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What are your sketchiest moments climbing?
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That time I realized I am not attached to the anchor on a belay ledge. This also happened to a partner on a different day. I am much more careful now. And when I got nighted on a 15 pitch climb and was rapping in total darkness with a shitty headlamp. I was pregnant with my first child and climbing on my wedding anniversary. I should mention not with my husband who isn’t a climber. Glad I got down ok. |
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I was hoping chode rider would chime in with his lost pinkie. Anyway, he decides this mostly gross tree doesnt really need to be alive anymore. When it comes to the ground it knocks some rock loose and then he drops a few more blocks on it. Well the tree landed in quite possibly the worst place imaginable and pretty much landed like a bobsled on mud, through the belay area. Anyway, I tell him he should probably wait for our other friend to show up as I have no idea what to do about it. Well one friend shows up and belays me on this thing I put up. I send it. Then my other friend comes running over white in his face, "Daniel had an accident, his hand isn't too good." I run over, and look at his hand, I am 99% sure he is going to loose his pinky. He started trimming the fallen tree and a rock dislodge and ran over his pinky. It is straight up pointed the wrong way and bleeding but I try to put on a good face and say it will be okay. I hike out with him and we send him off to the hospital with another friend. He texts us back, "Pinky is fine." That MF just go a severe dislocation of the pinky and decided he wanted to go climbing with me two weeks later. God dam youth. |
Princess Puppy Lovrwrote: Speaking of which, is Grog still around? The one who lost the tip of his pinky falling out of Fingers in a Light Socket several years ago? |
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I have another sketchy moment, scared me more than a totally unplanned fall that happened recently before it. It was a planned fall and not a near miss or anything but just so painful. I wasn't thinking because the bolts weren't far apart, but the clipping position was bad because it was a roof above slab. I got the draw in but got pumped trying to clip, I think from dropping the rope once and being short-roped the first time and maybe cold fingers or dropping it a second time too…anyway, I shouldn't have kept trying at that point but I wasn't thinking because it didn't seem like a dangerous distance. But I should've thought about how there was no way back in to down-climb and a fall from that roof onto slab would slam my knees into the wall. I ended up hanging there holding onto the draw stupidly knowing I'd have to let go eventually because I didn't have enough strength left to clip. But I knew letting go meant my knees slamming into the slab below. It was inevitable, nothing to kick out from while hanging from the roof. Taught me to assess awkward positions and not just distances. |
clee 03mwrote: Sounds like you get down just fine. |
Princess Puppy Lovrwrote: So he didn’t lose his pinky? Just another gross exaggeration by Trevstar….love it! |
Chris Hatzaiwrote: :,( |
Not Not MP Adminwrote: The art of creative story telling is sometimes straight up deception! |
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We had an expression back in my aviation days... When telling stories, they had to include at least 10% truth. |
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I was leading this moderate sport route at a local crag. The defining feature of the route is a body-sized flake about halfway up. It makes for some sweet finger locks. I was working my way up it and heard a noise. I didn’t worry too much, as my buddy had warmed up on the pitch a couple hours before. I figured there were some pebbles in the crack. This crag is a new area with lots of loose rock and fairly few ascents. As I’m yarding on these locks, I feel the entire flake start to move. I hollered to my belayer to move, move MOVE, as that flake was coming off. He took in slack and I was able to hold the flake with my right hand for a couple seconds before it tumbled off. Luckily, I had a bolt clipped at eye level, so I didn’t whip or anything. Even more lucky, the rope actually passed UNDER the flake (bolt below it to the right and beside it to the left) and somehow was not chopped, or even touched, as the flake fell. Here it is at the base in several pieces.  The only casualty (other than my opinion of the crag) was my friend’s jacket, which was shredded and melted by the flake.  |
Always preceded by "There I was..." applies to climbing tales too as you point out! |
Not Not MP Adminwrote: Pretty sure Trev wasn't exaggerating on this one...   |
Shawn Swrote: Yeah that's nasty dude, look at that creeper smile too. Glad you're back at it! |
Rasputin NLNwrote: Yeah, that was my thinking, too. |
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Man, I wish I could tag Mikey Schaefer here cause, although I'm sure he has tons of stories to contribute to this thread, I'd love to hear his side of this story told by Jimmy Chin |
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I was on a 2 week solo trip to Sam's Throne AK and ran into a cool person who sold me 3 hits of Acid.. Not wanting to take it on a climbing day I waited till a rain day and decided to have a "rest" day.. Well I took it and when the rain let off, I decided to go for a hike trippin. So I put on my approach shoes grabbed my day pack and chalk bag... Man.. I was just floating through the trails not looking at my feet but gliding over the ground. I was floating.. Came up to some easy down scrambles and just cruised around the throne. I stopped at the base of a climb and looked up. The trees and everything where "breathing" the sun rays cut through the trees and seeing colors explode over me. I glanced at the holds. They glowed.. Everything came into focus and locked in on a target. I placed my hands on the sandstone and pulled.. and pulled and pulled. I remember the guidebook saying the crux was at the first bolt. Before I knew what happened I pulled and the bolt slipped below my vision.. I looked up and every hold looked hyper focused and clear. I remember having the thought of what the hell am I doing and it being washed away with a sense of security. I pulled the last hold and looked down at the ground 50 feet below me... What had I just done. But I did it again.. 5.9+ overhang and a 5.10c/d something walkup onsite on Acid.. in approach shoes. Wildest thing I've done climbing to date. Hope this counts.. |
CritConradwrote: He has a few times on various threads—this is the only one I could find, but I think he went into more detail somewhere else: mountainproject.com/forum/t… |
Shawn Swrote: Still looks attached to me… |
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New routing this last summer, I blasted off up a dirt pitch to see if we could find a decent anchor and connect our lower pitches to the high point a new way. Right above me was a refrigerator size block seemingly held to the cliff by a splintered, decaying tree branch. This thing was RIGHT in the way. No real way around it and the tree branches were going to keep snagging the ropes as I tried to bypass. While attempting to find a way for the ropes to sit cleanly I jostled the branches a bit to much. This block, now directly above me and about a foot away shifted about 3 inches towards my face and gave me immediate visions of being a pancake on the side of the mountain. It’s hard to say what would have happened if it had pulled, but it would have been nasty. I had no gear in at the moment so at least a factor 2(ish) fall. My belayer was directly below me and would have surely been the first bumper in a game of alpine pinball. If this 3” splintered branch hadn’t held, I’d put good odds on dead or seriously maimed for both of us. Good times! |
Tyler Stockdalewrote: Not to derail this thread but this is a great example that choss exists on a spectrum. I am guessing this was somewhere out near darrington? Vantage/Little Si choss, honestly not that scary, most the time it would not even cause brain damage without a helmet, however there is a shit ton of it. Exit 38 choss, quite large would probably break bones or hurt pretty dam bad. Index or middlefork choss, not much of it but it will destroy you. |
