What is the stupidest/unsafe thing you have seen at the crag?

FrankPSwrote:

How was the groundfall at the end? Or was a stick clip involved?

Good question. The last (first) bolt is reachable from the ground, so he crawled over a ledge and got lowered the last 7' or so.

Daniel Joderwrote:

Here in Barcelona, the urban climbing scene (when one can’t get out of town) centers on a concrete tunnel up on Montjuïc. There you’ll find plastic holds all over the roof and walls of the tunnel (Check Google images: “La Foixarda túnel, escalada”). You can traverse back and forth low to the ground, or rope up for a number of very short, equipped, gym-like routes ranging from fairly easy to insanely difficult. It’s a great place to hang out, meet other climbers, maybe even take a newbie or a girl/boyfriend for a quick “lesson”. The latter is what prompts my post...

Maybe it’s just the nature of this unique urban locale, but I haven’t seen such a parade of bad Grigri belay techniques in my life. Today, I saw one guy lead belaying his girlfriend with both of his arms just hanging by his sides most of the time—not even touching the rope or the Grigri except when he needed to feed rope, or take a drag on his cigarette. Almost at the same time, on another route, a guy was lead belaying his buddy with his left hand using the squeeze method on the Grigri and with his right hand feeding out rope above the Grigri—no attention at all to the rope below the device (brake strand) until it was time to lower. Now, in neither case is an accident sure to happen, but it certainly ups the odds. Is this just a thing at this weird urban climbing site in Barcelona... or is it a world-wide phenomena? 

Dan, you've been over there for too long. Most crags I go to call what you're describing as the "Euro belay" :)

Robert Swrote:

A few days ago, I watched a guy downfall a route he couldn't finish from bolt to bolt so that he wouldn't have to leave any gear. Maybe not the worst thing I've ever seen, but pretty damn entertaining.

I watched a guy do that on a route he completed ... because he hadn’t learned how to clean a sport anchor. 

Robert Swrote:

A few days ago, I watched a guy downfall a route he couldn't finish from bolt to bolt so that he wouldn't have to leave any gear. Maybe not the worst thing I've ever seen, but pretty damn entertaining.

Ah. Too bad one can't climb in reverse... kind of like... if one could climb up.... but down..... If that were possible I'd call it "downclimbing".

Wouldn't be as entertaining though, for sure....

Robert Swrote:

A few days ago, I watched a guy downfall a route he couldn't finish from bolt to bolt so that he wouldn't have to leave any gear. Maybe not the worst thing I've ever seen, but pretty damn entertaining.

Whatever happened to the Texas Quickdraw Solo dude?

People bring their dogs up to trout creek.  Stupid and unsafe for the poor pups. Most of them end up carrying the dog around which is just double stupid and unsafe.

Matt Wetmorewrote:

Whatever happened to the Texas Quickdraw Solo dude?

Heard they made a movie about him. The Texas Quickdraw Massacre.

This one is actually just a stupid thing I did, not that long ago. I learned to climb while in college in Kentucky. The folks that taught me never wore helmets. In retrospect, the amount of folks that wore helmets was significantly less in the Red than anywhere else I’ve climbed. Anyone else notice this?

On one of the first climbs I did in Colorado, a brick-sized hold came down inches from my girlfriends helmet-less head.

Dude next to me politely says “Helmets are way less expensive than a new head.”

Right on dude, lesson learned. I’m pretty strict about wearing a helmet now. Just glad we didn’t learn the hard way. 

Long Rangerwrote:

This wasn't stupid or unsafe, but kept with me all day yesterday. 

I was hiking up on the back of the First Flatiron, where I met up with a young kid dressed in regular street clothes. He asked where the scramble up to the top of the First is. I looked at his shoes - just some cheap fashionable kicks with a white sole. I directed him - but then added that it's wet - it's been raining off and on all month, and the climb is technical.

"Oh?" he responded. 

And I left - to go about my day, I didn't even break my stride. I really should have told him to simply not try the climb today - or at least tell them that the last accident by someone just like himself was two weeks ago in similar conditions. I usually let people do what they wanna do ('cause I survived doing stupid things) - and that's what I did today, but I feel that I should have put more responsibility into this interaction. It was just some kid who didn't know better and I was too much in a rush doing whatever I felt was important with my busy life (in this case: walking). 

I was relieved to wake up and not read the usual story of Rocky Mountain Rescue getting someone out of the Flatirons that's more or less usual affair. 

Anyways next time - and there will be: it's a madhouse up there these days, I'll at least direct them to Simon's book, which I think does a good job showing some of the easy scrambles so that peeps don't get into the deep end with the sharks too quickly. 

Oofta - got my wish kinda. Helped someone off the First today, as they were getting ready to climb straight off the back into no-man's land. They were a competent climber with TC's on and a chalkbag, so getting down the actual downclimb wasn't too hard for them. The rain and thunder was a little unnerving at least to me. Happy to help. Before that, met up with someone with far less experience having trouble starting the Spy. They decided to back down, which is good. These aren't abnormal things, but it's becoming a little more common as more visitors are checking out the area.

I would pay 2 quickdraws worth of dollars to not do that

Matt Wetmorewrote:

Whatever happened to the Texas Quickdraw Solo dude?

I haven't seen him or heard anything about him in over a year.