|
|
|
|
rendog
Jun 26, 2003, 8:10 PM
Post #1 of 31
(3775 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Jun 30, 2002
Posts: 2468
|
ok this is just some thing I get the feeling I'm going to get a bunch of spray and flack for, but I know that there are some stories out there that would make for some interesting reads.
this was my day yesterday:
woke up late (8:30 am) after a night of partying with a band called Wasabi Collective (gooooooood band...jam funk rock). headed out to Lake Louise to get on Tower of Babel. a beautiful 6 pitch 5.8. late start on it (somewhere in the vicinity of 1 pm) . we head up and as luck would have it I get off route and takes me a while to find my way back onto the route but by now I've lost about an hour and a half. Finish off the climb noticing that there are fewer cars in the parking lot now than there should be so I'm thinking that it's getting late.
We get back to the car and realize that it's 8:10 in the evening. I hadn't realized that we were taking so much time...but there it was staring me in the face. "what do I do now?" I think. I have to be AT the ACC hut on Castle mountain for 8 pm. hmmmm I'm going to be a bit late i guess.
Boogie back to canmore, (thank god for radar detectors), get my sh*t together, hit the groc store, and gone again. get to the parking lot for the trail head at 10:15 pm. thinking that I know the way up and shouldn't be that much of a problem to navigate the trail and ultimately the 5.4 approach gully to get up to the hut. This should only take me about 2.5 hrs max.
4 hrs later I'm completely lost. hahahahhahahahha. bonehead.
Somehow I got disorientated and missed a crucial turn of the trail in the dark. I got cliffed out twice and traversed some stuff that I wouldn't even look at in the daylight. hmmmmmmmmmm once again for the second time today I've thought "what do I do now?" so I do what any good redneck would do. throw a good old fashioned temper tantrum, have a smoke sit down and think. really only one option...
retreat. get my ass the hell off this mtn, before I become a statistic. every year the bow valley has at least one death due to stupidity....and by god that one wasn't going to be me.
I find the trail and start the loooong hike down by myself dejected and surly, because I know that i made critical errors in judgement and almost paid the ultimate price for them.
lesson learned: if I'm not all that sure of the way up, so much so that I can't find it in the dark, wait until morning to try and get up it.
so that's my little tale of "an error in judgement; or the dumbest thing I've done for a while...." anyone else want to throw themselves to the lions and share a torie or two?
"D"
|
|
|
|
|
estherator
Jun 26, 2003, 8:50 PM
Post #2 of 31
(3775 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Aug 7, 2002
Posts: 526
|
Well, I can't top that, but I can tell you: I'm not always the brightest star in the sky, either. Mostly stuff like trying to boulder when I'm already too drunk to walk. Forgetting to make my belayer has got me on (belay) before I get on the rock. (Luckily he has always caught me before I got more than 2 moves up). There was this one time way back, when I almost dropped the a pack on my partner's head while he was climbing. :oops: Anyone wanna climb???
|
|
|
|
|
beyond_gravity
Jun 26, 2003, 9:02 PM
Post #3 of 31
(3775 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Jan 2, 2002
Posts: 5078
|
my self belay device.
I had a TR set up in the gym, and i set up my gri gri. Then I cliped the gri gri into a floor anchour and clove hitched the belayers end of the rope to the back of my harness, so when I climbed up it would pull the rope threw. (yes, I did have someone holding the rope as backup)
so I get halfway up the wall and decide to try falling. I let go, fall 20 feet and stop 1 foot off the ground because there is so much slack in the system.
good times.
|
|
|
|
|
robmcc
Jun 26, 2003, 9:20 PM
Post #4 of 31
(3775 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Apr 1, 2003
Posts: 2176
|
No contest. Roped soloing a trad climb I fell on more than half the times I climbed it. Naturally I fell that time, too. :oops: Came darn close to nominating myself for a Darwin Award. Thousands of falls (mostly TR, of course) and the ONE time I go upside down I'm on a soloist. Woo, lucky me.
Second place would be getting off trail on the way down from Seneca Rocks after dark. I ended up scooting down through the trees on my butt so as not to go off any drops. Got to the bottom and realized one of the two ropes I had on my back were gone, sacrificed to the blackness and the bushes.
|
|
|
|
|
deleted
Deleted
Jun 26, 2003, 9:26 PM
Post #5 of 31
(3769 views)
Shortcut
Registered:
Posts:
|
three words: naked slab climbing. :shock:
|
|
|
|
|
dirtineye
Jun 26, 2003, 9:28 PM
Post #6 of 31
(3775 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Mar 29, 2003
Posts: 5590
|
Spent too much time on climbing message boards and not enough climbing.
|
|
|
|
|
thedesertnomad
Jun 26, 2003, 9:32 PM
Post #7 of 31
(3775 views)
Shortcut
Registered: May 23, 2003
Posts: 216
|
Didn't back up my velcro attachment for my chalk bag and lost it some 300+ feet off the ground on a sandstone crack climb. I did however score big points for actually hitting my belayer on the shoulder with it (he was a good 125' below me) I didn't even notice until I heard the scream of some profanities far far below me. I got to watch it before it hit the ground and poof, poof, poof... little trails of chalk down some 500 feet of talus. I was shocked at how far it got. Took me a couple of HOURS to find the sucker.
"duh" comes to mind... I now have a safety lanyard on it
|
|
|
|
|
alpinerockfiend
Jun 26, 2003, 10:01 PM
Post #8 of 31
(3775 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Feb 3, 2003
Posts: 598
|
On an early-season climb of the Durrance Ridge, one of the Teton classic rock routes approached by a moderately steep snow coulouir, I lost an axe from my pack on the 8th pitch of the rock route. Thankfully, the snow was soft and we are both very competent on it. The lower climber walked down the snow while the upper climber with the axe kept tension on the rope and offered the anchor if needed. It was never needed and we made it down safely and promptly, but if the coulouir had been hard and/or icy, things could've turned hairy...
|
|
|
|
|
jtme
Jun 26, 2003, 10:15 PM
Post #9 of 31
(3775 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Nov 6, 2002
Posts: 84
|
........ask the woman who became my ex-wife to do a few routes with me!!
|
|
|
|
|
sirwhipsalot
Jun 26, 2003, 10:22 PM
Post #10 of 31
(3775 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Jun 24, 2003
Posts: 3
|
I do dumb shit ever time I climb..................
On the first and Crux pitch of Rosy Crusifiction, in Eldo.
It is a rad and super exposed traverse right off the start.
It starts with like three bolts and then it's gear for 50' or so, straight horizontal.
The crux moves come after clipping the last bolt. I cruised the sequence and stepped over to a stance to place a piece, and realized, I DON"T HAVE THE F'IN RACK!!!!!
I had taken it off just before I started climbing to take a piss.
The crux moves I had just done seemed too hard to reverse, so I ran it out like 40' to the anchor, which, thank god, was fixed.
Weed and cliffs, funny combo...............
|
|
|
|
|
gretchino
Jun 26, 2003, 10:27 PM
Post #11 of 31
(3775 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Feb 17, 2003
Posts: 393
|
In reply to: three words: naked slab climbing. :shock: |
|
|
|
|
phyreman
Jun 26, 2003, 11:12 PM
Post #12 of 31
(3775 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Jun 21, 2003
Posts: 93
|
Earlier this spring my friend and I were climbing in the Gunks during a downpour. He was leading the second pitch and had finished setting his anchor and started pulling in the slack. I unclipped from the anchor and dismantled it. As I started up the first moves of the pitch I realised I had just unclipped from an anchor and there was still almost 60 feet of slack in the rope.... Being wet and cold does funny things to your head....
|
|
|
|
|
lpclimber
Jun 26, 2003, 11:53 PM
Post #13 of 31
(3775 views)
Shortcut
Registered: May 28, 2003
Posts: 45
|
this one didn't happen to me but my friend lead climbed with a static rope and biners instead of draws
|
|
|
|
|
kman
Jun 27, 2003, 12:19 AM
Post #14 of 31
(3775 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Oct 16, 2001
Posts: 2561
|
^^^ :shock: damn!
|
|
|
|
|
alpinerock
Jun 27, 2003, 12:59 AM
Post #15 of 31
(3775 views)
Shortcut
Registered: May 17, 2003
Posts: 600
|
In reply to: this one didn't happen to me but my friend lead climbed with a static rope and biners instead of draws
That would be me, the friend who lead(first time leading)with a static and locking jake scew-lock, not to mention that, the climb was my first roof
|
|
|
|
|
greatgarbanzo
Jun 27, 2003, 2:30 AM
Post #16 of 31
(3775 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Oct 13, 2001
Posts: 360
|
This last tuesday I lowered my girlfriend from a big ledge to the floor... I lowered her straigth from my harness and when she was half the way through I realized that I WAS NOT ANCHORED AT ALL!!!! Luckly for me she is only 100 lb!!!
|
|
|
|
|
rendog
Jun 27, 2003, 5:26 AM
Post #17 of 31
(3775 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Jun 30, 2002
Posts: 2468
|
oh yeah did I mention on my little escapade that I was only wearing sandles instead of the prerequisite hiking boots?????
DUH!!!!!!!!!!
|
|
|
|
|
passthepitonspete
Jun 27, 2003, 5:30 AM
Post #18 of 31
(3775 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Oct 10, 2001
Posts: 2183
|
Dumbest thing?
I freaking summitted last week, when I still had food, water, and {shudder} beer left. Can you believe it? I thought I actually wanted off the rock.
Now here I am back home, wishing I were still up there.........
|
|
|
|
|
1269topper
Jun 27, 2003, 5:58 AM
Post #19 of 31
(3775 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Mar 6, 2003
Posts: 168
|
WOW I really have too many stories for this one.
1900Johnnyk can back me up on that. hee hee thank god none of us were hurt
But i really did a good blunder this easter. I summited seneca in time to watch the sun set with my girlfriend. REally romatic and shit then the sun set and I remebered the light and all the bags were at the bottom near skyline traverse. Yah i feel the pain of who said the walked off seneca in the dark.
|
|
|
|
|
chitlinsconcarne
Jun 27, 2003, 6:57 AM
Post #20 of 31
(3775 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Jun 16, 2003
Posts: 199
|
1st worst..Many moons ago, strung out to the point of hallucination after a 4 day ascent in the Alaska Range, I made the classic error of rapping off the ends of the rope. No knots in the ends and we were in a hideous dirt/ice gully above a serious bergshrund. Just as the rope went through my hands, both feet hit a "bump" in the gully and I swayed out, then in and just kind of sucked into the slope using my whole body for friction. I was afraid to let go enough to even reach around and grab an axe and the rope had recoiled back up out of reach. A very bad time until the next guy down lent a hand.
2nd worst..Aid soloing in the Valley I managed to get my lead rope (the loose end) stuck in a crack below me while on some not-so-good piece in the middle of nothingwhere. Rapping off that piece, I never took my eyes off it and never moved so smoothly in my whole life. Another very bad moment.
|
|
|
|
|
c_kryll
Jun 27, 2003, 3:02 PM
Post #21 of 31
(3775 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Nov 18, 2002
Posts: 146
|
One month ago in Sencea I'm up at the semi-hanging belay of Ecstasy's ( 5.7) second pitch getting ready to lead out the 3rd pitch. Turn to my belayer and ask "On belay?", "Yup, your on", I take myself off the anchor, "Ok, climbing" .....-5 seconds later- "How about a little slack?", "Oh shit, sorry, I've got it set up to bring up a 'second' (he was using a reverso) I watch in shock as my belayer takes the reverso off the anchor and for the 4.2 seconds it takes him to re-attache me to his harness I looked at the full 60m of rope, lap coiled, and then the 80' of air below my feet. "Your on belay"................................"Ok,.uh..you sure?"
After that I climbed the rest of the pitch in the sure knowledge that I was pretty much soloing. So a word to the wise; if you are climbing with a new partner pay more attention to them until you know their habits. Our mistake was it was late in the day, we were hungry and my partner was a thin guy who got a little 'spacey' when his blood suger dropped.
Chris
|
|
|
|
|
mreardon
Jun 27, 2003, 4:36 PM
Post #22 of 31
(3775 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Jun 17, 2002
Posts: 1337
|
Too many to count, but here's one of my favorites.
For those that climb by night, using a headlamp is cheating, but a bonfire? So there I was with my partner Jack, enjoying the still night air of Joshua Tree, and a blackberry merlot for $1.99, otherwise known as the "chuggable wine". Camped at Indian Cove we had a great day, were climbing hard, and a pretty little 5.11 bolted line was right above us illuminated by the firelight. So we took another sip, threw everything we had on the fire, and I jumped on lead, after all, how hard can it be?
Five minutes later I clipped the first bolt, 20 feet off the deck, then stepped around and found the second, thought I saw the third a ways up when suddenly it got dark. Apparently you need wood for a fire and maybe it had something to do with our drink of choice, but the wood was still sitting by the firepit, yet all of the paper towels were now gone. Coincidence?
So there I am, in the blackness, runout, and on the crux. Courage filled my throat, or maybe it was vomit, and as Jack tells it, there was the sound of a squeeling girl, a massive tug of rope, then the slap of authority, followed by massive grunting. To this day I have no idea what exactly I was pulling on, but the mixture of wine and fear allowed for a midnight dyno where my feet kicked off, my knees scraped the rock, but somehow my hand stuck to the muffin it latched. Then a heel hook (not recommended when runout and precariously holding onto a muffin you dyno'd to), massive grunting, skipping a clip (again, not recommended on runouts) and of course the howling at the moon when I found the anchor.
Not the dumbest thing I've ever done climbing, but it's definitely in the top ten. Right up there with the time I climbed naked at the Gallery in Red Rocks and had a police helicopter fly overhead, but that's another story for another day :wink:
|
|
|
|
|
veggieclimber
Jun 27, 2003, 4:39 PM
Post #23 of 31
(3775 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Jun 25, 2003
Posts: 27
|
This happened a couple months after I had started climbing. My (old)partner and I were out at the local spot, and I decided I wanted to lead a 5.8 I had done before. I had only lead once before on an easy 5.5 to get the hang of it, I had some trouble clipping a couple times, but was confident today. My partner had never given a lead belay before and had only been climbing for about a month. I told him just to give me slack when i asked for it, otherwise, just keep it like a loose top rope belay. My brief description was not a good idea. I stopped to clip at the third bolt, while holding on to a half descent slopper. I got the draw on the bolt fine, but had picked the stiffest gate biner in my rack to clip to. Being an inexperienced clipper, I missed the clip several times. What I didn't realize was that each time I attempted to clip I called for some slack, and my partner gave it to me. The sloper was getting worse, I chalked, tried a few more times, then, said "Take man, I am going to peel." I heard the most horrifying thing I have ever heard in my life. "Give me a sec I need to take in all that slack I gave you" He hadn't been pulling anything in, just paying out about 5 feet of rope everytime I asked for it. neeless to say I peeled and decked from about 30'. The ground was forgiving, and I wasn't hurt, just shaken as hell. I mostly blame myself for assuming my partner could lead belay when he never had, and when I tried to tell him, even though I wasn't experienced enough to teach him.
|
|
|
|
|
slcliffdiver
Jun 27, 2003, 7:08 PM
Post #24 of 31
(3775 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Mar 18, 2002
Posts: 489
|
Veggieclimber, that had me laughing maybe it was laughing in horror. Thought I had heard about every way to hose a leader but that takes the cake. Glad you weren't hurt.
To embaressed to put down a list how I survived the first couple of years I'll never know. Mostly stupid solo tricks but also a few stupid lead tricks.
But the stupidist was being so impressed by how well a beginning really hot female climbed and was so excited to climb with her that I didn't go out with her. I kept on telling her times that I had free to climb with her. She kept on mentioning times she had free after dark and I would go no it's to dark then :oops: It actually gets worse but I'm not going into it. I was so awed by how great a natural climber she was (in oversized slippers she literally hoped from one time release tiny foothold to another) I forgot to see her as a hot woman. The truely trajic part is I don't think she ever climbed again if I had enough of a brain to go out with her maybe she would have climbed long enough to get into it. As a woman from what I knew of her she was friggin awesome. I still feel like banging my head against something when I think of it :cry: I've gotten stupid before when I've been excited to go out with someone I found hot. This was my first experience being so excited to climb with someone that it made me that stupid. God she was good, god she was hot, god I was stupid.
I did buy a clue later but I didn't know how to reach her and then she moved :cry:
|
|
|
|
|
markc
Jun 27, 2003, 7:32 PM
Post #25 of 31
(3775 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Jan 21, 2003
Posts: 2481
|
In reply to: I do dumb s___ ever time I climb.................. On the first and Crux pitch of Rosy Crusifiction, in Eldo. It is a rad and super exposed traverse right off the start. It starts with like three bolts and then it's gear for 50' or so, straight horizontal. The crux moves come after clipping the last bolt. I cruised the sequence and stepped over to a stance to place a piece, and realized, I DON"T HAVE THE F'IN RACK!!!!! I had taken it off just before I started climbing to take a piss. The crux moves I had just done seemed too hard to reverse, so I ran it out like 40' to the anchor, which, thank god, was fixed.
How did your second feel about dealing with an utterly unprotected crux, looking at a mean 50' pendulum fall? I've never climbed at Eldo, so maybe I'm missing something. From the sound of it, you could have taken a 10-footer onto a bolt, batman up, and reverse the traverse you had cruised (to use your words) rather than subjecting your partner to such risk. If there is ever a time where the second is in as much danger as the leader, it's on traversing routes.
(I'm not trying to flame here, but it sounds like a bad scene.)
mark
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1
