Scariest moments/mistakes when climbing not resulting in injury

Rappelled off the end on my rope on the last rap on higher cathedral spire. Fell about 5 feet to the sloping deck and proceeded to do uncontrolled backflips stopping just shy of the sheer (200ft?) drop to the gully. Unscathed besides the road rash on my lower back and unbelievably lucky to survive. Everything else now is bonus time. Always tie knots. 

I have written this up elsewhere, so I’ll try to be brief…. BITD, both of us were 16-years-old and immortal, on the third pitch and off-route on something appropriately called “Suicide Direct” (Camelback - Phoenix, Arizona). My buddy has about 40 or so feet of rope out with a couple of slung chicken heads as pro. Rock breaks, he falls pulling all the pro. I was belaying directly off a single fixed pin with a Stitcht plate (not sure why a direct belay as it wasn’t the norm..  and a single pin!???) Anyway, caught the factor 2 fall (nice rope burn groove in my hand), we were high enough he didn’t hit the ground, and the pin didn’t pull, so we lived. After that, we got some proper instruction and life went on. Sometimes it is really nice to be lucky.

Full story here: https://www.danieljoderphotography.com/the-fall-a-rock-climbing-story/

J Lwrote:

I believe phylp was working on something similar? Initially I think she was going to host it on a WordPress site or similar, but happy to provide some space on the Climbing News Aggregator site if interested.

https://www.mountainproject.com/forum/topic/125254847/encyclopedia-of-failure-modes

This is the thread where this was discussed.  At the end is a link to Serge S.'s very complete spreadsheet and the wordpress site where I place my content, which ended up being just my brain data dump transformed into an article, with links.

Any and all compilations like this would probably be a service to the climbing community.  Climbing Weasel, if you want to see something, just create it in the format you think works best.

Just remembered a close call from my grade chasing days that might carry a worthwhile lesson for the sport climbers amongst us:

On a nice summer day at Waimea, New England's fixed-draw paradise, while waiting for the shade to cover my project, I decided on a lark to put an attempt in on a 4-bolt "boulder-on-a-rope" that I'd tried in the past. I quickly hop on, surprise myself by getting past the crux, and am face-to-face with the final bolt which, unlike everything below me (and everything else at the crag), has no fixed draw.

I decide (eyes on my first send of the grade) that the best option is for my partner to throw me up a draw (I'm only ~25' up), but they're all in my pack and the wedge I'm meathooking isn't too positive. I decide to gun it up the final moves to the anchors, which also have no carabiners/fixed draws but a nicer clipping hold. Before my partner can throw me up something to clip the anchor, I pump off the clipping jug (which is soaking wet) and take a swinging fall into the side of the starting ledge (narrowly missing it on the actual fall thanks to the route's angling line).

At the time I thought it was a hilarious goof, but, looking back, damn was I close to breaking my legs or worse. That was the last time I took the 'outdoor gym' for granted. 

phylp phylpwrote:

https://www.mountainproject.com/forum/topic/125254847/encyclopedia-of-failure-modes

This is the thread where this was discussed.  At the end is a link to Serge S.'s very complete spreadsheet and the wordpress site where I place my content, which ended up being just my brain data dump transformed into an article, with links.

Any and all compilations like this would probably be a service to the climbing community.  Climbing Weasel, if you want to see something, just create it in the format you think works best.

We just had a 1st time rappeler pull instead of release on a grigri handle--how do you think that should be classified? She was caught at the last minute by a sleepy fireman belay but she got some pretty good rope-burn on her brake hand (borrowed fingerless gloves). I stand by my opinion that the grigri is *not* the best rappel device/strategy for novices.

Branon Rochellewrote:

We just had a 1st time rappeler pull instead of release on a grigri handle--how do you think that should be classified? She was caught at the last minute by a sleepy fireman belay but she got some pretty good rope-burn on her brake hand (borrowed fingerless gloves). I stand by my opinion that the grigri is *not* the best rappel device/strategy for novices.

I never use a gri-gri for rappeling so I'm not the one to ask.  If she lost control of the rope it just demonstrates that beginners can easily get flustered  and make mistakes. 

I was once chased off the East Ridge of Wolf’s Head by a storm, and we ended up rapping down the Beckey route. For anyone who hasn’t had the … pleasure of descending this route, the fixed anchors are just garbage. Slings from the Clinton administration, all sun bleached, rat chewed, and rotten. So from the jump, we’d backed up each rappel, sent the heaviest climber down first, then stripped the backup once all but the last climber had made it down. On the very last rappel, we tied on our backup sling, threaded the rope and then the first climber weighted the anchor.

POP

The primary old sling of the anchor failed as soon as his whole weight got on to the rap line, and he sank about 8 inches as the slack in the backup was pulled out. I’ve never been so glad for a backup sling. The rest of the descent went pretty uneventfully.

Rapped off the end of my rope, obviously terrifying 

Only fell 7ft and was totally fine but jfc it was not a fun experience 

Ben maxwellwrote:

My expirence was climbing at a single pitch crag. I was with a few friends and nearing the top of the route on lead. As I was a few moves below the anchor I heard one of my friends on a neighboring route who was at the top of their climb and cleaning it say "off belay". I then heard my belayer say "ok off belay". My sphincter ate my underwear and I yelled down to put me back on belay. After some yelling back and forth I was on back on belay and learned that you always use names in commands.

I had a similar (albeit *much* less serious) thing happen. I had just arrived at the anchors of a single pitch sport route, and yelled "TAKE!". Well, the leader on the route next to me who was a relatively healthy distance (for a typical sport route) above his last bolt and working a hard move felt his rope go tight, and had to shout at his belayer "NOT ME, NOT ME, DON'T TAKE". 

I felt absolutely horrible, and apologized profusely when we were both back down on the ground. He was cool about it and understood.

Needless to say, I now always shout my climbing partner's name before asking for "take", "off belay" etc.

TR soloing a route at my limit when I felt some tugs on the line, which then went slack.  Someone mistook my anchor for their own and untied the rope.  I managed to make a few sketchy moves and traverse over to easier ground to finish the pitch, but that was not a pleasant experience.

Rappelling off a 3 pitch multi with semi-hanging belays, I used 2 alpine draws as a tether, one with nonlockers and one with edelrid slider lockers, both clipped to my belay loop and then to the anchor. Somehow during the transition from rappel 1 to 2 I pulled myself into the anchor slightly so my tether went a bit slack, then sat back down and the slider unclipped from my belay loop and was jammed in the gate of the nonlocker which was now open and the only thing attaching me to the wall. I was able to grab the anchor and fix the carabiners but that was a puckering moment since we were still 100ft up.

I tried to recreate it at home and the best I could come up with was the slider had flipped over and the gate was pressed against the inside of my belay loop with the sling pulling it from the nose, and it popped open and off. Couldn't simulate it getting jammed in the non-locker however.

I already didn't trust the sliders as a single point of attachment (or for belaying), and after that I really don't trust them unless weighted constantly / not jostled around. For a single pitch rappel I sometimes still use those 2 alpine draws as a tether but if I have a longer sling I prefer to girth hitch it through my tie in points so there are no carabiners on my harness to get jammed against each other. In the past I generally didn't carry a PAS unless in a party of 3 or if expecting rope shenanigans, but I now consider bringing it more on multis with multiple rappels to get down, and I use actual lockers on whatever tether I use. 

ubuwrote:

TR soloing a route at my limit when I felt some tugs on the line, which then went slack.  Someone mistook my anchor for their own and untied the rope.  I managed to make a few sketchy moves and traverse over to easier ground to finish the pitch, but that was not a pleasant experience.

Stuff of my nightmares! 

It wasn’t me, but a friend of mine was climbing on the upper town wall in Index a couple pitches up with other parties close by on neighboring routes. He heard some yelling from close by, then his partner yell “you are off belay!” mid pitch. He quickly yelled back down and his partner realized it was someone else yelling that they were at the anchor and not my friend, and put him back in belay.

I was rappelling with both hands on the brake strands and felt one end pass through my bottom hand. 

Partner was exhausted from following a pitch on Epinephrine. I unweighted the belay to mess with something for ten seconds and was going to lean back. If I had, I would have fallen the entire length of the 70m since she had taken me out of the anchor. I just happened to look at her hands and see her holding my locker after undoing my clove. I’m glad I somehow noticed that. :( She used a PAS system and somehow was confused and almost killed me.

Brooke Meadowswrote:

Partner was exhausted from following a pitch on Epinephrine. I unweighted the belay to mess with something for ten seconds and was going to lean back. If I had, I would have fallen the entire length of the 70m since she had taken me out of the anchor. I just happened to look at her hands and see her holding my locker after undoing my clove. I’m glad I somehow noticed that. :( She used a PAS system and somehow was confused and almost killed me.

That happened to me twice, and it was with a very experienced, concientous, responsible partner, who was not exhausted or compromised in any way; he was just working, doing stuff at the anchor as we prepared to decscend, and inadvertently took me out of the system.  In these two cases, as in yours, we were using different system.  I had a PAS and he had rope + clove.  That always made me think that both partners should use the same, whatever it is, just to keep things consistent.

Got a good second hand one.

A friend was climbing in the Dolomites and they had to bail. The last belay had one shitty, wiggling, bent, ancient pin, which they backed up with a small cam. My friend goes first, and his partner comes down last. All home safe.

They get down to town and my friends partner is in a funny mood. He hits the drinks HARD and is all over the place. Eventually late that night he starts crying and says "Hey...hey I have to show you something. I did a really stupid thing and I don't know why. I have to show you this".

And he produces the backup cam.

Another second hand one, also in the Dolomites. A mate is rapping off a popular route on two 60’s – his partner is already down at the bottom anchor. Halfway down there’s a ledge with an intermediate anchor so he unweights the rope briefly to get to the edge of the ledge. Next thing his ropes fall down around him. Turns out the party behind got impatient, assumed he was safe and untied his knot. After clipping into the intermediate anchor my mate let rip with the biggest stream of invective and threats outside of a Samuel L Jackson movie. The guilty party wisely decided to stay up above.

Joffy J wrote:

So you took a novice out, put her in a position where either due to the lack of teaching or due to the situation she wasn't experienced enough with the device to act appropriately, then the backup that would have prevented any issue was provided badly? And then you blame the device? 

The blame here is solely on you/your group. I hope you all apologized to her for your mistakes that lead to her injury.

Hey Joffy J, 

I want to call you out on your judgemental attitude.  Yes, there are better practices and worse practices.  And we should think about them. 

But the whole point of this thread is that mistakes, poor judgement, accidents, and so on, happen to everybody, including very experienced and saftey-concious climbers. 

If you think you are immune, you are the most dangerous element of all.

We can only learn from these stories if encourage a culture of humility, sharing, and openess.

I started tying into the rope for a climb at the gym. Tied the figure 8, fed through the tie in points and someone struck up a conversation with me. We finished chatting and I started climbing. I noticed almost at the top of the wall, the same time my partner did. I managed to downclimb nearly to the ground, unclipping as I went, before I slipped off. When I fell, the rope "wooshed" out from my harness and remained in the draws while I fell the ~8 feet to the ground. No one except one buddy across the gym noticed, and I was unharmed.

Now I always always check the knot and my belay device before the climber leaves the ground. Sometimes twice