Climbing sans-helmet

I am an "old guy" who started climbing in the 50's, before helmets, harnesses, and lots of stuff now common was available.  I have worn a helmet routinely for the last thirty years or so, mostly as a result of seeing the effects of not wearing one, compared with the results of wearing a helmet.  Your chances of survival are much greater with a helmet on.  Properly adjusted, today's helmets are quite comfortable and provide significant protection.

I really believed in helmets after encountering an accident scene where the victim had a nasty wound on his forehead (his helmet was shattered).  I am sure he would have been DOA without the protection.  We were able to get him out and he recovered, thanks to his head gear.

I don't usually wear mine unless I am concerned about falling objects. I try to wear it more often but I just can't remember to bring it.

I notice myself climbing with more confidence and taking more risks wearing it. Considering what little protection it actually offers, this isn't necessarily a good thing.

Hobo Greg wrote: I wear mine on every climb, free solos included

 You're going to hell for mentioning that you solo braj. That's what I always hear. Squeeze chimney and roofs that I traverse under, vs horizontal climbing -- that's why. 

I generally throw mine on at the base of the crag and take it off when I leave, whether climbing sport or trad. I ask my kids to wear helmets as well if they are climbing or hanging out at the crag. I am probably more worried about falling objects than I am about head impacts in lead falls, but I haven't seen much hard evidence that one is more prevelant than the other. Sometimes I do climb without a helmet, either because I forgot mine, or it will cause issues on the climb. Squeeze chimney, under a roof, etc. I have known, or had a link to a couple people who have died from head injuries due to lead falls or rock fall. I have seen countless objects fall or be thrown from above me. Just earlier this week I watched as a loop of rope above me pulled a softball sized rock towards the edge of a ledge as I was pulling the rope on a rappel. I managed to flick it free without sending it down, but it would have been easy not to notice it. And there were people on a pitch below and at the base two pitches down. All that said, if you are climbing without a helmet, you won't hear a word from me, unless its ice or alpine.

Parse all you want, but the bottom line is that helmets have not become established as "cool" in climbing culture.  It's interesting how quickly helmets became the norm in resort skiing and snowboarding after several high-profile celebrity deaths, whereas that shift has never happened in climbing.

I'm less concerned for the people who don't wear helmets than I am about the people who wear a helmet everywhere, even on overhanging sport routes. After 20 years of observation, I've noticed how consistently these zealous helmet-wearers apparently fail to realize that their melon bucket is doing them little good because, A) It's a basic hardshell designed to protect from falling objects, not side impacts, yet they seem to believe they are protected for the inverted fall they are about to take; B) they are wearing the helmet incorrectly, with it flopping off the back of their head, leaving their forehead exposed; and C) the people who wear helmets in this unkempt manner often have a climbing style that corresponds to their sketchy appearance (translation: jittery, clueless, imprecise—an accident waiting to happen). Meanwhile, people who know how to select an appropriate type of helmet for the situation and wear it correctly also tend to display more competence in their climbing ability, and this often goes for non-helmet-wearers, too. But sometimes there is the jittery, unkempt fool who omits the helmet because he wants to look like the pros or at least fit in with the other, competent climbers at the cliff, or maybe he just hasn't thought about it—who can ascertain his motivations—but the reality is that he (it's almost invariably a male) should stick to toproping a bit longer before tackling that lead up the polished, glassy holds that are now glistening in the sun as his equally (in)competent belayer continues to feed slack onto the ground...

I'm equally wary of climbers who wear Go Pro cameras.

It's like over building an anchor. Sure, you COULD put a quad on a two bolt anchor and back it up with a gear anchor and have two locking carabiners opposite and opposed on each separate anchor. Even if there is no conceivable way that a solid two bolt anchor will ever catastrophically fail, backing it up makes you safer, right? There comes a point where adding to a system does nothing to add to the safety.
 I prefer to think critically about whether a helmet will do anything to add to my safety. If there is someone above me, I will wear a helmet, unless that is simply my climber and we are in a well trafficked area. If I am in an alpine environment, I will wear a helmet. If I am climbing slab, I will wear a helmet. Other than those scenarios, the safety a helmet adds is negligible and/or totally within my control. Worried about rock fall from pieces blowing? don't place gear in bad rock. Worried about side/rear impacts during a fall? Don't place your foot behind the rope/fall badly. Given all of this myself and many others decide, in many scenarios, that the benefits of a helmet in that instance don't justify the annoyance of wearing one.

Steven Claggett wrote: It's like over building an anchor. Sure, you COULD put a quad on a two bolt anchor and back it up with a gear anchor and have two locking carabiners opposite and opposed on each separate anchor. Even if there is no conceivable way that a solid two bolt anchor will ever catastrophically fail, backing it up makes you safer, right? There comes a point where adding to a system does nothing to add to the safety.
 I prefer to think critically about whether a helmet will do anything to add to my safety. If there is someone above me, I will wear a helmet, unless that is simply my climber and we are in a well trafficked area. If I am in an alpine environment, I will wear a helmet. If I am climbing slab, I will wear a helmet. Other than those scenarios, the safety a helmet adds is negligible and/or totally within my control. Worried about rock fall from pieces blowing? don't place gear in bad rock. Worried about side/rear impacts during a fall? Don't place your foot behind the rope/fall badly. Given all of this myself and many others decide, in many scenarios, that the benefits of a helmet in that instance don't justify the annoyance of wearing one.

even though i disagree with your risk assessment, at least you are thinking critically about the severity and possible outcomes...which i can respect.  others however...

Pnelson wrote: Parse all you want, but the bottom line is that helmets have not become established as "cool" in climbing culture.  It's interesting how quickly helmets became the norm in resort skiing and snowboarding after several high-profile celebrity deaths, whereas that shift has never happened in climbing.

OR - Skiing/snowboarding are a little more straightforward in that you should pretty much always wear a helmet because it's basically the only form of safety equipment for the sport and any fall involves the risk of head injury. This is opposed to climbing where the helmet doesn't even really do much of anything for falls and the helmet is actually protecting you from falling objects which is a significantly more removed, unpredictable but also unlikely occurrence. Maybe the "cool" factor is there amongst the members who are attracted to climbing specifically for the image of risk taker, but I think (hope) that population is small.

curt86iroc wrote:

even though i disagree with your risk assessment, at least you are thinking critically about the severity and possible outcomes...which i can respect.  others however...

I will also add a partner consideration. No matter what any climbing team makes decisions based on the more conservative member, so if my not wearing a helmet makes my partner uncomfortable, on it goes.

Robert Hall wrote: Re Gunkiemike's Clint Eastwood photo.  Of course Clint's "cool".  But I'm not so sure about his helmet.  Looks to me like some screen writer's idea of what the viewing public believed a helmet should look like.  Surprising, considering the many Brit's who assisted in the filming of the Eiger Sanction; but in Europe, in 1974/75 (filming and release) the "Helmet to Beat" was the Joe Brown....or as the Alpinist stated "Brown's helmet was nearly indestructible—in 1968 the German Alpine Club ranked it first out of sixteen helmets in every test—plus its low sides offered side-impact and rockfall protection. His design remained virtually unchanged for the next three decades. "

I don't know what's protecting Clint's "keppe" but it's not a Joe Brown.  Looks more like a miner's helmet.

In the US the Bell TopTex (lighter than the Joe Brown) was still popular.  It's "failing" was the total foam-insert did not allow for ventilation, hence rather hot in the summer. [I believe it was designed for pilots, since in the late1940's and 50's Bell was a leader in developing the "radical" new jet aircraft of the day.]    However, even here the "failing" was sometimes an asset. I remember a climb on the Adirondack's Wallface where my partner wore her new, suspension-equipped-Joe Brown and I wore my old Toptex.  The blackflys just crawled up inside her helmet and feasted in her hair!

I used to wear a Bell helmet while bicycling in the late '70s. I used to ride up Boulder canyon then zip back down. I was telling my father about it, and he suggested I get one. So I did. It was HOT going uphill, but had holes designed to vent air into it, so it was nice going downhill. But most of the day it was miserable. Sweat running into my eyes. My brother used to wear it while practicing with my nunchucks. I have never worn one while climbing. I believe it was Yvon Chouinard who addressed the issue in his mountaineering book. He said it might cause one to take bigger risks and get hit by a rock that was to big for the helmet to mitigate. I have had several severe blows to the head in my life. One of them happened while on my motorcycle. There was a helmet law, so I had one on. I had a bad headache for several days, and that was with a helmet. Do what you want. It's your brain. Put it into a bucket if you want. It's none of my business, nor anybody else's either.

Chris Little wrote:

Do what you want. It's your brain. Put it into a bucket if you want. It's none of my business, nor anybody else's either.

that's all well and good. Just remember, if you are in an accident and suffer an injury that could have been prevented if wearing a helmet, don't just think about the consequences for yourself.  think about everyone else around you and how they might be effected. with my wife and i being involved in the medical field, we see this all the time. do you know how hard it is to care for someone with a TBI? How much stress it puts on their family? 

wouldn't you feel stupid if your significant other/parent/good friend had to rearrange their life to take care of you? all because you suffered an injury that could have been avoided with a $50 helmet?

curt86iroc wrote:

that's all well and good. Just remember, if you are in an accident and suffer an injury that could have been prevented if wearing a helmet, don't just think about the consequences for yourself.  think about everyone else around you and how they might be effected. with my wife and i being involved in the medical field, we see this all the time. do you know how hard it is to care for someone with a TBI? How much stress it puts on their family? 

wouldn't you feel stupid if your significant other/parent/good friend had to rearrange their life to take care of you? all because you suffered an injury that could have been avoided with a $50 helmet?

In that case its probably better to take up golf or stay home. I get the point but thats the kind of thing you tell a drug addict or an alcoholic. 

I keep promising myself to wear a helmet but somehow it always stays at home or in the car. That helmet just refuses to cooperate.

frank minunni wrote: I keep promising myself to wear a helmet but somehow it always stays at home or in the car. That helmet just refuses to cooperate.

I even started bringing it along to the crag!

Hobo Greg wrote:  Love seeing people in videos, pros included, smacking their heads in a fall and then wondering why that happened..  

I  love Schadenfreude too, and would love to see you prove that your not lying like usual so please post that video of a pro smacking their head and wondering what happened. .  I mean, it definitely exists, right? Your not just making up a hyperbolic point to justify why you think that you are smarter than everyone else, that would be ridiculous.

Safety from rock fall, I mean I have been plunked by tiny stuff (it hurt, I bled) but the big shit, man, it wasn't stopping for nothing. Mostly useless, except in the Alpine where so much comes down you must wear one.

Other than that, don't take out of control falls and ur gtg. If you think it makes you safer you probably are doing tons of things that are way more dangerous like standing around obliviously underneath other climbers. I don't do that. If you climb in places with lotsa random potential, make your choice.

I think us CA snobs are somewhat predisposed against them for cragging and esp for sport climbing...loose rock is rarely a real concern compared to some places or its so huge its just not going to matter. When you have seen real blocks at terminal velocity you couldn't stop them with tank armor like the ones that were kicked off at Camp 4 that went over my head when I was in Dolt Hole. I still remember the sound.

Its the kind of sound that would make you puke into your helmet then just toss it off. Helmets stop pebbles.

I like to wear a helmet because it gives me a surface to put cool stickers. Getting them out of my hair before we had helmets was a pain.
Seriously, it's personal preference based on heat, comfort, weight, looks, etc. A long time ago hockey players and football players had little to no head protection. Look at them now. Helmets got better, we got smarter. Some converted to helmets, others don't give a %^&*. The workplace is putting a bigger emphasis on safety and I think it translates into hobbies. Look at how many people wear safety glasses around the house, like working in the garage. Many motorcycle riders don't wear helmets, unless it's a state that makes it the law. And if a big enough rock falls on me, a titanium helmet reinforced with Kevlar isn't going to save me. I started climbing w/o one, wear it now most of the time. It'll protect me from small chunks that rain down, or if my body slams into the rock face and the momentum makes my head do the same. Anything more violent than that, the helmet and I are going to lose.

People read about how a biner broke and caused an injury. Said readers takes precautions to make their system redundant and check their biners frequently.
People read about how a climber died or caused someone with them to die because of not wearing a helmet. Said readers make no change and continue wearing their hair hat.

Floyd Eggers wrote: ...
People read about how a climber died or caused someone with them to die because of not wearing a helmet.

Where do people read this?