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Huge fall at Smith


kevbone

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34 inches is the length of your dick. I figured after the hold broke off, you could balance on the head of your manhood until you steadied yerself, then downclimb said manhood safely to the ground, so I did not consider coming to your aid a real emergency situation. Carry on. :wave:

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seriously, start naming' em, and show me an exception or two that will do nothing but prove that there are OF COURSE some exceptions to the general rule that sport routes are bolted to avoid 30 plus foot falls.

 

 

What’s the matter Rain…..cat has your tongue?

 

I'm working and don't always have the time to tend to your personal needs. You should try it sometime (work)...surely no one is paying you to make over 8,500 posts.

 

The fact that some folks might think a 30 foot fall is HUGE could be because they're basically sport climbers and are used to a metallic security blanket every few feet. Climb some trad AND get out more in the world.

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One of my regular partners always carries a draw on his rack with smallish lockers on each end. In a case where the first piece is a bolt that's well off the deck, he'll use this draw and lock it on both ends, otherwise it stays on the ground. Seems like a good practice, especially for something like the protagonist in this story was doing...climbing past the anchor with it as the only thing between you and the deck. Yeah, it's redundant with your std TR through your draws setup (and when TRing that's what I do), but I've seen draws become unclipped from moving around.

 

Anyway, something to consider.

 

It's hard to imagine someone going for 30' out of Blownout. Guy must have been climbing way below his level, ran it out and slipped? Granted, I haven't climbed that route in about 5 years, but recall it was pretty well protected if you wanted it to be.

 

On the original anecdote, I just don't see the big deal in taking a 25 footer on a clean vertical wall onto two bolts. Exciting? Sure. If your average climber was willing to take similar falls, they'd probably gain about 3 letter grades overnight.

 

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This didn't occur to me until now, but this is concerning me:

 

The 2-bolt/QD anchor that Alex fell upon is at the top of the first pitch, yes? It's been about 17 years since I led this beast, and I don't recall the length of P1 and P2, but what was Alex trying to do by continuing on from the anchor at the top of P1 on to P2? Can a single rope reach that far? I do not recall. From the OP, it seems that his second never arrived at the top of P1 to be his belayer for P2. Or did I miss something there? If the rope doesn't reach to combine the two pitches into one, what was he trying to accomplish by carrying onward from the P1 belay without a second at the belay (unless he had a rope of sufficient length to combine the two pitches)?

 

Kevbone-

Please explain this phrase you used in the OP: "He pasted the anchor..."

I am unfamiliar with this vernacular. Could this be why Alex continued upward from the belay atop P1 without any pro below him? Or a second at the P1 belay? I am having difficulty contriving this scenario in my head.

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Kevbone-

Please explain this phrase you used in the OP: "He pasted the anchor..."

I am unfamiliar with this vernacular.

 

"Pasted" is idiotese for "passed".

:lmao: I never thought of that! I was actually being serious for a change, and never even gave "dubious command of the English language" a consideration. I thought it was some new sporto lingo, like...

oh...and here i thought he was gluing in his own anchors...

but figured that was in impossibility. Thanks for clearing that up, Pax and Rudy.

 

Now, if 'bone would answer my original question...

 

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It's hard to imagine someone going for 30' out of Blownout. Guy must have been climbing way below his level, ran it out and slipped? Granted, I haven't climbed that route in about 5 years, but recall it was pretty well protected if you wanted it to be.

 

I believe the eventual effects of three or four days of extended debauchery in advance of Crimper's wedding played a substantial role in Stewart's big blowout.

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another thread to remind us all again how this forum is full of fucking assholes

 

 

 

KAY: A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it. Fifteen hundred years ago everybody knew the Earth was the center of the universe. Five hundred years ago, everybody knew the Earth was flat, and fifteen minutes ago, you knew that humans were alone on this planet. Imagine what you'll know tomorrow.

 

 

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Wew…..that only took about an hour before some person on here would discount what I wrote. Would you feel better if I changed the title to big fall instead of huge?

 

I would've.

 

On seeing the title Huge fall at Smith:

 

first thought = hundreds of feet

second thought = then it would have been "fatality at Smith"

 

 

I was thinking 80+ or fatality too...

 

Thats what i was thinking. I have held a fall that was over 20' and pulled me up to where i was eye level with the climbers feet (I was more little at the time). thats just a day in the park at smiff. no matter how short or long the fall, it is heart stoping to see someone take a good sized whipper. more so on gear than on bolts IMHO.

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Hey Will Strickland:

 

you asked about the fall on Blown Out: The leader was "feeling good", ran it out 15-20 feet above a bomber nut, and made one move too many before stopping to place pro just below the crux near the end of the pitch - he then placed a piece that was shitty and before he could reset it he found himself too pumped to either downclimb or carry on, and he had to take the fall. chalk it up to overconfidence and poor judgment on the day in question (and being a bit tipsy still?), not lack of raw climbing and leading skill because he leads routes at that grade. i think he has the nut on his mantle now.

 

again, my point here is that 30plus foot falls are simply not the norm when a climber is placing solid gear at appropriate intervals.

 

and still nobody has named sport routes in oregon (besides latest rage) where 30 foot falls are even possible. could it be that nobody here even knows any off the top of their head?

 

hemp liberation at smith is pretty well-spaced, as the best way to clip the crux bolt is to climb past it and clip it at your shin. i heard (second hand) someone broke an ankle falling there, presumably because big falls on terrain that is at all less than 90 degrees tend to lead to injury.

 

 

 

 

 

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Sobo....reread the original post. I do believe it covers your question.

I do not need to reread the OP. I have excellent reading comprehension skilz. And your OP does not cover my question. Please see below (with grammatical correction):

...He had led it and most of his crew had top roped it and cleaned all the gear. Then he grabbed his rack and top roped up to the anchor which was two quick draws on two bolts. He (passed) pasted (sic)the anchor and started leading up the 5.11a next pitch.

So my original question remains unanswered. Alex leads the first pitch, then apparently lowers off after setting it up for toproping. His friends TR it, and clean all the gear. At this point, we have the first pitch cleaned of all gear and a TR situation set up. Alex then takes a rack, TRs back up to the first pitch anchor, and then continues to lead, moving into the second pitch. The question remains: Why does he link the two pitches into one? As I stated, it's been over 15 years since I led this climb, and I don't recall the pitch lengths, but is it even possible to link these two into one, and if not, what was he thinking by doing so? Please answer that.

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hmm, i just read the part about nobody naming anything besides latest rage. So I throw out the only ones I knew. I don't really climb in Oregon but I could name several routes in Wa where 30fts are possible. And not just obscure routes either.

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Sobo....reread the original post. I do believe it covers your question.

I don't need to reread the OP. I have excellent reading comprehension skilz. It does not cover my question. Please see below (with grammatical correction):

...He had led it and most of his crew had top roped it and cleaned all the gear. Then he grabbed his rack and top roped up to the anchor which was two quick draws on two bolts. He (passed) pasted (sic)the anchor and started leading up the 5.11a next pitch.

So my original question remains unanswered. Alex leads the first pitch, then apparently lowers off after setting it up for toproping. His friends TR it, and clean all the gear. At this point, we have the first pitch cleaned of all gear and a TR situation set up. Alex then takes a rack, TRs back up to the first pitch anchor, and then continues to lead, moving into the second pitch. The question remains: Why does he link the two pitches into one? As I stated, it's been over 15 years since I led this climb, and I don't recall the pitch lengths, but is it even possible to link these two into one, and if not, what was he thinking by doing so? Please answer that.

 

Sobo. Sorry you’re not getting it. I believe it is written clear. I will try again. As to the climbers intent….I don’t know. I am not him. But it looked like he was trying to put the rope up on the second anchor. I have no idea if this was premeditated or an after thought after leading the first pitch and lower off. I does look like one rope would get him down…..or maybe he has a 70m rope. Either way it is exactly as I wrote. He top roped up to his anchor and continued passed the anchor and started to place gear…..then the fall.

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Alpinist - On Sight Movie

 

Website: Posing Productions

Film By: Alastair Lee

2008

 

Posing Productions

 

On Sight is a gripping adventure into the world of cutting edge rock and ice climbing documenting what is possible with a ground-up, no pre-practice approach. The climbers in this film aren't necessarily the strongest, but they are willing to take a 30-foot fall for the ultimate onsight ascent.

 

:poke:

 

Since Alpinist is the arbiter of all things bad-a$$ and stuff. :wazup:

 

popcorneater.gif

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