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junoclimber
Feb 18, 2004, 8:06 AM
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SO this is my first post but I thought it was worth posting. I am not "new" to climbing, been doing it for about a year. I've lead indoors, outdoors, climb about 3 days per week, and my climbing level is about 5.9+ - EASY 5.10
Take into account that EVERY one of those times I double-checked to see that both my harness was double-backed and that my figure 8 was tied correctly. WELL, tonight I screwed up. I was in a crowded indoor gym. I've been there everyday for the past 5 days. I was doing a HIGH climb with a friend of mine and there were lots of people around. I let me comfortableness get the best of me and I wasn't paying full attention. I started climbing and was about 20ft off the floor, I felt all of this slack in the rope so I looked down to see if my belayer was paying attention, what I saw instead was the tail end of my rope leaving my harness and flying high above my head....I HADN'T TIED IN CORRECTLY!!! I was petrified!!!!! Before I knew it everyone in the gym was standing below me calming me and coaching me on the down-climb. I made it to the ground safe but not without a wounded pride, an upset partner, and a mind full of "what-if's". Thankfully I was on a EASY climb but what if I had been on the hard 5.9 next to it? The wall was at an angle and I was already tired, it would have only taken one fall and BOOM! What if my arms gave out when I realized there was no rope? I could be seriously injured right now but I'm not. The point is I am lucky and it all goes back to the fact that I wasn't paying attention. ME, someone who ALWAYS checks themselves before they climb, ME, who takes climbing seriously, ME who has climbed enough to know better. I screwed up and I could have payed for it. PLEASE check yourselves and be safe when you climb.
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coldclimb
Feb 18, 2004, 8:28 AM
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Hey man, welcome to the site. Always nice to see another one from Alaska around. :)
Great that you didn't hurt yourself, and yes, you can never stress enough the importance of double checking everything! My worst screw ups have only cost me a lot of time, but some could have been pretty dangerous if I hadn't caught them. Good to always get in the habit of checking more than once.
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arrowhead
Feb 18, 2004, 10:44 AM
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Welcome to RC.com, and what an interesting entry to make your first post!
Actually, the best habit to make is to constantly be on alert, not just on your own knots but also of your belayer's and the other climbers around.
Another thing to avoid is to loop the rope into the harness without tying it in first, and then putting on the shoes, etc. When you run the rope thru your harness, then make sure you TIE IN and not do anything else first!
It's way too easy to get careless about the safety aspects of climbing, especially when you're too focused on the climb ahead and/or having too relaxed a time with your climbing pals.
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wildduck
Feb 18, 2004, 10:55 AM
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Welcome....
do a buddy check. I check the belayer to see if he's locked the biner and he checks my tying. Caught a few mistakes when i was a noob in the gym.
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noodlearms
Feb 18, 2004, 11:13 AM
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In reply to: Another thing to avoid is to loop the rope into the harness without tying it in first, and then putting on the shoes, etc. When you run the rope thru your harness, then make sure you TIE IN and not do anything else first!
Indeed. That's the #1 lesson I learned from Lynn Hill's book. She almost got killed that way. She interrupted her knot tying to talk to someone, then forgot she hadn't finished. If it can happen to her, it can happen to anybody.
Glad it worked out juno.
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overlord
Feb 18, 2004, 11:56 AM
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glad you werent hurt. a not too expensive lesson. hurt pride huts less than broken bones.
what did you do wrong???
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duskerhu
Feb 18, 2004, 1:58 PM
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Welcome to RC.com...
Glad things turned out O.K.! Gives good reason to ALways do those double checks...
In reality, 20ft. up, you could die, but that would be somewhat rare (depending on how you land). And, with all those people at the bottom, if you'd come off, chances are someone would've played hero and broken your fall (probably at the cost of more pain to themselves than to you :shock: ).
In reply to: Another thing to avoid is to loop the rope into the harness without tying it in first, and then putting on the shoes, etc. When you run the rope thru your harness, then make sure you TIE IN and not do anything else first!
Over the years my partner and I have gotten into the habit of always double checking each other immediately before the climber starts to climb. The LAST thing I do before calling out CLIMBING! is to again look at my tie-in knot and make sure it's there!
It doesn't matter if we're climbing in the gym, outside at our local choss pile/sport crag, trad areas, or on a road trip, we always do the double checks before starting up! And once in a while we'll catch a minor mistake; usually an unlocked belay biner and this is exactly the reason you do the double checks.
Don't get me wrong... I'm not saying there isn't room for fun before and while you're climbing. We generally maintain a constant banter back and forth, giving each other crap about one thing or another. That's one of the best parts of climbing. The friendships and fun you're bound to have on the rock. But you must remember that climbing can be a very dangerous game if you value your existance in this plane of reality...
Double checks are essential for survival if you plan to play the game for any great amount of time!
Live Free!
Play Hard!
Climb On!
duskerhu
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marcel
Feb 18, 2004, 2:43 PM
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In reply to: Welcome.... do a buddy check. I check the belayer to see if he's locked the biner and he checks my tying. Caught a few mistakes when i was a noob in the gym.
I too welcome you! Wildduck has great advice!
I'm assuming you were climbing at the Rock Dump Gym in Juneau. They have the good pea gravel on the floor. It's dirty, but it's great for cushioning a fall, not that anyone would want to fall 20 feet!
Have fun, and keep climbing!
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dingus
Feb 18, 2004, 3:08 PM
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I've been roped climbing for 30 years now. A partner of mine has been at it for 36 years.
Every time we go climbing, every time we tie in, he checks my knot and harness and I check his. Every time.
Went sport climbing on Saturday with Burl. We did, oh, 8 or 10 lines. Every time we tied in, every time, he checked my knot and I checked his.
My harness came undone 60 feet up a hard 5.10. I fell. And then caught myself on a knob. A couple of moves later my Bro Angus asks, "Dingus, is that your KNOT?"
There weren't no coaching down from that. I had reassemble the harness in the middle of a 5.9 move.
I had been climbing for more than 20 years when that happened. I checked my harness every time. I checked my partner's every time
Despite that, a bad tie in slipped by. Why? Because I DIDN'T CHECK THE FREAKING KNOT after I RE-tied in.
You'll see some people look skyward in weary, lord help me gestures, if you presume to check their knot before they climb a gym route.
Look at the folks in your gym tonight. Pick out those who you think will make it to their 10 year aniversary. Now... assume one of them won't make it because they never developed the very necessary habit of a safety check.
Don't make that person be you.
DMT
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blueeyedclimber
Feb 18, 2004, 4:15 PM
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In reply to: I am not "new" to climbing, been doing it for about a year.
Best advice I can give you is to always consider yourself a "newbie." There is always knowledge and experience to gain. Never get too comfortable that you start skipping steps. Pretend every climb is your first. If you do this, you will live a long and healthy life.
I haven't tied a knot wrong yet, but what I have done is only tie it through the leg loop. Sometimes, while I tie in, I look at a climb, going over the moves in my head. A couple times, because of this, I didn't thread it through the waist. ALWAYS double check yourself and your partner!
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superdiamonddave
Feb 18, 2004, 4:23 PM
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Lots of good posts. Good job guys.
Also, welcome to RC.com!
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tedc
Feb 18, 2004, 5:20 PM
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Obviously your belayer didn't check your set up, and I assume that you didn't check your belayer's set up either. Good habits take effort to develop and bad habits die hard (or just die). Before you go up remember, this is climbing and people DIE doing it.
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rrrADAM
Feb 18, 2004, 6:23 PM
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I've done the same thing, as if I get distracted when doing this, I sometimes don't finish the knot.
I have also not had the locker locked before.
Point is, have the partner double check you, and when at the top of a multi pitch climb alone preparing to belay the 2nd, tripple check yourself.
Welcome to the site brutha.
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robmcc
Feb 18, 2004, 6:35 PM
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This is one message that probably can't be said enough. Truth is, I've become lax about checking lately. I shouldn't.
2-3 years into my climbing career I had a "Wow. Oh Shit!" moment. At the top of a pitch at Seneca, I noticed I'd just tied in through the leg loops. You know, the ones where if you fall, odds are you'll just invert and rip 'em off before decking? Happily, it was a climb well below my ability and I didn't fall, but it's a wake up call to realize it could have ended quite differently.
Rob
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wideguy
Feb 18, 2004, 6:41 PM
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Worst i've had so far was catching myself with only the leg loops tied. Caught myself on that a few times actually.
Thanks for the story, glad you're OK.
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taalon
Feb 18, 2004, 6:45 PM
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In reply to: < I usually avoid the potential for those kind of problems by making sure that there's a longer tail left at the end of the knot so that I can make a simple, additional loop.
I do this also its called a Half Hitch btw, also in the military any time you do a repel or other dangerious exercise like this or sling loading vehicals. There is always someone to double check....
When i double check my climber i start on the loose end and follow it with my finger all the way around to the up end so i follow the figure 8 two timesto insure the double back on it. It takes time but ya know what 2 minutes of my time insures my life will allow for hundreds of hours more of climbing fun in the future.
Always double check one another on everything noone is perfect and we should never get upset if someone wants to check us that is not our partner. They may have seen something wrong and assumed you tied wrong, but once i noticed a 5.11+ climber in the gym and he missed a double back on his harness and i pointed it out. His first reaction was who the heck are you on his face till i showed him his mistake. I felt id rather look dumb then let him die incase i was right.
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rvega
Feb 18, 2004, 7:00 PM
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Since everyone one else is admitting to potentially life threatening mistakes, I'll fess up too. And yes I've been climbing over ten years myself.
I've definitely done the "tied only into my leg loops bit"...but luckily I was only at the gym and I wasn't on lead.
But just this weekend I screwed up rapping off a climb. In fact I screwed up twice. First, I only used the rings on one bolt (stupid yes I know) and then I forgot to tie a knot on the ends of the rope. But the climb was short and I'm light so thank goodness nothing bad happened. I got to the bottom and was like "holy .... I could have just killed myself." I'm still upset at myself. I'm not sure what was going through my head. I'm always very concerned about rapping and had just told someone how dangerous it can be becuase of human error. Then I almost demonstrated why! Stupid stupid me. However, I doubt I'll make those mistakes again.
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foolry
Feb 18, 2004, 7:22 PM
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The more the merrier in the worl of climbing,
I almost had a Lynn Hill type incident just a few weeks ago myself. I was climbing a relatively new 5.8 sport climb at the five-and-dime cliff here in Yosemite. the crux is right at the top of the 80ft pitch. I had already run a few laps on it that day and was just running up it in the waning daylight to clean the draws (in my aproach shoes, I might add). when I got to the top I nearly yelled "Take!" but then thought better of it, thinking that I felt strong enough to pull all the way up to the chains and clip myself in. My feet cut loose in the process but fortunately I had a good grip on the final jug. I recovered my foot placement and anchored in. Then I looked at my knot. Just like Lynn Hill, the rope was through my harness but not tied. I spent the next few minutes while rigging my rappel line contemplating my life and how I should deal with nearly dying (and wondering if I should tell my belayer). I decided that I need to concentrate on always checking my harness and knot before beggining to climb. Upon reflection, while tying in I had paused to instruct my belayer on the fine points of belaying with a gri-gri, it being his first time belaying with one.
It's always best to learn from the mistakes others, rather than to wait and make them yourself. Climb safe everyone,
Thomas
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taalon
Feb 18, 2004, 7:31 PM
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Lynn Hill is awsome i once met katie brown when she was like 15 now shes a bad ass short but doing boulder moves i could only dream of...
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hardmanknott
Feb 18, 2004, 8:27 PM
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They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Here is a close-up of a
the result of a 35 foot fall onto a wooden bench in a gym.
The contraption is holding the bones together; he very nearly lost
his leg due to complications from the compound fracture:
http://www.oceandave.com/Alienleg.jpg
The knot was half-tied, and my friend leaned back and fell.
The belayer (his girlfriend) was really devastated and quit climbing.
She felt she was partially to blame--and she was correct.
Here is why this will never happen to me, and why it will never happen
to anyone I'm belaying:
1. I always check my partner's knot before he/she leaves the ground,
and I insist the he/she does the same for me.
2. At the top of a route, whether leading or top-roping, I look down
to my belayer and say: "You got me?" If for some reason there was
something wrong with the belay, I would not find out by letting go
and hitting the ground.
3. When I get to the top of a route, whether leading or top-roping,
I grab the rope coming from the draws above me and pull it up TIGHT.
I then slowly lower onto the rope--verifying that my weight is being
supported by the belay. If for some reason I wasn't tied in, I would
least have a chance to clip in direct to save myself--BEFORE I let go.
It seems incredible that people just let go at the top of a route
without confirming that the rope is indeed tight and holding them--and
yet this seems to happen all the time.
The picture was taken about a month after the accident; the bump
on the shin had decreased in size by about 50%.
Hardman Knott
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climbersoze
Feb 18, 2004, 8:37 PM
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I can't hang with that last pic at all... but I did hear a story abouot complacency that keeps me checking my gear... even if it is not climbing related...
I heard a story about a guy who worked at a bungee tower. Every day he would go up and have the first jump of the day and he did it for over a year... so it became routine, and he had zero anxiety about jumping.. so it was natural to get up there, hook the bungee up, and jump.
One day he forgot to hook up.... :shock:
Prolly an urban myth.. but it makes sense...
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swohletz
Feb 18, 2004, 10:15 PM
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I'll fess up too....I am usually really good about double checking. I started up the first pitch having forgotten to double check with my partner. When I got there I remembered....we double checked each other and lo and behold I had failed to double back my harness. Thankfully it was an easy pitch and I didn't weight the rope. I had the rest of the climb to remember why double checking is SO important. No matter how long I've been climbing, I'm still human. Mistakes will happen. It's just a matter of catching them before they result in injury or death. Let's get each others' backs...
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mazzystr
Feb 19, 2004, 9:26 PM
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you sure he "forgot"?
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swohletz
Feb 20, 2004, 5:37 AM
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We both are usually really good about it....all I know for sure is that I forgot, but when the error was discovered, yes, we both said something like"ugh, can't believe I forgot..." Good to be reminded not to get calky.
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