Cranbo Posted May 19, 2008 Share Posted May 19, 2008 OK, I know we all were new at some time and everybody's gotta learn somehow, but... Spring is (finally) here in the Northwest, and the Noobus Climorus is out in force. Have any "fun" sightings to share? We bailed on St. Helens this weeking cuz of the avvy danger, and after also bailing on doing a backpacking trip, decided to just go to Exit 38. Altho it wasn't so crowded we had to wait in line - actually, we got on everything we wanted without any waits! - there were crowds of people with shiny new racks with a dozen QDs (on a 5-bolt route), REI shopping bags and other recently-unpackaged toys, etc., etc. But the only really scary thing we saw was a team consisting of a young woman who seemed, more or less, to know what she was doing, and a beefy dude who was obviously new. He bulled his way up TR-ing a 5.9 at We Did Rock, and altho I wasn't paying close attention, seemed to be having a lot of trouble setting up the lower. So when he started letting himself down on one side of the rope, with the short end just 5 feet below him, his belayer shouted "Jason! The other end of the rope should reach the ground!". No shit. So Jason hurks himself back to the chains, and I think he was just holding the chains with one hand whilst pushing the rope thru what we assumed was his ATC, taking quite a bit of time and huffing and puffing at it. One of my buddies asks his belayer "Is he anchored in?" about 4 times, with no response, so we start shouting "Jason, are you on your personal anchor?", with no response from J, either, until one of his friends (they seemed to be there in a Noobus Posse of about 12) says to us "He doesn't know what that is", to which I shout "THEN WHAT THE F*** IS HE DOING UP THERE?" - meaning of course not "What action is he taking?" but "What is his reason for existing?" So eventually J gets the rope almost to the ground, a buddy comes over and ties a knot in it (one double overhand, up about 6 feet high, which is stupid and has exactly the ill effect later that you'd expect) and they tell Jason to come down. Which he does, and now we can see that one rope is just hanging free, and the other goes thru a quickdraw clipped to his harness, and he's hand-over-hand/sliding/slipping down the rope. He's a Stallone-looking dude, so he actually pulls this off for about the 1st 50 feet out of 70, then starts sliding out of control till the biner on the draw snags the knot at the botton, at which point he kinda goes upside down and all tangled, but he doesn't splat. My buddy the WFR and I relax a tad as the Noobs all giggle with glee. Shite. Afterwards I wondered if I should have said something, either in the heat of the moment or perhaps in a more measured way, later. Instead, we just moved on, quickly. - rob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
builder206 Posted May 19, 2008 Share Posted May 19, 2008 At Index Sunday there was an old guy trying to get up the crack on GNS. He flailed and cursed, getting partways up then sliding down again and again while shrieking “falling!” Finally his more experienced belayer got him to bail and led him away. Spectacle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KaskadskyjKozak Posted May 19, 2008 Share Posted May 19, 2008 Reading these stories makes we realize I don't suck so bad after all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canyondweller Posted May 19, 2008 Share Posted May 19, 2008 At Index Sunday there was an old guy trying to get up the crack on GNS. He flailed and cursed, getting partways up then sliding down again and again while shrieking “falling!” Finally his more experienced belayer got him to bail and led him away. Spectacle. That should be videotaped and put on youtube.com. I'd watch that with as much glee as I do the "don't taze me, bro!" video. Hahahaha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattp Posted May 19, 2008 Share Posted May 19, 2008 Aren't We did Rock and GNS actually exactly where you'd WANT to see people who don't know what they are doing? Yes, its a good thing nobody got hurt, perhaps, but unless we went through some really unusual instruction and apprenticeship any of us with any initiative have gone out and done stupid things or gotten in the way of more "qualified" climbers at some point or other. Guy at 38 will probably not do that again, eh? And he might actually decide to pursue some basic knowledge or take up a different hobby. Guy on GNS' biggest problem sounds as if he may have embarassed himself. If you don't want to be around this kind of stuff, don't go to a popular and famous beginner's crag on the weekend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClipStick Posted May 19, 2008 Share Posted May 19, 2008 Can't believe you'd send a "friend" up a rope without the instructions on how the hell to get down...Funny story tho...good thing you didn't get splattered with brain tissue as a result of their incompetence... I keep wishing this sport would lose its popularity...I hate busy crags...turns me off completely from climbing... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattp Posted May 19, 2008 Share Posted May 19, 2008 Mr.Family, there are tons of places you can go climbing and see nobody. Just look at "select climbs" and five star crags close to the parking lot as places to avoid. Or go early in the morning or when the weather is marginal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
builder206 Posted May 19, 2008 Share Posted May 19, 2008 If you don't want to be around this kind of stuff, don't go to a popular and famous beginner's crag on the weekend. That's a good point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClipStick Posted May 19, 2008 Share Posted May 19, 2008 Guess I'm just a Noob anyway..to the Northwest...Too much rock and too little time... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minx Posted May 19, 2008 Share Posted May 19, 2008 that's a very good point. GNS and e38 are just where the beginners should be. we all have to start somewhere. we all look like idiots while we're learning and sometimes for many years later! sounds like the e38 story was scary though. i've seen similar things at smith too. it happens. and its hard to know what to say. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClipStick Posted May 19, 2008 Share Posted May 19, 2008 I even see scary stuff like that at Marymoor...or not so much scary as just stupid.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattp Posted May 19, 2008 Share Posted May 19, 2008 When you see something scary, all you can do is to offer some advice or assistance. Sometimes they will take you up on such an offer and sometimes not. And sometimes the assistance offered is not very helpful or may come from someone who really isn't much more knowledgeable or is just plain wrong. Such is the nature of climbing in popular areas and these issues are not exclusive to beginners crags but tend to come up at such places a lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuMR Posted May 19, 2008 Share Posted May 19, 2008 wow...whole lotta bad asses here... I think it's awesome that people get into climbing... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KaskadskyjKozak Posted May 19, 2008 Share Posted May 19, 2008 wow...whole lotta bad asses here... I think it's awesome that people get into climbing... just as long as it isn't "organized" climbing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuMR Posted May 19, 2008 Share Posted May 19, 2008 exactly... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lancegranite Posted May 19, 2008 Share Posted May 19, 2008 Almost killing yourself has always been a time honored climbing tradition. Learning valuable lessons from those close calls is another fine tradition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bug Posted May 19, 2008 Share Posted May 19, 2008 I was at Marymoor a couple years ago and there was a father-son duo tempting death with a variety of problems. They had a rope, 2 caribiners and a diaper sling made with 1" tubular webbing. They were doing body belays and clipping twice on the way up. I had my unsorted pack with me and invited them to look at how I would belay and with what equipment. They were eager to learn and I sold them a few old biners and a belay device for $15. I also got them started using it. The point is, they did appreciate the advice and the cheap gear. I saw the son over there a few more times and he was progressing rapidly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevbone Posted May 19, 2008 Share Posted May 19, 2008 (edited) Reading these stories makes we realize I don't suck so bad after all. Edited by request from mods........ Edited May 19, 2008 by kevbone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crillz Posted May 19, 2008 Share Posted May 19, 2008 At Index Sunday there was an old guy trying to get up the crack on GNS. He flailed and cursed, getting partways up then sliding down again and again while shrieking “falling!” Finally his more experienced belayer got him to bail and led him away. Spectacle. dood...wish i could be as "core" as you...can you pm me your wicked workout routine so i cans be like you when i get all growed up?? At least his pro was holding! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weekend_Climberz Posted May 19, 2008 Share Posted May 19, 2008 Experience = Almost killing yourself Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lancegranite Posted May 19, 2008 Share Posted May 19, 2008 Exactly! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuMR Posted May 19, 2008 Share Posted May 19, 2008 apology to Builder206...i didn't realize that the "old guy" in your post was you...i thought you were ripping on some beginner... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StreetBoss Posted May 20, 2008 Share Posted May 20, 2008 OK, I know we all were new at some time and everybody's gotta learn somehow, but... Spring is (finally) here in the Northwest, and the Noobus Climorus is out in force. Have any "fun" sightings to share? We bailed on St. Helens this weeking cuz of the avvy danger, and after also bailing on doing a backpacking trip, decided to just go to Exit 38. Altho it wasn't so crowded we had to wait in line - actually, we got on everything we wanted without any waits! - there were crowds of people with shiny new racks with a dozen QDs (on a 5-bolt route), REI shopping bags and other recently-unpackaged toys, etc., etc. But the only really scary thing we saw was a team consisting of a young woman who seemed, more or less, to know what she was doing, and a beefy dude who was obviously new. He bulled his way up TR-ing a 5.9 at We Did Rock, and altho I wasn't paying close attention, seemed to be having a lot of trouble setting up the lower. So when he started letting himself down on one side of the rope, with the short end just 5 feet below him, his belayer shouted "Jason! The other end of the rope should reach the ground!". No shit. So Jason hurks himself back to the chains, and I think he was just holding the chains with one hand whilst pushing the rope thru what we assumed was his ATC, taking quite a bit of time and huffing and puffing at it. One of my buddies asks his belayer "Is he anchored in?" about 4 times, with no response, so we start shouting "Jason, are you on your personal anchor?", with no response from J, either, until one of his friends (they seemed to be there in a Noobus Posse of about 12) says to us "He doesn't know what that is", to which I shout "THEN WHAT THE F*** IS HE DOING UP THERE?" - meaning of course not "What action is he taking?" but "What is his reason for existing?" So eventually J gets the rope almost to the ground, a buddy comes over and ties a knot in it (one double overhand, up about 6 feet high, which is stupid and has exactly the ill effect later that you'd expect) and they tell Jason to come down. Which he does, and now we can see that one rope is just hanging free, and the other goes thru a quickdraw clipped to his harness, and he's hand-over-hand/sliding/slipping down the rope. He's a Stallone-looking dude, so he actually pulls this off for about the 1st 50 feet out of 70, then starts sliding out of control till the biner on the draw snags the knot at the botton, at which point he kinda goes upside down and all tangled, but he doesn't splat. My buddy the WFR and I relax a tad as the Noobs all giggle with glee. Shite. Afterwards I wondered if I should have said something, either in the heat of the moment or perhaps in a more measured way, later. Instead, we just moved on, quickly. - rob Hey new boi - chill yer boots Why so judgmental? Hanna Montana has a song that says "everybody makes mistakes" Let them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuMR Posted May 20, 2008 Share Posted May 20, 2008 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noodle Posted May 20, 2008 Share Posted May 20, 2008 I was at Marymoor a couple years ago and there was a father-son duo tempting death with a variety of problems. They had a rope, 2 caribiners and a diaper sling made with 1" tubular webbing. They were doing body belays and clipping twice on the way up. I had my unsorted pack with me and invited them to look at how I would belay and with what equipment. They were eager to learn and I sold them a few old biners and a belay device for $15. I also got them started using it. The point is, they did appreciate the advice and the cheap gear. I saw the son over there a few more times and he was progressing rapidly. Great story! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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