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zenelky
Jan 22, 2006, 10:44 PM
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Ladies, I'm slightly embarressed posting this new thread, but here goes...
I've been climbing now for almost 3 years. Mostly trad and mostly with guys. I never had any problems with my climbing partners, hell, they were my best friends! I had women that I also climbed with, but my primary partner was a guy who did quite a bit of trad leading, and I would second him up anything (I'm proud, I've never left a piece behind!!)
Well, I just moved to a new state and went climbing with a new group of people...mostly guys. I tried to sport lead a 5.8, but the rock was wet since it was pouring and I took a pretty big fall. After that, they didn't let me lead or even belay them. I kinda understood at first since we're not familiar with each other, but after talking to them about it I found out that they didn't feel that someone smaller than them could catch a fall (yes, ladies...even if I would have tied down), and after I took that fall, they felt that I shouldn't have tried to even lead it!
I need some help because I'm not sure how to take this. As before, I've been climbing for a while now, but I've only done sport a few times...it's always trad. Here in the south, it seems that things are mostly sport and bouldering and I'm worried that this "you're too small" attitude may be widespread in the sport world. Has anyone else encountered this and how was it overcome? I've been climbing longer (and I think I climb slightly better due to the height thing going against me;) but I cannot climb as hard b/c I'm not used to throwing for holds, I'm used to placing gear, moving slow, and belaying for long periods of time.
Please give me some words of wisdom, I suddenly feel left out of a sport that I love passionately because I moved away from people who I trust and that trust me. :(
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comet
Jan 22, 2006, 11:08 PM
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This is bizarre. I've never run into anyone who would react like this if someone fell sport climbing--on the contrary, I generally find it encouraged (trad is a different story). Unless you were being otherwise unsafe and looked like you didn't know what you were doing, I can't understand why they would react this way.
Find a different group of people to climb with, who will encourage you to safely push your limits. I weigh about 60 lbs less than my boyfriend, and I catch him safely, unanchored, all the time.
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macherry
Jan 22, 2006, 11:11 PM
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picking partners is such a personal thing. Quite frankly, when it comes to belaying i am very, very picky. My life is in the belayer's hand. I've told people to their face that i would not be comfortable with them belaying me.
if they don't want you to belay them, it's nothing personal, it's their right/their call.
As for your leading and taking a fall, they're just making a call on what they've seen. Could be they're nervous of you taking another fall and getting hurt.
You're going to have to work you way into this new group and after a while, maybe their confidence with your skills will grow. Don't take it personally. go out there and prove yourself.
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neuroshock
Jan 23, 2006, 9:39 PM
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In reply to: after talking to them about it I found out that they didn't feel that someone smaller than them could catch a fall (yes, ladies...even if I would have tied down), and after I took that fall, they felt that I shouldn't have tried to even lead it!
The bonus is that he always got a soft catch :)
Maybe you just need to meet some people who realize that, despite your size, that you can be a safe and effective belayer anyway.
In reply to: Here in the south, it seems that things are mostly sport and bouldering |
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rvega
Jan 24, 2006, 1:42 AM
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This is a tough call. Being a little lady myself I don't necessarily buy the "small people can't belay big people." My husband weighs over 70 pound more than I do but I can still catch him when he falls with and without an anchor.
On the other hand I can understand why some people may worry. You do hold their lives in your hands. However, the fall you took shouldn't have anything to do with your ability to belay. If you want to lead and you think you can do it safely then you should, absolutely.
I suspect they are being a bit sexist, although maybe not knowingly. I climbed with a group for years and they never ever let me lead. Then I switched to a new (male too) climbing buddy and he was horrified that I had climbed for so long without being on the sharp end. He made me lead the first day we climbed together. So maybe you should either to talk with them about it or find other partners who trust you and your abilities.
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lhwang
Jan 24, 2006, 4:16 PM
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In reply to: I suspect they are being a bit sexist, although maybe not knowingly. I climbed with a group for years and they never ever let me lead.
Sexism is one thing, and I think women who stand up to sexist attitudes deserve a lot of support and credit. Um, why would you continue to climb for years with a group who never let you lead, especially if you suspected they were being sexist about it? Anyway, the OP mentions that there were gals in her group too, so I doubt we can fall back on the trusty "They must be sexist" excuse here.
In reply to: However, the fall you took shouldn't have anything to do with your ability to belay. If you want to lead and you think you can do it safely then you should, absolutely.
I disagree... most people would prefer not to be involved with an accident, and that's their right. There is nothing in the world that anyone could do to force me to belay someone who I thought was dangerous. If you think your partner is being unreasonable, sure, you can try to talk it out but you can't force someone to belay you. Not to mention, in my area there seems to be an unwritten code that the more experienced climber looks out for his partner. This may be part of what's going on with the OP.
To the OP, I don't know a lot about your specific situation, but I know that when I start climbing with a new partner, I prefer to watch him or her lead before trusting him to belay me. If they skip bolts, step behind the rope, backclip, tie in wrong, trust holds that to me look sketchy without testing, etc. then I would not feel comfortable having them belay me. There's a big difference between a satisfactory belayer and a great belayer... a great belayer can help you prevent injuries. A bad belayer might contribute to them. Umm, there's a lot more to belaying then just locking off...
It kind of sounds to me like they're giving you a lame excuse for not wanting you to belay. My guess would be that you did something they considered unsafe. You did mention in your post that you'd climbed mostly trad before, so I don't know if this was your first lead on sport? It's going to take time to change that first impression, but good luck.
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rvega
Jan 24, 2006, 6:26 PM
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In reply to: In reply to: I suspect they are being a bit sexist, although maybe not knowingly. I climbed with a group for years and they never ever let me lead. Sexism is one thing, and I think women who stand up to sexist attitudes deserve a lot of support and credit. Um, why would you continue to climb for years with a group who never let you lead, especially if you suspected they were being sexist about it? Anyway, the OP mentions that there were gals in her group too, so I doubt we can fall back on the trusty "They must be sexist" excuse here. In reply to: However, the fall you took shouldn't have anything to do with your ability to belay. If you want to lead and you think you can do it safely then you should, absolutely. I disagree... most people would prefer not to be involved with an accident, and that's their right. There is nothing in the world that anyone could do to force me to belay someone who I thought was dangerous. If you think your partner is being unreasonable, sure, you can try to talk it out but you can't force someone to belay you. Not to mention, in my area there seems to be an unwritten code that the more experienced climber looks out for his partner. This may be part of what's going on with the OP. There's a big difference between a satisfactory belayer and a great belayer... a great belayer can help you prevent injuries. A bad belayer might contribute to them. Umm, there's a lot more to belaying then just locking off... .
To clarify... the OP did not say she was injured when she fell. She did mention that the conditions were not great (begs the question however of why you'd sport climb in the rain) and that after the fall they wouldn't let her belay. I still don't see the connection between taking a fall and the ability to belay. I can't vouche for her belay abilities but it still seems like a lame excuse.
As for why I climbed with people who wouldn't let me lead that's an entirely different story. My point was that if your climbing buddies don't trust your a) ability to climb and b) belay, you shouldn't climb with them period. Why...because you aren't going to learn, get better, or have any fun.
Partners give and take. If you made a mistake, they should help correct that mistake not punish you endlessly. If they make a mistake you teach them too. It's a learning process for everyone. Not everyone will be perfect every day. That being said you should never put learning in front of safety. If the OP was being reckless or unsafe (which maybe the case as you really shouldn't climb in wet soggy conditions for many reasons) that's a different story.
As for the sexism part...I truly believe that all of us are sexist. It is so ingrained into our psyche to think that women are inferior, we just naturally believe it and don't even recognize it as sexism. But that is what it is. This goes for women too. I often find myself assuming things about people that are sexist. For example, a male professor once told me that he wrote papers with his wife. I immediately and incorrectly assumed she just did the writing part and was perhaps a tech in his lab. But in fact she was a well established scientist just like he was and they were actually collaborators. I think about this all the time because I am also a female scientist. So why did I assume that? Because I've been trained by men, taught by men, and work with mostly men. The upper levels of academics are almost all men even though most PhDs in my field these days are women. I've been programmed in a way that is sexist.
So when you meet other climbing partners that are male
and female, who do you assume is the leader...typically the male. So when men and women get together for the first time to climb there are inherent sexist assumptions made about the gender roles. So when the OP fell, was the assumption that she was a bad dangerous climber or rather was it that she was a bad dangerous girl climber? If it had been a guy that fell would the belaying been an issue? Doubt it. Now people may hate what I'm saying but look deep inside and ask yourself if it's true for the most part. There will always be exceptions of course but as a society we are still deeply sexist.
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tavs
Jan 24, 2006, 6:39 PM
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Did anyone else in the group take falls that day? There are still climbers out there for whom falling in and of itself (regardless of outcome, injuries, etc) is automatically seen as dangerous. So there's a possibility that just seeing you fall triggered something in them and made them regard you as a dangerous climber--or, simply, someone willing to take risks that seem unwarranted and unacceptable to them.
If the not letting you belay them was directly connected to the fall, then I call BS. However, had you belayed them before the fall? Maybe the two weren't directly connected, but just came on top of each other.
Also, as far as not letting you lead--maybe they weren't comfortable catching falls (haven't done it much or at all, or something) and rather than admit directly to weaknesses of their own, they solved the problem by telling you not to lead.
Finding real partners (reliable, trustworthy, dedicated, attentive, careful and encouraging, etc) can be tricky, and I'm with vega on this--if they persist in telling you what you can and cannot do (like leading) I would not persist in climbing with them.
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harmonydoc
Jan 24, 2006, 7:19 PM
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In reply to: As for the sexism part...I truly believe that all of us are sexist. It is so ingrained into our psyche to think that women are inferior, we just naturally believe it and don't even recognize it as sexism. But that is what it is. This goes for women too.
That is quite a sweeping (and inflammatory) generalization, but I question the validity of you using your personal experience to state what "all of us" believe.
In reply to: I've been trained by men, taught by men, and work with mostly men. The upper levels of academics are almost all men even though most PhDs in my field these days are women. I've been programmed in a way that is sexist.
Well, there you go. I was raised to believe that my gender did not limit my potential, to value intellectual achievement and leadership, and this was modeled. My mother, whose undergraduate degree was in laboratory science, went back to school in her forties and got a law degree and now practices law with my father (actually she now does most of the work, since he's somewhat semi-retired). In medical school I had many female professors (even though the distribution between specialties wasn't completely even, there were some outstanding women in traditionally underrepresented areas such as the surgical subspecialties). The company I work for now just promoted two women to vice president level, and there are several at director level.
I understand that statistically women are still underrepresented in certain areas of leadership, whether they be in business, academia, or climbing. However, I have had enough positive female role models that I do NOT assume anything about a woman's position in a company or a climbing team until I have adequate information. I also strive to be a positive role model myself; the best way to break down people's preconceptions is by repeated example. I have a long way to develop, but I hope that by modeling leadership, strength, and tenaciousness both at work and in climbing I will help to break down this "programmed sexism" to which you refer.
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kellie
Jan 24, 2006, 7:43 PM
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In reply to: when I start climbing with a new partner, I prefer to watch him or her lead before trusting him to belay me. If they skip bolts, step behind the rope, backclip, tie in wrong, trust holds that to me look sketchy without testing, etc. then I would not feel comfortable having them belay me. There's a big difference between a satisfactory belayer and a great belayer... a great belayer can help you prevent injuries. A bad belayer might contribute to them. Umm, there's a lot more to belaying then just locking off...
You might want to consider watching them belay rather than lead. Many a good leader is a bad belayer. Just a thought.
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zenelky
Jan 24, 2006, 8:24 PM
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Thanks for the input ladies. After talking to them, I finally found out that it was because of the lack of experience on everyone's part. The other girl who was with us has only been climbing for a month, so this was suppose to be her "this is climbing" trip. 2 of the 3 guys had actually only lead outside twice and the third guy felt responsible for EVERYONE! When I took the fall it scared everyone since (found out last night) none of them had ever actually caught a big fall so rather than saying "um, I'm not comfy catching you" they made it easy by saying "no belay or lead for you!" So to my relief it wasn't because I was doing anything noticably wrong, it was egos getting in the way. I was thanked by one of them yesterday because he also took a fall on another route and he said that if he wouldn't have seen me fall, then he wouldn't have felt as secure falling and probably wouldn't have tried the route. It was his first fall on lead. Least I knew what air time felt like!
The moral of the story...make sure you know who you're climbing with and if you don't, try to cut them some slack. 8^)
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lhwang
Jan 24, 2006, 10:40 PM
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In reply to: As for the sexism part...I truly believe that all of us are sexist. It is so ingrained into our psyche to think that women are inferior, we just naturally believe it and don't even recognize it as sexism. But that is what it is. This goes for women too. I often find myself assuming things about people that are sexist. I've been programmed in a way that is sexist. So when you meet other climbing partners that are male and female, who do you assume is the leader...typically the male. So when men and women get together for the first time to climb there are inherent sexist assumptions made about the gender roles. So when the OP fell, was the assumption that she was a bad dangerous climber or rather was it that she was a bad dangerous girl climber? If it had been a guy that fell would the belaying been an issue? Doubt it. Now people may hate what I'm saying but look deep inside and ask yourself if it's true for the most part. There will always be exceptions of course but as a society we are still deeply sexist.
Wow. I had to read this post twice because I was just amazed. I think harmonydoc says it best when she says that to say we're all sexist is a pretty big generalization. Or that it is engrained in our psyche to think women are inferior. To me this sounds like a classic projection defense mechanism (sorry, I'm doing psychiatry right now :D )
It seems like all too often I see women using sexism as an excuse. Personally, after a few months of reading posts on this forum, I've started to suspect that I must live in some bizarre, ideal enclave of society... I can't remember the last time that I felt the sting of sexism, racism, ageism, any kind of discrimination whereas it seems like so many other women in this forum have had a tough time. I've come to the conclusion that either I'm really lucky and redneck, conservative Calgary must be utopia and there's no discrimination here, or else maybe it's because I simply don't expect to be discriminated against. If someone's rude to me, I think to myself "Man, they're rude". I might wonder if I did something to provoke the rude behaviour like being rude myself, but I don't think "Man, they're being rude to me because I'm a woman, or because I'm Asian, or because I have multiple piercings". The few times I have actually encountered outright racism, I've been more likely to laugh at the person's ignorance than to feel upset.
I know that there are definitely women out there who do encounter genuine examples of sexism, but because it never occurs to me that women are inferior in any way, I see no reason why they wouldn't be able to overcome those obstacles. 10 years ago, my mother went to the bank and applied for a loan to start her own business. The bank refused to give her the loan unless she got my father to co-sign it! My mother is an immigrant, speaks English as a second language, and was raised in a society where women have a pretty defined role in society. Lots of barriers there, but the point is that she stood her ground and yup, and she got her loan without my dad cosigning it.
Kellie, I agree that the best way to figure out if someone's a good belayer is to watch them belay. Unfortunately you can really only do that if there's more than 2 people in the group and I usually climb with new partners one-on-one. I was merely pointing out that some people would take a person's performance/skill on lead as a measure of their overall climbing experience, and then would use that to make a decision about how safe that person might be as a belayer. You're right, it does sound like there were enough people in the OP's group to have someone watch her belaying and actually give her a chance though.
Zenelky, I'm glad stuff worked out for you.
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rvega
Jan 25, 2006, 2:17 AM
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So I'm going to continue with the sexism issue. I was raised by loving and entirely encouraging parents who said I could do whatever I wanted no matter the obstacles. And they were right. I've been very successful and do not blame anyone or anything (my sex, my height, anything) for my failures. My old advisor told me I was naively opptomistic about the world and people, so I don't think it's that I am jaded.
Never the less when I say "sexist" I'm refering to an underlying assumption about differences between men and women. I'm not talking about discrimination. It would be fantastic to hear that you never experienced inherent sexism in our society, but I seriously doubt that is the case. We live in the double standard for both men and women. If you still really believe that women are viewed the same as men and judged the same as men and visa versa then I don't know how to convince you. But start looking around...in magazines, on the news, at the local restaurants, at the movies, at the rock gym etc. Most sexism isn't blatant it's the subtle stuff we don't acknowlegde. Keep looking and you'll find it everywhere.
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8flood8
Jan 25, 2006, 3:28 AM
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my friend Rachel, who i climb with, most weekends is... 5'2 and weighs under 100 pounds.
she catches me all the time and i weigh about 185 right now. Sure... she gets pulled up in the air... but...
IT'S A SOFT CATCH!
tell those jerks to get off their high horses.
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nola_angie
Jan 25, 2006, 4:27 AM
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Sexism is real, but in my experiences, the guys I climb with are stoked that there is a female pulling hard right next to them. I had a bit of a thing while Jim and I were talking a lead climb cert class, and the instructor was mainly addressing him, until Jim informed him 'tell HER how to set up routes, she's the better climber'. But I don't even really think that was sexism, I think it was more of a result of how uncommon it is (tho it happens, and god bless 'em for it!) for a woman to pull a man into the sport, not vice verca.
It's spooky at times to belay a person who outweighs you, but it's so true...nice, soft catch! Gotta watch yourself on the other side of this, tho...my ankle ached for weeks when Jim, at 50 lbs. heavier than I, was too static with belay on a lead fall!
I really think, in the end, if we spend as much time requiring our envrionments to treat us as equals, on par in all regards, and less time looking for things to insult us, we set a better example for our daughters, and teach a better lesson to those who would think us weak because of our gender.
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happiegrrrl
Jan 25, 2006, 5:12 AM
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One need go no further than the Community Forum on this site to see sexism on display, in threads with topics about "doing fatties or ugly chicks" and the like. There is usually a new one about once a week.
While some might consider that rather innocuous, and not directly affecting themselves, it is the type of sexism that, to me, seems rampant. But many people wouldn't consider it even a blip on their radar.
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harmonydoc
Jan 25, 2006, 7:09 AM
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In reply to: So I'm going to continue with the sexism issue. I was raised by loving and entirely encouraging parents who said I could do whatever I wanted no matter the obstacles. And they were right. I've been very successful and do not blame anyone or anything (my sex, my height, anything) for my failures. My old advisor told me I was naively opptomistic about the world and people, so I don't think it's that I am jaded. Never the less when I say "sexist" I'm refering to an underlying assumption about differences between men and women. I'm not talking about discrimination. It would be fantastic to hear that you never experienced inherent sexism in our society, but I seriously doubt that is the case. We live in the double standard for both men and women. If you still really believe that women are viewed the same as men and judged the same as men and visa versa then I don't know how to convince you. But start looking around...in magazines, on the news, at the local restaurants, at the movies, at the rock gym etc. Most sexism isn't blatant it's the subtle stuff we don't acknowlegde. Keep looking and you'll find it everywhere.
So by your definition, is sexism the assumption and discrimination the action reflecting that assumption? Then how do I experience sexism, unless discrimination takes place - if people do not act upon their assumptions how will I know what is in their minds? Unless, like lhwang suggests, I'm projecting my thoughts onto others?
I did not claim sexism did not exist, merely that it was not as you imply an inescapable part of every human psyche. I can't control the way others view the world, I can only control my own actions and responses to the actions of others. If by my actions I do a little to break down gender stereotypes, great.
I acknowledge sexism exists in the media (although evolution does slowly occur), but I don't see much sexism at my climbing gym, which is: 1) owned by 2 people, a man and a woman 2) managed by a woman 3) has several very strong women climbers as members and 4) overall has about half women on the routes on any given night. One of the people I climb with is a 12 year old girl who regularly climbs 5.11.
Your world doesn't sound like a nice place to live, with subtle sexism "everywhere" impinging upon your consciousness. I think I'll stay with lhwang in a world where I don't assume people's judgements of me are somehow unfairly biased by my gender, and choose to laugh at or ignore the stupidity of ill-informed responses. For example "doing fatties or ugly chicks" sounds like something out of the mouth of an immature, insecure boy trying to impress his peer group, not worth wasting any thought on.
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rvega
Jan 25, 2006, 11:00 PM
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harmonydoc,
You're right. I thought long and hard about this last night and my orginal assumption was probably wrong and sexist in itself. I don't think we live in a terrible world and neither do I feel that every thing people do is negatively affected by sexism. I do strongly believe that we are all products of our society and most of us cannot escape the ingrained prejudices that we grow up in. We can fight it and fight it, but most of us will retain some preconceived notions about how and what the sexes are supposed to act and be. That's all.
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harmonydoc
Jan 26, 2006, 2:22 AM
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rvega,
I respect you for rethinking your assumptions, and I agree with you that we are all products of our upbringing. Perhaps it is partially because many aspects of my personal situation contradict traditional gender roles ( I earn more than my husband, I'm not very domestic/don't like to cook, etc. ) that I have difficulty finding these preconceived notions in myself. In fact, something about my personality makes me enjoy deliberately contradicting gender stereotypes. Which is not to say I don't also have feminine qualities, or to say that I believe men and women are not socialized differently. For example, when I practiced pediatrics at the end of a visit it was common practice to offer a sticker to the child, and of course the reflex (which I fought by offering a variety of choices) was to offer stickers featuring race cars and trucks to boys and stickers with hearts and unicorns to girls. Another thing I am constantly aware of is my writing style in business ... I frequently edit myself to say "We need to do X" instead of a softer/feminine conversational style of "In my opinion it might be a good idea if we did X", which to male colleagues might sound weak and indecisive. So yes, it sometimes takes an ongoing effort to overcome preprogrammed gender roles, but the effort is usually worthwhile!
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slockwoo_knits
Jan 26, 2006, 2:38 AM
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I've caught falls for people who weigh 2Xs and much as me.
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claramie
Feb 1, 2006, 11:30 PM
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I have climbed in multiple states and countries. I can't even count the number of different people that I have climbed with. I haven't encountered people that are hostile about a situation like you describe, but I know one thing for sure... most people aren't that way. Ability to lead isn't an indication of ability to belay anyway.
My suggestion is to find some other climbing partners. Continue to climb slow and deliberately. Boulder at the gym some if you want to build face climbing skills. Most importantly, enjoy yourself and don't let them rain on your parade.
CL
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noell
Feb 2, 2006, 3:28 PM
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In reply to: Thanks for the input ladies. After talking to them, I finally found out that it was because of the lack of experience on everyone's part. 8^)
My first reaction to your post was that these guys must be very inexperienced themselves. If you are climbing sport, you want there to be slack in the system and you want a soft catch (ie if your belayer is heavier than you are, they will need to JUMP when you fall in order to give you a soft catch, else WHAM!!!! you hit the rock and hurt yourself). Most of the time, it's us smaller people that need to be concerned if those big inexperienced people can keep us from flying back into a wall.
Bottom line- they didn't know what they were doing, and obviously they admitted that finally. BTW- Don't anchor in. No need to. AND it will eliminate that whole soft catch thing. Don't anchor in. I am 115 lbs, climb sport, trad and have never anchored in.
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macherry
Feb 2, 2006, 3:49 PM
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In reply to: In reply to: Thanks for the input ladies. After talking to them, I finally found out that it was because of the lack of experience on everyone's part. 8^) My first reaction to your post was that these guys must be very inexperienced themselves. If you are climbing sport, you want there to be slack in the system and you want a soft catch (ie if your belayer is heavier than you are, they will need to JUMP when you fall in order to give you a soft catch, else WHAM!!!! you hit the rock and hurt yourself). Most of the time, it's us smaller people that need to be concerned if those big inexperienced people can keep us from flying back into a wall. Bottom line- they didn't know what they were doing, and obviously they admitted that finally. BTW- Don't anchor in. No need to. AND it will eliminate that whole soft catch thing. Don't anchor in. I am 115 lbs, climb sport, trad and have never anchored in.
okay, i don't buy this. Just because you are lighter, doesn't guarantee a soft catch. Doesn't matter if the person is big or small, i want an experienced belayer.
what do you base your "info" on?
those guys had every right to refuse her belay. She didn't know them and hadn't climbed with them before.
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acacongua
Feb 2, 2006, 3:58 PM
Post #24 of 29
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Registered: Feb 14, 2003
Posts: 657
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macherry is right. I fall a lot and have had women who weigh less than me slam me into the wall on a friggen' steep overhang ... and all are experienced belayers (for dudes).
Also, my friend even in a state of being overweight (he's now thin and a crankin' machine) was still known as the best belay in the east. All the ladies wanted him on the other end of the rope.
It's da skillz!
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lhwang
Feb 2, 2006, 4:00 PM
Post #25 of 29
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Registered: Aug 4, 2005
Posts: 582
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I think the mark of a good belayer is that they watch the climber and assess the situation, and then respond accordingly, rather than always giving a dynamic belay.
It's not a soft catch if the belay is so dynamic that the leader hits the ground or collides with a ledge. There are also times where you may want to pull in slack... my friend once probably saved his partner's life by running away from the climb to take in slack and prevent a groundfall.
There are definitely at least a few situations where you might want an anchor. I saw one girl hurt her neck (not broken though) when her partner fell, she got sucked up to the first bolt and they collided mid-air. She then let go with the brake hand and dropped her partner and herself about 10 feet. And what about a multipitch sport climb?
An anchor doesn't necessarily eliminate the soft catch. You can still give a dynamic belay while anchored in (although I would think very carefully about my anchor if I was in an area with lots of rockfall). Similarly, a heavier belayer DOES NOT need to jump when catching someone lighter... they can simply let some rope run through the belay device when the climber's weight comes onto the rope.
Bottom line... there are very few situations in climbing where *always* or *never* makes sense.
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