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tylert222
Apr 4, 2011, 1:35 AM
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Today i finally had the chance to go sport climbing at Horse Shoe canyon in Arkansas. It was the belayer and me first time to go. I started with a 5.9 and made it with no problem. Ive been doing a lot of top rope and bouldering. So i decide to do another 5.9 that was harder. I get to the anchor and by then i am shaking so bad ( i had just bouldered for 2hrs) i call clipping and i was trying to clip over my head which i should have climbed a little higher...and i slip before i clip. i take about a 30ft fall....which was so scary. It was a 45ft climb so i stopped about 10-15 ft above ground....But my question is......would that be considered a factor 1 fall or factor 2 fall? I
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shockabuku
Apr 4, 2011, 1:45 AM
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Neither. Roughly speaking the fall factor was about 0.4. Fall factor is calculated as fall distance divided by the amount of rope absorbing the fall (between you and the belayer). On another note, that seems like an awfully long fall unless the bolts were fairly run out at the top. If that had happened earlier, would you have hit the ground?
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redonkulus
Apr 4, 2011, 2:21 AM
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I think you are my favorite newbie climber on this forum. I'm glad you didn't get too hurt or shaken up in that fall... I was just at HCR this morning! Shokabuku, the bolts at HCR are usually fairly closely spaced, ~6-8 feet between them, but its not unusual to see a good 10 feet or more between the last bolt and the anchor, and if he was little below it and pulled up some slack, that big of a fall is definitely possible. I think it would have been harder to take a groundfall at the ranch though if it wern't the first couple of bolts. Tyler, the important thing is that you recognized what happened, and spent some time analyzing it. You realize that you probably could have climbed up a bit higher, but in the end, it just came down to having just that little bit extra juice in the tank to get the anchor clipped. I know I've been close to pumping off during a vital clip. Sometimes it happens though! Keep staying safe, and I hope that fall didn't put you off of leading too much, you see to have a good head about you. Maybe see you at the ranch sometime! Will P.S. Definitely not approaching a factor 2 fall, so you don't need to worry about replacing that rope! You would struggle to find a factor 2 fall in any single pitch environment. I can't think of a scenario that it would happen in myself, unless your belayer was on a ledge that you started the climb from?
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tylert222
Apr 4, 2011, 3:14 AM
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haha. cool! i live 15 min away from HCR....it was probably more like a 25ft fall. It happend on the route The Bulb in the North Forty.....I will sport climb again though. I learned a lot from what happend....so i think it was a good experience since no one got hurt...
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tylert222
Apr 4, 2011, 3:26 AM
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shockabuku wrote: Neither. Roughly speaking the fall factor was about 0.4. Fall factor is calculated as fall distance divided by the amount of rope absorbing the fall (between you and the belayer). On another note, that seems like an awfully long fall unless the bolts were fairly run out at the top. If that had happened earlier, would you have hit the ground? ok...now it makes since...So does mean i should count it as a fall on my rope though.. I have a pmi dynamic that can take 10 falls. And i asked for too much slack probably too...Definetly learned a lot..
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redonkulus
Apr 4, 2011, 4:02 AM
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Lucky man, I have to make a 6.5 hour drive to Arkansas... Kansas sucks for climbing. I wouldn't consider it a hard fall on your rope. When they say it's rated for 10 falls, the testing they do is for factor 1.76 (i think? Something high like that) falls. It'll break after 10 or so of those falls, which are pretty massive on very little rope. A fall so low on the fall factor probably didn't do much to your rope, unless something else happened, like it got abraded on an edge or anything like that. So no, I wouldn't personally think of it like "well I can only take 9 more falls like that before I have to retire the rope!" That kind of fall isn't too unusual in climbing, and the ropes can take it. Regularly inspect your rope though, and if you ever feel any misshapen lumps or bulges in the core of the rope, or if the sheath is excessively fuzzed or you can see the core, it's time to replace it. You can probably ask a more experienced climber at the gym to take a look at it and give you their opinion on it though.
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jt512
Apr 4, 2011, 5:38 AM
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tylert222 wrote: So does mean i should count it as a fall on my rope though.. 1. Do a search. 2. Don't end sentences with two periods. Jay
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jbro_135
Apr 4, 2011, 11:06 AM
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tylert222 wrote: shockabuku wrote: Neither. Roughly speaking the fall factor was about 0.4. Fall factor is calculated as fall distance divided by the amount of rope absorbing the fall (between you and the belayer). On another note, that seems like an awfully long fall unless the bolts were fairly run out at the top. If that had happened earlier, would you have hit the ground? ok...now it makes since...So does mean i should count it as a fall on my rope though.. I have a pmi dynamic that can take 10 falls. And i asked for too much slack probably too...Definetly learned a lot.. That fall rating means your rope will break after 10 consecutive factor 1.76 falls with an 80? kg weight. You can take a lot of falls on a rope without replacing it. You need to do some basic research. Read some threads around here about fall factors and ropes, maybe get yourself a good book about climbing.
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tylert222
Apr 4, 2011, 12:02 PM
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I have some good climbing books, but i could never figure out the fall factor thing. Now i understand, Thanks everyone for your help!
(This post was edited by tylert222 on Apr 4, 2011, 12:02 PM)
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jeepnphreak
Apr 5, 2011, 8:25 PM
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Glad every thing turned out ok. No dont count that as a fall on your rope. check out 35 to about 45 seconds at what a FF close to 2 looks like; and your rope can take 10 of those... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3Cg8homvoU Edit for clicky
(This post was edited by jeepnphreak on Apr 5, 2011, 8:25 PM)
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TheRucat
Apr 5, 2011, 9:06 PM
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jt512 wrote: tylert222 wrote: So does mean i should count it as a fall on my rope though.. 1. Do a search. 2. Don't end sentences with two periods. Jay Especially when that sentence is a question.
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Toast_in_the_Machine
Apr 5, 2011, 10:55 PM
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TheRucat wrote: jt512 wrote: tylert222 wrote: So does mean i should count it as a fall on my rope though.. 1. Do a search. 2. Don't end sentences with two periods. Jay Especially when that sentence is a question. I thought we established earlier that two periods represented the stoner pause..at least I thought we did..if not..bummer.
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