Scariest moments/mistakes when climbing not resulting in injury

Spent the last days of a southeastern Europe road trip climbing in Slovenia. Unfortunately, we were there during a period of unstable weather, with multiple passing storms each day. The rock dried quickly though, so we were occasionally able to squeeze in some pitches between storms. At the end of our last day, we had climbed a pleasant pitch up a nice corner and I was lowering from the shared anchors over the adjacent route--a nice-looking, but harder, open face route. As I was lowering, I was considering making a quick top-rope attempt on that line before the incoming clouds opened up. The anchor consisted of a parallel pair of 3/4 closed 'open shuts'. In normal circumstances I never would have contemplated top-roping with my rope directly through such an anchor---but it was going to be the last possible climb of what had been a frustrating week...... However, the rains returned in force before I could start up. I then reluctantly started to pull the rope, but almost immediately the rope 'snagged'. I gave it a tug---and the entire rope landed at my feet---having come completely out of the anchor!!!! Clearly it was time to leave.

1.) New to climbing partner back fed grigri (my fault).  I fell at 40 ft up and took the express lane down to the ground.  She managed to arrest the rope about 5 feet above the ground.  The rope stretched, my feet slapped the ground and I bounced back up a foot or two.  

2.) I was jugging a fixed line to the top of the cliff to put in a new route.   My old school screw gate locking biner unscrewed and as I pulled up rope through grigri while ascending, somehow hit my belay loop just right and popped off while I was 70 ft above the ground.  Fortunately I was close to a bolt and just went in direct and re-attached the grigri.

3.) I was jugging another fixed line to finish putting in a route.  I normally always get anchors in and attach my rope to those so when I jug it's not off a tree over the edge of a cliff.  I ran out of daylight and decided not to put the anchors and come back the next day.  I knew the rope ran over the edge of the cliff and it was a bit sharpish.  I took a rock and smoothed the edge (RRG sandstone) and called it good.  I knew when I jugged up the day the edge was there and I tried to not bounce and went slowly.   When I got to the edge, the sheath was destroyed and some strands of the rope had failed.   I named the route "Dope on a Rope".    Never will I cut a corner like that again.  If needed, I will access the top again and rap down.

Natalie Blackburn wrote:

How would you end up attached only to a haul loop as a result of unclipping something after following?

Yeah that explanation was more for the other incidents but essentially the partner led to an off-route stance while trailing a rope, then I followed but moved the belay to an on-route stance a short traverse to the side, then belayed them over on the line they had been trailing but they forgot to tie into it. He realized pretty quickly but not before detaching from the anchor he had built. Point being he was flustered and made a hurried mistake and skipped the double-check.

Was on a multi-pitch with a friend of mine. Had quickdraws, a few nuts and camalots from 0.5 to 1.0 with us. For the next pitch, I had to traverse a few meters to the right, then go up. During the traverse, I saw a relavitely new looking piton above me, so I thought that I had to go up. Turns out, that I was not on the route from our topo. Instead I was on some really old route further left through the shittiest limestone i have ever seen - every second hand- or foothold was loose or crumbly. Decided to climb on, because I had some gear with me and because I saw two more pitons up above. Arrived at the piton, clipped it and saw that it was wiggling in the crack. Told my partner that she should try and jank it out of the rock when she follows the pitch. After the second piton I could place the 0.5 camalot in good rock. From there, I had to climb about 8 meters up and a little to the right through all that loose stuff, to arrive at a fistcrack in a corner. Had to do two moves jamming the crack, then step to the right to a foothold. Already saw, that it was crumly, so I kicked it a bunch of times to get all the loose rock off it. Next few handholds to the right were sketchy, too. Everything had to be knocked on to see, if it held. After 2 or 3 more meters, I arrived at a bolt, that belonged to the route we wanted to climb. Was never that happy to see a bolt in my life.

After my partner followed the pitch (ripping out a few holds), I asked her if she got the piton out. Turns out, that it was ripped out from rope drag alone and was just dangling at the placement below it.

If we had more gear with us (especially a 3.0 or 4.0 camalot for the fist-crack) and if the rock wasn‘t that rotten, it could have been a really nice trad lead. But because that wasn‘t the case, I sat at the next belay station completely exhausted and wondering if that cam (and the other old piton) would have held me.

This is a great thread…. It should be cross posted and stuck on the beginner topic. Lots to learn and recall.

When I first tried a “wall” - South Face of Washington Column. I was with 2 friends who had some experience.
I got to clean the Cor Roof pitch- on Jumars- a learning experience for sure. At the top of the pitch you end up under a small roof. The sky opened up on US at the same time I arrived at the belay. The decision had been already made “to bail” … I was to bail on the fixed line I had just jugged… everything was now soaked. So I set up my “biner break bar” (thank God these are gone) My friend said “here take this gear down” as he put gear into my pack. I started rapping and immediately get turned upside down! I was now screaming down the wet rope, unable to get much friction. I knew I was a goner because the rope went down to Dinner Ledge- solid granite. I watched the rope sliding past my foot and instinctively wrapped my foot around the rope- this slowed me down a bunch but I was still upside down and moving. In desperation I stuck my fingers into the device and came to a halt- about 10 feet above the ledge! I had rope burns on my leg and I might have broken my little finger but I was alive!
Climbing can for sure bite you- hard.
Later all 

Guy Keesee wrote:

I had rope burns on my leg and I might have broken my little finger but I was alive!

Maybe rope burns are marginal, but surely breaking a finger is an injury, no?   

unjin lee wrote:

Maybe rope burns are marginal, but surely breaking a finger is an injury, no?   

Nope… I just taped it up and enjoyed the rest of the summer - the first of 50.
It hurt some. Got black n blue, didn’t have $$$ to see a doctor and when your 20 you heal fast.

We were a party of three at a flat, 2' wide belay ledge 2 pitches up. When we went to lead the next pitch, we discovered that one of us had clipped into the anchor with the wrong end of the rope, giving him a 60m tether. Fortunately he did not attempt to weight the anchor.

My partner and I were rapping down the Free Blast in Yosemite Valley.  We were cold and kind of tired. At the hanging belay, I had two independent slings in as my anchor.  There was some clusterf8%k going on at the anchor and to rearrrange I unclipped one of my anchor slings to move it and leaned back on the remaining sling.  And started to fall into space.  I grabbed the anchor before it was too late.  The non-locking biner on my one sling had unclipped itself as I was moving around at the belay.  This is why we have rules about redundancy.

I was leading a "sport" route in the Meadows.  It started off with a long easy slabby section to a headwall.  I started up the headwall and was about 15' up heading to a bolt when I realized the climbing was too hard to be unprotected.  I looked down and realized I had missed a bolt at the start of the headwall.  That few minutes of downclimbing 5.10 were some of the sickest feelings I ever experienced climbing.  When I got to the ground my 2 partners said they felt just as sick, knowing I was going to hit the ground from 50 feet up if I fell.

I'm following and get to the top of Jackie in the gunks. I sit down on that lovely rock ledge just below the bolts, and clove into the anchor with the climbing rope (with slack to not be tugged on as I sit) before prepping to rap down. We gotta rap, right? And I want to be fast and efficient, so no dilly dallying for me! I've got to untie the rope form my harness. So I do. I throw a knot in it. Then begin pulling to find the middle. Instead, I find my clove hitch to the anchor. So now I'm 160 feet up and not attached to the rock I very much thought I was attached to. I very slowly took an alpine draw from my rack and clip the anchor, then my belay loop. I tell my partner, he carefully adds a second. The we rapped without incident.

Yeah. I felt dumb. Think first kids. Of what needs to happen now, and after.  

Thread reminded me of another close one.

Somewhere around 2008 I was at the base of El Cap doing some of the single pitch stuff there. My climbing partner was climbing up something that got widener the higher he went. So he places a piece and continues on until he gets into wide fists. Trying to place a blue #3, it’s totally tipped out and he decides to move up higher to where the crack pinches down again. The #3 walks out and promptly falls down the rope just as he gets to where he can place a piece. He grabs a cam and goes to place it when his hand pops out and he falls. The piece below immediately pops and I knew he was taking a grounder from like 80ft. I leapt backward running backwards down the hill pulling in as much slack as possible while he was in free fall. I jumped so hard without looking I landed on my ass in the talus still pulling in slack. It hurt..! The rope came tight and he ended up on his back about 5ft from the ground. We figured I was able to pull in about 30ft of slack in about 1.5 seconds. We both just laughed.

Another valley story.
Was at Royal arches and got on a sport route called Rum Sodomy in the Lash. The bolts looked ok but they were old and spinners. The rock was loose trash, holds were breaking, chips flying. It felt like desperately trying to claw your way out of a vertical kitty litter box. The climbing was hard and sustained the whole way and every move felt totally desperate for the grade. I barely clipped the chains without falling and gladly lowered to the ground. I mentioned to Roger Brown that the bolts could use being replaced and he got to them later that summer. I think it was in some random Supertopo thread he mentioned to me that when he re-bolted the route, several of the bolts came out by hand, and none of them would have held body weight. 

Took about a 20 footer with no gear in, 4 pitches up.  Thankfully we were on a bedroom sized belay ledge, and I landed on a "stiff but better than rock" bush, but the dang ledge was so big I'm not even sure if my partner was anchored.  Took my about 10 min to recover, but went up and sent the thing second go. 

Forgot about the time I I climbed a mixed route, thinking it was sport.    Turns out you needed 1 or 2 pieces of protection.   I got 15 feet above the last bolt and realized there was no bolt for another 15 feet.  I had to decide to reverse the moves or continue up.  I decided that it was easier to climb up, understanding I was in no fall territory. 

Another time, I was so focused on climbing a very bouldery 12a that I forgot to clip just before the crux.   My partner realized that I was not clipped once I had already set off and chose to keep their mouth shut know that I was climbing at my bouldering limit.  I made it, clipped the jug and realized that I had been in decking territory through the entire crux.    I think she made the right call by not telling me.  I was already in full send mode and focused purely on the climbing.  

This reminds me, has anyone ever been "saved" by their PAS?  Not like leaned into it for a rest at a belay, but for example had a decent no-hands stance on a small ledge, but accidentally slipped and fell only for PAS to catch them?  This has never happened to me, although I'm not going stop anchoring myself. 

Party above me dislodged a rock while setting up a rappel (baseball/softball size) and it hit me in the cheek bone almost knocking me out and off of a ledge we were on...if my partner hadnt grabbed on to me and held me up for a split second, Id probably have taken my last sucker punch

- Trying to get down quickly from above the Hogsback on Mt. Hood after conditions rapidly deteriorated as temps got way warmer than anticipated, and repeatedly dodging falling rime and rolling snow while roped and then unroped traversing the last couple hundred feet below the bergschrund.  Caught one baseball sized piece of ice on the bridge of my nose, but managed to hold on and just had a little blood.  There were multiple falls and a fatality on the mountain that day.  

- Fairly early on in my trad days, leading Chicken Eruptus in Red Rocks, which is already a bit run-out down low, about 40' up place a good nut and make a sort of mantle move up only to kick the nut out and watch it slide about 20' down the rope to the next piece putting me solidly in ground-fall territory.  I'm too committed to reverse the move and replace the gear and there is no gear where I am now.  Partner just says, "nothing to do about it now. Don't think about it and keep moving, you'll get gear soon."  Probably the most pukey I've felt on a route. 

- Caught in a rainstorm a couple pitches up a multi and while my partner was threading rope to rappel I was starting to break down the anchor.  I usually use a PAS but hadn't brought it that day and just cloved into the master-point, and in breaking down the anchor I took myself totally off the anchor.  I was tied in, but at that point the rope was just looping all the way down waiting for me to untie and start rapping.  Luckily it was a decent ledge and I noticed before doing something like leaning back and taking the full dive to the ground. 

Climbing a crack at Tahquitz, no gloves or tape. All going great. Suddenly, "the back of this crack feels squishy.... and rough..., sort of like snakeskin...." It was!

I was about to rap off the top of the great corner at Wheeler before there was a bolted anchor. The ropes were threaded. I stepped over onto the face, holding the slings in my left hand, the brake hand in my right hand and saw my belay  device dangling at the end of my PAS by my ankles.
Got hit on the head once by a refrigerator size chunk of ice

Had another whole ice climb fell down about 2 feet away from us . Quit ice climbing after that one.

First trip out west. 5.10 in Zion with a gunks rack....  On the 3rd pitch Charlie was run out about 70ft and not loving it with our only #3 friend so I sent up my #10 hex that was the best part of the belay. jammed my knee in the crack and hoped that Charlie didn't peel and test the single 1/4 inch button head  belay in sandstone with a 150ft FF2... eventually Charlie left my #3 and bailed. we then bailed from the single button head and then from a death triangle on finger loose drilled angles...  pretty much had us written off on that one.. 

In 67 years of climbing I've had a whole slew of bad moments.  Here's one of the worst. 

 I was climbing Hallet's Peak (I think 3rd buttress) with my friend Barbara.  We were on the middle section, which I remember as being 5.5--5.6 climbing.  Leaving the belay, I climbed a shallow chimney that was blocked by a microwave-sized chockstone about twenty feet up.  I get to the chockstone, no pro in yet, and give it the standard heel-of-the-hand bump to test its stability. With a crunching sound, the rock fell into my lap.  So now I'm in chimney position, back against one wall, feet against the other, directly above my belayer with no pro in, with this big rock in my lap.  And I can't hold on to it, the rock is slowly slipping out of my grasp, and when it inevitably goes, it will directly hit my belayer.  So I scream to Barbara that she has to untie from her anchor and traverse out of the fall line. This she does, but the traverse is all slopey 5.7 with nothing to really hang on to.

So get the picture: I'm in the chimney slowly losing the battle of trying to hang on to the block.  She's teetering on friction  footholds and sloper handholds off to the side.  We're connected by the rope but it doesn't run through any pro.  Even in the midst of the struggle, I remember thinking that if they find our bodies roped together with no pro on the rope and no anchor pieces attached to the belayer, what will they think happened?

Anyway, a big concern was to release the rock in such a way that didn't hit the rope and take us off with it.  Barbara had to make rope-positioning moves without any kind of decent handhold. This feat was managed, otherwise I wouldn't be writing this account.  The block went down and pulverized Barbara's belay stance---if she had remained there she would not have survived.  The rock broke into a few chunks and these continued down to the talus way below.

After the rumbling of the big pieces and the rattling of the small ones, all was silent.  Barbara traversed back to the belay, re-anchored, and we finished up the climb.