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ctclimbz
Apr 9, 2004, 6:49 PM
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When I first started climbing, I remember reading a great 'whipper of the month' in Climbing mag about a climber who was on some thin crack pitch. He ran out of pro, and ended up slinging his class ring and slotting it, as he was super run out. He then proceeded to take a long fall above it, pulled a piece or two above the ring, but the class ring held, and prevented him from decking. The ring was totally mangled, and the guy put it on a string and wore it as a necklace. My question is, does anybody know about this incident or have a similar experience? Have you ever totally improvised when super runout to get anything in as "gear?"
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braon
Apr 9, 2004, 7:01 PM
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I was once on a climb which was bolted according to the guidebook. Apparently the guidebook forgot to mention the 30 feet of handcrack and 15 foot face traverse, all over a ledge, before the next bolt. I started up the crack to check it out, and found a little slot near the top. I ended up climbing back down to the ledge, grabbed a rock that I noticed down there, and wedged it in the slot. Wrapped a sling around it and got to listen to my partner telling me what a bada$$ I was for being oldschool using a chockstone. Never did test it with a fall though.
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gds
Apr 9, 2004, 7:07 PM
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Not mine but....
Once I was climbing a short easy route and found a series of old (very old-they fell apart to the touch) runners that had big knots tied and jammed into cracks. There was one about every 10' so I imagine that was the pro for the entire route.
No one bothered to clean it for a long time. The climbers must have gone down the back side of the rock.
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ctclimbz
Apr 9, 2004, 7:07 PM
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Right on, thats exactly what I'm talking about! I can't remember the name of the place, but there is some location in Germany where the only pro you can use are knots made out of webbing, and wedged in the crack. I did it only once, super run out, no gear left, but fortunately never had to test it. I'm curious if anybody has actually fallen on those things....
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junnos
Apr 9, 2004, 7:07 PM
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Nothin' to hanous here, but I got on a route that had the first couple bolts chopped. On a route that was wicked run out to begin with. When I pulled moves I couldn't reverse I found a deep flare that I wedged a draw in, like a nut. I wouldn't want to fall on it, but it sure looked good.
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sharpie
Apr 9, 2004, 7:43 PM
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In reply to: He ran out of pro, and ended up slinging his class ring... pulled a piece or two above the ring...
If he was out of pro, how'd he place a piece or two above the ring??
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maculated
Apr 9, 2004, 7:45 PM
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maculated moved this thread from General to Trad Climbing.
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alwaysforward
Apr 9, 2004, 7:49 PM
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In reply to: Right on, thats exactly what I'm talking about! I can't remember the name of the place, but there is some location in Germany where the only pro you can use are knots made out of webbing, and wedged in the crack. I did it only once, super run out, no gear left, but fortunately never had to test it. I'm curious if anybody has actually fallen on those things....
Elbe River?
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mtnbkrxtrordnair
Apr 9, 2004, 7:50 PM
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In reply to: I can't remember the name of the place, but there is some location in Germany where the only pro you can use are knots made out of webbing, and wedged in the crack.
Elbsandstein
http://hep.phy.tu-dresden.de/~waldi/elbsandstein.html
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lovesclimbing
Apr 9, 2004, 8:00 PM
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On yam most of the pro on easyer routes are chock stones but up in jasper on morro peak theres a nice climb called guides route that there are many peaices of wood cut and wedged in cracks that were (at the time of the fa?) slung for pro.
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j_ung
Apr 9, 2004, 8:06 PM
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The crux moves of (if I remember correctly) Paralleling at Big Green in NC were protected on the FA by a figure-8 device wedged between two knobs.
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keithlester
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Apr 9, 2004, 8:08 PM
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I used to carry a short rope sling tied with a double double fishermans knot, wedged that knot into a gnarly crack. Never fell on it though. I eventually got a job and bought some hexes, safer but not so much fun :troll:
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ctclimbz
Apr 9, 2004, 8:56 PM
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In reply to: In reply to: He ran out of pro, and ended up slinging his class ring... pulled a piece or two above the ring... If he was out of pro, how'd he place a piece or two above the ring??
Perhaps he was out of that size pro. As I mentioned this article dates from about 10 years ago, and the exact details are not immediately at my fingertips.
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thegreytradster
Apr 9, 2004, 9:14 PM
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Slung crushed beer can, (NR)
aircraft hydraulic fittings
home made nuts
intentionaly placed chockstones
threads
jambed knots
Small wires in lieu of bolt hangers
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andypro
Apr 9, 2004, 9:44 PM
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In reply to: On yam most of the pro on easyer routes are chock stones but up in jasper on morro peak theres a nice climb called guides route that there are many peaices of wood cut and wedged in cracks that were (at the time of the fa?) slung for pro.
Oooh OOhh. I did this :lol: In a chimney, I slung a piece of firewood hacked to length. Stuck it in diagonal and slung the high end, Ah-La big bro. I actually got the idea from the "stove legs" on el cap, where someone jammed the legs off of stoves to protect the chimney. I jsut happened to be out of stoves at that moment.
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ctclimbz
Apr 9, 2004, 10:27 PM
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In reply to: Slung crushed beer can, (NR)
Definitely my favorite so far...
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a_guy_named_smith
Apr 9, 2004, 11:24 PM
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If you go back far enough you find odd things being used as pro---though does it count as non traditional if the tradition hadn't been set?
On first ascent of 'recompense' in 1959 at cathedral ledge the climbers lacked pitons big enough so they used a wooden wedge which lasted until 1975.
Or the pipe that was used to protect whitney gilman on cannon mtn.
Or the stoveleg that gave stoveleg crack on el cap its name.
I'll bet that most climbing areas that saw pre 1960 ascents you will find a lot of very odd things that ended up being stuffed into cracks for pro.
my $.02
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mesomorf
Apr 9, 2004, 11:34 PM
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In '75 there was a log about 7 inches in diameter, maybe 18 inches long, jammed in The Great White Book (Tuolumne) as a chockstone.
Horn's Mother in Vedauwoo used to have pieces of 2 x 4 that Rick Horn had ground into pitons by leaning out of a moving car and pressing them onto the asphalt.
As far as I know, all these pieces of wood are still there.
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ilikecookies
Apr 9, 2004, 11:45 PM
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a tire iron.
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dredsovrn
Apr 10, 2004, 12:33 AM
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What do you suppose the kn rating is on a well slotted knot? I can see how it would hold. I don't know that I would want to take even a 5' fall on one though.
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wallwombat
Apr 10, 2004, 12:40 AM
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I once wedged my helmet in an big offwidth and then tied it off. I took it off first, in case anyone was wondering. It was to back up a dodgy belay ( I didn't have a drill) on some loose, chossy new route that I failed to get up. I don't climb stuff like that any more
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dredsovrn
Apr 10, 2004, 12:43 AM
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In reply to: In reply to: He ran out of pro, and ended up slinging his class ring... pulled a piece or two above the ring... If he was out of pro, how'd he place a piece or two above the ring??
Good question.
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andypro
Apr 10, 2004, 1:17 AM
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In reply to: What do you suppose the kn rating is on a well slotted knot? I can see how it would hold. I don't know that I would want to take even a 5' fall on one though.
Do a search for elbsandstein, or however it's spelled. There was a thread a little while back that discussed nothing but soft pro. It may ahve the answers your looking for, I dont remember though.
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cobra652004
Apr 11, 2004, 11:59 PM
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I was just thinking that since Nalgene bottles are pretty hard to break, has anyone ever wedged one in some weird crack and girthed it w/ a sling or anything like that? Weird question, I know, but you never know...
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pyrosis
Apr 12, 2004, 2:40 AM
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One of my favorite climbs is called Candyland, an overhanging knobby face at the Phantom Spires in near Lake Tahoe, which could have been bolted but its not. You just go right up, slinging the knobs as you go. They're bomber. I guess its not that untraditional, but its ALL the pro for the whole climb. Its the un-sportclimb.
Tavis
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