At the stance you are secured without redundancy. How you judge anchors, think about upward pull and why you load the set-up before you release yourself.
Self-belay at the stance means: you hang from one point and have nothing behind it. The honest answer to "How safe is that?": as safe as the anchor you hang on and as safe as your check. DAV safety research says it soberly: in all actions at the stance we are always secured without redundancy, so the stance must be solid [1].
That is not theory. Two DAV course accidents when abseiling were analysed by safety research. In both the casualties had learned abseiling in the course shortly before, in both a blackout had to be assumed. The self-belay was unclipped before the suspension had been tested under load [1].
The DAV stance series names three criteria: safe enough, quick, clear [2]. This guide deals with the first. How you tie yourself in with the clove hitch is in the guide before. Here the question is what you hang from.
The knot is the small part. The anchor is the big one.
Entry criteria (practice standard):
Before tying in, look at what carries the stance. The DAV series on stances without bolts gives hints: a spike must be well rooted; it is tested with one hand on the rock and a flat slap of the other, and a clear vibration speaks against it. Trees should not be rotten and at least as thick as an upper arm, rock horns at least arm-thick and free of cracks [4]. For bolts at the crag the DAV likewise asks whether they appear modern and safe [3].
Milestone: In the course you say for five anchors why you take or reject them.
Everything runs to a central point where you tie in. On multi-pitch routes you prepare separate locking carabiners in the central point for seconds so that the self-belay length fits [2]. Your coach shows you how long the self-belay should be for your situation.
Milestone: In the course you stand at the stance without hanging in the rope and can still reach everything.
A stance does not act only downwards. In a fall onto the protection the system is pulled upwards, and without tensioning down the central point can be ripped up. The DAV warns: if you are slammed against the wall you can lose control of the brake strand. The remedy is to tension the central point downwards and to stand close to the wall [4].
Milestone: In the course you describe the three directions a fall load can act: upwards, sideways and downwards [4].
When threading and dismantling at the crag, clear rules apply: the rope is fixed in the belay loop of the harness (redundancy), and the self-belay made of quickdraws must not be unloaded meanwhile. The command "stand" is not called [3].
Milestone: In the course you thread a rope through the lower-off without the self-belay ever being unloaded.
The self-check before abseiling is called the load test: still self-belayed, you load the suspension, check rope, device and back-up, and only then do you unclip the self-belay [1]. Exactly this step would have prevented both accidents [1].
Milestone: You do the test in the course every time without being reminded.
This guide explains and motivates, it does not replace supervised training. You build stances in a course with a coach who assesses them.
While building, say three times out loud what you see: "Anchor: bolt, condition good. Central point: locked. Belay: load tested." Saying it out loud three times beats thinking it silently three times because you cannot shorten the sentence. That is course practice, not a study finding.
It is as safe as the anchor and your check. The DAV stresses that there is no redundancy at the stance, so the stance must be solid [1].
When threading and dismantling yes: the rope is fixed in the belay loop and the self-belay is not unloaded meanwhile [3]. You learn that in the outdoor course.
The point where all anchors come together and where you tie in. On multi-pitch routes separate locking carabiners for seconds also go there [2].
You load the set-up while you are still self-belayed and check rope, device and back-up. Only then do you release the self-belay. That would have prevented both DAV course accidents [1].
Only when the climber is to be taken off belay. When threading at the crag the rule is: no "stand" command [3].
Prusik Hitch: The Back-Up When Abseiling