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Pics: How not to fall on a sport route

Original Post
20 kN · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Feb 2009 · Points: 1,346

I was rummaging through some of the climbing photos I have taken in the past and across something interesting. If I remember correctly, this is her first time leading:

Note the super hard catch being given by the belayer...








Chris Norwood · · San Diego, CA · Joined Sep 2011 · Points: 80

Hard catch? Looks like she fell with the bolt at waist level and ended like 10 feet below it... That's gotta be heavy sarcasm...haha

20 kN · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Feb 2009 · Points: 1,346
Chris Norwood wrote:Hard catch? Looks like she fell with the bolt at waist level and ended like 10 feet below it... That's gotta be heavy sarcasm...haha
The picture is deceiving, she has about 8' of rope between the bottom biner of the draw and her tie in point. She is climbing over a small roof, so the bolt is inwards of her position before she fell, and the bolt is clipped with a long draw. If you look at the movements of the belayer, it's clear he gave her a hard catch. He started off standing and in the last photo he is pretty much sitting down.
Woodchuck ATC · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Nov 2007 · Points: 3,280

nice angle, action pics. how did she survive?

Mike Lane · · AnCapistan · Joined Jan 2006 · Points: 880

In picture 4 you see about 18" of rope out from her harness to the draw. Is that an optical illusion?

20 kN · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Feb 2009 · Points: 1,346
Delta Bravo wrote:In picture 4 you see about 18" of rope out from her harness to the draw. Is that an optical illusion?
I think it is. Despite appearances, the camera lens was not perpendicular to the rope in that picture. I was standing out away from the cliff a bit. If you look at photo two it looks like the route is actually slightly overhanging, but if you look at the draw, it obviously is not overhanging. Normally when you are at the the point where she fell you are around 7' out with a long draw. It is not a huge whipper, but its not a top rope fall either.
kiff · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Jan 2010 · Points: 1,035

not how you're supposed to catch a fall

Mason G · · Anacortes, WA · Joined Feb 2012 · Points: 110

Sorry if this is a stupid question, but I haven't been at this for very long. What do you all mean by a hard catch? I was under the impression that as a belayer, I should throw the rope in the brake position as soon as I see a leader starting to fall, and that we use dynamic ropes so that we don't have to let the rope run to provide a soft catch... am I misguided? If so where am I going wrong or what am I missing? If not for all the criticism, I would have thought this guy did a good job, simply because he did catch the fall quickly.

Ksween · · Wakefield, RI · Joined Jul 2011 · Points: 30
Mason G wrote:Sorry if this is a stupid question, but I haven't been at this for very long. What do you all mean by a hard catch? I was under the impression that as a belayer, I should throw the rope in the brake position as soon as I see a leader starting to fall, and that we use dynamic ropes so that we don't have to let the rope run to provide a soft catch... am I misguided? If so where am I going wrong or what am I missing? If not for all the criticism, I would have thought this guy did a good job, simply because he did catch the fall quickly.
Mason, Not a stupid question at all. It all depends on the relative weights of the leader and belayer... if the climber is significantly heavier than the belayer, the leader will always get a soft catch. If the climbers are the same weight, or the leader is lighter, now we have a different story. If the belayer just stops the leaders fall quickly, the leader will slam into the wall hard, possibly hurting their leg/foot/ankle. If the heavier belayer allows themselves to be lifted slightly as the leader falls, the catch will be much softer and the leader doesnt slam into the wall as hard. Much better on the leader.
M Mobley · · Bar Harbor, ME · Joined Mar 2006 · Points: 911
Ksween wrote: Mason, Not a stupid question at all. It all depends on the relative weights of the leader and belayer... if the climber is significantly heavier than the belayer, the leader will always get a soft catch. If the climbers are the same weight, or the leader is lighter, now we have a different story. If the belayer just stops the leaders fall quickly, the leader will slam into the wall hard, possibly hurting their leg/foot/ankle. If the heavier belayer allows themselves to be lifted slightly as the leader falls, the catch will be much softer and the leader doesnt slam into the wall as hard. Much better on the leader.
this is all correct, the problem is with falling/belaying you either dont know they are falling and dont have time to react in the perfect way(good reason to keep the rope a bit loose), or they start getting sketched and insist you TAKE TAKE TAKE. I guess when you are at the sport crag with people you climb with all the time its easier to give the "perfect" belay. Just dont drop me or lock the rope up when I'm clipping and I'm happy.
wankel7 · · Indiana · Joined Oct 2010 · Points: 10

It's sport...soft catch hard catch...meh?

Lets talk about her falling posture and how close her un-helmeted head came to the rocks?

When I was part of a trad class I spent a lot of time catching falls and found I could give a soft catch with my eyes open or closed. Granted I knew the climbing was going to fall at any moment so that made a difference. I just found it interesting I was able to give a soft catch with my eyes closed just as well as when I was looking at the climber.

Where is that though looks like fun :)

Grant Gerhard · · Verdi, NV · Joined Aug 2009 · Points: 135

Always got a chuckle and cringe out of this one. On I Claudius at Shelf.

mountainproject.com/v/10624…

csproul · · Pittsboro...sort of, NC · Joined Dec 2009 · Points: 330

A softer catch is just as important in sport climbing as it is in trad climbing. First priority as to whether the catch is hard/soft is to keep the climber off of the deck and off of any ledges...obviously you don't want to give them a soft catch right onto a ledge. If there is nothing to hit, then a soft catch will not only affect the impact force but will prevent the climber from slamming into the wall. In sport climbing, this is a major consideration and will save lots of ankle injuries. This is even MORE important when the route is not extremely steep since it is more likely the climber will slam into the wall. If it is really steep then there is nothing to hit but air (although a soft catch still feels better). Keeping slack in the rope does not reduce the fall factor unless the fall factor is greater than 1. Do not introduce slack in the system to give a soft catch, learn to let the fall pull you up (or step into the fall) or learn to allow some rope through the ATC if you are a heavy belayer with a lighter climber. As a light climber with mostly heavier partners, I find it easy to give soft catches and that my partners have to work to give me one.

Adam Beck · · Nashville, TN · Joined Jun 2008 · Points: 210

HELMETS, PEOPLE!

Ty Morrison-Heath · · Bozeman, MT · Joined Mar 2011 · Points: 2,053
Adam Beck wrote:HELMETS, PEOPLE!
+1
Nate Manson · · San Diego, CA · Joined Jun 2010 · Points: 135
csproul wrote:A softer catch is just as important in sport climbing as it is in trad climbing.
+1...I am quite a bit heavier than my girlfriend, and without a soft catch she gets rocked hard. Fortunately, I typically lead any trad we climb so I naturally get a soft catch...

And the bit about the route not being steep enough to matter? Are you kidding me? The steeper, the less of a factor a dynamic catch is...
Nate Manson · · San Diego, CA · Joined Jun 2010 · Points: 135
Adam Beck wrote:HELMETS, PEOPLE!
Helmets still aren't cool in the sport realm, duh.
JesseT · · Portland, OR · Joined May 2011 · Points: 100
JLP wrote:The main problem here is this chick doesn't know how to fall. I don't know how any of you jockeys can look at those photos and not see a total rag doll shit show of a fall as the main issue. She needs to add some indoor, low to the floor bouldering into her routine and work up from there. The whole hard catch theory is nearly irrelevant. The route just isn't steep enough for it to matter much. I'd say there was way too much slack in the rope before complaining about a hard catch.
This. It looks like she flipped herself by trying to grab onto/stand on the wall on her way down instead of letting the fall happen. I don't see a softer catch changing this situation appreciably. Also, an 18 foot fall (8 feet above to 10 feet below) with 5 bolts worth of (dynamic)rope out that ends under a roof doesn't exactly sound like a situation where a soft catch would make much of a difference (correct me if I'm wrong).

Edit: Helmets save lives.
S. Neoh · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Oct 2009 · Points: 35

Was she trying to latch onto the fin/feature with her outstretched right hand while in flight? If she did, I think that action might have spun her around and nearly causing a nasty head injury.

Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

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