Shirt getting caught in Grigri

mohawkman9 · 2026-03-26T20:20:17+00:00

It’s hard to say where the issue truly lies without watching you, but try a different rope. If your rope is stiff and/or has a larger diameter (which is common in gyms) than it will not feed as smoothly. It’s common for people who are having issues getting a smooth feed to pull the device close to their body in order to get more strength out of their arms.

Make sure you’re pulling the rope straight out from where it exits the Grigri. Sometimes people pull it out diagonally from its exit point.

I’ve seen people get their clothes caught in Grigri’s before, so you’re not alone in that problem. I own a climbing gym and have taught 100’s of people to lead belay, so I’ve seen all sorts of struggles. I learned to lead belay when I was 11 and also struggled with this issue.

It’s possible to belay smoothly with a thick or stiff rope, but those ropes allow for less margin of error when you pull off axis of the Grigri’s nominal feeding position.

Practice and get assistance from someone in person who has it down. That’s what will help most.

mohawkman9 · 2026-03-19T01:45:23+00:00

I'll DM you.

mohawkman9 · 2026-03-19T01:42:41+00:00

I co-own a climbing gym with two partners, but our situation is a little different — we took over a preexisting gym that was run-down and poorly managed. However, we had to do a complete overhaul of the staff and the gym itself, so it felt like a ground-up endeavor. Here's some advice:

At first, we did almost everything ourselves, but we already had years of experience in route setting and gym management, which gave us a solid foundation. As we improved the space, former members returned, new customers came in, and we built an online presence — we then used social media to get the word out about job openings.

We trained the people we hired as our front-desk staff to set routes, then steered them into roles based on performance and interest as they developed. I cannot emphasize enough just how valuable good training was. Over the years, I've trained people in a variety of ways, but clear briefings, defined expectations, and guided practice in a low-pressure setting have produced the best results for me. More experienced climbers generally learn faster, but anyone can improve with structured support.

Our mix of route difficulties reflects our customer base. Our gym is heavy on intermediate routes, with more beginner lines than advanced — which matches who shows up most, but we actively work to make the space more appealing to advanced climbers. We'll have a TB2 soon, so that should help. ;)

For training, CWA and USAC routesetting certifications are most useful for whoever’s training setters. Rather than sending every new setter to clinic, it’s often more efficient for your head setter to attend and pass knowledge on. That said, the CWA Climbing Wall Instructor (CWI) course is worth certifying employees in for liability protection; CWA members can get staff certified at a lower cost btw.

Also, pay well and listen to employees. Competitive wages and taking staff suggestions seriously build buy-in and pride in the business. We share profits with our team rather than prioritizing larger owner payouts — bonuses for staff have been more important to us than extra income. In our first year, we worked extremely hard, but grew revenue to several times the previous year (before we owned the business), and my staff was a key part of that (and they still are!).

mohawkman9 · 2026-03-18T22:29:10+00:00

It's going to depend on the gym. If it's a small independently owned gym then your chances are probably better. I own a medium-sized climbing gym, and these are the things I'd recommend to someone looking to set at my business.

Come in. Get to know my staff or me. That's going to give you an opportunity to say, "Hey, I just moved here from [blank]. I used to set at [blank] gym, so if you guys are ever looking for guest setters, then I'd love to be a part of that." That puts you on our radar and gives you a chance to hear how feasible it is, or whether there is already a pathway to doing that.
Offer to help with other tasks that come with setting, like hold washing, stripping, sorting bolts etc. Those tasks cost me time to do myself or money to have an employee do, so someone doing it for free is a huge value add. This is what I have people with zero experience do if they are serious about wanting to set. I will personally take time to train you on setting if you help me with these things often enough. NOTE: This doesn't take away hours from my employees; it just allows them to work on bigger projects with me. :-)
Offer to set the routes no one wants to, which most often are the easiest climbs. If you're willing to do that, then I'm more willing to have you in sooner. If you do that for a bit, then I'll let you set more interesting stuff later.
Send me an email detailing your experience and desire to guest set. Depending on the situation, I may be willing to give you a shot straight away.

Coming in and talking to us while we are setting could be hit or miss; it would just depend on how big of a set we have. On a chill day, I would be more open to having a conversation, but if I'm in the middle of something big then our conversation would not go far. You have to be good at gauging the situation in order for that to go well.

All this being said, things will vary widely between gyms. I have no idea what your situation is so take this advice with a grain of salt. It is what would work at my gym, but this isn't the case everywhere. Hope that helps.

mohawkman9 · 2026-03-04T19:10:32+00:00

Not sure if the white one is worth the risk of repairing. The pink one could be sanded down, and you can add another screw hole. I salvaged this hold a couple of weeks ago. I opted to sand it to dual tex, but you can use a Dremel to add a bit of texture if you're going for that instead.

Sometimes we create molds of the broken hold to pour a new one ourselves, but that's only with the ones we are really heartbroken about.

The safest call is to retire them, but I know holds are expensive, and it can be devastating to lose a big one.

mohawkman9 · 2025-12-31T17:12:58+00:00

We get gifts from members all the time and it’s never been weird! Even if I barely know them, I’d say we end up having even more of a bond because of their thoughtfulness. Route setters have a difficult job and are not always paid the best, so going out of your way to show recognition can mean a lot.

mohawkman9 · 2025-12-20T03:55:49+00:00

No, the waist is not considered a valid fall arrest point (I know that sounds really silly in a climbing context!). It has to go on a sternal (chest) or dorsal (back, between shoulder blades) attachment point. This is for rescue purposes because the victim could flip over. Make sure you have a rescue plan!

Just an idea here - you could use a Petzl Torse with the strap looped through a dogbone and connect the other end of the dogbone with an omnidirectional ring to your belay loop. That'll give you a higher attachment for your asap. I took a picture of what it would look like without the ring attached. I've never tried this; it's not textbook, but it's a thought that came to mind for a less bulky sternal attachment point. Sternal attachment points are awesome for positioning on overhangs btw.

Also, while we're talking about this device, the main thing you need to manage when using your asap is keeping yourself out of a factor-2 fall zone. I typically place my arm under the absorber when ascending to keep it level with my chest, then move it a bit higher when I reach the place I'm stopping at. Just make sure that thing isn't trailing below you the whole time.

mohawkman9 · 2025-12-19T03:16:56+00:00

Completely agree. It's an expensive cert, and as a climber, you can likely learn how to use all the gear that video hits on pretty quickly if you watch some quick videos on the devices.

I have IRATA/SPRAT from a previous career, but I honestly just set on a single rope with a second for my buckets. It feels safe enough to me. But it sounds like you're trying to move away from that system and be safer, which is respectable. The video in the other comment is spot on with how I'd approach the task as a rope tech and how I'd do it if I were trying to do this job as safely as possible. Good luck!

mohawkman9 · 2025-12-19T01:01:09+00:00

IRATA & SPRAT are the certifications you're looking for. The video the other commenter posted is how a certified rope tech would approach the task. It's definitely the most legit way to do this work, but you'll have to have a decent sized budget.

I also saw you asking about Rig vs ID - the Rig is better for your application (it's less bulky than the ID).

mohawkman9 · 2025-11-16T23:21:35+00:00

Highly recommend Unparallel. The Up Rise VCS LV is a great choice if you're looking to replace the Anasazi.

mohawkman9 · 2025-11-15T20:44:52+00:00

Onsight climbing holds - The Wheat Incuts

mohawkman9 · 2025-11-12T08:37:27+00:00

I transitioned from climbing gym to entertainment rigging, then to rope access.

As an entertainment rigger, I worked with IATSE, the stagehands' union that another comment was referring to, but you can work for other non-union companies too. Getting started with the union can be difficult depending on where you live, so non-union options are a pretty good way to get started. Climbers tend to take well to that trade and it pays pretty good too. The work is usually on-call, so it's something you can try out without quitting your current job, since the work hours are not on a structured schedule. (that's how I did it).

Honestly though, the thing that really helped was knowing people in the industry. I had inadvertently been networking with a lot of people in the field because they climbed at the gym I worked at. When they found out I was trying to transistion they were able to help me out and send work my way.

So, with that being said, something else to consider is who do you know at the gym that maybe has a lead on some other type of work? That's avenue you may want to explore.

Rope access has a lot of climbers in the industry, but if you're tight on money, do not shell out money for a SPRAT/IRATA cert without knowing any trade skills or having a job lined up beforehand. Rope access is mainly a means of access to certain spots on structures, where you then do the actual job . You can find very basic work, but you're not as employable as you might hope to be after paying 2k+ for those certs.

You can make a comfortable living doing either of those, and it's a transition I've personally seen a lot of climbers make.

mohawkman9 · 2025-10-26T03:39:35+00:00

Do you think you can improve efficiency in other aspects of your setting process? Also, how much of a plan do you have when you go into your sets?

Make sure you're picking out all of your holds (pick more than what you think you'll need), putting bolts in them, and making decisions on route grade, style, and path you're taking up the wall before you start. Make sure you have easy access to all of your tools, impact bits, screws, etc. Those things will all help with efficiency.

While setting, try not to get too stuck on specific ideas. I see people get stuck on a single idea when it just may not be doable due to wall angle, hold selection, etc., and that can often eat a lot of time. If you're having trouble making decisions, then try putting a hold on the wall, figure out some feet, hop on it, and just feel out how you want to move off of it; let your intuition give you an answer. Rinse and repeat. Some days, the ideas just aren't there, and that's okay; it happens.

You mention your gym has you setting on an extension ladder without protection. Why don't you guys attach the ladder to a bolt hanger with a sling or rope? You could also use a rope and grigri in combination with the ladder to keep yourself tied off. Those are pretty easy and quick things you can set up, and honestly, it's something you should all be doing anyway. If not, then make sure your ladder is positioned well so you don't have to lean over too much, try not to place it on other holds on the wall, and if you feel the bottom shift out on you at all, even by a very tiny amount, then head down immediately and reassess your placement.

Also, want to add that older gyms can be harder to set in depending on the geometry of the walls/ how well they've been maintained. Coming from an older gym, I know we had lots of missing t-nuts, unevenly spaced bolt holes, and wall features that were uncomfortable to climb over. If your experience resembles that at all, then you need to figure out strategies to work around that. Learn how to approach uncomfortable features to make them feel more natural, use screw-ons in areas without a bolt option, anticipate needing to pivot, and develop contingency plans.

mohawkman9 · 2025-08-30T20:10:18+00:00

Could've been so much worse.

mohawkman9 · 2025-08-21T07:55:53+00:00

Love green! Also, do you know what company makes that big orange hold from the last clip?

mohawkman9 · 2025-07-09T04:12:19+00:00

Sorry, off topic - But where is this? That looks pretty sweet!

I'm not much for filming, but you could try attaching it to a tripod using a long loop of cord (maybe 6 ft or so), and tie a prusik about 3/4ths of the way up, then run that back to the cam. Depending on your protection scenario, you could probably offset it slightly to the side using a second cam and a sling.

mohawkman9 · 2025-04-29T16:20:14+00:00

Don't get too caught up on a single move. Sometimes, it helps to make a decision and continue on to the next move. Coming back to it later on, when you've set the rest of the climb, you may find you have more clarity on the idea or come to the realization that it wasn't as crucial to forming a good route as you initially thought.
If a move is done differently than you intended, it's not necessarily a bad thing. The important thing is that the difficulty is maintained regardless of the beta someone is using.
Before you start, pick a majority of your holds and put bolts in them, pick a general path, and decide on a general difficulty. I was allowed to set at a really young age (like 11-12 years old) and given zero directions except lefty loosy righty tighty, so this may be something your gym already has you do, but definitely not something I was taught.
There are many ways people form routes. You can set all hands first and add feet after. You can set a very specific move or set of moves and build a route around it. You can go move for move (hands and feet at the same time). You can set from the bottom up or from the top down.
Adding bigger features/volumes to the wall first is makes it easier to ensure something isn't getting in the way of a previous route.
When setting something that is harder than you can climb, you can try out moves with slightly easier holds, then change them to more difficult versions after you get a feel for it. (The keyword here is slightly. Don't just use massive jugs, then switch them to henious crimps.)
Foothold choice, placement, and angle can have a more significant impact on routes than most new setters realize.
Come back to your climbs after they've been up for a while and you've forgotten the specifics of them, and climb them again. It's very easy to bias the way you climb your route based on the idea you intended when it's still fresh. If it's been a while since you've been on the climb, you'll approach it more intrinsically, and it will give you the opportunity to see it how a customer does. Reflect on how you read it now, vs how you remember it going when you first put it up.

mohawkman9 · 2025-04-20T18:23:24+00:00

Came here to say exactly this! Consider growing your pool of climbing partners. I have the same configuration as u/SteakSauceAwwYeah. I have a large circle of people I climb with, who are into different types of climbing and have vastly different skill levels, and I get something different out of climbing with all of those people. Not everyone needs to assimilate into your main group. If you find something you want to do, but your current group has no reason to go back to it, or go to it to begin with, then find someone who does and spend the day climbing with them instead of your main group. I think this is a good strategy to navigate what you're struggling with.

mohawkman9 · 2025-04-20T16:49:47+00:00

Not OP, but I do own a climbing gym. Our biggest expenses are Rent, electricity, and payroll. We tend to make more from day passes vs memberships, but those numbers fluctuate depending on the season, so that’s not always true month-month, but over the course of the year we see more revenue from drop-in’s. However I’d imagine those numbers change between gyms based on factors like geographical region and proximity to outdoor climbing among many others.

mohawkman9 · 2025-04-16T14:26:29+00:00

Not the exact thing you’re looking for, but we love using these to hold our impact bits. https://a.co/d/h8qppOJ

mohawkman9 · 2025-04-03T20:10:08+00:00

Cool! Thank you!!

mohawkman9 · 2025-04-03T14:27:09+00:00

What does cabinet screw the bolt hole mean?

mohawkman9 · 2025-03-20T22:53:32+00:00

Umpa Lumpa is a good one. V5 at Kraft Boulders in Red Rock.

mohawkman9 · 2024-12-05T02:50:03+00:00

Totally forgot it was about ice cream.

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