Helmets anyone?

[Cpt.Caveman]

should i rope up on red mtn "scramble"? Will I be safer?

[mattp]

It may be that we don't see many threads ablout free-soloing because some are afraid they will be ridiculed for stating the obvious, but there are plenty of people out there who think free soloing is irresponsible and I do actually recall a thread where someone argued hat it was particularly irresponsible or inconsiderate to do so where there are other climbers around.

 

The difference in the case of helmets, I think, stems from the fact that most of us wear them when riding a bike or roller blading, and it just seems odd that they aren't as consistently worn by climbers.

 

I agree with your basic premise, though, that I wouldn't want to see a "seat belt law" about helmets or ropes.

[Cpt.Caveman]

"I do actually recall a thread where someone argued hat it was particularly irresponsible or inconsiderate to do so where there are other climbers around. "

 

 

a great topic! Who's more irresponsible? The dorks trundling goods or the soloist in his element of travel?

Edited September 7, 2004 by Cpt.Caveman

[Bug]

If you do not always wear a helmet you are risking massive dangerous bad joo-joo. You are also fair game on this site to be called a turd, a reckless cowboy without spurs, and a Becky wanna-be who has no chance of living that long. Fess up. You know you should ALWAYS wear a helmet. You know it should be a rule enforced by gun totin, level four, FS cop wanna-bes. I am wearing mine now sitting at my desk because I am reading this post on CascadeClimbers.com.

[Dru]

I've got a purple helmet

[Bug]

That's called a love glove turd.

[Dru]

A helmet is usually thought to be very heavy, but when one is attacking a castle or something

similar, and arrows, bullets, large rocks, great pieces of wood and the like are coming down, it will

not seem the least bit so.

[badvoodoo]

One should be very careful about the appearance of his helmet. It is something that accompanies his head to the enemy's camp.

[Geek_the_Greek]

Ok, great, everyone makes their own decision, blah, blah, but the arguments against helmets aren't very good.

 

It's hot

(Oh no!)

 

It's uncomfortable

(Discomfort while climbing? Egad!)

 

It looks dumb

(Heavens! Above all, one must be fashionable in the outdoors.)

 

Compared to lugging a fuggin rope and all that damn ironmongery around, a helmet is cake. Only place I don't wear one is in the gym.

[Lambone]

after your best friend dies from a heady injury...I garuantee most people would think twice about not using a helmet.

 

RIP Ryan

[Dru]

These are teachings of Yamamoto Jin'emon:

· Singlemindedness is all-powerful.

· Tether even a roasted chicken.

· Continue to spur a running horse.

· A man who will criticize you openly carries no connivance.

· A man exists for a generation, but his name lasts to the end of time.

· Money is a thing that will be there when asked for. A good man is not so easily found.

71

· Walk with a real man one hundred yards and he'll tell you at least seven lies.

· To ask when you already know is politeness. To ask when you don't know is the rule.

· Wrap your intentions in needles of pine.

· One should not open his mouth wide or yawn in front of another. Do this behind your fan

or sleeve.

· A straw hat or helmet should be worn tilled toward the front.

[Gary_Yngve]

His name is Greg, although I have forgotten his last name.

 

He was an instrucor of mine in 2000. He is very lucky to be alive and not a vegetable, doubly so his partner. They racked up over $150,000 in medical expenses as a result of that experience. Listen to him talk about it and you'll wear a helmet.

 

I dug up the ANAM report from 2000. I'll leave out the details of the setup and miscommunication that resulted in having his head smash against the rock from his partner weighting the rope. He had a basal skull fracture, required emergency brain surgery to remove clots, and was in a coma for a week. All of this with a bucket on his melon. I think all of us would agree that he would have likely died if he were helmetless.

[Bug]

ALWAYS do the right thing.

NEVER fail.

This will keep your wife from saying bad things about you at your funeral. It does not cover the reception.

[dylan_taylor]

Re: earlier in this thread: I don't see what helmets have to do with yuppies, or vice versa. A lot of friends of mine are total dirtbags, and helmets have still saved their lives. For a couple of them, maybe helmets would have saved them from brain damage, and a long, painful, recovery.

 

Perhaps someday some statistician (sp?) will figure out your increased probability of survival when wearing a helmet. E.G., increased survival rate for a seatbelt, I heard during drivers ed 14 years ago that it was around 20%. I heard that the increase rate of survival for someone wearing an avalanche beacon is several percent (not that much) - please correct me if you know. I still wear my seatbelt, and I still wear my avy beacon. If a helmet increases my chance of survival by 2% I'll gladly take it.

 

Many folks have pointed out that helmets aren't guaranteed to save you, so don't put all your faith in them. Well, no shit. I think most of us spend some time here and there trying to mitigate risk, not eliminate it all together. I will wear my helmet most of the time. I will not wear it sometimes. I will raise a to all of those who should have worn one but didn't.

Edited September 10, 2004 by dylan_taylor