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What is the stupidest/unsafe thing you have seen at the crag?
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I once stopped a guy from rapping off Juliet's Balcony at Great Falls. His doubled rope was uneven. One end was at the bottom, but the other was only about 8 feet from his device -- just below the lip of the ledge. He was just a kid and was romping down like a commando from the top (I think they were "sport-rappers" -- pretty common back in the 80s.) I stopped him before he launched himself from the ledge. Yikes. |
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Quickdraw clipped into one side of an anchor and the other into a gear loop weighted while this guy untied and fed the rope through the anchors. |
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Didn't actually see it. But I was leading a sport route and shaking out before my next series of moves, wife belaying me. Heard my buddy say 'Suzanne, he's not on belay when you do that" |
FrankPS wrote: What did you guys get up to while I was asleep? I was still chuckling at the Cod Wars reference when I went to bed. Anyway you'll be pleased to know I don't actually hate Americans, my brother is one for a start and I was conceived in Maryland. My climbing partner is also from the US as have been two previous ones. Which is why I wrote my reply as one of them started freaking out as I belayed, " give me rope, rope, slack, f*cking rope etc etc." "Your harness has fallen down" was my nonchalent reply and the ex vice-president of a major US corporation looked down to see his inability to move upwards was hampered by the harness around his ankles. Complicated things buckles. The US Ranger I climbed with for 2 years is probably best kept under wraps, he's probably still serving. Spring Break at Red Rock is expunged from my memory! |
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Guy threaded his rope into one slot of the ATC, around the carabiner and out the other slot. Insisted that a guide showed him to do it that way. "That's why there are TWO slots!" |
SinRopa wrote: Oh, it was just the usual nationality pissing match. And, it wasn't even well aimed piss. Oh, no. Oh, no, not at all. This was the type of piss you take on a big wall, ignorant of Grashof convection, where the gently sun-warmed wall creates buoyant uplift that blows the piss all over you, the poor idiot you are with, the poor schmucks above you, and eventually down onto the schmuck you were trying to piss on. But, anything is good entertainment if you know each other well enough. And if you don't, well, uh ... |
Mike Kwrote: Somewhat similar story: The very first person I ever mentored, so I was very diligent in my mentoring. Following several dozen pitches, mock leading on TR a few more dozen pitches. Finally, it was time for the very first real lead. I don't remember the line, but the grade was likely in the 5.3-5.5 range in the Gunks. I was as nervous as my partner as I was responsible for making the judgement of allowing to lead this line. From the ground, I watched very carefully every gear placement and was prepared to change my mind at any time. I had chosen this particular G-rated line, because I knew there was a tree at the top that could be used for the anchor and the anchor building was within eye-sight from the ground. After a healthy long delay at the top of the pitch building the anchor, I hear "off belay" and I double-asked if that was really true and I hear "Yes" with solid eye-contact. I followed the pitch cleaning the gear and was increasingly confident that my decision had been right to allow this very first lead. After having cleaned the last piece of gear and arriving at the top, I saw a perfect text-book example of an anchor (including the tree as I expected). Only one little problem, the climber was sitting on the ledge dangling the legs over the edge without being tied to the anchor. |
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I was on a big multi-pitch in Red Rocks. I got to an anchor ledge and the last climber of a group in front of me was just starting to climb. It was a threesome where the first two guys climbed as normal and they were fixing a second rope for the third guy to TR solo on. The third guy was "clipped" into the rope with a single Jumar as his TR solo set up. He was not tying into the rope at intervals for a back up and wasn't even tied into the end of the rope. The pitch was very traversing and, of course, his partners had not left any directionals for him. I tried to explain to him that a single jumar could easily pop off the rope if he fell, especially with a such a big traverse, and he would die. I suggested that he should just tie some back up knots and clip those directly into his harness with a locker. He pretty much told me to shut up and mind my own business. He knew "exactly" what he was doing and he knew "for a fact" that jumars don't just "unclip from the rope". He kept climbing and didn't die. |
Cory Nwrote: This got me curious about how much weight a gear loop could actually hold. Turns out, not the weight of a 17-year-old female. The harness here had gear loops that could hold 5 kg. Not kN, kg. |
SinRopa wrote: So dumb. Literally just walk around a tree and clove it back to yourself... He slipped getting into the great arch crack where it's super polished didn't he? I've seen more people fall there than anywhere else at stone. But, everyone had the sense to plug gear... |
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Dude climbs first pitch of After 6 (150' or so?) with his girlfriend. Doubles the rope to rap and sends her off first. Rope ends are a good 50 feet off the ground. We yell up "Stop. The rope doesn't reach the ground". Dude insists it's fine and tells her to keep going. She batmans back up and they took the 4th class descent. He didn't get any that night. |
Jeff Gwrote: Hm. I'd be concerned about the ascender shredding the rope sheath in what would be a semi-dynamic fall. Not to mention that there are countless better (ie safer, more effective, etc) setups for that scenario. One time at a sport crag, one with a popular hiking trail at the base... we were on the way out, passing some no-star 10- routes that are usually wet and there's a dude in flip-flops climbing up to the first bolt, with some assumed family members just kinda watching with amusement. No rope, no gear. Just a simple "look, Mom!" moment. He did not look solid, but then again I quickly averted my eyes and kept walking. Damndest thing I've ever seen. |
Stephen Lwrote: Hmmmm. Yeah, that's kind of the point of the story. The jumar shredding the rope and then coming off the rope completely. All the while, the idiot isn't tied into any part of said rope. |
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I saw my reflection in the lake by the crag one time... |
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This has got to be the most heavily moderated thread I’ve seen in a while. |
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A seriously unnecessary long fall at Turkey Rocks, climber yells down to I assume his wife, ‘WTF!’ A brief pause, he adds kindly, ‘ honey?’ |
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Where should I start? haha. One I especially remember is in Boulder Canyon watching a girl back clip every draw while her first time belayer fumbled with her gri-gri not knowing what she was doing. I finally yelled up to her that she might want to get a good draw in before she goes any higher. There's been multiple days we left the crag because we didn't want to see someone fall, or have to be part of a rescue. I'm not trying to watch someone die. Oh and stupidest? Left Book, Lumpy Ridge. I believe it was Hiatus. On the run out section, watched a guy take a nice cheese grater fall. He gets on his cell phone and calls his buddy for route beta. Ummmm you go up until you hit the roof, and go left to the belay. There is no where else to go. Then both him and his partner climbed over and through our bely. I'm surprised they didn't use our anchor as a foothold. Still laughing about that 11 years later. |
Lincoln Swrote: I once saw something like that but even dumber at Enchanted Rock here. Party of 3 on a multi-pitch; they don't realize you can't rap P1 without two ropes or an 80, so they all rap to the lowest bolt they can reach, all three anchor themselves to the bolt, and then all three proceed to rap from the bolt after threading the rope through the hanger. |
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I had a noob partner back when I was a noob too that, when cleaning a sport anchor, threaded the rope through both anchor bolt hangers instead of the chains and rings hanging from said bolt hangers. Mind blowing lack of common sense. |
Alex Fletcherwrote: I saw this happen at Roadside Crag in the Red a few years ago. Nice enough folks, but they had no idea what was going on. This girl was cleaning outside for the first time. Instead of threading through the rings, she threaded the rope through the hangers. The guy lowering her complained that there was a lot of drag. When they tried to pull the rope it was stuck and they didn't know why. My buddy and I were climbing the adjacent climb and they asked us if we could see what was going on. My buddy swings over to their anchor while I am lowering him and finds the sheath nearly cut. He dropped it for them and the look on the girl's face said it all. Apparently, it was a brand new rope they bought days before the trip. |
