UPDATED JAN 2026: More and more, I’m getting emails and calls from folks that are either an adaptive climber themselves - or work with someone who is - about how to belay. Sometimes it’s just a check in for the best technique, other times it’s because the gym they’re going to refuses to belay certify them because they don’t fit in the belay check box.

Hopefully, in the near future, my partners and I will develop a video to accompany this blog post. Until then, I’ll be building this out to work as a reference to how folks with different disabilities CAN belay. This will be a work in progress, so keep checking back and shoot me messages with any questions, clarifications or suggestions. I’m going to go ahead and publish this unfinished for now, because this information really needs to get out there!

Now, to be blunt - it’s important to acknowledge that there are some folks who just won’t be able to safely belay, whether because of how their disability affects how they can manage the system, or because they’re totally abled but get too distracted by the hot baddies in the gym. The point of this post, though, is to impress on the fact that someone should not be written off as a possible belayer because of an initial assessment of their physical body not fitting in a simple, abled box.

Note - this will only make sense if you’re already quite familiar with a typical belay method of PBUS. As always, seek qualified instruction.

If you’re a gym employee reading this, please remember the basic takeaways that make a good, competent, safe belayer that must happen regardless of what the technique ‘looks’ like- regardless of whether it’s PBUS, slip slap slide, the nipple pinch…:

Can the belayer safely take in the slack while maintaining control of the brake side as the climber ascends?
For lead, can the belayer pay out slack at an appropriate pace while maintaining control of the brake side?
Can the belayer arrest a fall?
Can the belayer safely lower the climber in a controlled manner?

UPPER LIMB DIFFERENCE

HAND AMPUTEE / AU2 (CAN USE ELBOW)

This is the category I fit it. Top rope belaying is quite simple and you can use either a tube style device or assisted braking device. For lead or toprope, I prefer to belay with a Petzl Gri Gri. I can use just one hand to pull slack up, use my stump to hold the tail and to slide my hand back up to the device or tuck the tail between my knees to slide my hand up. If the rope is double wrapped at the lead anchor, I’ll often squat to take rope and bring up the slack as I stand up.

Lead belaying took a little longer to figure out, but again, there’s totally a way to do it. Here I always use my Petzl Gri Gri *. I’m able to use my right hand just like the official Petzl method, but instead of using my second hand to pay out slack on the climbers side, I pinch the climber’s rope with the inside of my elbow and pull it out that way.

The new Petzl Neox has been a game changer for lead belay. It’s effectively the same technique as the Gri Gri, but with a mechanism that allows the rope to feed MUCH smoother. Smoother than even an ATC. For abled body folks, I wouldn’t race out to buy one to replace your working gri gri, but I might actually say it’s worth it for AU climbers. There has been some internet buzz that it’s not as ‘good’ at top rope belay as the Gri Gri, but I can confirm that’s a load of phooey, and that the smooth action also makes it easier for a one handed pull through the device - way less wear and tear on ones shoulder, since we can’t use our other hand to pull the TR down while our brake hand pulls out.

I don’t get the same amount of range and can short rope if my climber is doing a giant monkey clip that I’m not ready for, but this method is completely legit as the business/safety end isn’t affected.

ARM AMPUTEE / AU1 (NO USE OF ELBOW to NO USE OF SECOND ARM AT ALL)

This is folks who truly have one arm, or function as if they have one arm. For this, I’ll use my friend Dan as an example. Dan actually has two arms, but had a bike accident where he hit his shoulder so hard that all of his nerves were severed in his right arm. So, he can feel with it still, but he can’t move it or grip with his hand. His left arm is still totally normal. He uses a gri gri, as he has enough mobility with the affected limb to hold the brake in release while managing the brake side with his working hand.

Paul Martin, an AU1/RP1 athlete on Team USA, can be seen here showing both his lead belay technique (first part of video) and general lower technique. For both, he is using a Petzl Neox. Paul has an extra challange as he is a lefty, but he’s making it work by crossing over as needed and using his stump as he can. He has become both toprope and lead certified at many gyms across the country with these techniques.

There are some people who can still use something like a gri gri, if they can reach the brake lever with a nub. It will be hard to manage clean and quick lead feed, but it’s possible with the nipple pinch method (video coming soon). This method is safe, but the climber must be fully aware that the amount of rope being fed out will be slow and short, monkey reach clipping will result in short roping.

For someone with only use of one hand/arm, a tube style device will be the best. It is possible for a gym to not love that technique though, as this climber cannot do the ‘under’ part of PBUS. However, as an AU2, I technically can’t do that part either! I just use my stump to sort of guide the brake strand smoothly into my brake hand. A climber could also use their foot hovering on the rope as a way to manage the flow, I’d also highly recommend a specialized carabiner like this one that will help make control of the rope easier.

You might think of a lock assist tube style device like a Pilot or a Juul, but those will require a second hand to lower and so aren’t a great solution to an AU1 climber.

We have tested both the Neox and the Revo for a feed free lead belay, where the belayer keep their brake strand in control the whole time and the climber pulls the rope through the device from above without the belayer paying slack, but we found it to be unacceptable for the leader as the devices would still lock under realistic pull speeds.

LOWER LIMB DIFFERENCE/SEATED

STANDING

This might be a no brainer, but someone with a prosthetic leg or other conditions that allow them to still stand while belaying…are just regular belayers. Nothing exciting to see here, folks!

SEATED

Allison has a chronic pain condition that makes standing to belay untenable. She belays on her butt just fine!

Adam Starr following the rules and standing while belaying.

My friend Jess is an amazing climber and a super safe belayer - and she’s missing her leg through the hip. She uses crutches to get around, and sits while she belays. Sitting is often a point of contention when it comes to belay checks, especially in a facility that rigidly follows rules that aren’t meant to be inclusive. The thing is, when you stop to think about WHY that’s a rule - it’s because a seated climber implies a lazy belay from someone who’s not paying attention, or is seated in a comfortable location that’s too far away from the line of the rope to be safe. Outside, you do have to deal with the belayer being able to move around from objective hazards, but in the gym? Just make sure the climber doesn’t have loose shit in his pocket and they’ll be fine. For Jess, and other disabled climbers that would sit to belay, as long as she is in the correct line of the rope and is paying attention, a seated belay is a safe belay. Sure, keep enforcing the no-sitting rule for every gym bro and broette, but think outside of the box when it comes to adaptive belayers.

VISUAL IMPAIRMENT

“Ok,” you’re thinking. “Now here’s one where it’s really, truly, for real not possible to belay - right?” You would be wronger than rong*. Blind or Visually Impaired belayers are some of the safest that I know. I’ll use my friend Bill Casson as an example. If I’m the climber, I don’t leave the ground until Bill actually feels my knot, that it’s going through both soft points, and verifies with me watching that his belay device is rigged properly and is locked. When was the last time you had such a thorough partner check with one of your sighted friends?

Bill Casson, a VI climber, ready to belay Esha Mehta, also a VI climber

When it comes to VI belaying, systems checks and communication are key. A quiet space helps, so the climber can call clearly to the belayer. The climber may have to give more feedback than they’re used to for slack and tension, but that’s about all.

*see what I did there?

MoInMt Blog:

The Gimpy Belay