Gym Climbing Whip

I was climbing at the local gym when I heard a loud crack and then thud. I turned to see one climber on the ground immediately in tears and the belayer with his jaw sagging on the ground. I went over to inspect and this is what I walked up too.

Hopefully this will help prevent accidents in the future so several observations:

1. The first bolt may be too close to the ground, yes this can be more dangerous than setting a few feet higher
2. Never use an old rope
3. Thoroughly test your rope for squishy spots before climbing

Hope this helps and never forget the three rules of climbing.
1. Don't poop
2. Don't die
3. Have fun

Enjoy

Why is the figure 8 on a bight clipped to that draw? Shouldn't that have been tied to the climber's harness? The photos don't make sense if we are talking about a falling lead climber.

Agree with Dylan, seems like a weird setup. Why is the frayed end of the rope in the first pic tangled around the belay locker (which should be attached to the belayer's harness loop)? 1st clip looks to be standard height off the ground for a gym though, especially at an overhand walk through.

Dylan Pike wrote: Why is the figure 8 on a bight clipped to that draw? Shouldn't that have been tied to the climber's harness? The photos don't make sense if we are talking about a falling lead climber.

Yeah, neither photo makes any sense.   Looks more like pilot/co-pilot error rather than any gear issue.   

If it IS  a gear issue, I'd have to guess the biner on the draw is worn and quite sharp.   But I suspect it's really some gumby mistake.

Yeah ditto, all sorts of fuckery, in those pictures. Safe lead falls and acceptable forces require a dynamic rope to slide through carabiners and protection. If this photo were precisely after and not mocked up for re-creation of the incident, then that draw/bolt/structure should be inspected for damage.

Dylan Pike wrote: Why is the figure 8 on a bight clipped to that draw? Shouldn't that have been tied to the climber's harness? The photos don't make sense if we are talking about a falling lead climber.

Agreed; there is definitely missing information regarding this situation.

Pretty sure he's just fucking with us, the core shot is tied to the biner... figure eight bight clipped to the draw. Quick somewhat drop acid and complete a crime scene reenactment for us.

Someone did a "watch-this-butter-knife-cut-a-weighted-rope-test"

Those photos do not indicate someone was climbing. 

Was the climber ok? Were they wearing a helmet? This is why you should always climb with doubles and retire ropes after every fall. Where was the gym staff when this went down??????

Did you lean over the fallen climber and yell, “LOL GET WRECKED NEWB!!!”?

Also, please explain what we’re seeing in these photos.

by the look of that fuzzy rope this was inevitable.

Mesa Rim FTW

From the title, at first I thought this thread was about training motivation...

The rope in the shredded rope photo looks like it has a Grigri kink in it. Other than that I have no idea what’s going on. Hope the deckee is okay.

Obviously not a soft catch!

Tom Sherman wrote: Yeah ditto, all sorts of fuckery

For sure...fuckery

Ropes exploding, thats whats going on!

Rope halfway clipped in to the draw and stuck between the gate and biner, big boy falls

  

This is a great thread.

m Mobes wrote: Ropes exploding, thats whats going on!

Would that be from the photon torpedoes or the phasers?

I always tie a figure 8 on a bight before clipping. You can never be too safe! 

Clearly the leader was lead soloing and took a factor 2 fall onto his first piece.  Never lead solo in the gym!