|
rimzilmoon
Jan 25, 2006, 3:34 PM
Post #1 of 66
(7334 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Jan 18, 2006
Posts: 28
|
Not that there is a good way... but, What's the best way to fall when Highballing. Take this pic from johnquickdraw for example:
http://www.rockclimbing.com/photo/photo_show.php?id=67770
If the climber in the photo were about to fall. Would you want to try and stay close to the wall to slow your decent or push yourself away and rely on the pads below? It seems like the natural instinct is to push yourself away. Is there such a thing as falling technique when it comes to this?
|
|
|
|
|
chrisparedes
Jan 25, 2006, 3:43 PM
Post #2 of 66
(7334 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Aug 4, 2004
Posts: 211
|
There is a technique for falling. You want your whole body to absorb the impact, not just your feet and ankles. The best way to do this is to purposely fall and roll onto your butt absorbing the impact with your butt, then back and shoulders. Just let your legs collapse under you. Maybe someone else can better explain it.
|
|
|
|
|
cintune
Jan 25, 2006, 3:45 PM
Post #3 of 66
(7334 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Nov 10, 2004
Posts: 1293
|
Falling "technique" is keeping your head up if possible. If not, you're probably going to have a bad time.
Push away from the wall and anything else you might hit on the way down.
Upon landing stay loose and use some method to spread out the force of the fall as quickly as possible. There are a couple of "taught" ways to do this, which are worth practicing. But it can be very situational.
Don't hit your head.
|
|
|
|
|
dukeandbeads
Jan 25, 2006, 3:52 PM
Post #4 of 66
(7334 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Jul 16, 2005
Posts: 84
|
This article shows that fall technique you were talking about.
http://www.climbing.com/techtips/ttsport226/index.html
Anne
|
|
|
|
|
sport_climber_100
Jan 25, 2006, 3:53 PM
Post #5 of 66
(7334 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Oct 26, 2004
Posts: 15
|
There's an interesting article about this in the current issue of ROCK and ICE.
|
|
|
|
|
cheyennewills
Jan 25, 2006, 3:53 PM
Post #6 of 66
(7334 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Jan 16, 2006
Posts: 11
|
Go find a video of stuntmen doing "falls" off buildings and such, watch how they land (either directly on the ground or into their version of crashpads).
When they land directly on the ground, they tuck and roll. When landing on the crashpads they try to land so that their entire body takes the impact
|
|
|
|
|
rimzilmoon
Jan 25, 2006, 4:37 PM
Post #7 of 66
(7334 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Jan 18, 2006
Posts: 28
|
Thank you for the replies, I'm going to read the article link provided above as well as the article in Rock and Ice. I'll check out any other suggestions too. Thanks
|
|
|
|
|
ryko
Jan 25, 2006, 5:09 PM
Post #8 of 66
(7334 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Jan 10, 2006
Posts: 39
|
Quick sarcastic tip: Don't fall, that's why they are highballs!!
I've seen the result of a highball fall and the guy blew out both of his ankles, needed surgery, etc. The biggest part on how to fall and not get squished is to check out the landing before you climb and figure out if you come off, where do you want to go.
The other thing is you might want to take some Aikido classes. Beginners learn ukemi (sp??) which translates to the art of falling. It is the basic jest of your whole body absorbs and dissipates the shock of the fall. The picture in the Climbing tip guide though seems to be a sure recipe for a broken tailbone. I seriously would suggest practice front rolls and back rolls if you see yourself ever in need of this.
|
|
|
|
|
reg
Jan 25, 2006, 5:32 PM
Post #9 of 66
(7334 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Nov 10, 2004
Posts: 1560
|
:lol:
i can't believe what i'm reading - at thirty two feet off the deck you have a second before your ankles break - you won't have time to land like the "stunt guys"! your being spit off the rock like a bar of soap outta wet hands! by the time you realize your off your almost there. if you want to live a happy healthy life - don't high ball - don't free solo. but that's me.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
jitterbugclimb
Jan 25, 2006, 5:45 PM
Post #11 of 66
(7334 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Mar 8, 2005
Posts: 116
|
1. Check your landing and take notice of anything that could be an issue in a fall such as roots, rocks, trees, bushes, etc. In a long fall even a small rock can be dangerous.
2. On uneven terrain, arrange pads such that you have as flat a surace as possible to land on. If you need more pads, borrow some from friends. A single pad in a twenty foot fall is pretty much useless. Take your time in analyzing where the crux is for the best pad placement.
3. Take a number of short falls on purpose in order to warm yourself up and eliminate any hesitation. When falling, keep your arms out for balance. At impact, bend knees and roll backwards onto your ass and then onto your back/shoulder-all in one motion (keep your head tucked in). Practice this a lot at the gym or from lower height.
Even when using caution and doing everything you can to reduce the forces, you will eventually get hurt if you make a habit out of highballing. On a recent highball, I rebroke my tailbone and injured my back. Be prepared for at the very least, some sore muscles and bruised heels and ass. but have fun.
|
|
|
|
|
aikibujin
Jan 25, 2006, 6:31 PM
Post #12 of 66
(7334 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Dec 28, 2003
Posts: 408
|
The "rolling" technique is a nice theory, and probably works well on a flat, obstacle free environment like the gym (notice the climbing.com tech tip was about "landing like a cat on indoor surfaces). But in general it does not work well when you're outside.
1. Every landing is different. Some problems have nice and flat landing areas, in that case you can roll as much as you want. But more often than not I see problems with uneven landing, protruding roots, rocks, and trees in the landing zone. I never want to roll onto my back with such landing.
2. Unless you boulder alone, you most likely have spotters standing behind you and just out of the way of your landing zone. The more spotters you have, the more likely that you will roll into one of them, possibly trip them over.
In my opinion, the best way to land on a highball problem, is to have spotters to prevent your head from hitting anything, and try to land on your feet with bend knees, stay loose and let the crash pad do its job.
About Aikido or any other martial arts. I have ten years in Aikido (see my username), you do learn a lot about falling and rolling. But just a month or two of Aikido will not help you fall better. I think it generally take up to six months of training before a beginner will start rolling smoothly, up to a year before a beginner can take brake falls effectively. So unless you intend to take up martial arts long term, just a little bit of training will not help you much.
My $0.02.
|
|
|
|
|
avenfoto
Jan 25, 2006, 7:36 PM
Post #13 of 66
(7334 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Sep 28, 2005
Posts: 11
|
chronicle got it right.... PLF... look it up "parachute landing fall"
no aikido, or judo or any of that crap... but if you deck from 20ft+ a plf is only going to minimize your injuries... notice the plural..
|
|
|
|
|
bizarrodrinker
Jan 25, 2006, 9:12 PM
Post #14 of 66
(7334 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Dec 20, 2005
Posts: 2316
|
In reply to: There is a technique for falling. You want your whole body to absorb the impact, not just your feet and ankles. The best way to do this is to purposely fall and roll onto your butt absorbing the impact with your butt, then back and shoulders. Just let your legs collapse under you. Maybe someone else can better explain it.
This is pretty much right on. The goal of the fall should be to extend the time of impact to as much of your body as possible so that the force is distributed over more of your body. If possible, you should land so that you can complete a full roll so you can slow your momentum instead of trying to stop it dead. This all depends on what the landing allows of course. There are always those instances where you just do't fall
|
|
|
|
|
veganboyjosh
Jan 25, 2006, 9:24 PM
Post #15 of 66
(7334 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Dec 22, 2003
Posts: 1421
|
all the advice given so far is spot on.
buh duh duh.
someone taught me a long time ago--i wanna say it was a stuntman dude who came to my 2nd grade class--how to fall like a pro.
basically he said to practice this in slow motion, to get the moves down, and then when it counts you'll know how to do it.
when you roll, you wanna make sure--as much as you can while falling 20+ feet--that each joint on your body hits the ground in order, starting from the bottom.
balls of your feet.
heels.
(roll to the side)
knees.
hips.
shoulders.
neck.
and this will help absorb a lot of the energy of the fall...
|
|
|
|
|
jdouble
Jan 26, 2006, 12:20 AM
Post #16 of 66
(7334 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Jun 15, 2004
Posts: 564
|
Go skateboarding. Taught me to fall.
|
|
|
|
|
veganboyjosh
Jan 26, 2006, 12:27 AM
Post #17 of 66
(7334 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Dec 22, 2003
Posts: 1421
|
In reply to: Go skateboarding. Taught me to fall.
good call.
|
|
|
|
|
rimzilmoon
Jan 26, 2006, 5:56 AM
Post #18 of 66
(7334 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Jan 18, 2006
Posts: 28
|
I have to say this has all been very helpful. My next trip to the gym I'm going to use all those inevitable falls to practice the instructions provided. I read the article in Rock and Ice too as well as the first link. Thanks again folk.
|
|
|
|
|
jdouble
Jan 26, 2006, 4:17 PM
Post #19 of 66
(7334 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Jun 15, 2004
Posts: 564
|
Hey rimzilmoon, I did not mean to poke fun! All right, maybe a little.
I am amazed when I fall, I swear it feels like I am in the Matrix. Everything sloooooows way down, and I usually have at least two or three thoughts running through my head on the way down. "boy, that ledge would have hurt", "get your feet out in front", "a ham sandwich would be nice right about now......" Then I am on the ground or hanging on the rope.
One fun experience, a partner pulled a 200 lbs block, right after clipping the first bolt. In my head "boy, that is a big block coming to crush me". "I need to get out of the way now". "I have to feed slack to get out of the way, do it". "Now jump ten feet sidways". "Now lock off to catch partner". My partner stopped with his feet just off the ground, the boulder lays in the same spot today.....right where I was belaying.
I think all of this comes from the extensive amount of falling I have suffered. The more you do it, the more natural, and the more your mind will slow things down giving you the reaction time needed.
Practice, practice, practice and seek, young Mr. Anderson.
|
|
|
|
|
jdouble
Jan 26, 2006, 4:31 PM
Post #20 of 66
(7334 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Jun 15, 2004
Posts: 564
|
In reply to: In reply to: Go skateboarding. Taught me to fall. good call.
Dont you know skateboarding is for kids? Jeeeees.
|
|
|
|
|
james_climber
Jan 26, 2006, 4:51 PM
Post #21 of 66
(7334 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Feb 11, 2004
Posts: 304
|
[quote="rimzilmoon"]
If the climber in the photo were about to fall. Would you want to try and stay close to the wall to slow your decent quote]
What about if the highb is overhang?
|
|
|
|
|
james_climber
Jan 26, 2006, 4:56 PM
Post #22 of 66
(7334 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Feb 11, 2004
Posts: 304
|
In reply to: http://www.rockclimbing.com/photo/photo_show.php?id=67770 If the climber in the photo were about to fall. Would you want to try and stay close to the wall to slow your decent ?
What about if the highb is overhang?
|
|
|
|
|
reg
Jan 26, 2006, 5:09 PM
Post #23 of 66
(7334 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Nov 10, 2004
Posts: 1560
|
In reply to: In reply to: http://www.rockclimbing.com/photo/photo_show.php?id=67770 If the climber in the photo were about to fall. Would you want to try and stay close to the wall to slow your decent ? What about if the highb is overhang?
wanna slow down? use a belay device. :wink:
|
|
|
|
|
chrisparedes
Jan 26, 2006, 6:01 PM
Post #24 of 66
(7334 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Aug 4, 2004
Posts: 211
|
The only way "staying close to the wall" is going to slow down your fall is if you hit the wall. You do not want that to happen. When falling, look for the PADS. If that means having to push yourself out a little bit, or just dropping strait down, then that's what you need to do. Again, as everyone else has said, practice will make you much better at deciding how and where to land.
|
|
|
|
|
lajhanata
Jan 26, 2006, 6:04 PM
Post #25 of 66
(7334 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Sep 19, 2005
Posts: 81
|
I don't know which R&I article you guys are talking about, but there's an article in the 0ctober (?) R&I about Jason Kehl highballing a sport route in Squamish. He laid out a whole bunch of pads and then had two of his spotters hold onto another pad. When he peeled they threw the pad at him so that no matter where he landed he had a double layer. Sounds insane but apparently it worked.
If you're just trying to climb some boulder where there's no anchoring potential at the top, try anchoring a system to two cars parked on the back side of the boulder. You know that boulder on the cover of Stone Crusade?
I saw two gapers set up a TR for it using their trucks.
Best advice for highballing = don't climb anything you can't downclimb.
|
|
|
|
|
|
1
