This ever happen to you?

[selkirk]

Thanks. The birdy was correct, Selkirk, I was a mech. enginerd in a previous life. One cc.comer told me to stop being such an engineer when we were climbing.

 

I resemble that remark! I was a MechE during undergrad and am doing aero now

Granted i'm going of somewhat limited experience

(I've only been leading for about 4 years now, but have been around rock, ropes, and systems since I could walk. There's a great picture of me learning all about leverage and pulleys as I hoist my sister off the ground using the bear wires in the Olympics )

But I think the engineering mindset has really helped me advance more quickly than most of the folks I regularly climb with in terms of creative gear placement, risk assesment/lead head, technical ability, and thinking 3 dimensionally. I just can't help but always looking for a more elegant, technical solution to whatever I'm doing at the time.

A little technical understanding of how the knots/gear/systems work and a little creative problem solving will go a long way in unexpected situations, and that's what ME was really all about you'll be a natural I'm sure.

 

Belated Rescue

Edited December 21, 2007 by selkirk

[minus40andwarm]

nice!

[sobo]

Thanks. The birdy was correct, Selkirk, I was a mech. enginerd in a previous life. One cc.comer told me to stop being such an engineer when we were climbing.

 

Someone mentioned a self-rescue class when I was at the gym on Tuesday and I was wondering what that would be about. As Sherri said, it's good to see this stuff posted because I would have never thought about any of it happening. I'm still at the stare and gape in awe as I watch good climbers, thinking "how did he/she do that" and wishing I could rewind and watch in slo-motion.

 

If you make it to the Red Rock Rendevous in March, you should be able to catch a couple self-rescue clinics there, too. The one I took last year, "The Fine Art of Bailing," was pretty helpful, and I plan to take more of the same this year. Easy to forget all that stuff if you're not using it everyday.

 

Sherri makes excellent points in her post on the preceding page referencing the Fasulo book and here for the clinics. While reading/practicing techniques shown in books is nice, and likewise with attending specialized clinics, all this learning is for naught if one fails to practice these techniques somewhat frequently, as Sherri intuits above.

 

I've been doing this gig for over 20 years now, and I still find I have to practice self-rescue at least once a year just to be sure I don't "flunk the course" on that one day when the grade is Pass/Fail.

[111]

Self rescue is a very important thing to know. much of the info will help make you a more efficient climber too. If you dont want to pay for a class, there are books on the subject but firsthand instruction is a best bet.