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Linsanity
Apr 4, 2012, 8:35 AM
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Im new to climbing. I saw that 17 people died in a year climbing up half dome in yosemite. But if one had a rope, how do they do they usually die? Does a rope not save someone? That is what i wanted to know.
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rightarmbad
Apr 4, 2012, 9:39 AM
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I suppose some people are just not strong enough to keep a hold of the rope.
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Linsanity
Apr 4, 2012, 9:59 AM
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rightarmbad wrote: I suppose some people are just not strong enough to keep a hold of the rope.
what does that mean?
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stagg54
Apr 4, 2012, 10:29 AM
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Provided you use it correctly the rope should stop you from taking the big plunge (ie all the way to the ground).
However even if you fall say 20-30 feet and don't hit the ground (ie. the rope does its job an stops you), there are plenty of ledges and other things to hit and swing into which can cause problems.
There is also the issue that rope is not indesctructible and can be cut.
Of course, the number one reason the whole system fails is most likely pilot error. (ie. someone does not tie in correctly belayer drops them, etc.)
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sbaclimber
Apr 4, 2012, 10:33 AM
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rightarmbad wrote: I suppose some people are just not strong enough to keep a hold of the rope. 
@Linsanity: In the case of the 17th death, rightarmbad is actually correct (technically it is a cable):
The other 16 weren't necessarily on Half-Dome, nor necessarily climbers. From this article:
In reply to: Leeder's tragic death has been one of many this year. Five of the 17 deaths at Yosemite this year have been the result of natural causes like heart attacks. The remaining 12 have included tourists falling and drowning from various parts of the park, the San Jose Mercury News reports. |
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rtwilli4
Apr 4, 2012, 10:38 AM
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I suppose the people who died on Half Dome were this type of climber (not real rock climbing):
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Linsanity
Apr 4, 2012, 10:48 AM
Post #7 of 17
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stagg54 wrote: Provided you use it correctly the rope should stop you from taking the big plunge (ie all the way to the ground). However even if you fall say 20-30 feet and don't hit the ground (ie. the rope does its job an stops you), there are plenty of ledges and other things to hit and swing into which can cause problems. There is also the issue that rope is not indesctructible and can be cut. Of course, the number one reason the whole system fails is most likely pilot error. (ie. someone does not tie in correctly belayer drops them, etc.)
What are the odds that the rope gets cut?
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edge
Apr 4, 2012, 11:59 AM
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Linsanity wrote: stagg54 wrote: Provided you use it correctly the rope should stop you from taking the big plunge (ie all the way to the ground). However even if you fall say 20-30 feet and don't hit the ground (ie. the rope does its job an stops you), there are plenty of ledges and other things to hit and swing into which can cause pr oblems. There is also the issue that rope is not indesctructible and can be cut. Of course, the number one reason the whole system fails is most likely pilot error. (ie. someone does not tie in correctly belayer drops them, etc.) What are the odds that the rope gets cut?
It depends how much you annoy your partner...
And there is a whole thread right now discussing ropes breaking. Check it out. http://www.rockclimbing.com/...3;page=unread#unread
(This post was edited by edge on Apr 4, 2012, 12:01 PM)
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lena_chita
Moderator
Apr 4, 2012, 2:41 PM
Post #9 of 17
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Linsanity wrote: Im new to climbing. I saw that 17 people died in a year climbing up half dome in yosemite. But if one had a rope, how do they do they usually die? Does a rope not save someone? That is what i wanted to know.
Tourists on Half-Dome aside, the most common reason the climbers fall has nothing to do with most common reason the climbers die.
Climbers fall most often because they are trying to climb a route that is too hard for them, or because something unexpected happens, such as rock breaking, foot slipping, etc.
Most sport climbers take falls on a regular basis, with nothing but bruised ego to show for it. Gear climbers as a group are more cautious and take fewer falls, but still, most do, and walk away with no injuries at all.
Deaths are usually due to
-- operator errors (e.g. belayer mistake, climber mistake, rappel mistake),
-- natural factors that could not have been predicted (e.g. random lightning strike, ice pillar breaking, rockfall),
-- a combination of human judgement/error and natural causes (e.g. hypothermia due to inadequate preparation/disregarding the weather forecast, misjudging the fall distance to the ledge, not placing enough protection/or climbing routes that do not have opportunity for adequate gear protection)
--and finally, very occasionally, due to gear failure (rope getting cut on sharp rock or old 'biners, bolt breaking/pulling out, 'biners or gear breaking)
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jt512
Apr 4, 2012, 6:11 PM
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rightarmbad wrote: I suppose some people are just not strong enough to keep a hold of the rope.
A consequence of neglecting grip training.
Jay
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mheyman
Apr 5, 2012, 3:59 AM
Post #11 of 17
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"What is the most common reason rock climbers fall with a rope?"
Cause they are tied to it of course!
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majid_sabet
Apr 5, 2012, 6:00 AM
Post #12 of 17
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Linsanity wrote: Im new to climbing. I saw that 17 people died in a year climbing up half dome in yosemite. But if one had a rope, how do they do they usually die? Does a rope not save someone? That is what i wanted to know.
first of all, no 17 people ever died on half dome in any year . if you are talking about 2011, 17 people died in yosemite, 50% was water related incident,half dome had one and few other climbers did die here and there.
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Marylandclimber
Apr 11, 2012, 3:54 PM
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lol! He didn't mean it that way XD
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jomagam
Apr 11, 2012, 5:44 PM
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rtwilli4 wrote: I suppose the people who died on Half Dome were this type of climber (not real rock climbing): [image]http://www.foothillflyers.org/jpeg%20files/halfdomecablecrowd2.jpg[/image]
I've done Half Dome on a similar day and I'm surprised only 16 people die annually.
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CLimbNHNY
Apr 11, 2012, 11:11 PM
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Many reasons, gear can rip off the wall(trad or a bolted wall) Bad knot, bad belayer, ATC broke. hit a ledge. Just because you have a rope doesnt mean the rope will save you.
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johnwesely
Apr 11, 2012, 11:31 PM
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CLimbNHNY wrote: Many reasons, gear can rip off the wall(trad or a bolted wall) Bad knot, bad belayer, ATC broke. hit a ledge. Just because you have a rope doesnt mean the rope will save you.
O RLY?
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squierbypetzl
Moderator
Apr 12, 2012, 2:23 AM
Post #17 of 17
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johnwesely wrote: CLimbNHNY wrote: Many reasons, gear can rip off the wall(trad or a bolted wall) Bad knot, bad belayer, ATC broke. hit a ledge. Just because you have a rope doesnt mean the rope will save you. O RLY?
Please don't feed the trolls.
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