Your Worst Fall

Holy shit Curt! so glad you and your son survived!

Paul Hutton wrote: I fell about 25-30ft after ripping 3 poorly placed cams and hit the edge of a ledge with my lower back. Hurt pretty good.

Just broke my ankle 3 weeks ago from a ground fall after falling about 25ft, when I tied an overhand knot to my belay loop to stick clip the first Bolt on a sport route, then I forgot to switch the rope to our beloved figure 8 knot.

Maybe I just don't stick clip correctly, but why did you tie an overhand to yourself?  And then are you implying the overhand failed?

Blake Neville wrote:

Maybe I just stick clip correctly, but why did you tie an overhand to yourself?  And then are you implying the overhand failed?

Oh, we both definitely know how to get the rope into the first draw with a painter's pole! I know you can, because you just told me! Quite interesting, how you're missing the last sentence, and your profile says you're in the same state in which this occurred to me. I'm not implying anything. I know I'll suffer through no contest when I say that an overhand knot used for weight bearing Will fail. I bet my right ankle on it. Go ask Lynn Hill why she failed to finish her figure 8. I actually made contact with her and Brad Gobright. He's broken ankles 3 times. I wanted their insight on my dilemma. Our brains do weird shit. Check out my profile and ticks, braj. That might shed some light on what I know. And how complacent I could possibly become LOL. That's why I'm sharing my story. Not for your banter. To help you look out for yourself.

Actually, braj, you're right. Disregard everything above. You're just right.

I'm glad I didn't die, Mr. righteous. I'm actually glad we're having this talk. It might help you realize something that you, otherwise, might have missed, while you're prepping for that big proj!

Curt Haire wrote: June 2009 - climbing NE Couloir Colchuck peak with my 16-year old son.  freak lightning strike on ridge where couloir tops out triggered massive avalanche of rock & ice that scraped me off an anchored belay and carried me 1000+ feet down couloir to Colchuck Glacier.  Son saved himself by climbing into lateral moat and hiding underneath couloir ice while avalanche passed over him.  rocky debris chopped rope connecting us, so he wasn't pulled off.  He downclimbed the couloir sans belay.  I broke "pretty much everything", and now carry a significant proportion of titanium in both ankles, my right arm, and my jaw.  Started climbing again four months after fall (before I could walk without canes), and am still improving, although between age and injuries, I don't expect to ever achieve 100% of my previous climbing standard.

Damn! My jaw literally dropped reading that.  I went back and looked at this picture for scale and tied to imagine coming down that thing!!!  Glad you and your son survived.  

Paul Hutton wrote:

Oh, we both definitely know how to get the rope into the first draw with a painter's pole! I know you can, because you just told me! Quite interesting, how you're missing the last sentence, and your profile says you're in the same state in which this occurred to me. I'm not implying anything. I know I'll suffer through no contest when I say that an overhand knot used for weight bearing Will fail. I bet my right ankle on it. Go ask Lynn Hill why she failed to finish her figure 8. I actually made contact with her and Brad Gobright. He's broken ankles 3 times. I wanted their insight on my dilemma. Our brains do weird shit. Check out my profile and ticks, braj. That might shed some light on what I know. And how complacent I could possibly become LOL. That's why I'm sharing my story. Not for your banter. To help you look out for yourself.

Actually, braj, you're right. Disregard everything above. You're just right.

I'm glad I didn't die, Mr. righteous. I'm actually glad we're having this talk. It might help you realize something that you, otherwise, might have missed, while you're prepping for that big proj!

You're right I did miss something... the word don't. Maybe I just don't stick clip correctly*

Sorry about that. Didn't mean to be rude there. I was wondering why you tied an overhand to your belay loop because I've never done this, but at the same time nobody has really taught me to stick clip. Was trying to ask for clarity on why you do this and what happened, not insult you.

Just edited my post. Seriously my bad for that dude haha

Blake Neville wrote:

You're right I did miss something... the word don't. Maybe I just don't stick clip correctly*

Sorry about that. Didn't mean to be rude there. I was wondering why you tied an overhand to your belay loop because I've never done this, but at the same time nobody has really taught me to stick clip. Was trying to ask for clarity on why you do this and what happened, not insult you.

Just edited my post. Seriously my bad for that dude haha

Mah brotha 

Paul Hutton wrote:

Probably the dumbest thing I've ever done in climbing. 

Not judging here, you should have seen the first time I led a sport route and tried to clean the anchor after watching a YT video and thinking I understood it all! 

But I'm with the other dude on the "Why?" of tying the overhand to the belay loop in the first place. Keeping track of your end of the rope or getting an exactly correct amount of rope running from you to the draw and back down again are my best guesses?

Edit: What route was it?

@ Curt, holy crap, what a story! So glad you are both here to tell it. Best wishes on continued recovery going forward.

@ Paul, aw man....so sorry, sir! I know you are both quite competent and not at all complacent. Truly sorry. Hope you recovery as smoothly and quickly as possible! Just a question? Were you soloing? No one else to check anything? And yes, I know you are very good and conscientious with rope solos also. Miss ya, too.

Best, Helen

Why do alpine stories always take the cake? Glad you and your son are alive, Curt!

I've kissed the line between boldness and uncalculated risk many times. I'm still here, several hospital visits later, taking it hard on myself.

If you lift the rope with the stick clip while the sharp end is near the draw, the rope can slide off the draw. I prevented this from happening by quickly tying an overhand knot to my belay loop, while intending to change this knot to the figure 8 through the tie in points. If I'd tied the figure 8 to begin with, I would've broken my ankle by falling down a set of stairs later that day, I'm sure. My much less-experienced partner, but very experienced in caving, canyoneering, and suspends herself in the air from rope to practice professional photography, didn't check me before I left the ground. I just provided her and I with a very valuable lesson. I never found out what the route was. There were draws on it when I found it, at The Gallery in Red River gorge south. Probably close to, or at, 5.13. I will go back and send that mother fucker. Good thing the route is in your face just 30 ft off the ground, eh? That's where I [meant to] hang. 

There are some 5.12s i'd prefer soloing, to alpine climbing up a vertical, frozen mine field. You alpinists are fuckin crazy!

1981 I was walking / staggering home from a moonshine party under a full moon. I must have been at least a tiny bit smart because I purposely did Not ride my motorcycle to the moonshine party.  Something whacked me upside the head so hard I was laying on the side of the road for awhile trying to figure out what the heck just happened.  Eventually I looked up and realized that I must have walked full tilt into a mailbox. Someone had painted cute little racoon on the mailbox... 

Nick Goldsmith wrote: 1981 I was walking / staggering home from a moonshine party under a full moon. I must have been at least a tiny bit smart because I purposely did Not ride my motorcycle to the moonshine party.  Something whacked me upside the head so hard I was laying on the side of the road for awhile trying to figure out what the heck just happened.  Eventually I looked up and realized that I must have walked full tilt into a mailbox. Someone had painted cute little racoon on the mailbox... 

Nice. I get the feeling I've done something like that before but I honestly don't remember. 

Edit: now I remember. It was with weed, not booze though:

So, about a week and a half after being introduced to smoking weed, I smoked my first bowl out of a bong. Except instead of herb, it was brick hash. My first reaction was coughing so hard I gave myself a nose bleed. After around half an hour of coughing, I decided it was time to go to bed. When I tried to get up out of the chair I was sitting in, it didn't work and I fell to the floor. So I decided to crawl back to bed.

Well apparently I missed completely the bunk bed in front of my and crawled right into it. The funny thing was that it didn't even hurt (or maybe I was too baked to notice that it hurt). Later that night I fell out of my bed (was a bunkbed) and had similar experience where I was trying to figure out what just happened and why I'm on the floor. The next morning I wake to find that I had rotated 180 degrees in my sleep with my head where my feet should be and my feet on my pillow. That was a weird night. 

Stepped off a roof, spiral fracture, 40 mile drive to the hospital, 5 hours of surgery, 5+ months in external fixator and casts.Stupid should hurt.

Kevinmurray wrote: Stepped off a roof, spiral fracture, 40 mile drive to the hospital, 5 hours of surgery, 5+ months in external fixator and casts.Stupid should hurt.

This broken ankle and torn ligaments and tendons and traumatized skin is giving me some of the worst physical pain of my life. I tell myself that I deserve every minute of it. I'll remember this phase every fuckin time I tie in. And I'll really start sending big! This accident caused only a broken ankle, and sprained wrist. I just saw a picture of one of the Huber brothers laying in El cap meadow with double boots and crutches, from when he whipped on to a ledge. Broke both ankles. Glad that's not me right now. 

My little brother was a senior in highschool and was hiking (go figure) on Blodgett peak in the dark in winter. He had his headlamp on, but was trying to hike quickly to get back to the car. He came to a frozen creek and tried to jump across it, only to realize that he jumped off of the waterfall, into open air. He landed on the ice at the bottom ~50feet below. His legs and his 36L pack absorbed most of the impact, but he still managed to wedge fracture his T3(?) vertebrae and burst compression his L1.

Ended his senior wrestling season right before he was supposed to compete at state. Thankfully he was only in a back brace for 4 months.

Caleb Schwarz wrote: My little brother was a senior in highschool and was hiking (go figure) on Blodgett peak in the dark in winter. He had his headlamp on, but was trying to hike quickly to get back to the car. He came to a frozen creek and tried to jump across it, only to realize that he jumped off of the waterfall, into open air. He landed on the ice at the bottom ~50feet below. His legs and his 36L pack absorbed most of the impact, but he still managed to wedge fracture his T3(?) vertebrae and burst compression his L1.

Ended his senior wrestling season right before he was supposed to compete at state. Thankfully he was only in a back brace for 4 months.

Woah. 

Not as good of a story as most here, but definitely my most "exciting" climbing trip. Fell ~15' while clipping. Feet caught on a ledge, I flipped upside down and swung into a nearby dihedral. Edge of a crack pushed up under my helmet and knocked me out. I was unconscious for ~2 minutes, upside down, bleeding from a scalp laceration, and was stuck in the aforementioned off-width and unable to be lowered. Another climber was able to get up to me, stabilize my position, and I came to while I was coming down.

Ended up being airlifted to the hospital (which the fire department was nice enough to film) and spent 4-5 hours in the ER getting multiple rounds of CT and x-ray scans. Incredibly lucky to get out of it with no cerebral swelling, no broken bones, no concussion symptoms. End result was three staples in my scalp, lots of abrasions, and a sprained thumb.

https://www.mountainproject.com/forum/topic/116563113/santa-barbara-fall-off-cold-springs-trail

Worst or Best ? I met this cute girl when I was in high school in 1982 ..... I fell hard ... still married, climbing, hiking , skiing together in 2019.