WA Pass Whipper!!

[catbirdseat]

I know that some of those rocks were kicked down by goats. I saw where they came from and it was up to the right of where the rope was. It's possible the rope knocked some too.

 

I guess the idea of the long lowers was speed with fewer anchors to build, but your point is well taken.

[mkporwit]

We had two close calls with rocks. The first one was the one that Dylan referred to. The rope probably knocked that one loose, and it missed Dylan's head by no more than a couple of feet.

 

Maybe 20 minutes later, while chatting with the Canadians, we had two watermelon-sized boulders knocked down into the gully by a goat standing on an outcropping above us.

 

Like Brian mentioned, the idea was to get down with fewer lowers. In a larger party we could have had people leapfrog on the lower, setting up anchors ahead of time, but it took me a while to gain confidence in my initial observation that my partner was reliably A&O 4/4, so for a while two of us assisted him very closely, with Brian running the belay from above.

 

As for the pieces, I mentioned in a previous post that they were a green alien, a #9 BD nut, and a .75 BD Cam (from top to bottom). The alien has one of its outer lobes deformed in one spot, suggesting that it put up a bit of a fight. Unfortunately, in the initial fall, my partner's leg was tangled in the sling/rope of that piece, which may have contributed to it pulling. The other pieces popped pretty easily after that.

 

The cordelette was in a girth hitch around a huge block/horn on a belay ledge to the right and above from the first rap station on the NF of Concord. Brand new 6mm cord. Glad that it held, given the limitations of the girth hitch. I've since upgraded my cordelettes to 7mm, and I'll try and avoid the girth hitch in the future.

Edited July 4, 2007 by mkporwit

[rob]

Here's to a speedy recovery

 

Hope he gets back on the horse

[G-spotter]

Yep

But maybe not on the pitch right above me

[Serenity]

Did you guys buy some lottery tickets on your way home? Sounds like your lucky day.

[blueserac]

We had two close calls with rocks. The first one was the one that Dylan referred to. The rope probably knocked that one loose, and it missed Dylan's head by no more than a couple of feet.

 

Maybe 20 minutes later, while chatting with the Canadians, we had two watermelon-sized boulders knocked down into the gully by a goat standing on an outcropping above us.

 

Like Brian mentioned, the idea was to get down with fewer lowers. In a larger party we could have had people leapfrog on the lower, setting up anchors ahead of time, but it took me a while to gain confidence in my initial observation that my partner was reliably A&O 4/4, so for a while two of us assisted him very closely, with Brian running the belay from above.

 

As for the pieces, I mentioned in a previous post that they were a green alien, a #9 BD nut, and a .75 BD Cam (from top to bottom). The alien has one of its outer lobes deformed in one spot, suggesting that it put up a bit of a fight. Unfortunately, in the initial fall, my partner's leg was tangled in the sling/rope of that piece, which may have contributed to it pulling. The other pieces popped pretty easily after that.

 

The cordelette was in a girth hitch around a huge block/horn on a belay ledge to the right and above from the first rap station on the NF of Concord. Brand new 6mm cord. Glad that it held, given the limitations of the girth hitch. I've since upgraded my cordelettes to 7mm, and I'll try and avoid the girth hitch in the future.

 

Thanks mkporwit for the details. It is always a good thing to learn what lessons lay in our times of drama. Kudos to you for effecting a self-rescue and team lower. Double kudos for you for taking what sounds like a background in first-aid. Kudos thrice for courageously sharing your insights with all of us, blow the ney sayers.

 

Playing the hills for many years and many more years of kumite have given me some real lessons that are universally true. One point that comes to mind is that while run out or playing for gold or silver in the ring, no matter how much turmoil, surprise, shock, and frustration that we feel inside from actions that are seemingly ineffective to our situation it is always important to remain calm and in control of ourselves, emotions, and actions. It is these that we truly and only have power over to change.

 

I am curious to learn which one of you two is the stronger leader? Looking back, I have injured three of my buddies that were not as strong as me then; one split his lip on a multi-pitch ice line at the Hope Slide while building a anchor, on lead and I saw a poor situation. In that instance, I called to him and suggested that he alter his ice tool in a picket orientation on a ledge where only the ferral was imbedded; I should have insisted that he do otherwise. The outcome from that is that he had learned, at the cost of sutures. The second was with another great friend that is very lucky to be alive from surviving the biggest far that I have personally witnessed. We were swapping leads on a WA of Blanshard Needle in the Golden Ears when on his lead he travered up and out on ledges and all that I had left on the ground at the belay was ~10 meters on a 60 meter line and he must have been close to 20 up from his last piece. Yeah, he took a whipper then the rope went still. Omg, in his fall, he fell back then flipped upside down looking like a freefall parachutist with his pack; and then he went out of view below and behind a arete. No movement...I burst out in uncontrollable snickering then laughter. I really felt like a git from this but the more that I censored myself the more my spittle flew from the laughter. Just prior to his fall I began pulling in slack, b racing myself in a three point position and shortening my tie-in. I tied him off and began to assess when he came to...in all that he only bruised his left radius, a concussion and horizontal abrasion across his nose. Again, I saw that he was have difficulty in both route finding and movement; I did call up to him deviate his path...yet again did not prevail. The third time was on a day after cranking with two good buddies in Squamish the day prior to the event. We were leading everything at the top of our range and then top-roping those above that. The next day at the base of the Grand were played on the .10b lines, and I declined a line from feeling too pumped to send it; yet my friend K1 got the gumption to give it a go. He sussed his way through some lines but on, I can't recall for sure but think it may have been Seasoned in the Sun, he passed the lip and ran it out on this awsome hand crack that just eats up #9-10 nuts all the way. Again I called up to suggest that he place some kit but he called down saying he was good, bunk. He pressed on and lunged for the block thinking it was positive like Exasporator and was swiftly rewarded with a sloper and he peeled. He avulsed a ligament in his R. ankle deltoid and had to lowered with a knot by-pass. Again, I knew he was in over his head but at the time did not persist that he yield. He got his comeuppance, but would have gained the wisdom if I persisted he not be haughty. Hmmm.

 

In all those times I have learned that yeah it is a good thing to get your buddies to their limit so that they may learn some stuff; yet at the same time it is best as the stronger climber to find the way, just as you would on a new route, to get your buddies with less strength to yield to their ego and let you go through. As my old buddy Big Kev used to say it is all about team work on long routes and if you are the second then that is as important as the leader. From all that I have learned to assess many situations and haved prevailed in my insistance to lead when my buddies thought they were were styling.

 

As for your buddy, after blowing a shoulder in the long ago, I learned to rely and develop technique rather than strength and oomph. That improved my grade from a minus to plus. All we have to do is listen to the the universe around us.

 

So in that ramble, those are some of the things that I was able to glean from matches lost in the ring and apply that to the hills. You know, know one thing; and you can know a thousand things from that one thing; and then you will know that after you know a thousand things you really don't know anything.

 

Thanks for your insight mkporwit...may I urege you talk with your buddy and any involved to debrief the incident and learn what you may. Kudos four sided for you for managing the evacuation of your buddy once you got him to the ground. Omg, you have created the English Box with kudos, you better learn more angles and not be stuck in the box...and never climb in Kartoum.

 

 

 

 

Edited July 4, 2007 by blueserac

[MountaingirlBC]

It's really great when people candidly share experiences like this and even better when everyone else is supportive so thank you everyone. I can understand why people hush accidents up but it is such valuable information when shared and discussed constructively.

 

Glad to hear that everyone is all right. Got my heart pounding just reading it. Think I'll go climb bolts today! *pucker*

[Maestro]

The guy who took the ride is really low-key about it, as if it is no big deal.

 

I had a climb planned with him later this month and I got this e-mail saying he had to bail because "I fell and hurt myself." Only later did I find out what kind of a fall it really was!

[Raoul Duke]

Hey great job getting him out safely and quickly (I was one of the two guys coming off Liberty Crack that afternoon.)

 

9:30?! We barely made it out by 9! Well I guess we walk slow or you guys evacuate fast.

 

Good luck to all of you...

 

 

[catbirdseat]

That trail is pretty nice. Once we got him onto that he was able to do pretty well.

[still_climbin]

WOW! Glad I didn't read this earlier. My son and I did that route yesterday. He's a new trad leader and lead that same pitch. He sewed it up pretty well and I checked his placements and gave him a little critique on one or two of them. It sounds like I was belaying in exactly the same place with a cordelette around a block. Makes me sweat just thinking about it now.

 

Very glad your all safe.

[blueserac]

What were the nature of critiques provided for your sons gear? I wonder if there is a possible trend there?