Piece Yanked!?!?!?

[scott_harpell]

I was wondering. The biggest whipper got me thinking about pieces yanking. I just had my first trad gear poping sensation a couple of weeks ago after working on my old project. Lets hear some stories about pants filling 'pings', 'scrapes' and "OH FUCKS!"

[TimL]

I've had several pieces fail on big falls, but I knew they were shit so it did not come as a surprise. THey were really just put in for psych protection more than anything else.

[sobo]

Royal Columns, Developing Arms (5.9 or 9+), a few odd years back.

 

Placed my last cam (#1 or 1.5 Friend) about 10 feet below the top-out. Got myself locked into an armbar at the exit move and couldn't get it figgerd out. Every time I tried something, I started slipping off. I couldn't even get anything in below me. I was hanging out there for about 5 minutes or more, and finally gave it one last college try, and whipped off.

 

I got 20 feet of pure air, then the cam inverted and blew out, and I continued on down to the next piece, which held. About a 40-footer when all was said and done, but much of the edge of the trowzer-filling excitement was taken off by the blown cam. Learned a lesson that day (that I had apparently forgotten) about protecting the exit moves.

[scott_harpell]

Mine was a surprise. I was already pumped, slammed in a blue tcu and kept going thru the crux bulge. Somehow I got horizontal trying to pull the crux and went airborne. Felt a slight tug and a nice solid catch and then got whacked in the nuts with the blue tcu and the draw. Yellow tcu is now my best friend.

[Rad]

Neat and Cool. Smoke Bluffs.

 

Onsight attempt, being belayed by a lady friend who wanted to stand farther back (10ft) from the base to watch.

 

I climbed 15 feet, placing a stopper and then a #1 camelot. In the crux (which I think is the left diagonalling crack 25 or so feet off the deck), I placed a blue tcu in what looked like a solid, if polished, undercling crack.

 

I was making the delicate crux traverse moves toward a good hold when my left foot blew off the greasy slab where I had been willing it to stick.

 

I launched and immediately flipped because my leg had been around the rope. The tcu popped in an instant, my belayer was lifted off the ground and swung until she stopped at the base of the route (now that's what I call a dynamic belay!). I flew down until the #1 caught me.

 

I stopped completely sideways about 18 inches off the ground, and my head tipped slowly and tapped a rock. Thank you helmet. If I'd stayed vertical I would've decked.

 

Other than a ropeburn behind my knee, which started to ooze but not bleed, I was fine. Shaken, but fine.

 

We waited a few minutes.

 

I headed up again, placed a 3/4 camelot a few feet before the crux and got into position. This time I was able to push upward with my right foot in a wide stem off the rampy roof on the right of the crack. This increased the pressure of my left foot on the greasy slab and it stayed put. I pulled the traverse, rested, came back across the ramp above and pulled through the lovely handcrack to the finish. It felt good to complete the redpoint after that fall, to face fear and conquer it in some small way on one summer afternoon a few years ago.

 

Neat and cool.

[Matt_Anderson]

Climbing Thin Red Line, it was getting dark and we were still two pitches below the bivy. We decided to link those pitches.

 

I was worried about the rope stretching and having enough gear, so I back-cleaned aggressively.

Must have been exhausted (and slow), because the following events didn't occur until around midnight.

10 - 15 feet below the bivy, the route goes straight out a large roof (6 - 10 feet, if memory serves . . .).

Placed a yellow alien just underneath the lip.

Bounce tested it (I thought).

Transferred weight.

Cleaned last piece (see above concerns about enough rope).

Heard Ping.

Fell 40 - 50 feet.

Encountered slab part way down.

Rolled the rest of the way.

Took stock - no injuries.

Batmanned up towards my last good piece.

Had to rest (again, a long fall)

Got back to my last piece (A trango cam, about 3/4").

Started climbing.

Continued to back clean aggressively (mental note about bigger racks in the future).

Placed the exact same piece in the exact same placement.

Bounce tested more aggressively.

Prayed to God.

Cleaned the last piece.

Made a hook move.

Prayed to God.

Mad another hook move.

Prayed to God.

Placed my first Pin.

clipped it as soon as I could

Pounded the pin as hard as I could, just to make sure.

Got to the top.

Fixed the rope.

Slept like a baby.

Gave my partner the rest of the leads the next day.

[layton]

I've had crusty TCUs with not much snap left to em (like the orange) and brand new black diamond micro cams pull several times. I don't trust them anymore. Too much torque b/c of the stem designs. I have never had an alien pull that was in a good placement b/c they are more flexible and the metal is softer.

[iain]

That's interesting, because I've placed my yellow tcu before my red WC zero (roughly same size) which is very similar to the alien. Maybe it is because I have fallen on the yellow tcu (not far) and not the zero. The tcu's definitely have a stiff stem. I'd rather not fall on either of them.

[texplorer]

Preach on brothers!!

[EWolfe]

That's Awesome, Matt

[slothrop]

Aiding Iron Horse, I got up to the pins, clipped their slings, and decided to move right toward a little block and then to the Sagitarius belay instead of going straight up. From the pins, I placed a so-so green Alien and then got an inverted cam hook under the block. Next was a small brass offset, which I bounce tested lightly and moved onto, removing the hook. After a few seconds, the brassie blew, the Alien popped out, and real quick-like I was 10 feet from the ground. My belayer (nameless cc.commie ), standing quite a ways back from the wall, got yanked forward, making for a soft catch but a longer fall.

 

TimL was climbing 10% MV, I think, and called over asking if someone had just taken a whipper. I scraped up my elbow and tore a hole in my windshirt, but otherwise no damage done.

[Crackbolter]

Funny, I fee at the same place. Stupid move...all nuts zippered except the bottom one, fixed pins and the bomber stopper in the corner below the flake.

[catbirdseat]

Neat and Cool. Smoke Bluffs.

 

Onsight attempt, being belayed by a lady friend who wanted to stand farther back (10ft) from the base to watch.

 

I climbed 15 feet, placing a stopper and then a #1 camelot. In the crux (which I think is the left diagonalling crack 25 or so feet off the deck), I placed a blue tcu in what looked like a solid, if polished, undercling crack.

 

I was making the delicate crux traverse moves toward a good hold when my left foot blew off the greasy slab where I had been willing it to stick.

 

I launched and immediately flipped because my leg had been around the rope. The tcu popped in an instant, my belayer was lifted off the ground and swung until she stopped at the base of the route (now that's what I call a dynamic belay!). I flew down until the #1 caught me.

 

I stopped completely sideways about 18 inches off the ground, and my head tipped slowly and tapped a rock. Thank you helmet. If I'd stayed vertical I would've decked.

 

Other than a ropeburn behind my knee, which started to ooze but not bleed, I was fine. Shaken, but fine.

 

We waited a few minutes.

 

I headed up again, placed a 3/4 camelot a few feet before the crux and got into position. This time I was able to push upward with my right foot in a wide stem off the rampy roof on the right of the crack. This increased the pressure of my left foot on the greasy slab and it stayed put. I pulled the traverse, rested, came back across the ramp above and pulled through the lovely handcrack to the finish. It felt good to complete the redpoint after that fall, to face fear and conquer it in some small way on one summer afternoon a few years ago.

 

Neat and cool.

A friend of mine decked on Neat and Cool after a cam pulled. He broke both wrists. So many people get hurn on this one climb that the nurses at the local hospital know it by name.