On Belay?

Great weekend in the Colorado Rockies this weekend for my cousin's wedding (congrats Chris & Becky!!!)
One highlight was the Bouldering Room with 22' high walls of varying difficulty.  We had the opportunity for the adults to be trained as Belayers. 

[definition courtesy of Wikipedia]

Belaying refers to a variety of techniques used in climbing to exert friction on a climbing rope so that a falling climber does not fall very far.^[1] A climbing partner typically applies the friction at the other end of the rope whenever the climber is not moving, removing the friction from the rope whenever the climber needs more rope in order to be able to continue climbing.

Communication is also extremely important in belaying.

Climbers should wait for a verbal confirmation from the belayer that they are ready to begin. In the US, usually the climber will ask "On Belay?" or "Belay?" and wait for the belayer to reply "Belay On". Once ready, the climber then follows with a "Climb Ready" or "Climbing". This is usually acknowledged by the belayer saying "Climb On."

Mom on Belay, daughter on Climb

There's an amazing amount of trust between climber and belayer - and the belayer may have the less glamorous job in reality.  It's similar in mentorship situations, the mentor essentially is in back drop, watching out, keeping safe and grounded his or her mentee as they Climb On.  The relationship requires great amounts of trust and communication in order to be successful.