[colin8ll]

I recall watching black and white silent movies as a child - likely Charlie Chaplin or Buster Keaton - with scenes where someone falls from a great height only to be caught safely by a crowd holding a bed sheet. You can see a similar catch here when a skier falls from a chair lift:

[size=78%]https://www.instagram.com/reel/C3-d7Q1oWz3/?igsh=MTVraG4yODh6NjFsOA==[/size]. I've seen a video (which I can no longer find unfortunately) of circus acrobats using the same technique and making it seem very comfortable for two guys to catch a colleague from an approximate 30ft drop.


Has anyone heard of this type of system being used for ultra highball bouldering? Could it work? The sheet/device used in the video above looks like it would be light and pack down easy enough to make it no more cumbersome to get to the crag than an extra pad; it's probably of comparable cost too. And it seems to me that the big advantage is that deceleration can occur over a much greater distance compared to a typical stack of two or three pads, with the improved energy absorption making the landing safer. You could even use one over a stack of pads, or perhaps a pad could be produced for this specific purpose with special handles for the spotters.


I can see problems occurring if there are trip hazards or pointy rocks in the landing zone, so it might not work in every situation, but perhaps it is an innovation worth exploring?

[mrjonathanr]

I’ve held a taco pad like this (with other pads on the ground beneath) between us. Climber rips the pad out of your hands, obviously, but it can soften the impact.

[Dac]

I recall reading about a cargo net being rigged up beneath a roof to catch a falling climber, but I’m struggling to find details of it now; my unreliable brain tells me it was below Trench Warfare, but may well be wrong. In a way this is a slightly, larger, more complex version of the ‘handheld sheet’ proposed above.

The idea of catching a falling highballer with the handheld sheet is quite intriguing, I guess the main drawbacks are people’s lack of knowledge of how it would work and it’s limitations (people are quite experienced with falling onto large nests of pads). Also if being caught by a sheet you would want to land on your arse or back, rather than your feet, so if it doesn’t work as planned injuries may be somewhat worse.

[remus]

I recall reading about a cargo net being rigged up beneath a roof to catch a falling climber, but I’m struggling to find details of it now; my unreliable brain tells me it was below Trench Warfare, but may well be wrong. In a way this is a slightly, larger, more complex version of the ‘handheld sheet’ proposed above.

You're right, there's a (yearly?) thing where a few climbers setup a net underneath Trench Warfare https://www.instagram.com/p/CA0WWP_jiGH/

[Falling Down]

Didn’t Andy and someone else hold a blanket under Doug when Nick Dixon did it?

[Ru]

I recall reading about a cargo net being rigged up beneath a roof to catch a falling climber, but I’m struggling to find details of it now; my unreliable brain tells me it was below Trench Warfare, but may well be wrong. In a way this is a slightly, larger, more complex version of the ‘handheld sheet’ proposed above.

There's this too, from a while ago https://gripped.com/profiles/throwback-squamish-solo-big-net/

[Oldmanmatt]

As a kid, with some mates, we made “air bags” from a couple of giant polythene bags (12’ x 8’ iirc) stuffed with old fertiliser and feed bags (polythene) and gaffer taped to restrict air escape; then jumped off the farm house roof (2 stories plus ridge) being “Stuntmen”. Works if your 10 years old.
Seriously though, I’ve contemplated something similar since. It’s incredibly light, if bulky and surprisingly effective. Even one of those poly survival bags, suitably stuffed, over a tri-fold pad, would make a difference.
Or kill you.
One or the other.

[slab_happy]

I recall reading about a cargo net being rigged up beneath a roof to catch a falling climber, but I’m struggling to find details of it now; my unreliable brain tells me it was below Trench Warfare, but may well be wrong. In a way this is a slightly, larger, more complex version of the ‘handheld sheet’ proposed above.

You're right, there's a (yearly?) thing where a few climbers setup a net underneath Trench Warfare https://www.instagram.com/p/CA0WWP_jiGH/

More footage of the net party:

[andy popp]

Didn’t Andy and someone else hold a blanket under Doug when Nick Dixon did it?

Nick did have a couple of people holding a blanket under him when he did Doug (obviously, long, long before pads). I'm normally named as one of the people, but I wasn't there. I'm not sure who was.

[SA Chris]

I guess the main drawbacks are people’s lack of knowledge of how it would work and it’s limitations (people are quite experienced with falling onto large nests of pads)

If only we knew an experienced grit climber / stuntman...