Pro Tips for Avoiding Climbing Communication Breakdowns

In the 1969 classic rock song, “Communication Breakdown,” Led Zeppelin’s Robert Plant howls into the microphone, “Communication breakdown, it’s always the same / havin’ a nervous breakdown, a-drive me insane.” While Zeppelin’s song was definitely not about rock climbing (it was about a girl), the lyrics exemplify precisely how I feel when I’m in the vicinity of climbing parties experiencing a communication breakdown or when I am experiencing one myself.

As a climber with over a decade of experience and a rock climbing guide trained and certified by the American Mountain Guides Association, I’ve experienced my fair share of breakdowns. Endless walkie-talkie chatter drives me insane. Unclear communication about being “on belay” or “off belay” makes me a nervous wreck. And sometimes, the complete lack of communication (and double-checks) between partners before the leader casts off has me waiting for a seemingly inevitable accident to occur.

We can all stand to improve how we communicate with our climbing partners. So, whether you’ve suffered through communication breakdowns or just want to streamline how you communicate with your climbing partners, I have some helpful ideas. I’ve compiled a list of climbing communication do’s and don’ts that will empower you to avoid breakdowns altogether and deal with them if they do occur.

Communication breakdowns in rock climbing

I consider a communication breakdown to be any time clear and obvious communication is non-existent in the first place or temporarily altered. Breakdowns can take a lot of forms. Likewise, the severity of the breakdown can vary.

Breakdowns tend to arise from three main sources– environmental factors, incongruent command language between two people, or unclear understanding of the intentions of the involved parties. Examples include:

• Two climbers use different language for the same command.
• A loud truck can drown out climbing commands as it passes the cliff momentarily.
• A shift in weather patterns can eliminate verbal communication altogether.
• The shouting of multiple climbers confuses nearby parties within earshot.

Don’t assume, do standardize communication

It can be dangerous to assume that your climbing partner communicates in the same way as you. This is especially critical for new climbing partnerships. Therefore, it’s imperative to standardize a strategy or system for how you plan to communicate.

Align with your partner(s) on how you plan to give commands while everyone is still on the ground. If you disagree on tactics or language, then you’ll need to compromise. Don’t start climbing until you reach a point where both partners unquestionably understand how communication will be carried out on the climb.

The following video is a good example of standard rock climbing commands between two partners. While the exact way you interact with partners may differ, your command delivery should be as clear and concise as possible.

Even seasoned partners need a game plan

Long-time climbing relationships are still at risk of a communication breakdown, mostly due to complacency. That’s why you shouldn’t assume you’re on the same page, no matter how long you’ve been climbing with someone.

An obvious example is at the end of a single-pitch climb. Are you planning to come off belay to rappel and clean (I don’t recommend this)? Or will you stay on belay and be lowered by your belayer? Even if your partnership’s modus operandi is always to clean and lower, you should confirm a game plan beforehand.

While there are risks involved in both rappelling and lowering, the American Alpine Club and American Mountain Guides Association recommend lowering versus rappelling to clean a single-pitch route.

Do perform radio due diligence

Harnesses equipped with walkie-talkies are seemingly a lot more common now than when I started climbing over 10 years ago.

I admit that using a radio while climbing satisfies the nostalgic desire to be a secret agent I had as a youngster. But remember that radios should be deployed in rock climbing as tools, not toys. If you consider your radio a tool, then you’re bound to use it and care for it more responsibly.

Here are a few tips before heading out for some climbing with your radio:

• Check the battery life and charge/replace batteries if necessary.
• Check your channel and perform a radio function check with your partner.
• Confirm that no other parties are on the same channel. Change channels if necessary.
• Create a contingency plan if your radio system fails (see below).

Do extend your communication strategy to include nearby parties

On busy days, your communication plan should include nearby parties. To be proactive, introduce yourself and get the names of nearby climbers. Speaking on a first-name basis can mitigate any inter-party communication breakdowns. You don’t need to introduce yourself to everyone at the crag, but getting the names of the climbers on routes to your left and right is a good starting point.

For example, where I guide in the Gunks, the cacophony of climbers shouting at one another can be disorienting. There are folks coming “off belay, “on belay,” and “off rappel” all over. Not to mention the calls for “rope” before climbers chuck their ropes off the cliff’s edge. By dropping in a first name whenever I shout a command, I can ensure my message reaches the correct ears.

Furthermore, if in your introductions, you meet a nearby climber with a similar (or exactly the same) name as someone in your party on a neighboring route, devise a way to distinguish between the two.

In October, on the Checkerboard Wall in the Black Canyon of the Gunnison, my climbing partner, Mike, and I were on Monkey and Engineer (5.10). Right next door, another climbing duo with another Mike was climbing Maiden Voyage (5.9). Therefore, our party agreed to communicate using Mike’s last name or the color of his rope, while the other party continued using Mike’s name.

This video really enforces the importance of using first names and concise language when climbing. Fun fact: As of this year, the instructor from the video, Lyra Pierotti, is now the 18th woman to become a fully certified American Mountain Guide/ IFMGA Guide.

When using radios, don’t chat

Call me crusty, but radios are not toys to chat about what’s happening. Instead, radios are tools you can use to deliver important information. When you overcommunicate with radios, you risk getting lost in translation.

One day, I overheard a climber radio down to his belayer, “I’ve reached the top of the pitch. I am going to build my anchor, go off belay, and then put you on belay. Also, did you see that awesome hawk fly over my head?”

The belayer responded, “Yeah, that hawk was awesome. You’re off belay!” A few minutes later, the leader radioed again, “Okay, anchor built, take me off belay.”

Distracted by the extra chatter from the leader about their process and the awesome bird, the belayer took the leader off belay before they asked to go off belay. This exposed the leader to a catastrophic accident because they were no longer on belay or attached to a new anchor system.

Fortunately, in this scenario, everything panned out okay. But I would have loved to see (and hear) the climbing team simplify their multi-pitch communication tactics.

For example, after the leader builds an anchor and directly attaches themselves, they should say “off belay.” Once they have prepared the rope and loaded it into their belay device, they should say “on belay.” Save the awesome hawk banter for when both members of the rope team are at the belay station.

Even when not using radios, concision is critical. Avoiding verbose language is imperative to guarantee that critical information is transferred from partner to partner. For example, when shouting at your partner, typically, the fewer words and syllables there are, the better.

Do more and overcommunicate less

When climbers are not adequately prepared for unplanned obstacles, they inevitably revert to overcommunicating to try and solve the problem. I see this all the time.

For example, a piece of gear is stuck, and the follower is shouting at the leader for tips on how to clean it. “It’s stuck. I can’t get it. How did you place it?” The leader responds, “What did you say? What piece? I can’t hear you! What?!” Meanwhile, highway traffic or a loud river rages in the distance, further complicating communication.

I also see over-communicating occur when a follower is stuck at the crux. They’re shouting for beta from the leader, throwing out sandbagging accusations. Up top, the leader is spraying beta into the void, “side pull … look for the jug up and left … there’s a hidden foot under the roof.”

In my experience, over-communicating commonly just causes more problems. Instead of shouting, the climber from the first example needs to work on freeing the gear independently. Always remember to bring a nut tool for these occurrences. If it’s really stuck, well, maybe it should just be left behind.

In the second example, the leader could reposition themselves so they can coach more clearly. If things are particularly dire, they could go into action, like hauling the climber through the crux. Or the climber could aid the sequence to keep the rope moving. Lastly, in a single-pitch setting, lowering the traumatized climber instead of forcing them to follow and clean the pitch is a worthwhile solution.

Do have a contingency plan when communication breaks down

Imagine this—the wind picks up, and you’re shivering at the belay, paying out little stretches of rope as your partner quests. They’re at least 65 feet (20 meters) away, above a roof somewhere and completely out of sight. You can hear them trying to tell you something, but with the worsening weather, any sort of reliable verbal communication is off the table.

We’ve all been there. Without having devised a contingency plan for this sort of communication breakdown, you might find yourself pretty puckered up. On the other hand, with a deliberate contingency plan in action, you’d be able to deal with this breakdown without breaking a sweat.

A contingency plan can help you remain in control when regular verbal communication isn’t possible. For example, standardizing how you plan to transmit information to each other silently, such as with rope tugs, can allow you to communicate without words.

Most importantly, your strategy should be dynamic enough to deal with changing conditions that may negatively impact your ability to speak with your partner. In the above hypothetical, we have the trifecta: a rope-stretching pitch, noise-obstructing features (big roof), and weather, like wind. In this case, deploying walkie-talkies could solve the breakdown.

But what if you don’t have radios, or your radios run out of battery? Make a plan for those scenarios, too.

Bottom line: Communication is critical

For some folks, rock climbing may be pretty casual or mundane. I admit: I feel this way, too, when I’m top-roping inside. The laid-back vibe of climbing could be why I see some of these communication breakdowns crop up. But this perspective is bound to cause trouble—especially when climbing partners don’t establish solid communication habits from the get-go.

The fact of the matter is communication is critical for safety when you tie into a rope with your partner, regardless of how mundane it may feel or who you’re climbing with.

Therefore, communication ought never to be taken for granted or considered mundane. Reliable and concise communication saves lives. Leave the breakdowns to Zeppelin. 

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