Mountain climber falls 100 feet with barely a scratch

Seriously what the heck???

Shunt... kleimheist ... prusik?? Is it just me or does a 300' rap warrant something more than "a safety line not wrapped enough times around his rope"?? Exactly the kind of stunt we don't need ending up on CNN.

And i love how the media blows it all up as a "100 foot fall". Taking care not to note difference between "fall" and "anything but graceful descent down a rope".

EDIT:: Video at bottom of article

Yeah, no kidding. Some time back, someone started a thread, asking about what essentially amounts to what I call 'sport rappelling' in Zion. The guys in this article didn't sound like climbers.

Edit: Avery beat me to it

Hmm...that was interesting. I especially like how he was labeled a "climber." I understand raping/caving can be very technical and challenging in its own right, but most "sport rappelers" I've met are the type that anchor into the hitches of their truck.

Anyway, does anyone know more specifics about what happened and his systems? It didn't appear to be a free fall, so I'm guessing he was just unable to apply sufficient braking force due to a lack of friction/excessive weight, in his system. I don't really want to speculate, though.

Also, if you were losing control and got saved by a knot that jammed you system, why the hell would you untie it?

Anyway, I am honestly glad this turned out for the best and this is a good reminder not to be complacent.

My guess is that the knot was not there "by mistake", but was tying two ropes together! If you have two 60m ropes tied together for a 300' rap you would hit a knot at 200'. But you'd need to get around the knot rather than untie it. Like may rapellers, he probably didn't consider the difficulties of passing the knot until he was on top of it.

"Mountain Climber" eh? OK, except:
1) No Mountain
2) No Climbing

Evan1984 wrote:Also, if you were losing control and got saved by a knot that jammed you system, why the hell would you untie it?

Hilarious! XD

The two guys were on the Today Show and attributed the accident to not having the correct rappel device for the diameter rope they were using. I guess they don't know what an autoblock is.

Go back to the article, there's a video link at the bottom!!!

"eh, you okay?"

Edit:

Where else in the world can you get serious media time for nearly killing yourself beause you were doing something dangerous that you really didn't understand from the start. And then, god saved you. Don't they call this the 'lucky darwin award'?

johnL wrote:Did all that god talk make anyone else wretch?

Oh yea. Furthermore, the only miracle would be if his wife doesn't craigslist his gear and threaten to leave his ass if he ever goes near a cliff again.

George Bell wrote:My guess is that the knot was not there "by mistake", but was tying two ropes together! If you have two 60m ropes tied together for a 300' rap you would hit a knot at 200'. But you'd need to get around the knot rather than untie it. Like may rapellers, he probably didn't consider the difficulties of passing the knot until he was on top of it.

Nope. They were on a single strand of 8mm rope in Englestead Canyon in Zion. A lot of folks rap in on a single 300 footer (I did) but there's also a mid station if you have shorter ropes. They block the 300 footer and use a pull cord or two ropes tied together on the other side of the block to pull the rope, or, they leave it and pick it up later (so they don't have to carry it down the canyon, as, the initial rappel is the only super long one.

Had his pack on his back, single strand of skinny rope, single ATC type device with no additional friction rigged from the start, no helmet (!). And, if you watch the video, when he takes off, he does that classic sport rappeller fast bounce thing that most climbers DON'T do.

Apparently had an autoblock on the rope (probably how he was able to stop and get the intial tangle out) but it obviously didn't cinch up when he lost control for the second time (!). Hard to autoblock a fairly new 8mm Imlay canyon rope with anything, I'd think, at least with a standard cord.

Had there not been a tangle in the rope...

Billed as an "experienced" rappeller. Hmmm...

Anyhoo, has made the rounds in the canyoning forums, for sure. Was on the Today Show where he gives quite a bit more info (as does his partner who was filming) on Saturday, 20 July.

today.msnbc.msn.com/id/2618…

-Brian in SLC

Evan1984 wrote: I understand raping/caving can be very technical and challenging in its own right

Oops... Freud...?

Hes not a climber by any means. He even said on the Today show when they asked him how he got out, "We couldnt climb out of there, it was 300 ft."

Definite tool.

Evan1984 wrote:Edit: Also, if you were losing control and got saved by a knot that jammed you system, why the hell would you untie it?

Ditto, Evan1984, dit-toe!

Speaking more to the point of this topic's title:

We had a real fall about a month ago, fell somewhere between 5 to 7 hundred feet over technical terrain. While intending to remain within the confines of a couloir (which angled laterally), the mountain had other ideas and dropped him straight down over two cliff bands.

While I can't discuss his condition at the time & location of incident, I believe he has been discharged from the hospital. The only thing I can think of is the amount of snow the climber landed in along the way and the glancing blows from rock just didn't hit the right places at the right speed/impact/etc.

One of the most incredible things I've seen someone live through.

Personal equipment would be of no use in fall arrest; the lesson was route selection for descent given the spring snow conditions at late time of day. I don't believe avy was a contributor in this one.

Brian in SLC wrote: And, if you watch the video, when he takes off, he does that classic sport rappeller fast bounce thing that most climbers DON'T do.

I did notice that, but he had to make it look cool because his buddy was filming. He was out of control from the begining. He should have burned that video and never spoke of that incident again.

sport rappelling.... enough said

Anyone remember the guy that tried the Sugar Cube "rock jump"??

Avery Nelson wrote: Where else in the world can you get serious media time for nearly killing yourself beause you were doing something dangerous that you really didn't understand from the start. And then, god saved you. Don't they call this the 'lucky darwin award'?

You can get the same award at Vail, also.

OMG! Seriously?! Where do these clowns come from?

"Mountain Climber".....NOT!!!

Come on, you guys know what it means to be a "mountaineer". You go off in the desert by yourself and have to cut your arm off, you get buried in an avalanche doing crazy, wacky back country "extreme" skiing, you fall ice climbing TRing nylon on nylon and you rap 300 feet with "the wrong belay device". After this you go on TV, magazine articles, maybe a book deal combined with a lecture circuit. Go pretend all you want.

I felt compelled to join the gripe session in the comments for that article. Maybe if they catch enough flak, they'll modify that bit about them being mountain climbers.