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This may speak to some of your concerns: American Safe Climbing Association The American Safe Climbing Association publishes guidelines for safe bolting. Their stuff usually targets the people who are actually doing the bolting, but can be worth reading for general purposes. They have articles on how to tell which bolts are good and which are bad. And ...

Like with most climbing related questions, I personally find it hard to give a definitive rule that applies to all circumstances. There are a couple of safety factors to consider, as well as the perception of the climber. Don't venture out on your own if any of the following doesn't seem intuitive to you. Keep in mind the following: Rope stretch: Rope ...

The Ethic So, the ethic among experienced climbers is to not toprope on the base of a popular multipitch route. In addition to the safety issues you point out, its just not fair to the people who invested the time to learn to lead. Especially not a destination place like Yosemite Valley where people may have traveled a long way to get there. You say this ...

In addition to what David mentioned, their are area specific concerns and, specific ways to check bolts in those areas. Most of the time the generic advice will be useful, but please make sure you speak with climbers familiar with the area you're going to understand about possible bolting problem. Also climbing guides usually contain this information, but ...

You should not use a toothed ascender as a fall can sever the rope. Additionally these devices are typically not usable for decent therefore additional equipment is required anyway. Section 6 of this report has testing of fall-arrest devices: Lyon Equipment Limited - Industrial rope access

It's a bit of both. Security When toproping, an experienced belayer should have the necessary training to adjust slack/tension depending on the route itself. For example, to avoid any swings that would crash the climber into the rock. There are many examples on safety-related criteria for determining tension (safety for both the climber and the belayer), ...

It depends. If you're in a climbing gym, or some scenario where you're belaying someone on toprope on a route that's less than 50' tall, runs straight up-and-down ( so there's no chance for the climber to swing dangerously), or crash into a ledge then the exact amount of tension is somewhat of a personal preference for the climber. The belayer should ...

There is no definitive answer. To quote Petzl "It must be understood that all systems are flawed, because this means there is a risk, however minor." http://www.petzl.com/en/outdoor/product-experience/self-belay-solo-climbing/introduction

I use a Petzl shunt: http://www.petzl.com/en/outdoor/multi-purpose-ascenders/shunt As noted by others, self-belay is always going to carry risks - the shunt has a smooth camming surface so is rope friendly, and hopefully with top-roping you are going to have very limited impact on a fall. The shunt is used by a number of pro-climbers to help them when ...

The Petzl mini/micro-traxion are what most people seem to use. Outdoor gear lab did a recent comparison with a few other devices. I've also seen Gri-Gris used for that purpose, though it's obviously not recommended by the manufacturer.