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bishop
Apr 11, 2007, 4:47 PM
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Does anyone have more information about the ground fall on Souders Crack (Long Wall - RRG) this past weekend? Anyone know the status of the climber? So far this is what I've heard : 50-60 ft fall No head injury Fractured ankle Fractured wrist Two pieces failed one being an Alien broken in two after the fall
(This post was edited by bishop on Apr 12, 2007, 2:06 PM)
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granite_grrl
Apr 11, 2007, 4:54 PM
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I would imagine that its the same fall that I heard about this weekend. My friends stopped to help the climber's gf, call 911, etc. If it is the same accident then the climber was amazingly lucky. I have some details, but I'd rather wait till someone with better info about the accident chimed it (seeing as I'm not even sure which wall my friends helped this girl at). I'd hate to spread false info. Regadless, I hope every one is recovering well. Best wishes to the injured.
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marcuder
Apr 11, 2007, 6:40 PM
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Hey Bishop, We were at Global Village in RRG when I heard the story. By then the distance was described as 80 feet, spine injury, broken hip, 6 inch deep foot prints... By the way, I heard your name called but didn't catch a glimpse of you while in the Village area... I did see Hil, Al, bunch of other guys... Where did you guys go? Anyway, I'd like to know which route this happened on myself.... anyone? Mp
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m2j1s
Apr 12, 2007, 12:42 AM
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does anybody know what happened here??
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tradrenn
Apr 12, 2007, 12:56 AM
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granite_grrl wrote: I would imagine that its the same fall that I heard about this weekend. My friends stopped to help the climber's gf, call 911, etc. If it is the same accident then the climber was amazingly lucky. I have some details, but I'd rather wait till someone with better info about the accident chimed it (seeing as I'm not even sure which wall my friends helped this girl at). I'd hate to spread false info. The one you are talking about happened at Easter Sky Bridge Ridge. I will PM one of the people that help with the link to this thread.
granite_grrl wrote: Regardless, I hope every one is recovering well. Best wishes to the injured. Same here.
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tradrenn
Apr 12, 2007, 12:58 AM
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bishop wrote: Two pieces failed one being an Alien broken in two after the fall What was the other piece ? Got some pics to back this up ? (You know, before this gets put of hand again) Thanks
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adelicious
Apr 12, 2007, 4:11 AM
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I will say what I know to try to help clear things up. I have HEARD (I don't know) that there were several different accidents at RRG at several different crags over the Easter weekend. I can only speak of the one I have knowledge of: The accident happened at Eastern Sky Bridge Ridge on or near Jack in the Pulpit 5.10d (see photo) at approximately 4 something pm on Friday. When we (leedaclimber, shadowgnu and I) encountered the girl running down the road towards our vehicle it was just after 4:30. She could not find her car and I think she may have been in shock. She couldn’t speak very well and it took a while to figure out what had happened and that the injured person was at the wall with 2 other climbers who were looking after him. She said she was belaying and she dropped her friend somehow. She was unclear what happened but her gloves had holes all across the fingers from the rope. She said he had blood coming out of his mouth (which we later found out was because he had bit his tongue/cheeks when he fell) she said they had sent her to get someone to call 911. No one had phones – and I never usually do either but for some reason I had mine that day. We couldn’t find reception anywhere so the girl got in our vehicle and we helped her find her car where she tried her phone. She did not get reception either. We got her in our car and drove until we found reception up on top of the hill near the tourist parking lot near the Sky Bridge Ridge tourist rails. The time of call on my phone says we called finally got through to 911 at 4:49pm. We had to leave leedaclimber with the phone where there was reception as the 911 said they may need to call him back. The girl, Shadowgnu and I went back down to the scene. I stayed in the vehicle as I have a broken ankle and couldn’t make the approach this is why I can't say what happened AT the climb. I do know that Shadowgnu ran up to assess the situation and to let the injured guy and two other climbers (who had been climbing near by and were looking after him) that help was on its way. The girl was told to stand at the path beside the road so that the paramedics and forestry would know where to stop. We ended calling the forestry people directly (as advised by 911) and drove back up the road to help direct the ambulance. The ambulance arrived sometime around 5:30p.m. and it took a long time for them to get the guy out of the forest with the help of about 8 volunteers that helped carry his stretcher over their heads to get around rocks etc. along the approach trail. Apparently he was experiencing pain in his lower back but was still conscious and reacting to things and asking them to put him in more comfortable positions. I was told that he fell from the last clip before the anchor of the 80 foot climb – maybe a 65-70 fall. He had lead the climb already, then he put her on it, then he set her up to belay by anchoring her to a tree. He was cleaning the route when he fell leaving a couple craters in the ground where his feet landed and another from his bum? The two climbers assisting him said he did not hit his head. At the time it was suspected the guy would be okay despite some lower back damage to vertebraes, but these were mostly assumptions. I am not sure if there were any further updates after that. I heard people talking about it at Miguel’s but I am not sure if anyone knew factual stuff if you know what I mean. I really hope the guy is okay. Also see: www.redriverclimbing.com/viewtopic.php?t=8242
(This post was edited by adelicious on Apr 19, 2007, 1:47 PM)
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bishop
Apr 12, 2007, 2:10 PM
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Adelicious... Thanks for the info on the other unfortunate accident. Thanks to you and your friends for helping... it's great to know that we participate in a sport where everyone is there to help when bad things happen. Update: It turns out the original accident that I reported wasn't Rock Wars, it was the 11d crack to the left called Souders Crack.
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marcuder
Apr 12, 2007, 2:22 PM
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Wow, thanks for that concise report! It sounds like the story I heard from an older gentleman climber that was there (he appeared to be a photographer so I wonder if there is any pics of the location where this happened at), who was at the scene and helped with the rescue, so it must be the same event. He also mentioned a GriGri and a lack of experience with its use. It seems to fit with 'holes in the gloves' description. I'm curious because it has happened to at least two of my friends on two separate occasions where the GriGri failed. Being a user of the device myself I'm worried about the overengineered gadget... Anyhow, the Easter weekend seems to have a an injury theme itself because on Saturday we have ran into an Ontario climber (climber_grrl, was that you?) that recently recovered from an injury and began climbing again. I can't help but to think that it must bring back a lot of painful memories. Well, I hope everybody will come out ok from this. My sympathies go out to the fallen, and the one who dropped him - she must feel horrible...
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reg
Apr 12, 2007, 2:23 PM
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sounds like the ground was wet/soft - good thing - took some load off the fall - tragic when we fall to ground - hopin BOTH involved get through this.
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granite_grrl
Apr 12, 2007, 3:28 PM
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marcuder wrote: Anyhow, the Easter weekend seems to have a an injury theme itself because on Saturday we have ran into an Ontario climber (climber_grrl, was that you?) that recently recovered from an injury and began climbing again. I can't help but to think that it must bring back a lot of painful memories. You mean granite_grrl? Yeah, that was probobly me. Oversized powder blue TNF down jacket and usually walking around with a trekking pole? I felt like I was talking about my accident all weekend, but climbers are naturally curious about climbing accidents and I guess its a good reminder of how shit happens. When Adele's bf Matthew was telling me the story my heart was in my throught, I'm just glad that it wasn't near as bad as it could have been.
(This post was edited by granite_grrl on Apr 12, 2007, 3:39 PM)
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j_ung
Apr 12, 2007, 3:44 PM
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(So then, let me get this straight... there is no broken Alien anywhere in this story, right?) Sounds like everybody got lucky! Good work to those who helped and speedy recovery to the injured.
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euphoriagtrst
Apr 12, 2007, 4:34 PM
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It sounds like the grigri was threaded backwards? That seems like an easy mistake to make if you're not careful...
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bishop
Apr 12, 2007, 5:32 PM
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j_ung wrote: (So then, let me get this straight... there is no broken Alien anywhere in this story, right?) This thread has turned into a combo of two accidents that happened in the RRG Easter weekend. The original thread is about a ground fall at Long Wall... where there is a broken Alien involved. It wasn't the cause of the fall, it broke during the fall. The second accident at Sky Bridge seems to involve lack of experience with a gri-gri.
wormly81 wrote: The GriGri didnt fail. The belayer who was using it incorrectly failed. Agreed
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jakedatc
Apr 12, 2007, 5:48 PM
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euphoriagtrst wrote: It sounds like the grigri was threaded backwards? That seems like an easy mistake to make if you're not careful... This is NOT an easy mistake.. there are pictures right on the device telling you EXACTLY where the rope should go.. Also it could be alot of things that would cause rope burns.. like pulling down the handle(gas pedal) and not letting it go when the climber gets going too fast for the brake hand to control.. boggles my mind.. and gets said way to often.. gri gri's and Cinch's are for experienced belayers not Noobs.. despite what the rock gym's insurance companies want to believe.
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reg
Apr 12, 2007, 6:19 PM
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jakedatc wrote: This is NOT an easy mistake...... gri gri's and Cinch's are for experienced belayers not Noobs.......... " despite what the rock gym's insurance companies want to believe."!!!! wow - excellent point - never thought of it that way - noob: "release handle, pull handle, release, pull.....arrrg!! i never get that right!"
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nnowinowski
Apr 12, 2007, 6:32 PM
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are we talking about a braze failure or a blow out here? What is the dirt
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billcoe_
Apr 12, 2007, 7:13 PM
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marcuder wrote: He also mentioned a GriGri and a lack of experience with its use. It seems to fit with 'holes in the gloves' description. I'm curious because it has happened to at least two of my friends on two separate occasions where the GriGri failed. Not to redirect the thread, but your Grigri "failing" statement makes me think that you meant to say that the belayers (who happened to be using GriGris) FAILED. Like it appears to be in this instance. No? Glad the dude survived and everyone pitched in.
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marcuder
Apr 12, 2007, 7:47 PM
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Yeah, absolutely... I stand corrected. If you look at the GriGri it's pretty hard to make it fail unless you put a blow torch to it. Poorly thought out question on my part. Anyhow, I completely agree most climbing accidents happen from either misuse, inattention, ignorance, or plain stupidity of the climber using it. Even when equipment fails it is usually from combination of one or more of the above. The one that scares me the most is mounting the rope in reverse - it is so easy to get that wrong... As a matter of habit I check my belayer that he has me threaded properly and that the beaner is locked. I know that it may seem like you're questioning your partner's abilities but I've seen very experienced climbers leave beaners open... we all get distracted sometimes. Anyhow, best way to treat the GriGri is like any other friction device, like an ATC. If your partner falls it is possible to arrest the rope even if it's threaded wrong - as long as you're on the ball. I think that GriGri's Achilles Heal is that it tempts to think they're secure because of its auto-blocking mechanism... and when you're new to the sport, well... problem with rock climbing is that there is very little margin for error.
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marcuder
Apr 12, 2007, 8:12 PM
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I think it's something that happens after you've been using it for a while, you become casual about roping up. At that point you might feel pretty confident, be chatting with your friend, have a hot girl ( or guy, your choice) walk by and get distracted. Then, because you feel so confident of your abilities you discard the checklist that was drummed into you when you took your climbing instruction and not check the rope and belay device. This is why I think the most dangerous time for a climber is not nescesseraly at the beginning but somewhere after he/she acquired enough confidence and the fear of screwing up has melted off into a memory of "what it was like when we were starting out". And speaking of pictures, people miss stop signs all the time in spite of the fact that they're big, red, and in your face. Letting down your guard is a killer, and one of the first things cited in accident reports.
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dcaldous
Apr 12, 2007, 8:13 PM
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If people don't look or aren't paying attention it can easily happen. People get casual about belaying and accidents can happen.
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jakedatc
Apr 12, 2007, 8:18 PM
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I guess thats why i test the climber side after i thread my Cinch for leading.. which i have not used much so hopefully I don't get lazy) and my reverso when bringing up a second for multipitch
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carabiner96
Apr 12, 2007, 8:28 PM
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Ok...rumor has it that a gri-gri threaded backwards has about 80% of the power of a regular Tub device...meaning the grip isn't as solkid in terms of friction, but it could still work as such as long as the braking position was properly applied?
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adelicious
Apr 12, 2007, 10:52 PM
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euphoriagtrst wrote: It sounds like the grigri was threaded backwards? That seems like an easy mistake to make if you're not careful... It isn't really EASY at all! You should be in the routine of checking the gri-gri is threaded correctly - give it a tug and test it before you climb. Your partner should be wanting to check your knot too if you do it every time it becomes habit. One of my partners and I have a rule that the climber owes a beer if they were about to start climbing before checking the belayer's set up... Also keep in mind that those who are experienced have a responsibility to ensure that things are safe. This poor girl was new to climbing and perhaps was in over her head. She was not a "knob". I am not placing or taking away any blame - but when we are climbing we should all be concerned about safety and that our belayers are compedent. There are a lot of climbers that take this responsibilty way too lightly.
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euphoriagtrst
Apr 13, 2007, 1:08 AM
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Let me rephrase.. An easy mistake to make if one allows oneself to get careless- I'm not implying that a grigri is confusing about which way to put the rope in or even how to use it- as one of the above posters stated- the orientation is engraved into the device and the instruction that come with the device are straightforward..it's also easy to double back when buckling a harness and tie a proper follow through on a figure 8. I agree as above- these should ALWAYS be checked by both people before leaving the ground, anchors, etc.
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granite_grrl
Apr 13, 2007, 12:12 PM
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adelicious wrote: euphoriagtrst wrote: It sounds like the grigri was threaded backwards? That seems like an easy mistake to make if you're not careful... It isn't really EASY at all! You should be in the routine of checking the gri-gri is threaded correctly - give it a tug and test it before you climb. Your partner should be wanting to check your knot too if you do it every time it becomes habit. One of my partners and I have a rule that the climber owes a beer if they were about to start climbing before checking the belayer's set up... Also keep in mind that those who are experienced have a responsibility to ensure that things are safe. This poor girl was new to climbing and perhaps was in over her head. She was not a "knob". I am not placing or taking away any blame - but when we are climbing we should all be concerned about safety and that our belayers are compedent. There are a lot of climbers that take this responsibilty way too lightly. The double check is key, but sometimes climbers get slopy. I'll even admit to threading a Grigri backwards once, but I realized it well before the climber made their first clip and all was well. Me and my partners are normally very good with double checks, but its possible for things to slip through. But I'd be even more careful it there was a beer on the line! The impression that I get is that the belayer was fairly new. If the climber was in a position of mentoring and teaching then a lot of the responsibility was on the climber. Again, neither of them were deserving of the accident that happened, but that's the way it goes in climbing. Enough little things go wrong and sometimes people get hurt.
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marcuder
Apr 13, 2007, 1:17 PM
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My mentor used to get mad at me whenever I missed a step in check sequence, and I mean pissed. At first, I felt a bit of resentment - "why doesn't he just chill, nothing bad happened..." Then one day, after digesting a lot of climbing literature it dawned on me how tiny little mistakes multiply and compound until what was a very simple mistake becomes a life threatning situation. Since then I gear up with a certain amount of paranoia which I nurture because, ironically, it keeps me safe. Indeed, it is always easy to blame the novice, but ultimatelly it is the most-experienced in the party that should shoulder the majority of responsibility for not paying enough attention to those who need guidence... especially in life and death matters. In the end leadership in rock-climbing is not about being able to bag the hardest route, but to ensure that everyone comes back safe, and enjoyed a fantastic, albeit a dangerous sport... PS: granite_grrl it's so awesome you've gone back to climbing. You don't know me but we have mutual friends (Easter Saturday in RRG I was the chatty guy with a video camera). I've heard about your injury, and can't imagine how hard it must have been to come back from it. Go go go!
(This post was edited by marcuder on Apr 13, 2007, 1:26 PM)
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m2j1s
Apr 13, 2007, 1:45 PM
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does anybody have info on the alien that "broke"? doesnt sounds very plausable to me seeing as how there would be major discussion about it if it really did happen... a cam that breaks is a little more important that 30 guys talking about putting the rope backwards in a gri gri..
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nnowinowski
Apr 13, 2007, 1:57 PM
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i'm wondering if it just pulled and sort of got conflated with the other failures?
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bishop
Apr 13, 2007, 2:32 PM
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m2j1s wrote: does anybody have info on the alien that "broke"? doesnt sounds very plausable to me seeing as how there would be major discussion about it if it really did happen... a cam that breaks is a little more important that 30 guys talking about putting the rope backwards in a gri gri.. agreed... this thread has been hijacked by the gri-gri topic. Don't get me wrong it's still an important discussion. However, back to the Alien. I can't really discuss the matter in too much detail because it's between the climber / the gear shop / manufacturer at this point. What I can say is that there was indeed a broken Alien involved. Pieces of it were recovered from the crack after the victim was removed from the scene. Other than that... I can't say more.
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wanderlustmd
Apr 13, 2007, 2:43 PM
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Weird, there is that Omega Pacific Link Cam thread over in gear right now as well. Sucker fell apart after 10 no-fall placements! That is just scary. This sport has enough inherent risk. After proper maintenence and inspection, I don't want to have to worry about my gear randomly disintegrating. The head can be a hard enough thing to keep a handle on after you learn to trust the gear...
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holdplease2
Apr 13, 2007, 3:05 PM
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Bishop: I agree its important to notify manufacturers of gear failure immediately (even if it was from mis-use, not making an Alien acusation here). However, if the OP of the "Dimpled Alien" discovery falure would have "Kept it between himself and the manufacturer", based on CCH"s initial response to him, that would not have been good for many of us who were climbing on Dimpled Aliens. With that in mind, CCH, when do you think you'll be able have an analysis of what went wrong in this situation? (As in: If it was a gear defect or something not related to the gear?) -Kate.
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jakedatc
Apr 13, 2007, 3:19 PM
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Yea kate... like he actually reads this stuff?? cchaliens: "Last Logon: Aug 29, 2006, 7:58 PM" i don't know about you guys but the first thing i think of when i hear about "broken" aliens is they inverted and pulled out.. we dont even have a size to go on so it could be anything. so much hype.. so little info. On the other note. i think holding the cam open during a fall is super scary.. Yes more rope out will make for a lower fall factor.. but there will still be that sudden jerk when you do load the gri gri. For trad i'll stick to my reverso or atc where some rope pulls through gradually due to the device not being able to give 100% stopping friction.. On sport routes i use my Cinch i'll hop or allow myself to get lifted a bit(usually the case since i'm light) Sport is more for climber comfort than reducing the load on the bolts anyway.
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holdplease2
Apr 13, 2007, 3:30 PM
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Hey JDC- I agree, tending to think the placement wasn't optimal...until I hear that pieces of the alien were removed from the crack after the fall. This, to me, is a different deal. This means some part of the cam itself broke. Its not for us to guess why, but it is for us to make sure we get answers, just to be sure. If we haven't heard a response in a few days, or maybe a week or so, from someone in the know about what went wrong, starting a "broken alien" thread and notifying CCH directly that it exists would probably be a good way to go. Of course, I don't want to see (another) lynching here. But if a climber hits the ground and broken gear remains in the rock, I don't want to see it swept under the rug either. I bet that CCH will come forward with some answers when they've had time to figure it out. Lets hope it wasn't a MFR defect. -Kate.
(This post was edited by holdplease2 on Apr 13, 2007, 3:49 PM)
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shockabuku
Apr 13, 2007, 3:50 PM
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I think the important thing is to get accurate information out to the community at large in a timely manner. It would be very interesting to know the manufacture date of the Alien and if it had been pull tested or not.
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nnowinowski
Apr 13, 2007, 3:54 PM
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second that
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bishop
Apr 13, 2007, 4:43 PM
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shockabuku wrote: I think the important thing is to get accurate information out to the community at large in a timely manner. It would be very interesting to know the manufacture date of the Alien and if it had been pull tested or not. Agreed. All the accurate facts need to be brought up and people need to be aware of them. Unfortunately, however, sometimes these things take time. Like I said before this situation is being addressed between the climber the gear shop and the manufacturer. Climber update. Good new. The climber is resting well. He is one VERY luck man. He wasn't wearing a helmet and managed somehow by miracle not to sustain a head injury or worse. No major breaks.. a few small fractures and a lot of bruising.
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wanderlustmd
Apr 13, 2007, 6:01 PM
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Glad to hear that he will be ok
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whiskeybullets
Apr 13, 2007, 6:43 PM
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Was the fall on sauders crack or rock wars? it's important to know because sauders is notorious for being an expando flake, where rock wars is pretty solid. from my experience on both routes (twice on sauders and maybe 7 or 8 times on rock wars), i would likely implicate rock quality and not gear failure on sauders crack. although i've seen a lot of people place a lot of bad cams on rock wars too. i've seen at least three instances of gear pulling b/c of poor placements on rock wars. this experience makes me question any conclusions that implicate gear failure as the only cause of a ground fall. given the nature of the routes, it is a more likely scenario that incorrect gear placement was the culprit. and, in anticipation of future comments, i have seen poor placements result in really, really fucked up gear, though never a placement come apart in pieces, as is suggested by some posts. i just think it should be known that sauders crack is listed as a tr in rrg guidebooks because of poor rock quality.
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reg
Apr 13, 2007, 7:17 PM
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sweet - hang in there brother
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bishop
Apr 13, 2007, 8:25 PM
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whiskeybullets wrote: Was the fall on sauders crack or rock wars? Souders Crack
whiskeybullets wrote: i just think it should be known that sauders crack is listed as a tr in rrg guidebooks because of poor rock quality. Very good point.... thank you
(This post was edited by bishop on Apr 16, 2007, 2:17 PM)
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marcuder
Apr 13, 2007, 8:37 PM
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Would this be an instance of the cam fully expanding, catching on a protrusion, and comming appart? From what I know only Camalots are able to catch a fall when fully open due to their engineering... personally however I'm not a huge fan of cams; in a perfect world I'd be able to stick a nut anywhere. Mechanical contraptions potential for breakdown is multiplied by the number of parts required to assemble it. Still, when all you got is is 20 seconds of energy left, with two fingers in a crack and on the verge of finding religion, having something you can put in without a whole lot of fuss... priceless. I dunno...
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pinsandbones
Apr 19, 2007, 12:01 AM
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There was indeed a BROKEN Alien involved in the Easter weekend accident on Souder's Crack. I would have posted earlier, but just recently received surgery to pin my wrist back together. Aside from being laid up for six months, I am very fortunate to have come away from the fall with only the injuries I have sustained. Many thanks go out to all that have helped me with this ordeal. As for the cam, it broke off right at the end if the stem, leaving the head and trigger assembly still set in the rock. It appears to me that the malfunction was due to a manuf. defect. This is being discussed with CCH. I would strongly advise all who are climbing on post recall aliens to be very careful.
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m2j1s
Apr 19, 2007, 1:15 AM
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hmm.. this is a little frightening to hear. i wonder what cch will do about this / what us climbers with aliens should do..
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jakedatc
Apr 19, 2007, 2:02 AM
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Pics of the cam would be nice to see, including the date stamp from the trigger glad they could put you back together again. (nice screen name too)
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jt512
Apr 19, 2007, 2:23 AM
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carabiner96 wrote: Ok...rumor has it that a gri-gri threaded backwards has about 80% of the power of a regular Tub device...meaning the grip isn't as solkid in terms of friction, but it could still work as such as long as the braking position was properly applied? I doubt that a grigri has that much friction when loaded backwards. Try it under controlled conditions. Jay
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jt512
Apr 19, 2007, 2:30 AM
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m2j1s wrote: does anybody have info on the alien that "broke"? doesnt sounds very plausable to me seeing as how there would be major discussion about it if it really did happen... a cam that breaks is a little more important that 30 guys talking about putting the rope backwards in a gri gri.. You're aware of the recall on certain Aliens, right? Jay
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m2j1s
Apr 19, 2007, 2:42 AM
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jt512 wrote: m2j1s wrote: does anybody have info on the alien that "broke"? doesnt sounds very plausable to me seeing as how there would be major discussion about it if it really did happen... a cam that breaks is a little more important that 30 guys talking about putting the rope backwards in a gri gri.. You're aware of the recall on certain Aliens, right? if you read the post, it says beware of "post recall aliens" so i'm assuming his was a post recall alien. Jay
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jt512
Apr 19, 2007, 2:59 AM
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holdplease2 wrote: Lets hope it wasn't a MFR defect. What else could it be? A piece with visible damage that the climber failed to retire? I can't think of a placement that should break an Alien; single axle, flexible stem. We need to know whether it was a dimpled Alien and the date of manufacture. If it's non-dimpled, I think my Aliens are going up on eBay. Jay
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notapplicable
Apr 19, 2007, 12:37 PM
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Hey Pins, I know you pain. Dont let the down time get you off track, the screws holding the bones togeather should allow you to rehab earlier and with faster results than without. You be back on the wall in no time. Best of luck.
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dbrayack
Apr 19, 2007, 1:02 PM
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I'll buy em from you (just kidding)
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j_ung
Apr 19, 2007, 1:13 PM
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pinsandbones wrote: There was indeed a BROKEN Alien involved in the Easter weekend accident on Souder's Crack. I would have posted earlier, but just recently received surgery to pin my wrist back together. Aside from being laid up for six months, I am very fortunate to have come away from the fall with only the injuries I have sustained. Many thanks go out to all that have helped me with this ordeal. As for the cam, it broke off right at the end if the stem, leaving the head and trigger assembly still set in the rock. It appears to me that the malfunction was due to a manuf. defect. This is being discussed with CCH. I would strongly advise all who are climbing on post recall aliens to be very careful. First of all, I'm very glad you're okay! Second, I have a couple of questions that I think are pretty much on everybody's minds. Was this a recalled Alien? If so, were you aware of the recall prior to this accident? At the time of your post, which I just quoted, for how long have you been in discussion with CCH? Minutes? Hours? Days? Thanks, and again, very glad you're still with us!
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nnowinowski
Apr 19, 2007, 2:15 PM
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oh man this again. trying to remember which of my aliens I've fallen on :-( most of em for sure. What is the deal with pull testing to refresh everybody?
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j_ung
Apr 19, 2007, 2:31 PM
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As far as I'm concerned, the deal is that I'd rather carry a rack of slung wine glasses than a rack of Aliens.
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nnowinowski
Apr 19, 2007, 2:35 PM
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that is one way of looking at it.
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murf
Apr 19, 2007, 9:11 PM
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I wonder what happens when you *overcrimp* a swage on an Alien stem?
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stymingersfink
Apr 20, 2007, 12:50 AM
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marcuder wrote: Since then I gear up with a certain amount of paranoia which I nurture because, ironically, it keeps me safe. Paranoia can be defined as an unreasonable feeling that someone/things out to get you. In this case, You're not paranoid, gravity IS out to get you.
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marcuder
Apr 20, 2007, 11:53 AM
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Crap, that means I have developed a psychosis... (reaches for meds) Hey, injured guy, glad you're ok! I've heard the story told from people who were there and it sounds like you got some angels on your shoulders... Cheers!
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weatherm
Apr 20, 2007, 12:35 PM
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Accidents happen. How many times do you read directions before you put together something? The more things you put in the picture, the more that can happen, period. I don't like gri-gris... I only see a use for gri gri unless your aiding, just because of the 1.5ish hours of climbing that it takes. But here again, I don't like them. I have heard of 4 people climbing that have gotten hurt on them.. and this is talking to people not on the internet. Keep it simple as possible. The more variables you add to an equation the more complicated it is to get a answer, and more room to screw up. I'm tired of venting.
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nnowinowski
Apr 20, 2007, 12:37 PM
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just wait till you start wall climbing - the complexity of a grigri will be least of your problems :-)
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weatherm
Apr 20, 2007, 12:43 PM
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Yeah I know, its sticking to the gym walls for me. I'm scared to go outside! Its so tuff being a gym rat.
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troy_creamer
Apr 20, 2007, 2:37 PM
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As far as using a Gri Gri to belay i think climbers need to be more aware of who is belaying them and their experience. It seems the theme to be having your girlfriend or boyfriend belay you might not be the best approach if they are not expeirnced and trained well. I have seen many people dropped (luckly only in the gym) when people trust belayers that I would not, because they are not experienced and not safety concious. Just because some is a a good climber doesn't always make them a good belayer. I don't care what belay device or pro you are using if the person doesn't know what they are doing a accident can happen. Personally i don't trust just anyone to belay me i want to know they know what they are doing. I have turned people away and asked others to belay me because i don't percieve them as trustworthy even sometimes for a spot bouldering even. I think people just need to be smart and stop blaming a device and start considering how it was used. It sucks that accidents happen in climbing but there are risks to the sport. I really hope the climber in the fall makes a full recovery. Climb Hard peace
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granite_grrl
Apr 21, 2007, 4:36 PM
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Is there anyway to separate this thread into two (for each of the accidents discussed here?). The Alien issue does seems like it could be pretty major depending on the details.
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112
Apr 23, 2007, 3:28 AM
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pinsandbones wrote: There was indeed a BROKEN Alien involved in the Easter weekend accident on Souder's Crack... I would strongly advise all who are climbing on post recall aliens to be very careful. I join everyone in wishing you a positive recovery and thank you for posting up. BUT, the details of the incident should NOT be kept from this discussion. They should just be FACTS and no conjectures or opinions. I am about to head out for a week and this information could sway my decision to trust certain gear or not. I appreciate your position and understand it is entirely your choice, but this discussion pertains to the safety, health, and welfare of the public. Someone might repeat your accident soon. I wish you a speedy recovery! -Ken
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j_ung
Apr 25, 2007, 12:36 PM
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Have any of you post-recall Alien owners called CCH to check on this? As much as I distrust CCH's quality control, I'm having trouble believing that they're really making the same mistake over again. Surely, nobody can be that stupid.
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shockabuku
Apr 25, 2007, 1:50 PM
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I can't believe a climber is keeping the information from other climbers in favor of a company with a history like this one.
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fear
Apr 25, 2007, 2:14 PM
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Keep in mind the original poster in this case might be full of shit too. Remember the details behind the original accident that led to the dimple recall. That guy did everything right and disclosed everything in the best interest of the community. Where's this guy? Where are the pics? I mean, if an Alien "broke" in normal use and caused you major injury wouldn't you post at least pictures of the damn thing and some details?
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j_ung
Apr 25, 2007, 3:01 PM
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I don't know why I'm bothering with this, since I don't own any Aliens and I don't intend to ever buy any under any circumstances, but I called CCH and asked what's up. Understand, I'm not acting as a journalist in this case, like I was during the original recall episode. I'm just curious to hear what's going on. CCH was indeed contacted by, I assume, pinsandbones, in regard to the failure of his Alien. Said contact included pictures of the failed unit, which, apparently showed a broken cable stem, not a failed braze. So this failure is not the same as the recall failures. That MIGHT actually be bad news, since it may -- MAY -- point to an entirely different problem. However, it's important to note that cable-stemmed cams are vulnerable to some extent to sharp edges, of which it appears Souder's Crack has plenty. Without any additional information, I'll allow this failure might be due to that. To me, it's beginning to appear that this is not the result of any shortcoming on CCH's part. Dave Waggoner also told me that he requested additional contact from the pinsandbones several days ago, but has not gotten it. Not sure where pinsandbones is, but he's not here either. Hey, pinandbones! Post up your pics, mate! Lastly, I suggested to Waggoner that he post up with an update on this. I told him that, even if he has no additional information, a lot of people would appreciate some kind of proof that they care about what people think. It kinda seemed like that hadn't occurred to him. Waggoner's exact words were, "Yeah, I should probably go ahead and do that today." Though the limited information available appears to vindicate CCH, at least in this particular incident, I'm not seeing a whole lot to make me change my mind about them and Aliens. Quality assurance aside, they still seem to be unaware of or indifferent to the legitimate fears of their customers. Instead of responding to worst-case scenarios, as I believe they should, they still seem to act (or not act as the case may be) based on what they hope is true. Aliens remain the only cam on the market today above which I refuse to climb.
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jt512
Apr 25, 2007, 4:50 PM
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j_ung wrote: IHowever, it's important to note that cable-stemmed cams are vulnerable to some extent to sharp edges Really? I don't recall ever having heard of the cable stem of a cam breaking because of a sharp edge (or any cause, for that matter). Jay
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carabiner96
Apr 25, 2007, 6:13 PM
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jt512 wrote: j_ung wrote: IHowever, it's important to note that cable-stemmed cams are vulnerable to some extent to sharp edges Really? I don't recall ever having heard of the cable stem of a cam breaking because of a sharp edge (or any cause, for that matter). Jay I have. Couldn't tell you when or where, but it seems as though there was an accident where a stem had been repeatedly worn on a sharp edge and finally croaked.
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murf
Apr 25, 2007, 6:21 PM
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jt512 wrote: j_ung wrote: IHowever, it's important to note that cable-stemmed cams are vulnerable to some extent to sharp edges Really? I don't recall ever having heard of the cable stem of a cam breaking because of a sharp edge (or any cause, for that matter). Holy shit!
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the_climber
Apr 25, 2007, 6:23 PM
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I havn't seen a completely severed cable stem, but have seen many severly damaged but loading/catching falls over sharp edges. Damage was everything from a simple kink to near 70° bends with numerous breaks in the cable... hey, it happens. ALL gear has limitations! I'm not saying that is what happened here, but it does happen. (I've also seen bolts that 'appeared good' rip out, but that's another discussion)
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jt512
Apr 25, 2007, 6:27 PM
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murf wrote: jt512 wrote: j_ung wrote: IHowever, it's important to note that cable-stemmed cams are vulnerable to some extent to sharp edges Really? I don't recall ever having heard of the cable stem of a cam breaking because of a sharp edge (or any cause, for that matter). Holy shit! Does that mean that this is a known hazard? Jay
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carabiner96
Apr 25, 2007, 6:30 PM
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jt512 wrote: murf wrote: jt512 wrote: j_ung wrote: IHowever, it's important to note that cable-stemmed cams are vulnerable to some extent to sharp edges Really? I don't recall ever having heard of the cable stem of a cam breaking because of a sharp edge (or any cause, for that matter). Holy shit! Does that mean that this is a known hazard? Jay It makes sense that it could be. Just need to track down an actual incident, but the idea doesn't seem too far out; I've seen worn stems, isn't too hard to imagine them wearing more then getting whipped on over a harsh enough angle and being done. I can't imagine it being a one time deal on an undamaged stem, however. Previous wear would have to have already been established.
(This post was edited by carabiner96 on Apr 25, 2007, 6:31 PM)
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murf
Apr 25, 2007, 6:30 PM
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jt512 wrote: murf wrote: jt512 wrote: j_ung wrote: IHowever, it's important to note that cable-stemmed cams are vulnerable to some extent to sharp edges Really? I don't recall ever having heard of the cable stem of a cam breaking because of a sharp edge (or any cause, for that matter). Holy shit! Does that mean that this is a known hazard? No it only indicates my utter astonishment that anything else could go wrong with Aliens. My astonishment that anyone could look at the cable on a Alien and think that a sharp rock edge could sever it. My astonishment that I could still be astonished at this whole sordid tale. It works better in person.
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murf
Apr 25, 2007, 6:33 PM
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carabiner96 wrote: jt512 wrote: murf wrote: jt512 wrote: j_ung wrote: IHowever, it's important to note that cable-stemmed cams are vulnerable to some extent to sharp edges Really? I don't recall ever having heard of the cable stem of a cam breaking because of a sharp edge (or any cause, for that matter). Holy shit! Does that mean that this is a known hazard? Jay It makes sense that it could be. Just need to track down an actual incident, but the idea doesn't seem too far out; I've seen worn stems, isn't too hard to imagine them wearing more then getting whipped on over a harsh enough angle and being done. I can't imagine it being a one time deal on an undamaged stem, however. Previous wear would have to have already been established. For the love of god please lock this thread now......
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carabiner96
Apr 25, 2007, 6:43 PM
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Why? Please enlighten me. I put up an idea and would like to hear what you think.
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murf
Apr 25, 2007, 6:50 PM
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carabiner96 wrote: Why? Please enlighten me. I put up an idea and would like to hear what you think. Until you personally take an alien, put it over a sharp edge, tie into it with 10' of cord, and drop 180 lbs until it fails, I don't think you have anything to offer me. So spare me the sideline speculation.
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carabiner96
Apr 25, 2007, 7:14 PM
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murf wrote: carabiner96 wrote: Why? Please enlighten me. I put up an idea and would like to hear what you think. Until you personally take an alien, put it over a sharp edge, tie into it with 10' of cord, and drop 180 lbs until it fails, I don't think you have anything to offer me. So spare me the sideline speculation. Spare me the asshole attitude, I asked an honest question.
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randomtask
Apr 25, 2007, 7:23 PM
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To everyone: Does anyone know the details on the fall?? I mean how far above the Alien was he when he fell? j_ung: Thank you for calling CCH and posting the info but I got a question...you mentioned that it seems CCH might not have been at fault (I hope so I'm looking at my aliens right now...they scare me). What makes you believe that? A Broken stem could be mfg problem as these cables are pretty thick. Dude, I'm not trying to be a dick, just wanted to know if I missed something you wrote. Thanks, -JR
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stymingersfink
Apr 26, 2007, 2:08 AM
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murf wrote: carabiner96 wrote: Why? Please enlighten me. I put up an idea and would like to hear what you think. Until you personally take an alien, put it over a sharp edge, tie into it with 10' of cord, and drop 180 lbs until it fails, I don't think you have anything to offer me. So spare me the sideline speculation. my $$'s on the rope failing first in the scenario described above. second/third guess would be the carabiner failing/rock disintegrationg... Not you, 'Biner, THE biner.
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billcoe_
Apr 26, 2007, 3:46 AM
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j_ung wrote: I don't know why I'm bothering with this, since I don't own any Aliens and I don't intend to ever buy any under any circumstances, but I called CCH and asked what's up. Understand, I'm not acting as a journalist in this case, like I was during the original recall episode. I'm just curious to hear what's going on. CCH was indeed contacted by, I assume, pinsandbones, in regard to the failure of his Alien. Said contact included pictures of the failed unit, which, apparently showed a broken cable stem, not a failed braze. So this failure is not the same as the recall failures. That MIGHT actually be bad news, since it may -- MAY -- point to an entirely different problem. However, it's important to note that cable-stemmed cams are vulnerable to some extent to sharp edges, of which it appears Souder's Crack has plenty. Without any additional information, I'll allow this failure might be due to that. To me, it's beginning to appear that this is not the result of any shortcoming on CCH's part. Dave Waggoner also told me that he requested additional contact from the pinsandbones several days ago, but has not gotten it. Not sure where pinsandbones is, but he's not here either. Hey, pinandbones! Post up your pics, mate! Lastly, I suggested to Waggoner that he post up with an update on this. I told him that, even if he has no additional information, a lot of people would appreciate some kind of proof that they care about what people think. It kinda seemed like that hadn't occurred to him. Waggoner's exact words were, "Yeah, I should probably go ahead and do that today." Though the limited information available appears to vindicate CCH, at least in this particular incident, I'm not seeing a whole lot to make me change my mind about them and Aliens. Quality assurance aside, they still seem to be unaware of or indifferent to the legitimate fears of their customers. Instead of responding to worst-case scenarios, as I believe they should, they still seem to act (or not act as the case may be) based on what they hope is true. Aliens remain the only cam on the market today above which I refuse to climb. ______________________________________________-- Hmmmm, at odds somewhat with the op's post:
pinandbones wrote: "First off, thanks to all for the positive thoughts. Second, sorry for the delay in getting back to the forum, I am not a regular, and have been very busy catching up with life (i.e. finishing a 16 credit semester without the use of my dominant hand/arm). Now, about the alien. I will attempt to answer many of the questions posted. It was not a broken stem due to an edge or any other strange action on the cam. It was a vertical placement and broke at the head. Where it broke, was well into the crack. It was NOT A RECALLED ALIEN. I was seventy feet up or so when I fell from just a few feet above the piece. i will be posting pictures of the alien, but not yet. Just know that it did not fail because of an edge or any other contortion. It was a good clean placement. Thanks again for the concerns and I will post more when I have all of my facts together. P&B "
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jt512
Apr 26, 2007, 3:55 AM
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j_ung wrote: Aliens remain the only cam on the market today above which I refuse to climb. Jay, occasionally it really is ok to end a sentence with a preposition. Jay
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j_ung
Apr 26, 2007, 3:19 PM
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jt512 wrote: j_ung wrote: Aliens remain the only cam on the market today above which I refuse to climb. Jay, occasionally it really is ok to end a sentence with a preposition. Jay Heh. Duly noted.
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j_ung
Apr 26, 2007, 3:22 PM
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billcoe_ wrote: j_ung wrote: I don't know... ______________________________________________-- Hmmmm, at odds somewhat with the op's post: pinandbones wrote: "First off, thanks to all for the positive thoughts. Second, sorry for the delay in getting back to the forum, I am not a regular, and have been very busy catching up with life (i.e. finishing a 16 credit semester without the use of my dominant hand/arm). Now, about the alien. I will attempt to answer many of the questions posted. It was not a broken stem due to an edge or any other strange action on the cam. It was a vertical placement and broke at the head. Where it broke, was well into the crack. It was NOT A RECALLED ALIEN. I was seventy feet up or so when I fell from just a few feet above the piece. i will be posting pictures of the alien, but not yet. Just know that it did not fail because of an edge or any other contortion. It was a good clean placement. Thanks again for the concerns and I will post more when I have all of my facts together. P&B " My post preceded the pinsandbones post above, which is the OP in the other thread. Getting kind of confusing, isn't it?
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ptone
May 31, 2007, 4:27 PM
Post #92 of 93
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Registered: Mar 5, 2003
Posts: 350
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I read through Injuries and Accidents once in a while cause often there are good breakdowns of accidents, and I prefer to learn about potential problems and solutions without bleeding too much...and I always hope that since there's no way to undo an accident, at least we can use the information to prevent repeated pain! I'm reading this late (limited internet access) but hope there is still a chance for some useful breakdown and answers. So far there's been tons of replies, discussion of gri-gris, aliens, novice belays etc...but no clear details about anything. Early on, someone posted that they witnessed the scene--met the female belayer, quoted her, helped. They basically said the climber was cleaning the route after both had climbed. This would suggest the climber was being lowered while cleaning, meaning it is really unlikely the grigri was threaded backwards etc, and if a piece broke, it must've been a top anchoring piece (which creates an unlikely situation itself--I don't know any climber who would, after repeated climbs, lower off a single (and so sacrificed) alien to clean and move on. If it was a leader fall (I guess from the eyewitness it would have been his second climb on the route) how did he deck?? At 70 feet up, surely he'd placed more pro than just the top alien which broke??! Now we come to the question if the top placement (the alien) broke, so he fell a little further and harder than usual, how did the belayer fail to catch him with a grigri?? Maby I missed something, but I think it'd be helpful to know what happened, so those reading about the accident can perhaps save themselves from a similar fate! thanks, -p
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bobruef
May 31, 2007, 4:51 PM
Post #93 of 93
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Registered: Jul 22, 2005
Posts: 884
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ptone wrote: I read through Injuries and Accidents once in a while cause often there are good breakdowns of accidents, and I prefer to learn about potential problems and solutions without bleeding too much...and I always hope that since there's no way to undo an accident, at least we can use the information to prevent repeated pain! I'm reading this late (limited internet access) but hope there is still a chance for some useful breakdown and answers. So far there's been tons of replies, discussion of gri-gris, aliens, novice belays etc...but no clear details about anything. Early on, someone posted that they witnessed the scene--met the female belayer, quoted her, helped. They basically said the climber was cleaning the route after both had climbed. This would suggest the climber was being lowered while cleaning, meaning it is really unlikely the grigri was threaded backwards etc, and if a piece broke, it must've been a top anchoring piece (which creates an unlikely situation itself--I don't know any climber who would, after repeated climbs, lower off a single (and so sacrificed) alien to clean and move on. If it was a leader fall (I guess from the eyewitness it would have been his second climb on the route) how did he deck?? At 70 feet up, surely he'd placed more pro than just the top alien which broke??! Now we come to the question if the top placement (the alien) broke, so he fell a little further and harder than usual, how did the belayer fail to catch him with a grigri?? Maby I missed something, but I think it'd be helpful to know what happened, so those reading about the accident can perhaps save themselves from a similar fate! thanks, -p There are two seperate accidents refered to this weekend. The accident named in the title refers to a climber who was leading Souder's Crack. He was leading up a questionable flake section, made it past w/ some sketch gear inserted. Once he reached the more stable part of the climb, he plugged a yellow alien (which should have been the "thank god" piece), climbed a small amount above it and fell. The cam ripped apart, and the lower protection in the bad flake pulled. This is the accident sparking the CCH discussion, as the cam was post recall, stamped tensile tested, and failed at the cable's insertion point into the head. The other incident involved a grigri, and a climber cleaning the route. Hope this helps clear it up.
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