I was at Ice Cream Parlor today (Moab, UT), and a party was climbing to the right of any established lines (they thought they were on the 5.6 Corner Crack). The leader apparently (I was leading another route out of sight from the party) took a whipper, hurt his ankle, and it freaked him and his party out. I walked over as they were packing up, and they mentioned that I was welcome to the gear they left when he bailed. I offered to just get it for them, but they just wanted to get out of there. I got all the gear out.
I don't know how big the fall was, and the leader looked to be 170ish lbs. The nut wasn't difficult to get out, but the tricam had been pulled out in the fall, and the C3 was wedged quite deeply into the downwardly constricting crack. The biner on the C3 itself had been wedged into the crack so hard I had to yank upwards on it w/ a 48" sling to get it out. The sandstone felt quite soft, more like Entrada than Wingate / Navajo.
My question is this: There clearly was a decent size fall taken on the gear by a non-feather weight. On visual inspection, all the gear looks great, trigger on the C3 feels smooth, etc. Should I look for anything else, or just pop the gear onto my rack and enjoy?
Thanks, and sorry for the long story, I wanted to get all the facts down.
Did you use an electron microscope to check for micro fractures?
Honestly not sure what other tests you are thinking of??? I mean it sounds like a typical fall, a 170 pound leader fell on a c3.... This happens hundreds of times a year and cams arent just breaking in half. If it looks good climb on it!
Not sure what else you are looking for other than someone to hold your hand and tell you everything will be okay....
Tim Stich
·
Mar 15, 2012
·
Colorado Springs, Colorado
· Joined Jan 2001
· Points: 1,520
If the gate on the carabiner is still aligned and closes nicely, it should be fine. The cam too sounds fine. I'd just put in on your rack. Too bad about the leader getting hurt, though.
Matt N
·
Mar 15, 2012
·
Unknown Hometown
· Joined Oct 2010
· Points: 415
Try harder to get their gear back - that stuff has a little accident karma on it. Other than that, its fine.
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