DMM Pivot for lowering to ground via top belay?

[devnull]

@jcmchammy@mountains.social thank you so much for the detailed response, that's very helpful!

Let's say you're in a single pitch context where your follower wasn't able to get past a crux, etc., would you then switch to a redirected belay to lower? 3:1 haul?

[jcmchammy@mountains.social]

@devnull If you're confident to do both of those things, then dealer's choice. On balance, I'd probably pick up rather than down given cruxes are typically a few moves (here I'm kinda assuming you're not totally sandbagging your second with a route they have no chance of sending ). TBH before either of those things, I'd probably start by maybe sticking a prussic on for some leverage and see if I could aid my climber past the crux with a bit of extra support.

[daanschone@pixelfed.social]

To add to this, simply said: if you pull on the device with a biner it will suddenly release and your climber will plummet. You need a backup before doing this.

[devnull]

@jcmchammy@mountains.social thanks, I wish I'd thought of that over the weekend!

I will admit that lowering on the grigri (after redirecting the brake strand upward) was very convenient. I guess I was hoping to find a silver bullet from among the surprisingly vast field of belay devices.

(Ontario is grigri country heh)

[devnull]

@daanschone@pixelfed.social right! A prussik on the brake strand is definitely seems mandatory here.

[daanschone@pixelfed.social]

Often a munter hitch behind the reverso/atc is used to lower a climber.

[mkroehnert@social.tchncs.de]

@devnull
As @jcmchammy already mentioned, lowering from guide mode is not that easy.
The YouTube channel JB Mountain Skills has a video of different options.
But as JC said, practice first with a trainer who knows the topic.

I would also say, that adding a pulley construct with a prusik + carabiner to the existing guide mode setup is easier and more efficient.
You are then able to give the climber a bit of pull to get over the crux.
Especially useful in multipich scenarios.

[daanschone@pixelfed.social]

Easiest is to leave the device in guide mode and use it as progress capturing while hauling. You can try to attach yourself with a prusik on the brake strand and weight it with your body, while pulling on the climber's side of the rope. For passing a crux this should be enough.

[daanschone@pixelfed.social]

If you'd want to lower, this is a bit too complicated for a social media post. Maybe you can find something on youtube

[daanschone@pixelfed.social]

And of course the climber can also prusik or jug up the rope.