Athlete • Speaker • Guide 
Athlete • Speaker • Guide Date: 24th May 2012
This morning I finally figured something out that is so insanely pedantic and minute in the global scheme of things that no electrons at all should ever be wasted writing about it. But I’m actually really excited about my latest mental discovery, as it explains a lot of fumbled climbing gear, baby bottles, wrenches and other stuff that I’ve dropped in my life. My thrilling discovery occurred this morning while trying to grab a maple-syrup encrusted fork from my daughter so I could cut her pancakes up. It was like trying to grab a scared mouse or something, and I ended up with maple syrup all over my hands. Then it clicked: my daughter was doing the same thing her mom does on climbs when handing me gear…
A few weeks ago I had a great day of rock guiding (yes, I’m an ACMG Apprentice Rock Guide now if you want to go) with a talented young guy who was just really psyched to be up high on his first-ever multi-pitch climb. First time on real rock actually. He did well, and the day was a real pleasure for both of us. But when it came time for the gear hand-off at the belays (where the follower gives the gear back to the leader for the next pitch) it was a gong show–I almost dropped a half-dozen nuts and other pieces. Gear was coming at me at teenage speeds, which was far too fast for my old mind to process. Over the years I’ve noticed it’s really easy for some partners to hand gear back and forth with, and with others a real PITA. My wife is in the latter category, and at times has put real strain on our relationship. Why was gear exchange fumbling and somewhat erratic with the teenager and my wife, but very smooth with other people?
Some climbers are so fumble-fingered that they resort to handing gear back and forth by the giver holding the gear out, the taker grasping it and audibly saying, “Got,” each and every piece of gear. This is comedy to me, as it is so fast and intuitive when done well. The issue is that some people are givers, and some are takers, and their styles don’t line up well..
A clue to this micro but annoying problem came when my daughter handed me her fork. She didn’t hold it out for me to take, she logically tried to put it into my hand as she saw fit. Maple syrup and all, it was logical to her that the tines went toward my hand. I tried to dodge, she adapted, and it took about 30 seconds of comedy for me to end up with the fork and her to get her pancakes cut. The lightbulb went off: There is a societal “custom” about giving things to people: You hold it out, and they take it. Waiters at parties hold out wine glasses and you take them. They don’t move the wine glass around to put it into your hand, that doesn’t work.
If a friend and I are working on a truck or something I hold the needed wrench out in an easy-to-grasp way, he reaches for it, conforms his hand to it, and takes it. If I try to put it into his hand his hand has to adapt to a moving object, which confuses him. Same with climbing gear; when things feel rushed and weird on a gear exchange at a belay it’s usually because my partner is shoving gear at me, and trying to “help” by conforming the gear’s position to what he sees as my hand’s position as I reach for the gear. But I’m trying to conform my hand to where I see the gear, which then moves… It’s like trying to recover from a fishtail situation in a car where you’re always behind what’s already happened.
So in my mind the protocol for exchanging any type of gear with another person is that the giver holds it out in a useful and stable position. The taker grasps it, and pulls it out of the giver’s hand. My wife tries to be helpful by placing the gear into my hand, which is moving… When I hand her gear it works well, the problem is only when she’s handing me gear. We’ve been unable to figure this out for going on 15 years, so I was pretty excited when it all hit me this morning. It was worth getting covered in maple syrup.
I try to get my clients and partners to rack all their gear on one sling as they follow, in an organized manner. This one sling then gets handed to me at the belay (or they keep it if switching blocks). Fast, simple, less dropped gear, go. And racking on your waist is a total waste of time, but that’s another topic. Happy hand-offs, my dad is fully made by this minor realization.
Posted in: Blog
I agree, gear racking on wasit is silly, and I prefer a bandolier or gear sling (the kind with 4 loops). What I like is that all the gear is right in front of me. I do not weaste time– esp near the end of a tough pitch, and/or while gripped in a tough position– reaching across to the other side of my harness to grab my last TCU or whatever.
Ice climbing, or sport climbing, obvs gear can be on wasit since it’s all basically identical.
Most ppl however do not like bandoliers for trad climbing. So…you have any ideas/advice on how to best use these, or get people to want to use them? Only trick I’ve learned for looong multipitch where time is of the essence is leading in blocks, so there’s less back-and-forth.
Masha read your post and said: “He’s right!” For 24 years we’ve had this problem – we once fumbled a boiling cup of tea that ended up with me in the hospital! In seven short paragraphs you’ve solved it for us. If this ice climbing thing gets old you might try marriage counseling. Call you Dr. Will. 
This is great! I had never thought of it like this.
Suppose we’re doing block leads, I’ve just seconded a pitch, and the next one is your lead again. I’ll “clothesline” the gear on the rope running from your tie-in point to your clove hitch at the anchor, beginning with the gear on the side of my harness which is harder for you to reach. While I’m doing this you can grab gear from the side of my harness which is easier to reach. After the gear is clotheslined I start flaking the rope while you finish racking for your lead. This always seemed easier and faster than actually handing gear to someone.
I almost always have my partners change gear by clipping the gear onto the leader’s connection to the anchor (aka, their end of the rope). I find that this is more efficient since both partners can rack and de-rack at their own pace, all the gear is right in front of the leader’s face, it’s super efficient to take gear from a harness and clip to a rope (and vice versa) in a single motion, and most importantly, ZERO fumbling.
Will,
Interesting read.
My ice climbing partner of the past 6 years or so and I do a similar dance at the belay. The gear holder holds out the gear and says “Dr,” The gear handee then grabs the gear and says “Dr.” HA! kind of silly but it works. I am totally on board with what you say about mixing it up. I am only 2 or 3 years behind you in age and I too have the fumble fingers. We realized early in our friendship, probably because we dropped something, that we needed a system that worked 100%.
When I climb with others who don’t know this system and try and give me the gear I pull away and explain how it’s going to work. Kind of anal but mixed signals can lead to trouble in the vertical world.
Like Mike and Shoo, I usually end up clipping things onto the line going to the anchor. Saves fumbling for things and once it’s all clipped there for the leader to sort out at his pace, the second can get on with unfucking the ropes (*sigh*), etc.
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