Boy was I suprised....

At the end of my indoor session this week I was trying to lead 9/10 that involved a roof and arete. I was about 2 feet above my last clip which was just above the roof (the bottom beaner was level with the top of the roof). I was pumped and told my belay to take. He took (using a cinch) and I let go....BOOM, the dog bone gives on the draw,(initial thought was please hold, refering to the next draw). The next one held....I had a good controlled whipper and was about 10 feet from the ground.

Question is this. What responsiblity does the gym have to make sure thier draws are in good shape? I know I sign a waiver, but there has to be some responsiblity on thier part??

Gym climbing is dangerous, get used to it. If you don't like the risk, go play miniature golf.

Would you have hit a padded floor? Ouch.

one point - are you saying their equipment failed?

He took (using a cinch) and I let go....BOOM, the dog bone gives on the draw

The waiver you sign is more for your own/partner's conduct. The anchor systems and anything else they require to be used that they provide for a safety system is gonna be on them. You can't sign away your right to sue.

yes the draw blew out, apparently it was frayed from rubbing the arete. I feel that they should be looked at once in a while to make sure they are ok.

Glime, anytime you would like to jump 20 ft onto a padded floor I would be happy to watch...I understand climbing in general is dangerous. thanks for the input.

Ah hell Spiro, you are from NY, you should be used to people busting your balls...

in the same vein, falling 20 feet onto padding, isn't that called bouldering? (I'll try to stop.)

haha...i guess i am the high strung ny type...the entire thing freaked me out! the gym is supposed to be warm and fuzzy.

don't listen to him Spiro...J Glime doesn't even free climb. He aids 5.4 and eats Radioactive San Rafael sand for breakfast.

Zing!

John J. Glime wrote:Ah hell Spiro, you are from NY, you should be used to people busting your balls... in the same vein, falling 20 feet onto padding, isn't that called bouldering? (I'll try to stop.)

2 ft from his last clip. wouldnt that put him at least 35 ft up in most gyms???

I would love to see anyone hit a padded floor from that hieght and see if they bounce.

Tea wrote:He aids 5.4

While this is true, this thread isn't about me. It is about the inherent danger of climbing gyms.

But to answer the original question (what fun is that?): I would say without a doubt that the gym is responsible for the gear you are using that has the potential to cause you harm.

Just busting the nuggets in good fun JG!

My nuggets are used to gettin busted... I bust them every night.

What have you added to this thread Tea? Answer the damn questions that Spiro had!

Leaving the "busting of Glimes nuggets" aside, Nelson is right. If it is the gyms equipment that failed, it is the gyms responsibility; no waiver signs that away. Had you been seriously hurt, the gym could be sued (legitimately).

I can't beleive that I am reading this. The exact same thing happened to a kid on the climbing team I coach when he fell at a competition on Saturday. But he fell at the first draw and hit the deck pretty damn hard. I was blown away that a gym could allow this to happen, but I guess it is something that we should all keep an eye out for when we are climbing on ANY kind of fixed draws, especially if they are near the edge of a roof or arete.

Spiro wrote: I feel that they should be looked at once in a while to make sure they are ok.

If it looks funny to you, whether indoors or out, you probably shouldn't clip it.

It would seem that you have just recently learned the experiential way that nylon + wear point = close call. It should always be upon the leader to feel comfortable clipping the gear, or don't clip it. Now, if the bolt had pulled from the wall it'd be a different story, but it didn't, so it's not.

I only boulder at my local gym for this exact reason. Old ropes with foot long tails of sheath without core. God knows how old the draws are or when the last time they were inspected. I'd say lesson learned with a bit of pucker factor.

Spiro,
I think you sould be entitled to several free month's at the Gym! I think it's BS that this happened and they should act relieved that you didn't get injured. I would only hope that they are now checking thing's more closely?

You gonna clippa...you gotta inspecta!

How many ways can we over-analyze this?

John J. Glime wrote:My nuggets are used to gettin busted... I bust them every night.

Uh, oh nevermind..

believe me i am happy it happend inside and i was unharmed. I def. learned a lesson, I will be much more astute about the gear in gyms.

Webejammon--your point is well taken. maybe i was wrong in doing what i did, but in my mind, i down climbed a couple moves to take out some of the slack/space between myself and the clip. I was trying to get even with it so there would be no fall force on it, more like a gentle hang.

I am not hear to bash gyms, but com'on they have enough parties there to buy some new draws.

Really I would prefer to use my own draws, but for some reason they will not allow us to do that....

Nick, was that at Quick on the Draw (in Wisconsin)?

I was two climbs away from the dude that broke the draw there and I thought he was clipping the second draw when he fell and he landed pretty dang hard. If you weren't in Wisconsin, I guess it was just a bad weekend to be lead climbing in gyms.