Winter Skills 2.7: how to make a snow belay

Tips on how to make a snow belay when out in the winter hills.
Making a belay but can't find a rock anchor? In this short film a professional AMI Mountaineering Instructor shows you how to use just a couple of pieces of gear and some snow to make a safe and solid belay.
WATCH: 32 winter skills films in our playlist: • #MakeWinterCount - lea...
This is one of a series of instructional films produced exclusively for BMC TV in association with AMI (the Association of Mountaineering Instructors), Lowe Alpine and DMM.
www.ami.org.uk/
lowealpine.com/
dmmclimbing.com/
#winterclimbing #mountaineering
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[@pgreenx]

A lot of Rab on this guy

[@brianbrooking496]

Funny feeling they may sponsor the BMC.... might just be the logo on the hat

[@purplemonkeyelephant]

I tried this method but it took so long I got hypothermia and died.

[@pierre-yvescolle3241]

Good to see you ressurected to tell us this !!!!!

[@niktravels7633]

damn rip

[@RainBoxRed]

Have you tried digging snow? You will take off all your layers and still end up sweating.

[@1981stonemonkey]

A direct belay on that T-anchor alone (at least 50 cm deep, slits stuffed up with snow from upslope) would hold the weight your partner's weight anyway so you could save a lot of time on digging / connecting / adjusting / wrapping everything else, halting your partner every so often, etc. Speed is safety, especially in the Alps where you still need to cross a glacier after coming back down from your climb / summit.

[@macmurfy2jka]

Harmen Westerhof I was thinking the exact same thing. I might assume, as a complete novice, that the technique shown in this video is overkill for the slope it was shot on. For a rest? Sure. But if these guys are in a situation where this much security is needed, and they don’t have a harness, and they don’t have helmets, and they don’t have belaying equipment; something has gone horribly wrong, especially with a two man party. Why have things gotten so technical that this much security is needed? Is this seriously the only approach/decent available? If so, why are you risking it with a climber who is likely unable to successfully climb it? You seem to be expecting a fall. Are you being forced down a steep slope by the weather? Why is the assent line not available? Did you cause an avalanche or something? Is someone hurt? Like you said, this is allot of work. A good platform and t-anchor would seem more appropriate, in my eyes. It might be prudent to use this technique if you are the guide to a party of newbies, though.

[@BushCampingTools]

Totally, too much time digging holes for buckets. Just a bomb proof T trench

[@pablolobo6560]

I suppos it would also come in handy if you are guiding tourists who may seem uneased or with some difficulty.

[@snow_e]

100% agree. Assuming this technique is used on a steeper slope than the one in the video, you could just kick/hack yourself a small step for comfort below the trench, clove yourself in to the t-anchor sling then belay with a munter or a belay device.

[@brandonfoley7519]

I think this is just a demonstrate the technique

[@davidryan6739]

Than you for sharing this. I feel I take for granted the integrity of my harness and belay devices, so it's good to have insights into less gear-reliant belay and safety positions.

[@pinkskud1]

on a body belay, have the live line on the same side of your body as your anchor line. that way if the live line takes a load it wont spin you round in the bucket.

[@akaTheDevil]

The way he has it setup, it is pulling directly against his back though. He doesn't have a harness.

[@TG-dm5dc]

Great video. Very pro. Thanks guys.

[@davidparrott1763]

Great Video

[@jonathansummerfield8390]

Interesting technique. Using it does only make sense in a step that can be covered by one or two pitches. Else you better do a different tour. Four sure good to know this technique in case of something you can't plan. Depending on the snow quality you can berry your backpack as an anchor or place a deadman. Cheers and thank you!

[@jakeengland1430]

I can't believe it Simon McCabe is my lecturer at uni

[@RainBoxRed]

Would be good to see an actual loaded situation both in top rope and lead falling, just to see what the belayer would experience and how they react to actual forces.

[@akaTheDevil]

It feels like a lot work and effort

[@nosek666]

Another nice video,can you possibly share a link to the clothes you wore? I'm after a pair of gloves and would like to know what's yours?thanks

[@AnirudKollegal]

wonder what paul is doing at the ledge while you make the belay

[@Edq51]

Practice does make it go faster

[@thefrener794]

The right way always looks this way.The wrong way is easier until all the screaming starts.

[@WindNorthern666]

nice hills, does it feel safe to sit with a head exposed to the slope? thee-four belays like that and there will be holes in backpack and in your fancy goretex =)

[@1Molehill]

Ahhh, the climbing community claims to be so close & strong. Yet they love to be critical & judgemental about each others ideas at any opportunity.

[@snow_e]

This is exactly how you learn, understand and improve ideas, by being critical. Only good ideas survive the worst criticism.

[@markdixon1960]

Good instructional video. What precautions should be taken to prevent the person belaying from below being struck by the climbers crampons if he falls?

[@rushthezeppelin]

A helmet....kinda surprised they didn't have at least that.

[@kennneth764]

Also if the leader was to fall on the dead end side of the belayer then all control would be lost i suppose, and also a LOT of force would be put on the T-slot anchor. I understand belaying the follower with this method but i’m confused about belaying the leader with this method

[@vincepod]

It's not really in terms of surface area if you've balanced by weight.

[@brouklisgooglis6689]

How much deep must be the hole for the axe to be safe for this technique?

[@akaTheDevil]

Not sure if this was the most efficient way to provide somehow with a snow belay

[@owensilitch1938]

Does using a clove hitch to connect the sling to the buried ice axe have any advantages/disadvantages (besides maybe getting extra length out of the sling) to girth hitching the sling around the axe instead? Just curious...

[@98CookR]

If I recall correctly, girth hitching puts more pressure on the strands of the sling, which makes the system weaker - a clove hitch isn't relying on the sling pulling one strand against another at that 'pinch point' the girth hitch creates.

[@you2tooyou2too]

@@98CookR ; unless there is something wrong with the sling, I suspect the snow will usually fail before a girth hitch which is slightly easier to remove when done, even if wet frozen.

[@bms9144]

@@you2tooyou2too This. I suspect that Dyneema sling could hold the weight of my pickup truck.

[@snow_e]

Almost no difference incept I think the clove hitch stops the sling from sliding around the axe shaft a bit more as it stays tight after you pull on it once. A girth hitch only stays really tight when being pulled. From my experience the sling slides around quite a bit especially if the axe shaft is curved. That's my guess. It definitely won't fail or anything like that.

[@soundallowed]

once you cut through a crust, could you use a shovel?

[@anonyymikana206]

If you carry a shovel on a trip like that, sure.

[@cope9900]

I know nothing about mountaineering. So you do all this work to get one person a couple feet up the hill? Don't u end up spending all day digging in the snow and getting nowhere? I must be misunderstanding something. This is SO interesting.

[@cameronduff9820]

this technique is pretty rare to use in any case, most people would be confident going unroped on all but the steepest snow slopes, but when it's actually used people would tend to use 70m or longer ropes for much longer pitches

[@SparkFromWithin]

If I had a harness on me would it be any different? Or should I still prefer this setting?

[@christiandawson5031]

Juan Abreu different if u had a harness

[@davidryan6739]

With a harness and belay device you would be positioned to establish a more typical belay. The body belay and bucket example is value here as an extension of maintaining safety where gear is limited, or if a climber was partially incapacitated.

[@you2tooyou2too]

3:30 At this point, you should decide where you want the belay anchor line to approach your seat, preferably on the side of your feeling hand (the live line). 15:00 With a competent partner, he would just continue the pass-by for a lead belay & no need for re-stacking or gear exchange. With an unreliable client, this re-stacking might be needed. PS: I also use my ax with a biner buried head up at the surface, as a directional, so the climber cannot yank the live rope from my feeling hand.

[@shupingyin8082]

What is the brand of your ax? How heavy is it?

[@thepastafariandodo2545]

DMM they make heavy stuff

[@SileDevil]

could you use a reverso instead belaying from the kidneys?

[@rushthezeppelin]

I'd imagine it would be tricky to actually brake properly sitting in that bucket. You would actually be better off with a munter in this situation since the braking position of a munter is having the strands parallel.

[@-theJoker-]

@@rushthezeppelin put the Reverso in guide mode on the upper carabiner.

[@rushthezeppelin]

@@-theJoker- That's a terrible idea if you are talking about the biner that is only attached to the axe, then you negate most of the anchor being yourself in the bucket.

[@pankafka]

do you know what type of boots he is wearing?

[@buc8992]

Dupek La Sportiva Nepal

[@tbirdwingus3117]

Rab

[@jayadams9794]

Alot of flack in the comments...................BUT!, its Knowledge and there is 100 ways to skin a Cat.........A technique like this Could save your ass on the Mountain. Sure you wouldnt do this All the time but just one time could be the difference betweeen going home and not going home.

[@crice1uk]

Surface area of the axe has nothing to do with the CofG, the pick is steel, the shaft is aluminium. What a daft comment.

[@crvlcaravan7007]

Waaaaay to much, work, time, energy and strength lost using this cumbersome method. When you create a solid anchor, USE that anchor for what it can do.

[@TommyMacMXClimber]

Well done and all, but Jesus, you'll need shirpas to carry all your extra food and water necessary to sustain all that effort spending half the day digging on anything of any real length. I guess it's OK for getting to the top of a ski run when the lift is down, but hardly useful for a real climb.

[@frenchfree]

Ya could bury your boots and its fast enough that your feet won't freeze.

[@tinkbelle6684]

All that work for what, I don’t get it…. Looks like a giant waste of energy

[@McStoolio]

What’s a belay? 😂

[@TheZIEDO]

WTF! You guys are doing it 100% wrong