Autobelay Death in Texas
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gtowey wrote: Do you drive without a seatbelt because it encourages complacency? Ride a motorcycle without a helmet?Yes I use seatbelts and helmets. I adapt my behavior to manage/mitigate risk. I still understand that every time I get in a car, there's a chance I could die in a wreck. It's a choice I have thought through and I accept the risks involved. Some people, however, want to climb without accepting the risks involved, which is just absurd. |
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gtowey wrote: But you're kind of just proving my point. It's too easy to simply say "climbing is dangerous! That's what you get!" Climbing OUTSIDE is dangerous because there are so many things you can't control. But inside a gym? On a top rope autobelay system? That is literally insane to me that someone would die in that environment.People die in safe environments just not as many. All you have to do is not pay attention or use your head. Did you heard about the guy in Yellowstone that was boiled, drown and dissolved in acid? I just don't understand how people can forget to tie in the auto belay. That thing constantly pulls hard enough to lift 20 or 30 lbs off the ground. I can see how one can get a twist lock carabiners partially close on a belay loop. And you can unclip yourself from a carabiner especially if you move sideways when there is a bolt at your waist level. It is a good idea to carry a draw with screwgate carabiners |
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((I didn't clip in today)). I have been climbing less than a year. I have only used top rope 3 times, don't know how to lead climb. I'm 99% autobelay. At the end of the day I was climbing an easy route, a 5.8. I went and sat down and then walked up to the wall to look at new route that was right beside the 5.8. It wasn't covered by the triangle tarp of the auto belay. I looked at it, a 5.10, and just started climbing I struggled a little in the middle but made it all the way to the top. I hung on the last hold and let my feet go and looked down. I freaking wasn't clipped in, I looked at the autobleay line 5 feet to my left. I was 30 feet in the air. Luckly there was 5.9 right beside it I down climbed. My heart sank I couldn't believe what I just did. In a kinda of panic mode I went to the front desk and told them. They just said, Oh well that sucks, you won't do that again. (I was a little shocked cause I felt like it was such a grave mistake) I grabbed my gear as quick as I could and got out of there. (This happened 12 hours ago and I can't sleep its 2am) |
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##...It requires a level of attentiveness that is difficult to maintain all the time...## |
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The discussion in this thread, which has been quite good, seems almost solely focused on one problem which is not clipping in. The original article would indicate the deceased didn't clip in properly ie, clipped the wrong spot on her harness, didn't get the biner fully closed/secured, or something along those lines. |
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JulianG and Jared...to explain a bit more about what happened to me (see my note above)...I was upstairs at BRC (Boulder) where the walls are not too tall. In fact, the area is used mostly by kids and kid events. They do have a few cracks, though, that are fun to play on. The autobelays up there do not have the triangular tarps (too small of an area???); instead, they are simply clipped to an eyebolt near the floor. This is often what you see in the main gym when someone is leading a route and they want the autobelay out of the way--they will clip the autobelay webbing to an eyebolt or a heavy weight off to the side. Whatever...the point is that the triangualar tarp is quite useful (although not completely foolproof) in reminding you to clip in. |