Pulled a Piton
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I brought my follower up the first pitch of Battleship Direct. I had setup belay on this small ledge, where you can find a horizontally-driven metal plate with holes in it, and a small piton down by our feet. I had placed a cam and a hex also. There were clove hitches and alpine draws in the mix, for keeping us in direct. All of a sudden, he stumbles backwards and we see that little piton hanging off the end of his alpine draw. I'd never seen fixed hardware pull loose before. I thought I should broadcast to raise awareness on the matter. Be safe out there! |
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welcome to climbing outside the gym |
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Maybe next time you should try equalizing everything with that scarf..... |
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Yup, at the gunks you clip pitons all the time. My golden rule is "always back them up" |
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chad umbel wrote:Maybe next time you should try equalizing everything with that scarf.....That's funny right there...... |
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NorCalNomad wrote:welcome to climbing outside the gymLOLOLOLOL |
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Almost forgot, "Hey! put that back!!!" |
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chad umbel wrote:Maybe next time you should try equalizing everything with that scarf.....Fucking gold! |
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Counting the days until Patagonia launches its next new product line.... |
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Tylerpratt wrote:Yup, at the gunks you clip pitons all the time. My golden rule is "always back them up"One example, from a recently replaced rap/belay station (Sixish is the route). Note that the eyes on both pins look pretty much normal... sixish anchor |
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Sing to the tune of "Found a Peanut." |
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I though the same thing about putting nails in wood until my house fell down... |
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haha awesome comments. Yeah I clip them just because they are there. Not because I think they will hold. |
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Optimistic wrote: One example, from a recently replaced rap/belay station (Sixish is the route). Note that the eyes on both pins look pretty much normal...How recently? I remember clipping some pins on the first pitch of Sixish- hanging belay, decided to back it up with a tricam and small cam. Glad I did... |
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Nolan Huther wrote: How recently? I remember clipping some pins on the first pitch of Sixish- hanging belay, decided to back it up with a tricam and small cam. Glad I did...Well..."pretty recently" might be more accurate than "recently". Time moves at warp speed as I get older! They were replaced Sept 2015 (not by me, by the GCC). But the point is, as above, back those puppies up! With the angles, almost always easy to do...with the knifeblades often a different story. |
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Scott McMahon wrote:haha awesome comments. Yeah I clip them just because they are there. Not because I think they will hold.Same here. I was trying to explain to my partner (with the shemagh) that since we're not on a hanging belay, this is last resort kinda stuff. He was adjusting his cloves to tension on everything while sitting on a ledge, which I told him was bad practice, as gear can be walked while fidgeting around. This was his first time on a trad route, which he only followed on. |
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Just to be clear - ALL fixed pro needs to be maintained. Both bolts and pins can look perfectly fine looking at them and be complete shite in the rock. |
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But HealyJ, in the gym everything is safe so I apply those principles outside. Afterall, isnt fixed equipment set by the equipment fairy? |
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grog m aka Greg McKee wrote:Afterall, isnt fixed equipment set by the equipment fairy?Yes, she's old and cranky, climbs harder than anyone with a mountain project account, and does it with a rack of steel and hiking boots. Oh, and her wand is one of those chouinard alpine hammers. To the OP, treat all fixed pro as suspect. You're in the wild now baby, no gym setters out here. |
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About 5 years ago a partner of mine who weighed a little over 200 took a whip into a pendulum on a rusty ring pin where the ring was about and inch out from the rock. The thing did'nt budge. This was on the Matron in the Flatirons. If I see a pin that looks and feels solid, I will trust the hell out of it. |
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Rick Blair wrote:About 5 years ago a partner of mine who weighed a little over 200 took a whip into a pendulum on a rusty ring pin where the ring was about and inch out from the rock. The thing did'nt budge. This was on the Matron in the Flatirons. If I see a pin that looks and feels solid, I will trust the hell out of it.In situations like that with ring pins, or any pin protruding out a distance, I don't clip the ring, but rather tie-off/cinch the pin up tight against the rock. |