What's up with Victory Whippers?

Frank Stein wrote:

“Victory whippers” count as sends only on friction slab. Thems the rules. Deal with it. 

I would watch compilation videos of this for hours 

I typically see people clip then unclip the chains to do the victory whipper. I don't believe in them because I usually fall plenty of times working something hard enough to compel me to victory whip as it is. It's also more wear and tear on my rope, and added risk of injury. A dude victory whipped right into a tree this fall at the Red

John RB wrote:

I once had this happen on a project:

I clipped the 6th bolt off the final kneebar, did the crux, pumped out of my mind and holding the clipping hold for the anchor (a sloper I could barely hold on to).  I couldn't let go with either hand to clip.  I could have just slapped the chains and fell (bolt at my feet... no biggie) or even grabbed the chains.  But there was no way I could have pulled up rope and clipped when I was that pumped.

According to folks here I could have just taken the send?  Just claim you could have clipped the chains but chose not to?

Well that entirely depends on if your belayer could tell the difference or not ;)

This brings up one of the best climbing hacks ever - if you are too pumped to clip the chain just yell "Victory Whipper!" before you fall.  Sent and sent!

Most ropes are only rated for 7-8 falls, why would you waste one on a victory whip?  I can't hardly afford the 4-5 ropes I buy every year now.

Kevin Mokracek wrote:

Most ropes are only rated for 7-8 falls, why would you waste one on a victory whip?  I can't hardly afford the 4-5 ropes I buy every year now.

Dont know if this is a troll comment or not, but the falls the UIAA does for their ratings are WAY harsher than any regular fall you're going to take outside.  They do a 1.77 factor fall with an 80kg load and do that with minimal rest period for the number of falls it takes to eventually break the rope.  Taking a fall of even 20 to 30 feet at the anchor of a 100 foot route is going to be a low fall factor and will not be anything to worry about for the rope if it's running smooth.  Do you think every pro climber is bringing out a new rope every day because they're falling 7-8 times on their rope each day?

Bryan K wrote:

Dont know if this is a troll comment or not, but the falls the UIAA does for their ratings are WAY harsher than any regular fall you're going to take outside.  They do a 1.77 factor fall with an 80kg load and do that with minimal rest period for the number of falls it takes to eventually break the rope.  Taking a fall of even 20 to 30 feet at the anchor of a 100 foot route is going to be a low fall factor and will not be anything to worry about for the rope if it's running smooth.  Do you think every pro climber is bringing out a new rope every day because they're falling 7-8 times on their rope each day?

Bruh! That’s why they get sponsored.  
I’ve been climbing a long time and have retired a LOT of ropes.   It’s not worth it, if there is even the slightest doubt about wether the rope is safe or not it should be destroyed.   

Just be honest with yourself. If you fell off the last move, don't claim it's a victory whip. If you actually did take a victory whip, then that's that. You should probably warn your belayer if you're about to take an intentional mega whip anyway. lol. Pretty simple stuff in my opinion.

Kevin Mokracek wrote:

Bruh! That’s why they get sponsored.  
I’ve been climbing a long time and have retired a LOT of ropes.   It’s not worth it, if there is even the slightest doubt about wether the rope is safe or not it should be destroyed.   

EXACTLY! Mr. Mokracek is 100% DEAD ON with his focus on safety. I buy ropes that are rated for 5-7 falls and when you THINK about it, if you want to be safe and SHOW RESPECT for all of your loved ones then why would you RISK that 7th or even 6th fall!?! So I usually subtract 2 falls IMMEDIATELY before I even take the rope out of the wrapping plastic. Then sometimes it takes a few hard yanks when I'm trying to get out the kinks at the local park when I first flake it. It can get really kinky! So just in case, and with my mother's happy face in my mind, if I have to yank on the rope a bunch to get it to unkink from itself, I'll subtract at least one fall just out of an abundance of caution. So then I'm at the crag with only 4 falls left. One thing no one talks about (and is a DIRTY little trade secret that we shouldn't tell the lawyers about) is that some falls are pretty tame, like, you clip a bolt, make a single move and then fall back on the rope on that bolt. Obviously that's a fall, but what about when you go to get lowered after reaching the chains? Sometimes I'm holding only to the anchor and my belayer starts lowering me BEFORE I let go so I QUICKLY let go and drop a few inches. How is that any different from that fall you took after the first move after clipping a bolt? GOTTA THINK ABOUT IT! Sure you can say i'm being overly cautious, but when I think about my kids growing up without a parent, I don't think overly cautious is cautious enough. 

If I accidentally drop the rope bag I count that as a fall too. 

Never too careful!

Two out 3 Kevins recommend against the victory whip.  

Kevin Jorgeson is the third in case you were wundering. 

Victory whips are the best! If you've never taken a giant whipper off the top, you're missing out! It also keeps me comfortable with taking safe falls and helps me climb stronger. 

At least he smacked the anchors.