ice lead falls?

I have taken two falls leading ice. One was about 15ft while the other was closer to 10ft. Both falls were taken on 8mm Mammut Doubles with screws placed at a 15˚ downward angle. The first fall was on to a 14cm screw with a screamer, the screamer tore about half way and the screw held. The next fall was on to a 16cm screw in mediocre ice without a screamer. After inspection of the screws I found that there was no bending or damage and continued to the top of the climbs. 2 falls 2 catches is my record but I don't have any desire to take additional falls. The only time ice/mixed climbing I had a piece of protection fail was a #2 master cam in what I thought was a solid crack which would have likely held had the rock around it not exploded. Mixed climbing is a whole different beast, and the rock you are climbing really needs to be checked for quality.

i fell leading ice in ouray, i had a solid 19cm screw in bomber ice and moved up into some seriously hollow shit; a chunk of cauliflower ice beneath my left foot blew and i went for a pretty good ride. just a quickdraw on the screw, but i had it in about 10 degrees downward. it was pretty thrilling, much more so than a sport or even a trad fall.

Madness! I'm with the rock guys.

I have fallen twice on ice. Both times this season, in a bad week. I did not plan to fall, both happened extremely quickly. I DO NOT PLAN TO DO IT AGAIN. The first time I was over confident and repeating a climb I'd done before. The character of the ice had changed, and my mono points (which I had on for mixed climbing later that day) couldn't get good purchase. I was pulling the last bulge, the climb was in the bag. As I swung my right tool, my right foot popped, I barn doored and caught some air. Next thing I know I'm looking at Casket Quarry upside down and I'm 20 ft lower. The 16 cm screw didn't budge. It was placed angled slightly downward, no screamer. I'm 6'4 and 230. I know I generated a lot of force on that thing, but I still want to avoid even weighting screws.

The second fall was a rookie mistake. I place my tools too close while down climbing and popped, fell about 15ft and this time I caught my ankle and twisted it. I was caught by a 22cm screw and again it didn't budge, placed straight into the ice, no screamer. I consider myself extremely lucky for being able to walk away from both of these accidents. I'm by NO means saying it is OK to fall on ice, I am just one lucky bastard.

FALLING ON ICE IS NOT AN OPTION.

The picture is of the route I fell on the first time. The blue boxes are where I was before and after the fall, the yellow box is my last screw. The red line is the fall that should not have happened.
Cheers,
Bill

Big Blue/Main Pillar Casket Quarry, Duluth, MN.

Casket Quarry! I did a bit of climbing there last year. You can get mighty strong on that little wall. Nice Bill.

Two falls, although not on ice screws. The first was Cracked Canyon near T-ride. The first pitch was a free hanging dagger that year. Managed to reach out and hook it, do a series of pull-ups to near the lip. The final hook caused a fracture to shoot across the entire icicle, breaking off with me on it. Luckily, I placed bomber gear in the rock before commiting. Big fall, but totally clean, although the falling ice nearly took out my belayer.

The 2nd fall was Hallets Chimney in the park. Again the ice I was on collapsed sending me over a couple of small chockstones before landing on a big blob of snow just as the rope went tight. Not a scratch, lucky I guess....

I have caught one fall while climbing up in Cody.
Gear details:
15-20 foot fall on a 17cm screw, placed 10-15 degrees downward, with a screamer, and clipped with one of two 8.6mm half ropes.

I was at a spacious belay ledge where I was loosely anchored with two big screws. When my partner fell, he moved me about 6-8 feet up and to the left. The screw held and the screamer didn't extend (falling climber weighs about 190 lbs.) The ice was near vertical and he was feeling fine and under control while placing a screw when his tool popped. He didn't hit anything, but he twisted his ankle as he fell away from his stance, i.e. his tool popped, but one of his crampons stayed stuck and the fall twisted his ankle out of the stance. I finished the pitch and we threaded our way back down and I had to lead for the rest of the week as his ankle was spanked pretty bad.

We both definitely live by the rule that even if you climb ice for 20 years, you should never fall. Yeah well, people screw up and shit happens. Hopefully it won't happen again.

Taken one fall on a mixed route. It was onto a bolt. I managed to hold on to both of my tools (leashless), not stab my leg with any sharp objects, and avoided cutting the rope. I consider it a successful fall. I have had a strange confidence in my screw placements, but still get a good elvis leg going when things get pumpy and tool placements are bad. I have a feeling that will change if I take a good fall on a screw sometime... What are we doing with our lives...really?!

Two ice leader falls.

The first, 50', screw held. Broken wrist, concussion. Moderate abrasions and contusions. Not too much blood. The 50' was not my estimate but that of others on scene.

The second fall was on a mixed route. Fell just 5' or so when the rock broke. Knee cratered on a horizontal ice ledge. Tore up my knee.

On rock my old rule of thumb was no more than 100' of falling, on lead, in a year. When I got to climbing at the very edge of my natural ability, I had to bump that up to 100' a day sometimes, all trad. Never injured on rock.

No more ice falls for me though. I've used all nine lives and then some already.

Just about to top out on a route with a 4- bulge. Placing a screw and both feet popped. Smaller fall (10'ish. 16cm screw held, screamer didn't deploy.

just had to show it..sorry :)
ummm..ya three years ago...first year climbing ice...too confident...sketchy top out...thirty foot fall onto screamer..screw held in thick ice...ice tool luckily stopped by chin....16 stiches.....never to happen agaiN!!!!

Fell once......

OUCH

85-100 foot fall, pulled a Spectra, then a screw, broke a carabiner........Hit the ground

broke femur in 5 places, and pelvis in 6.....

This thread is full of "ouch".

I took a lead fall from rock onto a screw in the ice below, it was fine. the ice was vertical and the rock overhanging....

I was leading some really brittle / airated ice in smugglers notch, VT. I had placed one marginal screw at around the 15ft mark and climbed another 10 - 15 feet on some very thin airated ice. I was unable to get any solid sticks and was forced to hook thin (1.5 - 2'') diameter icicles for balance and walk my feet along the airated ice. At the next decent stance i sunk my tool in as deep as i could in decent ice and cliped the rope to it as an intermediate while i searched for a half decent screw placement. After a few seconds i felt my self sink about an inch or two as the ice beneath my feet crumbled. I went to adjust my feet and the ice? below my feet turned to dust and i was off...

The rope began to tighten as my tool began to take some weight but the ice soon fractured and the tool poped. I hit the ground directly on my back from about 30 feet up.

No serious injuries (thanks to the large pile of snow), but a humbling experience to say the least....I have since learned that putting some thought into how the conditions effect the quality of the ice is very important ... Ice can be pretty precarious

`matt

Hopefully the tool didn't smack you on the way down. That's always been my fear when looping rope over it, or when using a tether system when leashless.

builttospill wrote:Hopefully the tool didn't smack you on the way down. That's always been my fear when looping rope over it, or when using a tether system when leashless.

I was alrdy about 6 feet or so below the tool when it poped so it just kind of landed in the snow near me. That would have def been an awakening if the tool smacked me upside the head though. I guess if your gonna do it you better make sure the tool is bomber. I cant say i wont use that trick again as it did hold long enough to considerably slow my fall.

Oh absolutely. I still do it sometimes, but I always cringe at the thought of it hitting me too.

It's especially bad with tethers that have some stretch in them (in my mind), because that thing is headed right for your manhood. I still use tethers sometimes though.

5 years ago or so I fell about 35 feet on a 13 with a screamer. Screamer popped, screw held although ice fractured beneath the hanger, I had a tib/fib fracture, ulna fracture and a sprained ankle. when I was falling I made the mistake of trying to get back onto the ice and somehow my crampon got caught on the ice and I was upside down and the ice axe hit my arm giving me a hairline fracture.

Now I just try not to fall and if I do I just sit back and enjoy the ride and pray my last placment wasnt that "ehh it looks ok, I think"

I started waterfall ice in the 70s. It was just understood that you didn't fall. All those pointy things flyin around and catching on whatever, blood, broken bones. Oh, man. Then, too, the screws in those days were so much harder to get in that you didn't put too much pro in, so the falls could be pretty long. No screamers either.

I guess that's how you get better, you push it until you fall, but I still can't go there ice climbing. Never have taken a lead fall on water ice. When ever I get on anything WI4 and above I have my cheater, which is terribly bad form I suppose. It's just an old Chouinard sky hook on a 4mm leash that's tied into my harness and tucked over in my coat. Whenever I feel like I'm going in extremis pumping out, mostly getting a screw in, I whip that baby out and hook it into the ferrel of one of the tools. Whew! I lived.

I'm REALLY conservative, though.