Want to practice how to safely lower off a sport route? Try out one of our Sport England funded lower-off simulators at a wall near you.
Lowering off a sport route on real rock is very different to clipping the carabiner at the top of an indoor climbing wall. The leader will often have to thread the rope through a closed metal loop and re-tie in, whilst ensuring that they are always safe.
To allow this skill to be practiced in safety, the BMC has supplied practice lower-offs to a number of climbing wall's throughout the country. Each practice station features the two types of lower-off that you are most likely to find at a British sport climbing crag; two bolts linked by chains to a ring, and two rings each on independent bolts.
Each practice lower-off station is acompanied by a plaque, complete with a QR code which redirects smart phones to a BMC TV video showing how to safely lower off sport routes.
WATCH: Lowering off a sport route on BMC TV
VIDEO
Practice belay stations are being installed at the following walls:
The Foundry, Sheffield
Awesome Walls, Sheffield
Nottingham Climbing Centre
Harrogate Climbing Centre
The Leeds Wall Climbing Centre
Newcastle Climbing Centre
Sunderland Climbing Centre
Rock Antics- Newton Aycliffe
Redpoint Climbing Centre- Birmingham
Kilnworx Climbing Centre- Stoke-on-Trent
Manchester Climbing Centre
The Reach Climbing centre -London
Westway Climbing Centre - London
Whitespider - Kingston
Calshot Activities Centre - Southampton
Mile End Wall - London
Further stations will be installed at walls across the Lakes, North West, Midlands, South West and London & SE.
Many thanks to Jenny Clinging at the Foundry Climbing Centre for providing the images used in this article.
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