How to break free from a loaded belay.

Self-rescue tricks every climber should know.

By S.P Parker
 
At some point you may have to rescue a partner who's hanging on a rope, unconscious or incapacitated, and can't be lowered to a ledge or the ground. This article describes how to escape the belay and tie off your partner to a safe anchor. You can then run for help or execute a rescue yourself.
One of the basics of any rescue is "Do not make a bad situation worse." You could escape the belay by simply attaching an autoblock on the loaded strand to the anchor. But this leaves the climber dangling on a loaded friction knot, which can slip and damage the rope and will be impossible to release without a knife. The method described here avoids these problems. It may seem complicated, but is simple once you have mastered the knots above. Take some rope and work through it with a partner on the ground. Hands-on is the best way to learn.
For the escape scenario we'll assume you are belaying a leader or follower on a device clipped to the belay loop on your harness and that you are tied with the climbing rope into a solid anchor. The only additional equipment you need to escape the belay are a sling and two locking carabiners
   
With the belay device in the locked-off position, pinch the whole plate with your non-braking hand, squeezing the rope against the plate, so you can pull a two-foot bight of rope through the carabiner with your brake hand. Now, tie a mule knot in front of the belay plate and secure it with an overhand backup (figure 1). You can now release both hands.
   
With a sling, tie an autoblock on the loaded rope in front of your belay device. Now grab the rope on the opposite side of the knot securing you to the anchor. Tie a munter hitch in the rope and attach it to the autoblock sling with a locking carabiner. Suck up any slack and prejump the munter. Secure the munter with a mule knot and overhand backup (making the munter/mule combination). See figure 2 for an overview. You are now ready to transfer the load from your belay device to the autoblock. Release the tied-off device by untying the overhand and giving the slack side of the mule knot a hard tug. Now feed the rope through the plate until the autoblock catches -- you need to be careful here, making sure that the autoblock is gripping.
   
Take the slack side of the rope coming from your belay plate (on what used to be your brake-hand side), place a locking carabiner on the anchor, make a munter on the rope and clip it to the carabiner. Now, holding onto the rope at the munter to maintain a belay, remove the rope from the belay plate at your waist. Suck up the slack generated and pre-jump the munter. Secure the munter with a mule and overhand knot and snug it down. Finally, go back to the munter/mule combination at the autoblock and release it, gently feeding the rope through the munter until the load is transferred back to the anchor. Clean everything up by removing the autoblock. See figure 3 for an overview.You have now escaped the belay and can raise, lower or seek help for your partner.