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nutstuffer
Oct 21, 2006, 2:15 PM
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I would like to hear stories about climbs, that the mix between grade, manky gear, runouts, make for a good campfire story. Feel free to blow.
It could be about a climbers first hard trad lead, where he would rather pull out his back teeth than fall on any of the gear, or a tale from a seasoned hard man that sent the crux above a piece of brass that he sawed halfway into a seam. I guess the heart of it is managing risk and how much did you take in your mind. No tales of every piece was bomber like all the gear I place, so there was no risk management component to the tale, these stories a boring. If anybody posts some good ones, I'll share some of mine. I think risk, is the game that trad climbers play, to one degree or another, and if you think your not or don't you just as well climb sport, or your kidding yourself. Feel free to post why you think you do it. And Please instead of ragging on some other guys post, share something that you did.
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nutstuffer
Oct 23, 2006, 2:39 AM
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no post here yet so I'll share a mild one that I know occurs from time to time with the guys I know. Got to the crux of the route, about half way up the pitch and there is a pretty descent stance with the only gear being an ancient pin that I wouldn't want to hang my hat off of. A couple of stout moves up, that I can reverse back to the stance, gets me to a horizontal shallow seam,about 6 inches in length, that a #2 tcu would be bomber in, and would protect the crux above it.
Problem is I've already placed it, the #3 will not go and the 1 is pretty tipped. Stoppers will go in but are totally manky. After climbing up and screwing with the #1 tcu / stopper combination placement about 4 times, I am starting to get gassed. At the stance this time, its dead reckoning time. The route is within my onsight ability, but a fall could rip the gear, resulting in 30 to 40 footer with a swing back into this corner.
Normally a would lower, rest, go back up with the piece I needed, This was not a trophy climb, no reason to stick my neck out. The problem with this is this is the second pitch, and the route has been steadily going up and left. Lowering would put me in the middle of nowhere, below and to the left of the belay. I would have to pendulum to get to anything that would lead me back to the belay. I didn't like the idea of this option, with the manky gear. I could trolley the line, back to the belay, but with this gear that was a worst option. Downclimbing and cleaning the gear was an option, but with nothing good for the feet, I didn't like the idea of doing this either. The quick and straight forward thing to do was suck it up and send the damn thing.
So that is what I did. When climbing the crux, I did a hard step thru move that I almost didn't do. When I got to the belay I was totally pumped.
As a footnote, a few months later, repeated the climb. Climbed to the seam, plugged in a bomber #2 Tcu, and walked the crux. Climbing in solo mode whether real or imagined (don't fall now) is definitely an art having nothing to do with grade. It can be a real head trip, especially if it takes you by surprise.
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climbinginchico
Oct 23, 2006, 5:37 AM
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This one time I went like 15 feet between placements on my 5.6 proj. I was terrified, I nearly pooped in my pants. :oops:
Didn't fall tho.
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norushnomore
Oct 23, 2006, 8:34 AM
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Right, I was climbing this awful 5.8+ off-width and had no wide gear to back me up on that huge 10 feet run out I got going.
So I took my helmet off and jammed it in like #8 camalot. Did not even need a sling, just clipped chin strap around my rope. Contraption looked good and I was saved. I even stepped on it to get thru the crux. It held like a champ.
True story.
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epoch
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Oct 23, 2006, 3:49 PM
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In reply to: Right, I was climbing this awful 5.8+ off-width and had no wide gear to back me up on that huge 10 feet run out I got going. So I took my helmet off and jammed it in like #8 camalot. Did not even need a sling, just clipped chin strap around my rope. Contraption looked good and I was saved. I even stepped on it to get thru the crux. It held like a champ. True story.
Sorry, but we're going to need pics to backup this garbage. :roll:
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krusher4
Oct 23, 2006, 4:21 PM
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In reply to: In reply to: Right, I was climbing this awful 5.8+ off-width and had no wide gear to back me up on that huge 10 feet run out I got going. So I took my helmet off and jammed it in like #8 camalot. Did not even need a sling, just clipped chin strap around my rope. Contraption looked good and I was saved. I even stepped on it to get thru the crux. It held like a champ. True story. Sorry, but we're going to need pics to backup this garbage. :roll:
That's good stuff! I just have the average, 30 feet above a tipped out mirco cam cruxing, a fall would have ripped the belay off the wall story. We have all been there at one time or another.
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nutstuffer
Oct 24, 2006, 2:20 AM
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man! some awesome posts. But poor style, showboating with the grade.
I got some some better ones. I thought climbing above manky gear, might get the thread going. I bet some of you have got some beauties.
Lets hear em. If you want to rag, there are plenty of other threads.
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oldsalt
Oct 24, 2006, 2:42 AM
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Good concept, nutstuffer. I was looking for decent stories myself, since I have already told the only one that I have to tell.
Somebody please tell me a story!
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petsfed
Oct 24, 2006, 4:53 AM
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About 190' off the belay, on the second pitch, with maybe 6 pieces of pro in. The climbing was easy to that point, and there wasn't much gear anyway. The crux, of course, comes just before the belay ledge. I wiggle a nut into a small constriction that I know won't stick, then I commit to the moves. Its kind of a slippery stem to get to the mantle onto the grassy, holdless ledge. The rope drag is pretty heinous. As I'm clutching at turf, I run out of rope. The nut wiggles out. Now I'm about 60 feet above my last piece of pro, with no holds and what feels like the starters of the Miami Dolphins hanging onto the other end of the rope. And there's nothing to form a belay with. Not for another 10 feet anyway. We don't simul climb here because the rock is too loose, too great a risk of either of us falling, so that's not even an option. After much pulling, weedling, whining, and of course thrutching, I kind of hunch myself behind a knob and call down "off belay". As soon as I had some slack, i built a real anchor.
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tradman
Oct 24, 2006, 2:55 PM
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Story of mixed winter climbing:
I'd been warned that the first pitch of "The Seam" at Cairngorm is bold and long, but I wasn't really that worried, since the pitch was supposedly technically straightforward.
As I was about to leave the belay, my partner stopped me and said, "one more thing. Remember that rescue helicopter that got brought down here by iced rotors two weeks ago? It was here to pick up our mate phil. He broke his leg on this pitch of this route".
My eyes bulged, my sphincter twitched and I crapped my pants for the next 40 minutes straight as I led 60 meters of climbing in which there was exactly 2 runners, one of which was a poor ice hook.
That has to be a world slow climbing record for the grade.
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krusher4
Oct 24, 2006, 4:06 PM
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petsfed you had my palms sweating LOL. I love that you just called "off-belay" that's classic!
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sungam
Oct 24, 2006, 4:38 PM
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Nice to see some tales of scottish winter on here, tradman!
Only thing I have that stands up next to any of these is when I went to Dirc Mhor, where two things happened:
1) the last pitch dissapeared
2)I almost pulled a fucking massive block of granite ontop of myself. Would've fallen about 10' to a ledge, been crushed and killed, then fallen off of the ledge (or maybe stuck) and dangled around. Luckly, I was stemming (ish) in a corner, so I could shove it to the side, where it balanced precariously untill my second kicked it down. And what a satisfying sound it made, too!
(Don't me shit about safety, the nearest person was about 3 miles away)
About the pitch, turns out Andy went an extra 15m or so on his pitch, and the "large deep corner groove" described in the guidbook, that I was ment to belay at, was actually only a faint stemming corner 12' tall.
Meh.
-Magnus
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robsknot
Oct 24, 2006, 5:59 PM
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A particular memory in around 97 surfaced this evening after having read some of the articles on this site so i thought that I might share it with any one who has a sense of humour.
After several years of taking the military shilling, derring do and military mountainous exploits, I found myself advancing my skills and being compulsorily placed on our internal mountain cadre. The basic of the two mountain cadres ( not the Marine ML Cadre) which was several weeks in wales in varied condition climbing in stickies and big boots, learning the ropes (forgive the pun). The more advanced basics and extensions to my knowledge were complimented by rescue and haulage systems ,and whittled down to an Alpine way of thinking.
The group had a couple of pendulums and several interesting peelings off whilst pushing the trad grades. The second part of the Cadre was based in Switzer lad and covered ice work, glaciers and predominantly cold shit at altitude. Breaking track on a ridge and falling through a cornice has no sense of adrenaline rush that compared to the crux of this story.
after several weeks bouncing around the Grimsel Pass, Sustern Pass, Stockhorn, Mataerhorn etc, in absolute exhaustion at times, we undertook the ultimate climb of the trip. Allegedly the mountain could only be climbed about every 5 years because of the weather. Just our luck.
It was the Fumffinglestock (the five fingered mountain). A relatively unclimbed set of peaks.
An Alpine start saw us up the glacier to the mountain as the light broke. A huge and imposing rock rising above the snow line. Each cadre attempts to out do the last to make a statement.
A couple of pitches above the glacier, after placing my last rock, I managed to haul my arse onto a ledge about 2 meters deep at the base of a large vertical crack. I drew my breath for a minute or two then started to ascend the crack with new vigor. i placed two pieces of pro that would see of a Mardi Army Attack and went for the crux of the pitch.
To my horror, that inexplicable sense of impending doom set in. Fighting my feelings i confidently looked below me to to discover that my protection just no longer was.
Instantly i calculated the fall, and the ledge, and the fall and then the stretch to boost my adrenaline levels to get me over the crux. There was no way that that there was time to place further protection whilst the 80s disco leg was playing.
Nothing else for it, i threw myself over the crux move and lay still on a relatively safe concave belay point. If 80s dance floor had got the best of me, the story would be told by another I am sure.
To this day this day this story has never been repeated but the following events are renown throughout some circles.
My second arrived at the belay along with the other two pairs and we systematically set off to the ridge. A fantastic mountain where we calculated the gear needed to complete the climb. With the minimum of kit we passed the point of return point and cracked on.
As I recall, we managed about the 3rd or 4th finger before i distinctly remember 'butterflies in my helmet'......the dead give away was that the poor guide we had had systematically beasted for the week, had disappeared. With that i suddenly realised that the weather had closed in to the point that an immanent Lightning Strike was building. The cry went out and we all dropped our kit with added enthusiasm and leaped off the high ground as far as possible and hid amongst the rocky out crops. Seconds later there were several huge discharges along the ridge line leaving the air tasting like you had stuck your head in the back of a TV set to see what was wrong with it just after your unruly guest had poured a drink into the best. After several minutes and with mega static in the air but safe as we could be we cracked on and abed of onto the glacier. I was first and ended falling through a bergsrum (spelling).
Sod that for a game of soldiers. Until the next time lol
If we don't scare your self on a regular basis in life, we will all be very dull.
Well guys thats my fist post on this site, or any for that matter, so throw some thing back at me.
And yeah i have purchased a full set of KROKs and intend to test them to destruction on my next rotation home... I will post the results of my findings. I will compare them with my better known friends to see how they shape up. They cant be that bad compared to the earliest cams. Can they?
If you insist on pushing grades when trad climbing, make sure that you dont hit your second on the way down.
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petsfed
Oct 24, 2006, 8:22 PM
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In reply to: petsfed you had my palms sweating LOL. I love that you just called "off-belay" that's classic!
It was all I could do. The run out wasn't even that scary.
Another time, up in the Snowies, we were on a route that we had even less info on than usual. Might be a FFA, don't really know. Anyway, we're about 3 pitches up, so 600 feet off the ground and we come to this roof. Blocky, loose, the usual. I throw together an anchor and give the lead to my partner, since I just finished a traversey, runout pitch, I don't really want to turn the damn thing. Jay has a look. Nothing. No pro, highly committing moves, and nobody wants to factor 2 it onto my anchor. He comes back down. I go up. The moves are there, if I had pro, I'd do them straight away, but the really good jug keeps wobbling. I keep shaking it until it comes out, its about the size of a brick. Then jay sees this constiction and hands me the #9 hex. Lucky number nine, we call it. Always bring it, never use it. I slot that sucker in, clip the rope and the moves are casual. Easy trough to the belay, and Jay gets the lead on the hollow slab. No matter where you tapped it, the rock sounded hollow. A baseball diamond sized slab, completely detached from the rock below it. Needless to say, the only pieces jay placed where his anchor after the slab.
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cracklover
Oct 24, 2006, 9:04 PM
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Last weekend I did a lovely 5.9+ trad climb (that's getting near my limit). It's a hard-slanting undercling/layback crack on a huge flake. Your feet are on small rounded nubs under the flake, and your hands are laybacking/underclinging the crack. It's quite sustained, though there is also a distinct crux.
Anyway, the point is that there is plenty of protection on this climb, it's just that for long stretches, you can't get into position to place it without pulling 5.10+ moves!
At one point I had found a little semi-stance, my last decent piece (a well placed RP) was 10 feet below me, it was another 15 feet to the next stance, and looked like the crux in between. There was no way in hell I could shift myself far enough right to look into the crack to find a placement, and anyway, I could tell by running my hand along it, it wouldn't take anything anyway. Then I found a seam big enough to fit 3/4 of a pad of my pinky and ring finger. No way I could look in there, but I knew that was the size of a green Alien. So I shoved it in as well as I could, and gave it a gentle tug (didn't want to rip it out, lose my balance, and go for a big ride!) It held well enough for me to climb through the crux to the next stance, collect my much-jangled wits, place some good gear, and finish the climb.
When my first mentor was trying to explain terminology to me, I remember having one of those "aha" moments. "I see," I said. "So trad leading is kind of all about making compromises, and making the best decision for the moment at hand!" The smile and knowing look on my mentor's face informed me that I'd received a brief glimpse deep into the pool.
GO
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robsknot
Oct 24, 2006, 10:13 PM
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Drowning in the pool.....
For some of us to learn, the best way, is to be pushed into the pool....to jump in ourselves, we will always swim to the safe side.
To be pushed in , we are pushed outside of our comfort zone, and the resuting learning curve (if regulated safely by a mentour) will proove dividends for our abilities.
The only way is the hard way. Push me in again, please, as when i am drowning i am learining ......
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nutstuffer
Oct 25, 2006, 4:01 AM
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Your tale of clutching for roots at the top out reminded me of of story that I hadn't thought about for years. When I first started climbing way back in the day, we were young, dumb and way to eager to climb anything. Things weren't near as sophisticated as they are today. We climbed on scrappy rocks near home that saw little to no activity by anyone other than ourselves. We would just find a line and climb it, there wasn't and still isn't a guide book.
One day my friend told me there was some new rock and wanted to check it out.
It was a total choss pile, really loose. I am young, dumb and bold, so I think cool this will be a first ascent and rack up. About in the middle seemed to be the most solid rock and the best line, so I go for it. The first 70 feet was pretty cool and I even got some good nuts in, but then the rock got looser and the pro ran out. So I just climbed higher, the top out was about 20 feet in sight. Got to where the rock ran out and the soil began. This is where it got interesting. I am digging with my hands, trying to find something positive, with no good pro. The soil at this point is only an inch or 2 deep, so anything I pull on pulls out. I am starting to freak out. If I can move up 6 more feet there are some small pines trees that lead to bigger ones. The next thing I am, digging and pulling roots smaller than a pencil, it was still steep even though it was dirt. I remember being so happy when I finally was able to dig up a root that must have belonged to that small pine , because it was better. How we made it thru those first couple a years without killing ourselves, was a miracle.
Climbing past a blind placement, I've never done that. Just kidding.
In my experience, they are a 50 50 chance, of holding, but the thing is, it the best you can get at the time, so it better than nothing. Good job.
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ter_bee
Oct 28, 2006, 1:46 AM
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robsknot, thanks for a great story! though i think we need a translation for the americans. we stoopid. specifically, i need help with:
:arrow: your protection just wasn't? i'm sure that's how it appeared to you, but help your readers: had it popped? did your second find it?
:arrow: "sod that for a soldier's game?" so cute! sounds like something a character we like says in a film, but i have no idea what it means. (a pox upon me for a clumsy lout!) help?
:arrow: where did your guide go? you really had a human guide abandon you? i dunno about germany, but guides put the rope up here in the us. they would never leave you on the side of the mountain, even if you were a nazi in full ss gear.
:arrow: 'kit' means rack, yes? did you get your gear back after the lightning? or had you flung it to oblivion?
:arrow: what's a bergsrum? that one i actually tried to look up. merriam webster has nothing remotely like it.
i know it must sound like i'm making fun of you, but yours was the best story here (followed closely by petsfed calling 'off belay' OhMyGod) and it stinks that i don't understand it all. i'll be your american ghost writer anyday, though, so long as i have access to translations. i mean this is way harder than 'lift' versus 'elevator.'
ps. i have nothing to contribute to this thread. maybe next year i'll have done something dangerous on gear, but i hope i'm unaware of it if i do.
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climbsomething
Oct 28, 2006, 1:56 AM
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In reply to: Drowning in the pool..... For some of us to learn, the best way, is to be pushed into the pool....to jump in ourselves, we will always swim to the safe side. To be pushed in , we are pushed outside of our comfort zone, and the resuting learning curve (if regulated safely by a mentour) will proove dividends for our abilities. The only way is the hard way. Push me in again, please, as when i am drowning i am learining ......
http://www.pro-spray.com/images/p1.JPG
http://www.adiscountbeauty.com/media/Evian-spray.jpg
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ter_bee
Oct 28, 2006, 2:02 PM
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hey! don't be mean to him until he's translated the british for us!
sod that for a soldier's game, hahaha. he should write fiction if he doesn't.
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jt512
Oct 30, 2006, 5:24 AM
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In reply to: Drowning in the pool..... For some of us to learn, the best way, is to be pushed into the pool....to jump in ourselves, we will always swim to the safe side. To be pushed in , we are pushed outside of our comfort zone, and the resuting learning curve (if regulated safely by a mentour) will proove dividends for our abilities. The only way is the hard way. Push me in again, please, as when i am drowning i am learining ......
Total crock of pretentious bullshit.
Jay
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ratmnerd
Oct 30, 2006, 5:56 AM
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"Sod that for a game of soldiers" is just another way to say "fuck this". Not sure what a bergsrum is though.
And in the British army, kit could also be taken to mean their military gear, not just their rack. I'm thinking packs (bergens) here. Or their webbing with canteen etc on them. Can you clarify please robsknot?
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petsfed
Oct 30, 2006, 7:24 AM
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In reply to: :arrow: what's a bergsrum? that one i actually tried to look up. merriam webster has nothing remotely like it.
He means "bergschrund", the small cliff that usually results when a glacier droops away from a rock face, leading to a brief but typically difficult section of rock and/or ice climbing.
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robsknot
Oct 30, 2006, 8:08 AM
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I joined this site as I thought that it would prove to informative and generally fun. It has been, It has been good to read sensible replies and statement
I am however a little alarmed by the intellect, or void of intellect, that one in particular individual has displayed.
Read between the lines sunshine, or in your case get your mate to read it for you, and get him to explain the definition of pretentious.
I thought the explanation of my feelings, of pushing the grades a little, was quite apt. IE jumping in.....
Guys to the rest of you many thanks......
There is a little difference between the American and English language and some phrases unfortunately dont translate well, but I de understand the basic phrases like Bullshit and Arshole.
:lol:
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