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jammer
Aug 7, 2002, 2:22 PM
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I've been considering moving on to mult-pitch climbing, a good thing I'm sure, but when I was outside, feeling the wind whip by, I wondered if anyone has been ripped off the route due to wind gusts?
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rmiller
Aug 7, 2002, 2:43 PM
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I have almost been blown off a route by the wind. I actually started to fall because of this huge gust, but then I put a death grip on the hand holds and pulled myself back into the wall. Also, on the Shield headwall the wind was blowing so hard it was pushing me, the haulbag, the portaledge, etc. to a 45 degree angle from the belay. The wind would stop and the whole thing would slam right back onto the anchor. It was way cool!!! The lower out line (when I acxtually used one) was also being blown up at a 45 degree angle. The funniest thing, however, about the whole wind experience was that your aider would blow up over your back and tap you on the shoulder. No matter how many freakin times it did this, I always thought it was someone tapping me and I would turn to look!
Ronnie
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marcel
Aug 7, 2002, 3:33 PM
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Ronnie, that’s a great story!
Each year a group of cavers rappel off El Cap. A friend of mine was one of them a couple years back. He said he was sliding down the rope at break neck speed when he looked over at the rock and noted he wasn’t going anywhere in relation to the cliff. That’s when he looked up and saw the rope was not tight and was actually blowing up the cliff with him attached. He started to freak, figuring if the wind quit he do a free fall of a couple hundred feet. He slowed down his decent and the wind died slow enough that he didn’t crash and burn.
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climbercam
Aug 7, 2002, 4:05 PM
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That's a pretty good question and yes, the wind has whipped me off the rock, but fortunately I only fell a few feet. I was able to regain my balance and finish the climb (and the day). Other than that one time, wind has never knocked me off, but I will say it's played havoc with throwing ropes on several occasions. You might have to throw a rope 3-4 times in a heavy wind. It's the exception and not the rule, so go ahead and try multi-pitch, just work up the number of pitches as you get more and more comfortable with it. 500-600' in one day is big fun!
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jammer
Aug 7, 2002, 8:01 PM
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The replies are great and enticing, but only trad climbers are answering ... has anyone ever experienced this on a sport route? I will try trad as soon as I can afford an instructor, or find someone who will teach me, but for now I sport climb.
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bolder
Aug 7, 2002, 9:13 PM
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When I first started climbing, I got ripped off of a climb that I was top-roping in Boulder Canyon.
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hangerlessbolt
Aug 7, 2002, 9:46 PM
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My partner got blown off SW Corner at Joshua Tree.
She was cleaning the lower section of the route when a huge gust of wind blew her over sideways. No harm done...just a little freaked out.
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rmiller
Aug 8, 2002, 1:03 AM
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The wind I have experienced sport climbing has not been as bad as the other disciplines, but it has been an irritant from time to time. I have had a few gusts that made me slightly off balanced, but nothing to bad. I guess it all depends on the day, exposure, storms, etc. I would think it is highly possible that wind could blow you around pretty good on a sport climb. It just seems that the sport areas I have climbed at are more sheltered.
Ronnie
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stevematthys
Aug 8, 2002, 5:44 AM
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i was climbing on the Wind Tower of Eldorado Canyon a few weeks ago and almost got blown off the top of the last pitch. they dont call it the Wind Tower for nothing.
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philbox
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Aug 14, 2002, 4:58 AM
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When Duncan Steele was doing the second ascent of The Lost Boys 580 metres Oz grade 23 on Mt. Warning. He was half way up and doing the 120 metre traverse and this 45 knot wind blew up. It was so blustery that it was knocking fridge sized boulders down around them. They had these boulders land just to the right of them and a short time later one would land a little to the left. They were convinced that they would die.
The same weekend we were at Frog Buttress and we were getting sandblasted and gravel was raining down on us.
...Phil...
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gunked
Aug 14, 2002, 5:49 PM
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Handjammer,
I believe the questions that may be a bit more helpful as you're about to attempt your first multi-pitch, are : Is wind a real factor in this climbing area? For that matter, where is this area??
Generally speaking, falling on a sport route no matter how many pitches is a trivial matter. The bolts are usually spaced in such a way that falling is okay. Like lightning, wind (powerful enough to blow you off of a route) is not the most common occurence. Okay, maybe more than lightning. It is encountered on certain types of terrain (arete of an exposed buttress, etc..) in certain areas. You get the idea.
What climb do you have in mind and ask the locals. Hope this helped!
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climbjs
Aug 14, 2002, 6:20 PM
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My tent got blown off of the Lower Saddle of the Grand Teton! Actually, I nearly got blown off the Upper Exum ridge, too. It made climbing a 5.3 pitch feel like 5.10!
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radistrad
Aug 20, 2002, 7:24 PM
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I thought our leader was going to get blow off the first pitch of Walk ON the Wild Side in JT.
He weighs about 120lbs and only had a few leads under his belt, the wind must have been gusting at 50Mph, Rich and I were laughing so hard at Dave (the leader). As each gust came you could just barley hear his screams of fear as he clung to the rock.
I dont think wind is a real danger as far as being blown off of a route, I think the danger will come from the rocks being blown off of the top of the cliff, like out Aussie pal said.
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climbinganne
Aug 20, 2002, 7:40 PM
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yup...massacre rocks, idaho...even praying to the wind goddess didn't work!
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mountainmonkey
Aug 20, 2002, 8:09 PM
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The wind can be much more of an issue if you are rapelling. My partner and I were rapelling the N face of Castleton on a very windy day - the ropes were being blown completely sideways in the gusts. On the second rapell, he couldnt reach the belay because he was being blown away from it and it was mostly free hanging so he had to wait and time his pendulms with the gusts. The thing I was most concerned about was the ropes getting caught in a crack around the corner of the tower - but they never did. In hindsight, it might have been better to rapell with the coils of rope then to toss it. Be careful, especially when climbing during windy days, not to let the rope get stuck or knock loose stuff down on ascent and descent.
casey bernal
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climbera5
Aug 21, 2002, 10:54 PM
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I find putting on a lot of weight helps keep me stable in the wind. It's a bitch to climb but at least I'm not being tossed about.
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svilnit
Aug 21, 2002, 11:27 PM
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When you get to the summit, don't spit into the wind on a windy day....
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bouldertoad
Aug 26, 2002, 10:26 PM
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While climbing Candy Corner at Seneca Rocks the wind was blowing so much that my draws on my waist were perpindicular to my body. That coupled with the wasp nest I encountered made it a very memorable lead......
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