Helmet or no Helmet

Realistically I do not think we can call people stupid until they have an accident.

john strand wrote:So, all day no one responded to your idiotic post ? If you don;t wear a helmet your stupid ? I dare you say it to my face..fucker

well said

donald perry wrote:Realistically I do not think we can call people stupid until they have an accident.

fully agree

You guys should go read through reddit climbing sometime if you really want to see the n00bfest in all of its glory. warning- helmets, perfect grigri technique and "soft" catches are the big thing there. just today I saw a few people criticizing a video of one of the worlds best climbers and his belay technique while belaying his dad. still shaking my head, its funny but kind of sad at the same time.

s.price wrote: My mountain roots are in the San Juans where you learn to respect loose rock. A close call early on in these mountains convinced me to put a lid on it during such ascents..

Are the San Juans really that chossy? I mean I've done some climbing around silverton and it isn't really that chossy. I wonder if my baseline is just what most people consider chossy because I learned to climb at Fume Wall. I mean, the shale layer up at junction creek makes the san juans seem like perfect yosemite granite.

Ah. The closest I've gotten to the high peaks is the Eureka Pillar in silverton. It's hard for me to justify the long ass drive up to Ouray when I've got so much good climbing at East A, fume wall, Lemon, Vallecito, etc. As for the "fumes", I always curse at the dumbass truckers that don't understand how to engine break. But it's hard to beat when Fume wall's a 5min walk from the house.

s.price wrote:You live at Gelande Village? At least that is what the condos across the hi way used to be called.

I went to boarding school at the timberline academy for 2 years and it's 5min walk to fume. I also lived in hermosa hill condos for a summer where it was a 2min drive. I could get off work at 5:00 and get in 4-6 pitches before dark. Durango may not have the highest quality rock in the world, but most of it is pretty good and it's so close that you can climb every day if the weather's nice.

Anyways, to get back on topic, a wise man once said "Geologic time includes now". Even high traffic places with good quality rock can still have rockfall. I mean, just last year a whole pitch fell off half dome. Last summer, a huge oven-sized flake came off at the local crag and both the leader and belayer were injured. Just 2 days earlier I had climbed the route, pulling on the flake, and it felt solid. If you climb outside, it's only a matter of time before you'll need your brain bucket. Hopefully when the time comes, you'll be prepared.

I forgot my helmet, now what do I do?

drove over to NH to solo a long busy moderate ice climb on a weekend. forgot the lid. drove into town and bought a used one for 15 bucks... figured there was going to be people above me on brittle ice.....

Nick Goldsmith wrote:drove over to NH to solo a long busy moderate ice climb on a weekend. forgot the lid. drove into town and bought a used one for 15 bucks... figured there was going to be people above me on brittle ice.....

Soloing on a weekend below other parties and your concerned about a helmet? Huh.

I was very anti-helmet for a long time. Basically forever. I raced road bikes for years and wore my helmet in races because it was mandatory. I didn't wear it much training.

Climbing was about the same. I wore it on ice and I'd wear it on alpine routes. Nothing else, pretty much ever. I found it uncomfortable and it never sat quite right on my head.

Then I spent $30k on my education. A direct result of that was having money to go try on whatever fit best and was comfortable. I figured I should wear a helmet at least until I pay off the loans. Another result was that I personally have witnessed the type of surgeries performed to "attempt" to fix the problems caused by a solid whack on the head. Google "Mayfield Pins" if you'd like. Those spikes go into the head before the surgery even starts.

Few of the patients ever return to pre-injury state. The lucky ones are able to compensate with a few delays. A lot spend their life on a feeding tube, in a wheelchair, or in a rehab center (nursing home). Others still die.

My helmet weighs 6 ounces. It's not perfect but I can't justify not using it anymore.

highaltitudeflatulentexpulsion wrote:Then I spent $30k on my education. A direct result of that was having money to go try on whatever fit best and was comfortable. I figured I should wear a helmet at least until I pay off the loans.

Maybe I should quit climbing with a helmet... Death from TBI might be a good way out of my student loans.

Its shoestring Gully. A winter hikeing trail to most and a gripping roped ascent to some. usually there is enough snow in between the ice pitches to catch and stop the falling ice. The biggest threat would be to get flossed off by a falling climber.

J. Albers wrote: Soloing on a weekend below other parties and your concerned about a helmet? Huh.

Perfect,,sums up mt feeling exactly. The helmet gave you a false sense of security.

You climb under other parties ? probably wrong thing to do

you climb in a rock fall area ? again.....

The big problem is when you insist I wear a helmet...good luck...

if your that concerned about getting hit by something, maybe bowling is a better activity

What could go wrong?

J. Albers wrote:
Soloing on a weekend below other parties and your concerned about a helmet? Huh.

john strand wrote: Perfect,,sums up mt feeling exactly. The helmet gave you a false sense of security. You climb under other parties ? probably wrong thing to do you climb in a rock fall area ? again..... The big problem is when you insist I wear a helmet...good luck... if your that concerned about getting hit by something, maybe bowling is a better activity

But wouldn't you agree a helmet is something one should have on their rack, so to speak. So that if you are doing something where your going to be taking falls into your rope and potentially getting flipped onto your head you should at the very least have it in your gear bag? BTW I am talking about crag climbing here at the Gunks.