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agdavis
Jan 17, 2012, 4:25 AM
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Today my wife got her hair caught in her belay device on a free rappel.
We were rapping off Moosedog Tower in J-Tree today, and the wind was a steady 30mph with gusts to about 70 mph. The wind blew her ponytail around and it got sucked into the belay device as she was coming down. Like a champ, dangling by her hair with no knife, she tore her hair chunk-by-chunk and managed to get it free.
Definitely the craziest wind that I've ever climbed in (I'm from southern California).
A pic for your viewing pleasure:
(This post was edited by agdavis on Jan 17, 2012, 4:27 AM)
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robdotcalm
Jan 17, 2012, 4:37 AM
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Just curious. How was the belay device attached, e.g., clipped into the belay loop, extended by a sling, or in a different way?
Congratulations to your wife for courage and competence in escaping. I'll bet this won't happen again to her and hopefully not to anybody reading your post. Thanks for writing this up.
Rob.calm
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agdavis
Jan 17, 2012, 4:50 AM
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robdotcalm wrote: Just curious. How was the belay device attached, e.g., clipped into the belay loop, extended by a sling, or in a different way? Congratulations to your wife for courage and competence in escaping. I'll bet this won't happen again to her and hopefully not to anybody reading your post. Thanks for writing this up. Rob.calm
It was clipped to the belay loop.
Another lesson learned: carrying a small pocket knife is mandatory.
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rgold
Jan 17, 2012, 5:05 AM
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Your wife is tough and resourceful and didn't panic under stress---good for her. But I'm not sure the lesson learned is to have a knife, because years ago someone in exactly the same position sliced through their harness and fell to their death.
I think the lesson is to know how, under stress, to get your weight completely off the belay device so that hair or clothing can be extracted without having to cut anything.
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agdavis
Jan 17, 2012, 5:13 AM
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rgold wrote: Your wife is tough and resourceful and didn't panic under stress---good for her. But I'm not sure the lesson learned is to have a knife, because years ago someone in exactly the same position sliced through their harness and fell to their death. I think the lesson is to know how, under stress, to get your weight completely off the belay device so that hair or clothing can be extracted without having to cut anything.
I forgot to mention that the other lesson learned was to always wear her hair in a bun of some sort.
And really, someone sliced through their harness? I would think that you would have to saw at it quite a bit to make that happen. What's your source for this story?
As for taking the weight off the belay device, what would you recommend? Tie a prussik above the belay device with a long sling to step on? Even if she did that, I would think that it would be a very balancy move - especially when trying to get the hair out. If her foot would slip out of the sling, she would likely tear out a large chunk of her scalp. How would you do it?
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jae8908
Jan 17, 2012, 5:23 AM
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agdavis wrote: rgold wrote: Your wife is tough and resourceful and didn't panic under stress---good for her. But I'm not sure the lesson learned is to have a knife, because years ago someone in exactly the same position sliced through their harness and fell to their death. I think the lesson is to know how, under stress, to get your weight completely off the belay device so that hair or clothing can be extracted without having to cut anything. I forgot to mention that the other lesson learned was to always wear her hair in a bun of some sort. And really, someone sliced through their harness? I would think that you would have to saw at it quite a bit to make that happen. What's your source for this story? As for taking the weight off the belay device, what would you recommend? Tie a prussik above the belay device with a long sling to step on? Even if she did that, I would think that it would be a very balancy move - especially when trying to get the hair out. If her foot would slip out of the sling, she would likely tear out a large chunk of her scalp. How would you do it?
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argos44
Jan 17, 2012, 6:24 AM
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I would of thought maybe just pulling up on a prussik with one hand might release enough weight to free her hair. If not then standing on a prussik would be the option.
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rgold
Jan 17, 2012, 6:50 AM
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agdavis wrote: And really, someone sliced through their harness? I would think that you would have to saw at it quite a bit to make that happen. What's your source for this story?
It happened a long time ago on the Maiden rappel, I think, and was reported in Summit magazine, and perhaps also the AAC accident report. The harness in question was just a "Swiss seat" tied from 1" webbing so was much easier to slice through then a modern harness, although folks who extend their device from the harness would have an analogously vulnerable connection, and certain parts of most harnesses---the webbing that actually goes through the buckle for example---is also easy to cut.
Also, I don't know about hair, but you can get clothing into the belay device and cutting it won't free the rappel---you have to unweight the device and remove the clothing in order to continue down.
agdavis wrote: As for taking the weight off the belay device, what would you recommend? Tie a prussik above the belay device with a long sling to step on? Even if she did that, I would think that it would be a very balancy move - especially when trying to get the hair out. If her foot would slip out of the sling, she would likely tear out a large chunk of her scalp. How would you do it?
What you said, but also clip a quickdraw to the high prussik. Stand up in the sling and clip the draw to the harness belay loop so that you are now hanging in your harness from the prussik with the device unweighted.
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bearbreeder
Jan 17, 2012, 7:21 AM
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ive had a partner get their (non ponytail) hair stuck as well, luckily she managed to get it out
my suggestion would be for you to give a firemans to her if you can, and then she can take a bit more time .... a prussik may be in order ... or at least know how to tie off the belay device and work from there
(This post was edited by bearbreeder on Jan 17, 2012, 7:23 AM)
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naitch
Jan 17, 2012, 12:23 PM
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About 10 years I was climbing with my son and he was rapping off a sport climb and got his long hair caught in the belay device when bending over looking down for a moment during the rap. He didn't have a knife and was in so much pain and agony that he gradually pulled out his hair by the roots. Ended up with a small bald patch. Painful way to learn a lesson.
Lessons learned: carry a knife, carry a prussic, and extend the belay/rap device. ...and to get a haircut or keep the hair out of the way.
(This post was edited by naitch on Jan 17, 2012, 1:16 PM)
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shotwell
Jan 20, 2012, 9:50 PM
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naitch wrote: About 10 years I was climbing with my son and he was rapping off a sport climb and got his long hair caught in the belay device when bending over looking down for a moment during the rap. He didn't have a knife and was in so much pain and agony that he gradually pulled out his hair by the roots. Ended up with a small bald patch. Painful way to learn a lesson. Lessons learned: carry a knife, carry a prussic, and extend the belay/rap device. ...and to get a haircut or keep the hair out of the way.
The best lesson here might be to lower on sport pitches, but take what you want from this.
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naitch
Jan 20, 2012, 10:30 PM
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Except for the fact that the last person has to clean and rap. Where we climb we don't lower through the anchors...
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shotwell
Jan 20, 2012, 10:38 PM
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naitch wrote: Except for the fact that the last person has to clean and rap. Where we climb we don't lower through the anchors...
Incredibly uncommon for sport climbing. I personally assume that any sport pitch is bolted with the expectation that the last climber will lower. I also contribute sacrificial gear to anchors for this reason. If you don't mind me asking, where do you climb?
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damienclimber
Jan 20, 2012, 10:48 PM
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agdavis wrote: Today my wife got her hair caught in her belay device on a free rappel. We were rapping off Moosedog Tower in J-Tree today, and the wind was a steady 30mph with gusts to about 70 mph. The wind blew her ponytail around and it got sucked into the belay device as she was coming down. Like a champ, dangling by her hair with no knife, she tore her hair chunk-by-chunk and managed to get it free. Definitely the craziest wind that I've ever climbed in (I'm from southern California). A pic for your viewing pleasure: [image]http://www.rockclimbing.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=6133;[/image]
It was all your fault !
I hope your wife finds a better climbing partner next time.
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soNVclimbing
Jan 20, 2012, 10:59 PM
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a good rule for riding zip lines, tyroly's or while rappelling is to keep your hair tucked up under your hat and your shirt/coat tucked into your pants.
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naitch
Jan 20, 2012, 11:51 PM
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shotwell wrote: naitch wrote: Except for the fact that the last person has to clean and rap. Where we climb we don't lower through the anchors... Incredibly uncommon for sport climbing. I personally assume that any sport pitch is bolted with the expectation that the last climber will lower. I also contribute sacrificial gear to anchors for this reason. If you don't mind me asking, where do you climb?
Franklin WV. At lot of the climb have shuts that are wearing from that very reason.
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shotwell
Jan 20, 2012, 11:56 PM
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naitch wrote: shotwell wrote: naitch wrote: Except for the fact that the last person has to clean and rap. Where we climb we don't lower through the anchors... Incredibly uncommon for sport climbing. I personally assume that any sport pitch is bolted with the expectation that the last climber will lower. I also contribute sacrificial gear to anchors for this reason. If you don't mind me asking, where do you climb? And what exactly do you think shuts are for? Closed shuts are the worst hardware that could possibly be used for an anchor. Open shuts only have the benefit of convenience. Using the wrong hardware is no reason to encourage a rap first ethic in sport climbing. Franklin WV. At lot of the climb have shuts that are wearing from that very reason. |
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notapplicable
Jan 21, 2012, 12:02 AM
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Having done that myself, I would just like to say...HAHA!!
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Kartessa
Jan 21, 2012, 12:38 AM
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notapplicable wrote: Having done that myself, I would just like to say...HAHA!!
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agdavis
Jan 21, 2012, 1:34 AM
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shotwell wrote: naitch wrote: Except for the fact that the last person has to clean and rap. Where we climb we don't lower through the anchors... Incredibly uncommon for sport climbing. I personally assume that any sport pitch is bolted with the expectation that the. last climber will lower. I also contribute sacrificial gear to anchors for this reason. If you don't mind me asking, where do you climb?
While there isn't much black and white in climbing, I must say that when looking at United States climbing as a whole that you are categorically incorrect.
Chains are for rapping, not lowering (and also not for building your anchor). Lowering off of chains not only causes premature wear but also creates the incentive for others to do the same. While it might be tempting to lower because you don't have to thread half the rope as you do when rapping, show some respect to the route.
(This post was edited by agdavis on Jan 21, 2012, 1:38 AM)
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naitch
Jan 21, 2012, 2:36 AM
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shotwell wrote: naitch wrote: shotwell wrote: naitch wrote: Except for the fact that the last person has to clean and rap. Where we climb we don't lower through the anchors... Incredibly uncommon for sport climbing. I personally assume that any sport pitch is bolted with the expectation that the last climber will lower. I also contribute sacrificial gear to anchors for this reason. If you don't mind me asking, where do you climb? And what exactly do you think shuts are for? Closed shuts are the worst hardware that could possibly be used for an anchor. Open shuts only have the benefit of convenience. Using the wrong hardware is no reason to encourage a rap first ethic in sport climbing. Franklin WV. At lot of the climb have shuts that are wearing from that very reason.
Closed shuts are found throughout the area. People have different opinions about rethreading and being lowered vs. rethreading and rapping. Both to preserve what's there and because of having a trad background, we chose/choose to rap instead.
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jt512
Jan 21, 2012, 3:14 AM
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agdavis wrote: shotwell wrote: naitch wrote: Except for the fact that the last person has to clean and rap. Where we climb we don't lower through the anchors... Incredibly uncommon for sport climbing. I personally assume that any sport pitch is bolted with the expectation that the. last climber will lower. I also contribute sacrificial gear to anchors for this reason. If you don't mind me asking, where do you climb? While there isn't much black and white in climbing, I must say that when looking at United States climbing as a whole that you are categorically incorrect. Chains are for rapping, not lowering (and also not for building your anchor). Lowering off of chains not only causes premature wear but also creates the incentive for others to do the same. While it might be tempting to lower because you don't have to thread half the rope as you do when rapping, show some respect to the route.
No, you're wrong. At almost any sport area, you can lower off whatever anchors there are, including chains. Chains are pretty common sport anchors in the US. You can lower through them.
Jay
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caughtinside
Jan 21, 2012, 3:22 AM
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Well, it is MooseCock tower, the descent is a rap.
Several years ago we had a gang on the alcove swing, taking turns, chillin in the shade. One guy flies out there, and on the lower got his short beard stuck in his grigri. THe thing couldn't have been more than an inch long at the outside, but it sucked his face right into the grigri!
HE was crying in pain as well as you can when there's a grigri in your mouth while the rest of us died laughing. He eventually made it down, but it fully ripped out a patch of beard the size of a nickle.
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seniormoose
Jan 21, 2012, 4:07 AM
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I cary a wrapped razor blade.
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