[dave]

The Danger of sport routes.... a short story

nice one - you should have pressed on for the full dave thomas experience!

[Fiend]

Routes routes routes routes routes routes routes  :

Pretty much all normal trad without any cheating tactics  :twisted:

Bouldering is supposed to be training for routes for me but it has ended up being very inspiring in it's own right  :wink:

Might try more sport climbing for stamina training too. Can't imagine that being much fun in it's own right in this country tho  :?

[squeek]

>Can't imagine that being much fun in it's own right in this country tho

Try chapel head scar some really good climbs there, I enjoyed it and I'm weak and crap.

[Bubba]

They've got those things at Leeds too. THink they're called a 'redpoint' or summat. I thought it took weight off and at first was somewhat reticent to jump off.

Just had a go today - bit scary just jumping off onto the things - I was downclimbing a few moves before I dared.

Bit of a shock to the system really - I don't think I've linked more than 5 moves in a row for about a decade, so after doing about 10 routes of 5+/6a I am absolutely trashed. Zero stamina.

Also found climbing on bolt-ons a bit horrible really but I guess I'll get used to it for training purposes. It just feels so unlike real climbing.

[Scouse D]

When I was a bit younger I was toproping at pex- managed to do the route cleanly then lowered off. Upon reaching the floor I realised that I'd just lowered off having been clipped into a gear loop, which was now only attatched by a couple of threads...quite lucky since they're only meant to hold 5kg!

[dave]

i was once told a story which i can't quite remember about a mate of a mate abbing into the lost arrow spire in yosemite and being on a gearloop for soem of it. needless to say if you cut loose from there they'd be getting the dental records out to indentify you.

[unclesomebody]

I have heard many tales like this, and I always thought, how on earth could you be spastic enough to not tie in properly, or put it through a leg loop or something... but after having managd to entirely forget to tie on I admit myself to the realms of true spazzoid.  

A friend of a friend was setting up for an ab-in one day and when he went over the top, he flipped upside down and was hanging there.... the only thing attaching him to the rope was his prussik cord through his leg loop!  he had forgotten to put the rope through his belay device!!

I guess this is why climbing is dangerous!

[a dense loner]

i remember puttin harness on n tyin in. lookin down i realised that i was tied in properly, then lookin up i realised what i was about to do was very wrong. ended up untyin n takin off harness. then went n bouldered  :wink:

[billy]

had a mate a long while back who came very close to abbing off a climbing tower (wall at scout camp site near watford) only for someone to grab him at the last second to inform him he was about to abseil with just the velcro flap holding his harness in place!!!!!!!

THink he sat down after and had a 'thank f*ck for that' moment or two to himself!!!!!!

[webbo]

i was at rubicon with mark the owner of rockcity  in hull.when he went for his redpoint he only velcroed hisharness after tieing on.his reversal from the last move after the shout of take followed by the sound of ripping velcro was impressive to say the least :shock: :shock:

[dobbin]

In my youth at the Tor (68-89) I had the good fortune to belay none other than celebrity belayer Rob Scaife  :wink:  on something like Indecent (or body machine), we were top roping the route and unclipping the draws as we went, Rob had managed to tie in correctly and secure his harness but when he completed the route he unclipped the belay as well as all the draws - leaving himself completely unprotected more than half way up the snore. Eggskeletons. There was a bit of scuffling, and some panicked fumbling before he made himself safe. I shit it.

[Bonjoy]

Eggskeletons.

   Good wordsmithery!

[cofe]

In my youth at the Tor (68-89) I had the good fortune to belay none other than celebrity belayer Rob Scaife  :wink:  on something like Indecent (or body machine), we were top roping the route and unclipping the draws as we went, Rob had managed to tie in correctly and secure his harness but when he completed the route he unclipped the belay as well as all the draws - leaving himself completely unprotected more than half way up the snore. Eggskeletons. There was a bit of scuffling, and some panicked fumbling before he made himself safe. I shit it.

shit the bed dogg. i remember when i was at uni at warwick some kids were leading and seconding on the big wall and the second unclipped at the top!!!!!!and then put the rope back in. apparently it was "in the wrong way round"  :shock:

fucking hell

[RopeBoy]

Mostly solo-ing and trad but bouldering more for power.

Bouldering is handy on cold days too. :-)

J

[james]

The Danger of sport routes.... a short story

Jesus konki, when you told me you got to the jugs, i presumed you got to the jugs by the first bolt, not the ones about 50 ft up.  I dont know, I go to the emerald isle for one week and look what happens!!  I cant leave you aloene for one second :eek3: .
Any how, what is all this talk of dirty rourtes, you all should be ashamed of your selves :wink: .
Cheers

James

[Pantontino]

I've had a few close shaves whilst indulging in some 'safe' sport climbing, mostly as the result of slack belaying on a figure 8. (Actually I've had loads of sketchy moments on trad routes, but at least then you are half expecting something to happen.)
Once on New Dawn at Malham I came off just before the last bolt and ended up only a few feet above the catwalk. Thought it was all over!

A few weeks later I was trying to onsight a 7b+ over on the right side (Angel Gabriella?) and managed to sweep the floor by inches, despite falling from a height of at least 40 feet and the bolt being next to my elbow as I slapped hopelessly for the next hold.

Then there was the time at St Govans Head when a block the size of a large television landed next to me, about 3 feet away! Or once on Summer Wine in Cheedale when I placed a rock 2 below the crux, then spent ages fiddling in small wires and getting increasingly pumped. When I eventually fluked my way to the top I was so wasted I couldn't even hold onto the tree branch - I watched in slow motion horror as my fingers uncurled and I arced over backwards, hurtling towards the ground ripping out all those puny wires, save of course for the bomber rock 2 that saved me a few feet from the ground.

Bouldering can also be lethal: I once slightly bruised my ankle on Klem's Groove - the swelling didn't go down for weeks!

[cofe]

Bouldering can also be lethal: I once slightly bruised my ankle on Klem's Groove - the swelling didn't go down for weeks!

it's true! i once caught the back of my hand on the rock when i fell off and........ it broke the skin and bled a bit. Ouch or what :rocker2:

[nik at work]

I on the other hand have flung myself of various trad 'death' routes with no great injuries to speak of, and yet am still hobbling due to a sprained ankle I recieved at the hands of the face of business almost three weeks ago!

This bouldering larks far too dangerous, give me a runout with an RP and a skyhook any day....

[Pantontino]

Thinking about it, I have always hurt myself more bouldering than climbing routes. Apart from a chunk of ice smashing the side of my cheek in once, I've always got away with 'almost but not quite' deck out situations and although large sections of crag and icefalls have fallen down next to me (and once when I was on the same icefall!), so far I haven't actually recieved a significant direct hit.

I guess I should touch some wood (oo-err missus!) now or perform some superstitious ritual to ensure my future good karma in the hills.

I remember this cool article about the Bowderstone by Chris Gore in High mag way back in the mid 80s. In those pre-mat days he made the point that when you fall off a boulder problem you always hit the ground, and that the ground often hurts, and that the so called mega lead fall out there on the wild headwall, was often an entirely safe 15 foot plop onto a train stopping runner.

Well said that man - even if you did turn into a boring sport climber.

[Bubba]

I'm convinced you end up hurting yourself much more often bouldering than any other form of climbing. Ok, you're probably less likely to die (but let's face it, even that doesn't happen often in UK climbing), but you're much more likely to sprain/scrape/break things; wind yourself, shred skin, etc.

People like to posture as trad heroes and diss bouldering but the reality is very different.

[Jonboy]

:iagree: