How not to die!

"To be once in doubt, is to be resolved." ~Shakespeare, Othello

or

If you don't know it's good, you need to assume it's bad.

I suspect some people believe that every serious (or fatal, take your pick) climbing accident is due in some way or other to a deficient attitude about safety/risk management.  I think that's a mistake.

As a women who survived and recovered from a very traumatic and avoidable climbing accident in 2013, here is what I practise each time I climb.
I do things systematically each time I go climbing from preparing to climb, building anchors, cleaning a route. Create, understand the why, and fo!low systems.
Be mindful and present when climbing and belaying. If I am not having a good day or feeling the climb, I come down and that's okay. My natural instinct is very powerful and I just feel right and present when I am going for it.
Understand and accept that climbing is dangerous. And take it seriously...it doesn't matter whether "it's a warm up, just a 5.6, or i have done it 100 times". Give climbing respect... its hard and dangerous.
Wear a helmet EVERY time. Would have saved me from a skull fracture and cut down my recovery time for sure...and this was the one day I did not wear a helmet because I was "feeling hot".
Be patient. Rest effectively when climbing.  I rest extensively between crux moves and over protect difficult sections if it helps me feel more bold.
I'm not afraid to rope up or ask for a belay between very exposed, loose, sketchy, steep scrambling or terrain when hiking between routes or descending if I am feeling easy.   l just love the whole process & systems of climbing and try to be focused on the experience not just the actual climbing of the route.  

I suspect more people die from being casual about safety while climbing "below their limit" than die from failures while "at their limit." Complacency is more dangerous than anything.

I've taken flack for "overprotecting" a climb before. But you can't "underdie."

don'tchuffonme wrote:

Settle down, white Confucius.  What he's saying is that instead of saying "make sure cams are in solid rock and won't walk" or "make sure your belayer is solid" just be more general.  Like be a master of your craft, or something similar.  Listing all the ways you can die climbing is dumb and could go on forever.  And it's also a poor excuse and a feeble way to veil your butthurt from the Smith Rock thread.  

We got it, dude.  You want to dissect every little detail of every accident regardless of who may be watching or how painful it may be to them.  Guess you're the wrong person to start a "how not to be a jerk" thread.  You routinely violate rule #1 often just by being yourself.

Why does the color of Confucius matter? 

Healyje wrote: Mountain climbers sometimes don't make the best rock climbers as some just have a different relationship with risk and protection which can come off as quite cavalier to experienced rock climbers. I've seen this again and again since moving to the PNW with such climbers making one bad protection decision after another on rock climbs with little to no concern for the very real risks involved. This could otherwise easily be mistaken for boldness, that is until you second and clean their leads at which point it's just kind of frightening.

Usually, after following a pitch where I found really crappy placements/missed opportunities for good pro, I'd get to the belay and find crappy anchors. I'd say something (Politely) about it. If they took it to heart and worked on their placements, I'd keep climbing with them. If not, I wouldn't. But there was a period, for a few years, where I thought my ability and experience would compensate. I used to do a lot of stupid things.

Personally, I believe climbers in general don't take the risk of climbing serious enough, we get complacent in our practices and we just try to ignore the real possibility of death from innocuous circumstances. Somebody died climbing? Musta been "bad luck" or their gear failed, or whatever excuse we have to use in order to get it out of sight and out of mind.

I have a lot of respect for folks that can achieve this type of perspective. This is a very cool premise for a thread.

Its difficult to keep this in focus because we all do it every day - for example when driving 70mph on a 2 lane road, or any road for that matter. When we bike down the street at night with cars rushing by.

We all take catastrophic risks often and we are used to it.

The methods i use are:

1) no distraction while performing critical functions like knot tying, anchor building, high exposure situations.
2) stay tied in on ledges unless 100% focused or not moving (sitting comfortably)
3) avoid or back off of high consequence situations that are close to my limit.
4) generally avoid high consequence situations even not close to the limit where risk is difficult to asses (questionable rock etc.)

Señor Arroz wrote: I suspect more people die from being casual about safety while climbing "below their limit" than die from failures while "at their limit." Complacency is more dangerous than anything.

I've had two near fatal experiences from this (edited: from being casual on easy stuff.)

Interesting topic, strange title...
Hard to stick to a "how to" format as there are so many safe/ unsafe ways to do anything. I try to keep it in my mind that everyone develops habits, it's often bad habits can lead to dying... I do my best to develop good habits.

For what it's worth, here are some good habits i see getting overlooked:
-Only climb on a closed system.
-Never hand something to someone who's tying in.
-Stopper knots, every time.
-Catastrophe knots are worth the time, even w/ an auto locking belay device.
-Speak up to those who seem too cavalier, could save their life, or yours...

Ģnöfudør Ðrænk wrote:

I've had two near fatal experiences because of this.

From which?  At your limit, or below?

you don't need to be faster than the bear

Healyje wrote: Mountain climbers sometimes don't make the best rock climbers as some just have a different relationship with risk and protection which can come off as quite cavalier to experienced rock climbers. I've seen this again and again since moving to the PNW with such climbers making one bad protection decision after another on rock climbs with little to no concern for the very real risks involved. This could otherwise easily be mistaken for boldness, that is until you second and clean their leads at which point it's just kind of frightening.

It's interesting that you bring this up.  Twice since I have moved up here I have climbed with new partners that had fairly solid "mountain" skills (meaning they have somehow climbed some cool peaks without dying), but took me completely off belay while i was leading the crux pitch (because they forgot to switch over from guide mode to lead belaying when i passed the anchors).  In both cases when i chewed on them a bit their response was "if you don't feel solid soloing you shouldn't be climbing this route" - which is ironic because they struggled following the pitches, ugghhh.  In both cases their anchors were literally shit at most of the belays, despite there being a ton of options for good anchors.  it's almost like they wanted to be excessively cavalier about the situation.  needless to say i didn't climb with either of them again.

Ted Pinson wrote:

From which?  At your limit, or below?

from being casual on easy stuff.

^^Gotcha.  Couldn’t tell if you were supporting or refuting the quoted post.

slim wrote:

It's interesting that you bring this up.  Twice since I have moved up here I have climbed with new partners that had fairly solid "mountain" skills (meaning they have somehow climbed some cool peaks without dying), but took me completely off belay while i was leading the crux pitch (because they forgot to switch over from guide mode to lead belaying when i passed the anchors).  In both cases when i chewed on them a bit their response was "if you don't feel solid soloing you shouldn't be climbing this route" - which is ironic because they struggled following the pitches, ugghhh.  In both cases their anchors were literally shit at most of the belays, despite there being a ton of options for good anchors.  it's almost like they wanted to be excessively cavalier about the situation.  needless to say i didn't climb with either of them again.

Damn.  That’s messed up!  Can’t say that I blame you.  Always put your life before your partner’s feelings...

Healyje wrote: Mountain climbers sometimes don't make the best rock climbers as some just have a different relationship with risk and protection which can come off as quite cavalier to experienced rock climbers. I've seen this again and again since moving to the PNW with such climbers making one bad protection decision after another on rock climbs with little to no concern for the very real risks involved. This could otherwise easily be mistaken for boldness, that is until you second and clean their leads at which point it's just kind of frightening.

Super true. For perspective, these are the types who think janky stuff like the boot axe belay is super bomber.

Something important to remember: If one has finished a sketchy lead without falling, it can create a sense that what you just did was fine and safe. In reality, all of your pro may have been useless and you may as well have been soloing. Unless you have whipped on your gear, all you have is your own assessment of its quality. 

Zach Parsons wrote:

...Unless you have whipped on your gear, all you have is your own assessment of its quality. 

I think this can be somewhat overcome by aid climbing, as unsexy as it is in this day and age. I think this is a skill that too few modern climbers practice, and has huge benefits beyond simply slowly working one's way up a wall.

GoBoy wrote: 
-Catastrophe knots are worth the time, even w/ an auto locking belay device.

The catastrophe knot jammed below the atc & saved my ass! Glad I always tie one...

I am curious, why not just use a prussik/auto-block when on rappel?  That way you are always secure and have something to tend to/aren't falling onto a fixed knot.  What do you consider a "catastrophe knot"?

Ryan Hill wrote:

I am curious, why not just use a prussik/auto-block when on rappel?  That way you are always secure and have something to tend to/aren't falling onto a fixed knot.  What do you consider a "catastrophe knot"?

Autoblock is certainly a good practice when rapping with an ATC.

Catastrophe knot is an overhand knot below the belay device, if I'm taking my hands off  the rope (not just rapping).

Two things have kept me alive:
*Double Check EVERYTHING*
*Clear Communication*

I look at my knot before I leave the ground, I look at my belayer's harness and device. When I swap over to rappel I take an extra second to make sure it is all perfect. I agree with Tradiban, a lot of people are a little too casual about the process. I make sure my belayer knows what I mean when I say certain things. There is no confusion about the plan. Doing all this is not going to guarantee you survive, but it helps a whole lot. 

GoBoy wrote:

Autoblock is certainly a good practice when rapping with an ATC.

Catastrophe knot is an overhand knot below the belay device, if I'm taking my hands off  the rope (not just rapping).

Is this being used as a backup to a mule knot (while belaying) or an auto-block (while on rappel)?  If not I would disagree that it is a proper method of securing yourself.  Backing up either of the systems I just mentioned would be an acceptable use of a catastrophe knot as you've described, but only using an overhand below a belay device in either a belaying or rappelling scenario is not an accepted practice.