Have you ever fallen while clipping?

Kevin Friesen wrote:...use bromelain for inflammation. Bromelain is an enzyme from pineapples...

That's good to hear, she eats pineapple so much already that she's close to actually turning in to one!

Kevin Friesen wrote:P.S. How did you fall?

A lead fall for Gigi results in a badly sprained ankle and a premature end to the day's climbing.
John

John Hegyes wrote: That's good to hear, she eats pineapple so much already that she's close to actually turning in to one!

That's what you think, baby!

Remember in Black Velvet Canyon, when I was moaning, breathing hard, crawling,sliding, dragging my leg, jumping on your back, and drooling, as I was digging my teeth into your shoulder like a zombie from Return Of The Living Dead..... I wasn't saying "Send more pineapples", was I?

I'm still a coconut, Jonny.

Thanks for the advice Kevin! I'll be trying some of those remedies~

There is a hundred million stories in the naked jungle this one is mine.
In almost 40 years of sometimes serious climbing I have taken remarkably few falls. Fewer still of any real significance. But I have had a couple of "holy crap I'm alive" plummets. This one in particular took place on a crisp Autumn morning at Enchanted Rock outside Fredricksburg Texas. I had just moved to Texas for a two year teaching gig and it was my second weekend climbing at Erock. The previous weekend I had inadvertently ingratiated myself with the local guide folk by virtue of a nice on-sight of an area test piece called Texas Radio, one of James Crump's stellar gems. This particular weekend I had brought an inexperienced coworker with me and taught him how to belay at the base of my intended climb the French Route. I wasn't too concerned since the French Route was a full grade easier than Texas Radio and I had danced up that route. Now what I hadn't taken into consideration was the profound effect of the early morning dew of the tiny lichens and micro crystals on the back side of Erock. I was feeling real spry and cocksure as I passed up the equalized wired stopper placement in the little flake before the first bolt. I just kept climbing up to the bolt and pulled off a draw for the clip. PHFWIPPPP! off I went like greased snot on a boar hog or something like that. Now imagine the perspective of my 'just learned how to belay' partner helplessly watching me take the grounder. I remember thinking his eyes were fit to pop out of his head. And if his jaw were to hang any looser it would have to be unhinged. I remember time being relative and oddly viscous. As soon as I PHFWIPPed off I turned outward to see where I was going and immediately smashed my hip on a little ledge. The bruise from that impact quickly became an ugly black thigh to arm pit doozy. Next I saw where I was going to land and it wasn't very promising. A steep sloping ramp crowded with jagged and jumbled boulders. I spied an opening the size of a welcome mat and realized it was the ONLY opening. I tried to push off with my feet to propel me both towards the opening and to roll me over on to my back (I am not sure why I thought that would be a good idea). Time being relative it seemed I had all the time in the world when in reality I was moving really fast. I made the spot but didn't make the full roll over and augured in face first from 25 feet up. Then I bounced, really high, and proceeded to tumble roll and slither another 25 feet down the slab.
Now my partner thought that my bouncing was quite odd but what really whacked him out is that I sat up and started looking for my as it turned out undamaged glasses. But the truly remarkable thing is that even though I took a face first 25 footer I didn't break my face at all. Not my jaw or my teeth, nothing! And no I wasn't wearing a helmet. Don't get me wrong I was beat up bad, bad, baddd! But I wasn't broken anywhere. I even got up and climbed (ropeless for some reason) the next day much to the horror of the class of newbie climbers who got to enjoy my previous "falling with style" episode. Having pondered the escaped mortality of the experience I have concluded that what in fact saved me for greater damage or death was my total acceptance of the inevitable. Once I had chosen my landing I went into a completely relaxed state of being. And I bounced.
Either that or just pure dumb luck. Go figure. PEACE philo

Enjoy

erockonline.com/forum/uploa…

Rob Dillon wrote:I'm not sure I really want to know what you were saying, but I bet it sounded pretty interesting!

I said, "I'm NOT going to the E.R., look, I'm perfectly fine!"

Gigette,

Good to hear that you are now moving around crutchless (being very careful to spell that word correctly and avoid a Freudian slip!)

Hope you are climbing again soon...and smiling instead of sporting that pouty "get me out of here!" look! :) :)

Jim, To be honest...That was a "I want Jello NOW" look. I didn't have any at home.
I'll be climbing hopefully in two weeks. : ) I can't wait!

G

John, noticed the date, you are replying on 12 year old posts....

My friend fell while clipping in the gym. He was a new leader. He told me that he just closed his eyes and hoped for the best.

I had this big rock fall off from above while clipping that knocked me off. I still got the scar and a thicker bone from the broken ankle to prove it!

John Hegyes wrote: Falling while clipping is a good excuse to climb with double ropes. Not only do you benefit from less rope drag and greater resistance to cutting your lifeline on a sharp edge, but you can alleviate issues of falling farther while pulling up slack to make a clip. Example: Say you're on a fairly straight line of a route. You alternate which rope you clip into protection. This way your previous pro is clipped into rope A and you pull up rope B to clip your next piece, thus preventing a fall that is needlessly longer due to additional slack in the line because if you fall at this moment, rope A would catch you and the extra slack on B won't matter. And if the protection opportunities wander around the wall, you clip one rope in the left pieces of pro and the other rope in the right pieces, thus keeping the ropes straighter and reducing rope drag. John

All true, but you have to have a belayer who is properly managing those ropes.  Belayers who are inexperienced with half ropes may pump out slack in both strands rather than just the one you are clipping with, especially if they haven't been fully attentive and are taken by surprise.  If this happens, you've lost the advantage.

Yes, I have. Ended up lower than my belayer, which, luckily, meant I stopped in a hole below the starting boulder where she was standing.

J. eL.enor wrote:

That is lucky! I usually dig a hole for my belayer, but I didn’t know it created a safety advantage. Nice bonus!

Hah. Maybe I was unclear. The climb STARTED on a boulder with a big open hole between other boulders right next to it. When I fell clipping the 2nd bolt my belayer got yanked up to the 1st bolt and with slack I ended up about 5 feet lower than where I'd started, but still didn't deck, because the hole was about 8 feet deep. Very close call if I'd hit the belay stance, which I only missed by inches as I went by it.

Yes I have, multiple times, this is one of those things that you have to be aware of because a fall while clipping low on the route can be very bad, but if you are high up on an overhanging route with bolts that aren't too far apart it can be perfectly safe.  If you are low on the route (3rd bolt or lower, sometimes even more) and you think you might fall while clipping, don't try to clip, but if you are higher up and the fall is safe, just go for the clip.

Falls placing gear aren't exactly the same as falls while clipping, but I've seen more ground falls on Laurel than I have on all other climbs combined. My running tally is I've witnessed seven ground falls there in two years climbing regularly in the area. Maybe half of those were while attempting to get in gear. Luckily it's flat ground and not too high, so only scrapes and bruises so far.

It seems to be just the right (wrong?) combination of moderate route, easy approach, and low, slippery crux that it creates a lot of ground falls. Nowdays if I see someone leading it who seems like they're not confident, I'll grab a passing boulderer and ask if they can borrow their pad for 30 seconds to pull the crux.

Peter Franzen wrote:...It's a sport route but it occurred to me that if you were to fall while pulling up rope to clip the 3rd bolt you'd almost certainly deck.

Trying to think of a sport route where this isn't the case...

Clipping from a good stance high on a steep route with a full arm of rope and the crystal I’m standing on breaks. This was pre ohm so I pull the belayer to high first bolt. I felt like I was floating down for 40 or 50 feet of air. I think it’s what dying must feel like: pure release. It was probably scarier for my belayer. 

My first ever lead fall was while clipping above my head on Lost Ninja in Spearfish Canyon. As I fully extended onto my tippy toes, they popped off. Next thing I new, I was 25-30' lower. Totally fine. No consequences other than it taught my partner to never trust me while clipping; he still yells at me when I clip anywhere even near my head.

Not yet but fearing I'll experience that one day.