Dr_Flash_Amazing Posted November 3, 2003 Posted November 3, 2003 On a trip to Maple Canyon a few years back, one of DFA's acquaintances was nearly flattened by a medicine ball-sized cobble. M_____ was climbing a newish route while B____ belayed. M_____ had found a great rest stance on the aforementioned cobble (about 40' up), when it suddenly decided to jump from under his feet, sending him for one of those frightful, totally unexpected plummets, and nearly ending B____'s life. On another trip to Maple, while in the mostly solid and very popular Box Canyon, it began to pour down rain. Everyone took refuge from the downpour under the large overhangs lining much of the canyon, but no one was expecting the resultant loosing of a large number of cobbles from high up the canyon walls. For several minutes, softball-sized cobbles were falling at regular intervals, halting everyone's plans for heading back to camp and calling it a day. Alpine! None of the Doctor's four trips to Maple has been free of rockfall, and a helmet is now standard equipment for belaying on most routes there. Quote
bird Posted November 3, 2003 Posted November 3, 2003 Norsky said: What's the biggest rockfall when bouldering? A few pebbles as a microflake pulls off? Bird, back me up on this. It is not a problem with the slab problems you climb. Quote
sketchfest Posted November 3, 2003 Posted November 3, 2003 bird said: Norsky said: What's the biggest rockfall when bouldering? A few pebbles as a microflake pulls off? Bird, back me up on this. It is not a problem with the slab problems you climb. That is a funny ass picture Quote
TimL Posted November 3, 2003 Posted November 3, 2003 I saw this piece of stone that Dberdinka is describing. Its friggin huge and left a sizable scare. I've seen rock fall come off the LTW and UTW during intense freeze thaw periods several times. Be careful and wear a helmet if you feel necessary. Quote
Dr_Flash_Amazing Posted November 3, 2003 Posted November 3, 2003 Holy shit! Someone tell the dude in the white shirt to take the crash pad outta there! It's s'posed to go on the ground, you big galoot! Quote
scott_harpell Posted November 4, 2003 Posted November 4, 2003 damn that is a big ass snow plow. Quote
Sol Posted November 4, 2003 Posted November 4, 2003 dberdinka said: A month ago I hefted a 60 lb bag of aid gear onto my back and stumbled up to the Upper Town Wall all intent on climbing Steal Pole Bathtub. I scrambled up to a ledge maybe 30' off the ground and stood there looking at the start of the climb, a 15' tall left-facing, left-leaning corner system ending at a small roof where a diagonal crack continues up and left. The confidence I had felt that morning was quickly replaced with abundant self-doubt. "Boy, the rock looks shitty and I'm kinda tired, that second pitch looks sketch, what am I doing here by myself again? Uhhh...I'm scared" So with tale between my legs I wandered off to climb something more familiar, questioning my decision for the rest of the day. Fast forward to yesterday. A buddy and I hike up to the Upper Town Wall to do a little free climbing. A 2' x 3' x 6' block of rock is laying in the trail just below the wall. More, larger blocks are piled up near by. Scanning the wall, I realize the entire left facing corner (the start of Steal Pole Bathtub) has fallen out in a chunk at least 3 feet thick! The ledge at it's start is covered in knee deep blocks. This all happened prior to this weeks freeze. So I don't see any real mechanism for this other than "it's time had come". I shudder to think what might have happened had I started up that climb, weighing cams behind the now absent corner, or worse yet slamming a few pins in behind it. I would have been squished like a bug! Why didn't I climb it? Through years and years of climbing have I developed an innate sixth sense that guides me from danger, that prevents me from exposing myself to objective hazards I'm not consciously aware off? I DON'T THINK SO! I think I just got frigging lucky. Climbing IS Dangerous, there ain't no two ways about it. We can triple check our knots, dig avi-pits on every aspect, start climbing at 2AM, only climb granite, whatever. There will always be risks we can't predict, quantify or mitigate. The longer we stay at it the more likely rock fall's gonna kill us all. Is that route near the base of the seasonal waterfall, to the right of Green Dragon? If so, I was belaying my buddy ty on the first pitch of the dragon on 10/24 when it came down. we both watched it go. He said he felt this really sickening, bad, feeling right before it peeled. it seemed to be about the size of a honda civic, but it was hard to tell since it detached, dropped about 15 feet and exploded. after it hit the ground chunks of it continued bouncing down the hill for a long time. freaky.... after a few words of encouragement ty kept on going and we finished the route. Quote
Norsky Posted November 4, 2003 Posted November 4, 2003 Dr_Flash_Amazing said: Holy shit! Someone tell the dude in the white shirt to take the crash pad outta there! It's s'posed to go on the ground, you big galoot! I can tell the guy in the white shirt for you...cause that's Bird. Bird, at least I'm crankin' the mean lay back! You just pouted and ate cheese whiz. Quote
bird Posted November 4, 2003 Posted November 4, 2003 Norsky said: Dr_Flash_Amazing said: Holy shit! Someone tell the dude in the white shirt to take the crash pad outta there! It's s'posed to go on the ground, you big galoot! I can tell the guy in the white shirt for you...cause that's Bird. Bird, at least I'm crankin' the mean lay back! You just pouted and ate cheese whiz. Screw you all. It's a glandular problem. Quote
Mtguide Posted November 4, 2003 Posted November 4, 2003 Sounds like you experienced a moment of intuition,albeit informed by lots of previous experience.Many people,myself included have had similar incidents that seem to have absolutely no rational(key word,there) explanation.But the body and subconscious have their own wisdom,and over the years I've learned to listen and at the very least to stop and loook things over.One of my favorite stories about unexpected rockfall has to be in Joe Simpson's book This Game of Ghosts.He and a partner were bivied on a big ledge on the Bonatti Pillar of the Petit Dru.They had just gotten everything tied in for the night and crawled into bivy bags when the entire ledge simply fell off into space beneath them,taking all their gear and boots,leaving them hanging in the 'V' of a handrail rope 2000' up the wall.Story starts on p.159-gripping read. Quote
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