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chris_nor_cal
Jul 5, 2003, 10:45 PM
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I just got back from my local crag, and I think I know what crack cocaine must be like, because I shit you not, I just had one of the most fun experiences of my life. First sport lead. "Amazing face" on Mt. Diablo, some books have it 5.10a, some books have it 5.9. I've toproped it 20+ times with out falling, its a piece of cake. But i finally picked up some draws, and was feeling my oats today and decided to sack up. It was SOOOOOOOOOOO much harder leading. the sewing machine legs were freaking ridiculous, i got so pumped out that i had to literally rest on this 5.9 climb about a quarter way up it. I rest up, get my bearing and keep going, now I'm about 3/4 the way up, about 75 feet or so, i had just clipped the 10th bolt when out of nowhere my feel smear of.
no sound, just wind, the rock whizzing by my face like i was looking down at the road out my car window while on the freeway
bolt,
bolt,
bolt,
UNNHHH as the wind exits my body faster then when it went it. 30 or 35 feet.
It was over quicker then I knew it, and i just about creamed myself. it was fucking amazing. I wanted to do it again immediately after I realized what had happened. As much as falling is not the point of climbing, man is it fun. i am SOOO pumped. i had a great workout. anyway just thought I'd tell you all. I'm leaving for yosemite monday, I'll be there for 3 weeks. I'm loving life.
-chris
edited for my giddy retarded spelling
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tenn_dawg
Jul 5, 2003, 10:58 PM
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For that one, and the next thousand, I'll throw one back for ya...
Rock on!
Travis
(ker-CHUNK)
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johnfromohio
Jul 6, 2003, 12:37 AM
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:cry: well glad u had a good first fall, down at summersville this weekend, did my 3rd and 4th lead ascents while sporting. 5th ascent tried a hard 5.9 and guess what 8 feet above my last bolt and my arms pumps out :oops: i fall, right foot bounces off the wall nice BUT my left toees clip a ledge and twist my ankle badly, :shock: i hope it is not broke, either what i am out of climbing for a week :oops: :cry: I hope i didnt break it damnit
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trad_man
Jul 6, 2003, 2:55 AM
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yea man i jsut had my first fall about a month ago and yea its great!! i was at red river gorge for a week and i was with 2 other guys and we met of with some guys already there. they showed us around and we went to "creature feature" its rated a 5.10d i tihnk but i got to the top and i think theres about 10 bolts or so and i was at the end of the climb gettin ready to clip into the anchors, and they said DONT i was confused and i guess my buddy said they told me not to do it and when they were saying that my belayer was taking out slack, but i didnt know so they just jump off. at this point i was kinda pissed b/c i didnt know if it would be considered done or not so i saw screw jumping but ended up jumping and i fell to the 2nd bolt it was so awesome and the end of the fall is like falling into a pillow nice and soft, but yea took my climbing to a new level, i was terrified of falling but now its cool almost want to do it as bad as climbing :wink:
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icculus
Jul 9, 2003, 6:16 PM
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You cats are nuts! Falling...fun??
I took a 20 footer last year while all pumped out at the anchors and when I peeled I layed out bacon strips in my pants! Didn't hurt myself at all...that's the kicker.
I still haven't mentally rebounded from that fall...I have my climbing demons now. :twisted:
Edit: I have been lurking here for over a year, but this is my first post here on rc.com!!
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robmcc
Jul 9, 2003, 6:32 PM
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Diff'rent strokes and all. Never a big fan, myself. I got past my demons taking 5 falls at the same point on a cam, all falls were over almost before I realized they started. The long one (ironically from almost the same point) was another matter. Slooooow motion, then the sound of the wind. Somehow I never expected that. PuuuuuulllPOPBOUNCETUMBLEPuuuullllllll . Exhilarating, but in a HooooolycrapI'mnotdead! kinda way. Exciting, yes. Fun? No.
Maybe it's like rapelling. I used to run into people who thought rapelling was IT. I never got that. It's like driving. How you get from up here to down there. Fun? Huh? Oh well, to each his own.
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rwaltermyer
Jul 9, 2003, 7:00 PM
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took my first real whipper at an overhanging sport crag...
20 ft.
whew.
lead again last night. but it took alot of convinicing.
randy
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sneville
Jul 9, 2003, 7:05 PM
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just curious but how did you fall 30-35 feet when you just clipped the 10th bolt. Congrats on your first fall.
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zacrobinson
Jul 9, 2003, 7:33 PM
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I was curious about that too. Sounds like a real long fall for just clipping in. Might want to wake up your belayer. :lol:
Yeah I still get a kick out of falling. I love how it takes a caouple minutes to get settled back down into a "normal" state. It has to be the best high I have ever gotten.
ZAC
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grigriese
Jul 9, 2003, 8:13 PM
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I hate falling!!!
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rwaltermyer
Jul 9, 2003, 11:27 PM
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i hate short falls more than longer falls. on short ones you swing in and hit the rock before you know it.
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ricardol
Jul 9, 2003, 11:31 PM
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same question here --
that climb is a fun 1st climb (was my first lead also) ..
.. but the bolts are so close together that its hard to imagine a 30-35' fall ..
-- ricardo
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missedyno
Jul 11, 2003, 7:23 PM
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i like falling after i fall but when i'm about to fall i'm scared/excited/really freakin scared
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dano
Jul 11, 2003, 10:51 PM
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bolt.. bolt... bolt....?
I gotta agree with the above - sounds like either your belayer had a LOT of slack out, or maybe it just 'felt' like 30 feet? Are the bolts on Face 10 feet apart?
the rush is something else though isn't it? last summer i managed to whip off the top of rico suave and sure enough.... "falling! " bolt... bolt... ummmm "FALLING!!" bolt... WHOOOMPF... ahhhhh....
my girlfriend couldn't quite see me so when she felt the initial tug she thought i was pulling out to clip. funny now. shi_s and giggles then though.
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alpinerock
Jul 12, 2003, 1:55 AM
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In reply to: Maybe it's like lling. I used to run into people who thought lling was IT. I never got that. It's like driving. How you get from up here to down there. Fun? Huh? Oh well, to each his own.
I used to be one of those people then after about a hundred or so rappells i got bored and then i had my uncle teach me the knots and how to set up a top rope awww best day of my life :D
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pawilkes
Jul 24, 2003, 6:27 PM
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the thing about taking big lead falls is it takes all the fun out of bungie jumping. I tried it once but it was no fun b/c lead falls that unexpected aspect to them that really get the heart going.
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ricardol
Jul 24, 2003, 7:16 PM
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do trad -- it will take alot of the allure of lead falling out of lead fallng ..
the bolts at amazing face are about 6-8 feet apart
its a 90' climb with 12 bolts + anchors. (13 clips all together) - the math does not add up to a 30' fall unless your belayer had you on severe slack
-- ricardo
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thefullcrimp
Jul 24, 2003, 10:16 PM
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:roll: Believe it or not, my first fall was before i even started leading. I was toproping on an overhang, my belayer was new and had TONS of slack out. He was like 95 lbs, 60 less than me, and he had no anchor on. I lurched from an undercling, missed the hold i was going for and fell. I fell, taking up the slack, and when it ran out, he went up. Afterward, he sorta rapped back down. Loads of fun.
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micahmcguire
Jul 25, 2003, 1:13 AM
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dude, falling on a good bolt is hella fun. I don't want to sound elitist or anything (lots of people here are truly gnarlier than I) but try falling on a #2 nut and then tell me how much cream you've got in your pants!
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rwaltermyer
Jul 25, 2003, 11:25 AM
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In reply to: :roll: Believe it or not, my first fall was before i even started leading. I was toproping on an overhang, my belayer was new and had TONS of slack out. He was like 95 lbs, 60 less than me, and he had no anchor on. I lurched from an undercling, missed the hold i was going for and fell. I fell, taking up the slack, and when it ran out, he went up. Afterward, he sorta rapped back down. Loads of fun.
thats stupid, not fun.
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hellclimber
Jul 25, 2003, 11:48 AM
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In reply to: In reply to: :roll: Believe it or not, my first fall was before i even started leading. I was toproping on an overhang, my belayer was new and had TONS of slack out. He was like 95 lbs, 60 less than me, and he had no anchor on. I lurched from an undercling, missed the hold i was going for and fell. I fell, taking up the slack, and when it ran out, he went up. Afterward, he sorta rapped back down. Loads of fun. thats stupid, not fun.
Actually, I kind of think it sounds mostly like fun. If the anchor is solid and the fall factor insignificant (which it will be even if you take out a meter of slack or two on a reasonably long pitch) then it shouldn't be a big deal since we're talking overhang. At least in my humble opinion and experience. I've played around like that on a top rope as well. Doing it with an inexperienced belayer sounds a little bit scary though...
hellclimber
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adamwvt
Jul 25, 2003, 12:26 PM
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Sport climbing falls don't count.
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hellclimber
Jul 25, 2003, 12:39 PM
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In reply to: Sport climbing falls don't count.
Hehe. Maybe but I haven't yet got the guts to take a fall on lead when trad climbing. Haven't pushed my limits far enough to fall but I'm sure I will and I'm dreading that moment!
As far as sport falls not being legit: I took a whipper a few weeks ago with a newbie belayer. As I was climbing she stopped giving rope at the crux. I tried climbing on, the rope tightened and pulled me off the rock. She had positioned herself wrong and was pulled towards the lowest bolt when I fell. I passed two bolts and ended up dangling with my feet almost touching the ground. The fall definitely wouldn't have killed me even if I had decked, but it's still scary. Being 6 meters up in the air and decking would have ruined my day (guess that's about 18 or 19 feet). Sure felt like a legit fall to me.
hellclimber
hellclimber
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cthcrockclimber
Jul 25, 2003, 12:51 PM
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My first lead fall was in the gym, I had just gotten my way over this small overhang which was about 10 feet up. I asked my belayer for some slack so I could clip into the draw, just as I was about to the hold that my left hand was on rotated because it had not been screwed in enough. I fell and with all the slack i had asked for I wasnt able to get locked off, I fell to the ground and landed on the pading of the floor, luckily the impact wasn't bad at all and i was able to go up right after that.
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micahmcguire
Jul 25, 2003, 5:32 PM
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hellclimber wrote "Hehe. Maybe but I haven't yet got the guts to take a fall on lead when trad climbing. Haven't pushed my limits far enough to fall but I'm sure I will and I'm dreading that moment!"
yeah-you often never see it coming. the trad falls I've taken have usually been while I had one hand free of the rock, trying to plug in a piece. all of a sudden a foot pops off, and before you know what's going on, you've already taken the fall. its nuts.
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