Falling on gear success stories! (Where the rock didn't completely blow out)

You can add this to Locker's Pooping-While-Climbing post!

I took my first trad fall the other day in Boulder Canyon. I was climbing at Crack Land in Avalon and decided to get on a 5.9 crack. This was on my 6th pitch ever leading trad. I had learned about 2 weeks prior in Eldo.

I had led 2 pitches of 5.8 in Eldo, and have led 5.10b sport, so I decided to push my grade on trad lead. I got about halfway up the pitch, to the crux, and placed a trango #1 (I actually didn't really like this cam bc it seemed to walk a bit more than BD cams). My feet slipped out just as I was about to get to easier ground.

Having taken a number of falls on bolts, I just forgot this was on gear and just focused on catching myself. Only when I came to a rest with my feet on the wall did I realize that I just fell on gear. The cam was at my feet when I fell, and extended with a runner, so I fell about 10 feet.

I was way more confident in my placements the next day when I led 4 of the 5 pitches of The Bastille Crack the next day.

Well this is a success and a fail story.
Lets start with the fail.
Fail, A .5 camalot pulled that I had previously whipped on 5 times in that same placement in the last month (still not sure why it pulled).
Success, a green alien held keeping me off the ground.
Fail is that the impact against the wall shattered my ankle.
Success, I got it on video.

youtube.com/watch?v=NwZQZSw…;feature=youtu.be

My first lead fall ever (on bolts or gear) was on a C3 #0 placed into a neat little piton scar. Only piece in and I was probably ~10 ft above it... managed to get the rope behind my leg and flipped on the way down. Ended up head down maybe 3ft from the ground. Needless to say I learned a lot in that first fall.

Wow Monty; great vid. I'm glad you're ok. Hope you have a fast recovery and thanks for sharing.

Monty,
Wow! Thank you very much for posting that video. I know that it is not possible, but it would be really cool to see what the placement looked like and get a better understanding of why the cam failed. You have any thoughts on the reason it pulled in the video after catching previous falls?

I think that your video illustrates that well placed gear usually works, but shit happens and you should have two pieces between you and the ground whenever possible.

I wish you the best with your recovery.

NC Rock Climber wrote:You have any thoughts on the reason it pulled in the video after catching previous falls?

The only ideas I have are that I either kicked it; OR, I do remember that when I placed that piece I pushed it a little deeper back in the crack as I always had, but I remember it turning kinda strange but thought nothing of it as it still looked bomber. So I don't know if that strange turning was possibly a crystal that was making the cam look bomber though it was being loaded on a fragile crystal or what. I've always been a strong believer in "2 between you and the hospital," and this certainly reiterates that theory.

Thanks, Monty. The longer I climb the more picky I get about cam placements and how I sling them. One MM here or there can sometimes make a big difference. Again, best wishes with your recovery!

Monty wrote:"2 between you and the hospital,"

love it

Monty: Thanks for posting an excellent video. It’s hard to think of anything you could have done differently. Looks like a perfect soft catch. Just bad luck in hitting the wall the way you did (does anybody have ideas on how the fall could have been managed differently to have minimized the chance of an injury? I don’t)

Best wish for healing strongly.

Rob.calm

Nice catch by the belayer! I can't imagine how a hit on that rope could be any softer. From the video it doesn't look like you hit the wall that hard. What do the docs say about recovery time? Thank god for modern orthopaedics.

Random huh? I'm with you guys, the fall couldn't have been caught better and I couldn't have hit the wall in a better way. All I can say is that is the most speed I've ever had swinging into the wall before (thought it doesn't look like much in the video). I must of hit at just the wrong angle.

I had surgery this past monday to pin together one of the displaced fractures and will be on crutches for the next 6 weeks. Hopefully toproping again in late December?

Monty wrote: The only ideas I have are that I either kicked it; OR, I do remember that when I placed that piece I pushed it a little deeper back in the crack as I always had, but I remember it turning kinda strange but thought nothing of it as it still looked bomber. So I don't know if that strange turning was possibly a crystal that was making the cam look bomber though it was being loaded on a fragile crystal or what. I've always been a strong believer in "2 between you and the hospital," and this certainly reiterates that theory.

heres a few thing to consider

- it appears your belayer sat into the initial catch and then got pulled up only after the piece pulled ... this increases the force on the gear ... now im not sure of the weight difference between you can your partner, but unless im going to deck or hit a ledge or theres a massive weight difference, i ask my partners specifically to not sit into a catch ... now in this case it might not have been the "wrong" thing to do as you might have decked with a dynamic belay if the gear pulled anyways ... but it probably contributed to your swing into the wall

- i consider everything below and up to the purple camalot unreliable, ive indicated this before ... if one is going to fall/hang/etc ... get in 2 good pieces, especially a solid nut if you can ...

- your partner appears to have been belaying you on a grigri/cinch ... now this increases the force on the gear without much slip ... now this isnt a real issue IMO if you get a dynamic catch or have a soft catching rope ... however the catch you got was not dynamic when the first piece pulled ... were you climbing on a beal, tendon or some other sub 8kn rope? i prefer low impact force ropes for falls ... i personally prefer the smart for trad as it allow some slip

- how overhanging was the route, and how much friction was there, did you extend the other pieces ... remember that once you add fiction and a bit of a bend the impact force goes up considerably ... extending it would probably soften catch as well ... i extend many of my pieces when possible to keep the rope running clean ...

ultimately only you have any real idea of what happened ... youll heal and jump on it again ...

thanks for posting the vid as its fairly rare to see this kind of stuff in action

Really glad you didn't get hurt worse Monty! That must have been scary as hell. So, are you guys going to at least add a PG13 to that rating?? ;)

Me too Glenn. Hehe, honestly it's a G rated climb. The gear is all there. Next time I'll take the time to double up in a couple key spots but it's gonna be hard as hell to hold on!

It seems like the biggest issue with gear ripping is user error. Im sure it'll happen eventually, but as of now, I have not pulled any gear. Ive fallen on Granite, Basalt, Welded Tuff, and Sandstone.

I have taken a few 10 or so ft falls onto a #0 metolius, and all was well. That was in Basalt, and the placement was money.

Took a few falls onto #1, and #2 metolius in The Creek. They all held with no worries.

The best confidence booster for me when I started leading gear was: FALLING ON IT. Take a few on purpose falls on BOMBER gear. You can back it up if you like, or just trust it. This shit is expensive for a reason! It works if you know how to place it! As mentioned a few times before my post, a lot of the time, gear that you think is shit (and prob is) will still hold. Ive def fallen on a few pieces that I thought were gonna pop.

When I was first getting into 5.10 on gear I was working on a climb that was .75 size for the last 15ft or so. I was able to get a bomber #1 BD in from a stance, but as soon as I hit the .75 section I had to gun it for chains cuz I didnt have the technique to stop and place in that size. I think I took 4 or 5 falls from RIGHT before the anchor on that thing. My feet were about 12-15ft above that #1. It held everytime! No worries!

Go Forth, and Fall!!! Or hopefully send...

I took a 8-10 footer on a Metolious #1 TCU.
I thought the placement was marginal but it held.

My smallest rock empire comet has held more falls than any of my other cams.
A bd #1 in volcanic tuff has caught my longest fall. Smith Rocks, also blew a yellow c3 in the same fall

Mike Rowley wrote: When I was first getting into 5.10 on gear I was working on a climb that was .75 size for the last 15ft or so. I was able to get a bomber #1 BD in from a stance, but as soon as I hit the .75 section I had to gun it for chains cuz I didnt have the technique to stop and place in that size. I think I took 4 or 5 falls from RIGHT before the anchor on that thing. My feet were about 12-15ft above that #1. It held everytime! No worries!

Sounds like Way Rambo

JR Token at Trout Creek. Way Rambo is the same way for sure tho!