

Leadership is a lot like belaying an ice climber

Image by Freddy Bahena

Most days we choose to get in at least a couple of hours of climbing. One person is climbing, another person is belaying the climber.

What Is Belaying?

Belaying is a term often used in ice climbing or rock climbing. When someone is belaying another climber, they’re the one holding another person’s life in their hands.

The climber has a rope attached to their harness. This is usually done through a figure 8 knot. The person belaying the climber has a belay device attached to their harness and the climbing rope runs through the belay device.  Read more...

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Leaders Need To Get On Belay

One of the coolest experiences I’ve had was a recent ice climbing excursion to the upper peninsula of Michigan. The time was spent with a great group of guys all looking for adventure and finding it in the great outdoors. Not only that, it also taught me a valuable leadership lesson.

Image by Laurel Fan

Image by Laurel Fan

A term often used in climbing, whether it be rock climbing or ice climbing, is belay. For those of you who don’t know what belaying is, belaying refers to a series of techniques climbers use to exert friction on a climbing rope so their climbing partner will not fall far. The climber on belay does this by applying friction through the use of a belay clip and keeping the rope taut.  Read more...