Top Rope/Auto-Belay

Top rope climbing requires personal responsibility to maintain a high level of safety. If you need a refresher, do not hesitate to ask and we would be happy to refresh you on what you need help with. Below you’ll find our requirements to top rope at Macon Rocks.

• Participants must be at least 14 years of age or older.

• All harnesses must be properly worn and snug.

• All belayers must use a Petzl grigri or approved assisted-braking device.

• Belayers must remain standing while belaying.

• All carabiners must be locked.

• Belayer must pass the gym’s top roping belay test.

Bouldering

Even though you may only be a few feet above the ground while bouldering, there are still risks involved since all falls are ground falls. Please familiarize yourself with our bouldering rules and guidelines below.

• Do not boulder unless you know how to properly fall.

• Ensure your fall zone is clear and safe before you climb (if you have a spotter this is okay).

• Do not break your fall with arms or hands.

• Do not boulder in areas with top ropes or lead in use.

Lead Climbing

Along with meeting all our requirements for top rope climbing, lead climbing has additional requirements to maintain our high levels of safety.

• Lead climbers must pass our lead test. This will be conducted on a route with a difficulty of at least 5.9.

• Belayers and climbers must be confident in their abilities.

• Belayers must maintain minimal slack (no rope below the knees).

• Climbers must take a fall during the test, and belayers must demonstrate the ability to provide a safe and controlled catch.

• Climber must properly clip all quick-draws in order (no skipping clips).

• Climbers must always clip both anchors when finishing a route.

• All rules from top roping apply to lead.

A Word About Safety

Climbing is inherently risky. The need for safety systems beyond reproach is obvious. The equipment developed by the climbing industry doesn’t fail when used properly. But the system is passive—participants must engage. This dictates the need for personal responsibility to allow the sport we love to exist indoors at all. The primary purpose of our liability release is to establish an agreement on this principle. Without this agreement, we cannot allow the use of our facilities.

Because of the inherent risk that comes with climbing, we have developed our rules, procedures, classes and tests to focus on safety and minimize the risk of injury to all participants. But please note that completing our classes and tests are not certificates of training, and cannot be used as proof of proficiency in other facilities.

At Macon Rocks we have found the primary cause of a mistake on the part of a climber to be inattentiveness. Our philosophy regarding the safety protocol for climbing and belaying is to focus on principle, and not specific methods. So while we do teach a specific method in our classes, if you have a preferred method that follows the basic principles (such as keeping your break hand on the rope at all times) you may use that.

Regarding lead climbing—if climbing is risky, lead climbing is simply dangerous. While Macon Rocks offers lead climbing, it is limited to only those that show proper skill and discipline by passing our lead test.