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organic
Jul 21, 2005, 2:39 PM
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Registered: Jul 16, 2003
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So yesterday I decided to go bouldering, I have been doing lots of trad and sport lately and wanted to start to build up some sick strength again. I live in southen illinois and there is climbing everywhere so I picked a spot I have not been to in a few month and went. It is out in the middle of nowhere haha, should have picked someplace else eh? The day was sickeningly hot, bouldering was hard cause the humidity was so great but after the 15 minute approach with a crash pad and gear I was not about to turn back. I warmed up on some easy stuff, tried some sick stuff and went around everywhere. The poison ivy out there in the woods was so dense it was insane! I had pants on but I am still waiting for it to hit me as my jeans were soaked(literally) in sweat and I know open pores plus sweaty poison ivy is not a good combo haha. Anyway to the good stuff.
http://www.rockclimbing.com/...p.cgi?Detailed=58020
http://www.rockclimbing.com/...p.cgi?Detailed=58022
These pictures were taken by placing the camera on a rock across from me and then using the timer
I was working this problem and it was literally my last go of the day on anything. So I get up about 3.5m humidity is getting to me but I push on. (Ya' know I always try and have confidence in myself and my climbing, maybe I make some mistakes but the confidence I have in climbing helps me climb harder and also transfers over to my real life.) It was the lichen I tell you, haha I blame it all on the lichen. I lifted my foot up high, ya' know so it was about .5m away from my hands, I was commited. I was not really ever scared just trying to be confident. I peeled... there was a lot of lichen up there, the humidity, whatever the reason I peeled. As I came off my body turned around and to my dismay the crash pad was not below me just rocks. It was sickening really, when you fall from 3-4m you almost have time enough to think. So i landed on rock ankles buckled my right ankle was way more messed up than my left ankle. No phone service, no one else, just me my crash pad and two f-ed up ankles.
http://www.rockclimbing.com/...p.cgi?Detailed=58023
This is a picture shortly after I fell
I was never really scared about making it out I just knew how much it was going to hurt. I kept my head together, packed up my stuff drank some water and crawled and found a nice branch to use as a crutch. At this point I was around a 20 minute walk from my car through dense forest, not flat either geesh any gradient was horrendous. I began to walk very slowly, if you want to call it a walk but there really was no way I could crawl because of the density of plants and even ifI tried 80% of them were poison ivy! Worst day ever. The hike was sickening pain, almost threw up, cried, but struggled on. The branch finally broke in two each about waist high, which actually worked out a bunch better. Though I do have pus excreting sores on my palms from the rubbing of the tops of the branch in my palms. I am glad there was poison ivy cause it forced me to not sit down and just keep hiking. I was shaking the whole way just trying to control my breathing I felt tingling, I felt like I could pass out at any moment but I just kept going.
Finally made it back to my car over an hour later. Drank some water sat down in the driver's seat and almost passed out, was the closest I have ever come to passing out in my life. That had to be the worst walk of my life haha. I found I could drive with one of the sticks for the gas haha, my car is stick shift so it was fun haha. I arrived at the hospital told them to get me a wheel chair, I literally don't know how I made it that far. Adrenalin is an amazing thing. They were really nice at the hospital and no one said anything to me about the dangers of rock climbing or even climbing alone, they were all very respectful. Great hospital in Carbondale.
http://www.rockclimbing.com/...p.cgi?Detailed=58021
I found out I fractured my right ankle and hurt my left one bad but not as. I can barely walk today on my crutches, I mean literally barely, I need someone to take me to fill my vicodin prescription haha anyone? I go to see an orthopedics guy tomorrow at 0830. I just hope I don't need surgery. Only slept 4 hours last night, in way too much pain.
What would I have done differently? Well probably should have placed my crash pad better haha. I think bouldering alone is ok and will continue to once I am healed. I think in the future though I will refrain from having my feet achieve alititudes over 2m. My first climbing injury(serious) and it was from bouldering... hehehe
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bigjonnyc
Jul 21, 2005, 2:53 PM
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Registered: Dec 17, 2004
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Damn dude, that's totally shitty. Way to be though, just suck it up and do your best to get outta there. Hope all goes well.
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t-dog
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Jul 21, 2005, 2:56 PM
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glad you made it out of there ok!
No matter how safe this sport gets (relatively) there are still tons of situations where things can go sour. Climbing alone is not without it's risks, as you've just painfully discovered!
Hope the recovery goes well!!!
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hammerhead
Jul 21, 2005, 3:12 PM
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I don't mean to sound unsympathic or be a doomsayer but it could have been a lot worse. Broken bones hurt for sure, I know, but you were rather fortunate to have just broken your ankle. I hope your recovery goes well and that you will be more careful in the future.
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tradmanclimbs
Jul 21, 2005, 3:39 PM
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The biggest thing that the new crowd is doing differently from us old farts is that you guys go for broke when bouldering. we never had crash pads or spotters so we treated highball boulders as solos. that means you adopt a no fall mindset and try no to do moves that you can't reverse. You do a lot of downclimbing. It is fine to go for broke when you have 4 pads and a posse of spotters but going for it alone on a highball is PFS :roll: I got a good look at this mindset a few years ago when a younger extremly strong partner tackled a highball that i used to do daily 20 years ago. I allways treated the problem as a solo. My friend got about halfway up, decided it was not going to go on that try so he jumped. PFS :roll: About all i could do as a spotter was to keep his head from hitting the rocks. It was an easy down climb from where he was but he was so used to bailing on to a pad that he just did what he allways does instead of shifting his mindset to solo mode. His padless landing trashed his ankle and his climbing season. Your big mistake was not climbing alone but putting too much trust in your pad!!! good luck with your recovery and best of luck. Next time i am sure that you will remeber that it is allways best to learn from others mistakes rather than your own when climbing 8^)
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dingus
Jul 21, 2005, 3:51 PM
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Poor bastard! Welcome to the Old Clymr's Home of Broken Bones. You'll find some decent company here.
http://img235.imageshack.us/...opaymebackimg8kr.jpg
I have no useful advice other than... try not to do it again. It REALLY sucks the 2nd time around.
Now excuse me... I have a 2000' decent to manage.
DMT
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bear829
Jul 21, 2005, 3:58 PM
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I still wish there was something more that I could do for you. Hey! I'll fill your script for you :lol: :wink: YAY! Vicodin Land! I hope you feel lots better.
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dingus
Jul 21, 2005, 4:00 PM
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Why thank you bear! Now that you mention it, there IS this one little thing you could do for me...
Oh! You weren't talking to me? (damn.... sniff!)
DMT
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whatsupdoc
Jul 21, 2005, 4:20 PM
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Nice work getting yourself out of there. Here's to a speedy recovery...
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whatsupdoc
Jul 21, 2005, 4:21 PM
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Nice work getting yourself out of there. Here's to a speedy recovery...
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organic
Jul 21, 2005, 5:36 PM
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Registered: Jul 16, 2003
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haha love the shot dingus! great stuff.
tradmanclimbs thanks for the advice I will definitely attempt to enact it. the thing is downclimbing ran through my mind but for some reason I felt the need to push it, stupid.
thanks bear!
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chodeman
Jul 21, 2005, 5:51 PM
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Registered: Feb 24, 2004
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Get better soon man it really sucks. I fell down the stairs last week and messed up my ankle and cant climb either. i can finally walk again though but my ankel is still all swollen up and black and blue. Best wishes to ya
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tradmanclimbs
Jul 22, 2005, 1:54 PM
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The thing that really puzzeled me was that when my friend bailed off the boulderproblem and trashed his ankle he was on easy terrain. he decided that he wasn't goping to make it on the first try so he just bailed as he was used to doing it that way. he could have easily downclimbed. Instead he tore all the tendons in his ankle. The thing to do is to asses the danger before you get on the climb and put yourself in the propper mental mode. scenario #1. Bunch of pads, safe flat landing and a spotter. I am gonna go for it and send this sucker or fly trying.
#2. carefull, the pads are uneven and the landing is a bit funky. push it but dont fall uncontroled. If you cant make it, look for your landing and jump.
#3 Bad landing no spotter, only one pad or no pad. Don't climb into troubble. down climb untill you are sure you can hit your pad or a decent landing spot then jump for that landing spot.
#4 No pad or pad is usless, bad landing. SOLO mode. don't make a move that you can't reverse unless that move leads to easier ground that you are sure you can handle. stay cool but climb like your life depends on it. Working problems this way you may climb into the crux a dozen times and then down climb the whole rt. by the time you finaly send it you have the whole thing totaly wired.
Best of luck in you recovery.
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tradmanclimbs
Jul 22, 2005, 2:02 PM
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As soon as you get into your walking cast get one of your buddys to lead some long moderate trad climbs. You will feel like a real bad ass climber cranking 5,8 six or seven pitches off the deck with a cast 8^)
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tangen_foster
Jul 22, 2005, 5:14 PM
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In reply to: The biggest thing that the new crowd is doing differently from us old farts is that you guys go for broke when bouldering. we never had crash pads or spotters so we treated highball boulders as solos. that means you adopt a no fall mindset and try no to do moves that you can't reverse. You do a lot of downclimbing.8^)
I like you style, organic: off on your own, and surviving on your own etc. your epic has given you a powerful metaphor to draw upon next time you encounter adversity... i wish you well in your recovery. As a saluki myself, (SIU grad 1975), i know about si humidity this time of year...i did some si bouldering in my day, in the tradmanclimbs style...we did some si rootdiggers (that's where the top out is so overgrown that you dig your fingernails nto the dirt to use roots as handholds)
two oldschool observations: l1) lose the jeans and get yourself some white painter pants :) (better yet, a synthetic pant that will accommodate the sweat better and enable more mobility). 2) leave the camera behind when you solo boulder...you need all your focus on your flow, lest the earth rise up and smite thee...
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tradmanclimbs
Jul 22, 2005, 5:26 PM
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Go for the hot pink or lyme green lycra tights if your planning on synthetic :shock:
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organic
Jul 22, 2005, 8:13 PM
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thanks tangen_foster, today has been a really sucky day so that meant a lot. I went to the orthopedics guy and for some reason people seem to be clueless, he said I might have messed up the joint bad and might need surgery, I really hope not! So they put a cast on and now I need to wait three weeks. It was the first time I saw my foot since two days ago and it is sickly swollen, and bruised.
I guess I know why they call it going for broke now! Should be "Get going or get broke" Salukis rule!
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tradmanclimbs
Jul 24, 2005, 2:49 AM
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really sorry that you are messed up so bad :cry: best of luck in your recovery. If you are ever in the nort east Pm me and I will give you a climbing tour 8^)
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tangen_foster
Aug 1, 2005, 4:26 PM
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i hope you are improving....i've had a lot of injuries and setbacks in my 30 odd years of climbing...but, you will recover and be strong again. everything is energy...you are an energy being...use this time away from climbing to work on healing and strengthening yourself through restoring the balance of your Qi ("chee" = energy) . start by simply focusing on your breathing (Qigong breathing)...breathe in slow, deep relaxed breaths...as you breathe in, pull in your lower stomach a little...as you breathe out, let your stomach out a little....imagine you are using your entire body to breathe...see and feel the the air, the energy, coming in through every part of your body...focus on collecting all of your energy in your lower energy center, your lower Dantian, just behind your navel in the center of your torso. as you breathe out, visualize any discomfort or trama from your injury changing into smoke and shooting out of your body to the end of the universe...*
I am he as you are he as you are me
and we are all together ...
Goo goo g' joob (jl)
(from "Born a Healer," by Chunyi Lin http://www.springforestqigong.com/)
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htotsu
Aug 11, 2005, 4:02 AM
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Hey Organic. Wow, you are amazing. I appreciate your honesty and good humor - thanks for sharing this story. Would you give us an update and tell us how are you doing now? Like everyone else, I hope your recovery is progressing smoothly, and that you are taking good care of yourself.
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helpimstuck
Aug 11, 2005, 4:20 AM
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Know the feeling fallen from 20' once thx to my friend Kevin who fell and took me with him i was soloing and instead of relying on the rope he decided he would grab at me well i had no choice went straight down the sharp rocks lucky for me I had a nice landing only a few cuts and scrapes and a wounded pride but Get well soon
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