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Peater
Trad climber
Salt Lake City Ut.
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Topic Author's Original Post - Nov 21, 2016 - 09:07pm PT
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Falling off a ledge 70 feet off the deck. Guyman did that
DF skiddded 30 feet un roped in his stupid shoes. that you wouldn't even let a dog play with.
The cowboy who could've get his cowboy boots out of the crack.
The cute girl who got her hair caught in the rap biners and the "rescuers" cut it all off. (I watched this)
Learning to Prussik (sp) into a bee's nest on a cliff. It's really hard to gp up or down. When bees are in your face and hair. I went down.
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chainsaw
Trad climber
CA
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Nov 21, 2016 - 11:08pm PT
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Had to help a noob at the gym get her hair out of a gri gri when her partner fell.
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Sierra Ledge Rat
Mountain climber
Old and Broken Down in Appalachia
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Nov 22, 2016 - 05:52am PT
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Walking on moss-covered slabs at the top of a 500-foot cliff. The moss breaks off like a giant carpet and goes sliding over the edge (with me on it).
I fall and fall and fall down the cliff.
The carpet of moss lands on a ledge and accordians into a big, thick, soft pile. Sierra Ledge Rat lands and his back on a big soft pile of moss, uninjured, except for soiled shorts.
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survival
Big Wall climber
Terrapin Station
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Nov 22, 2016 - 06:07am PT
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Once while descending the death slabs of Half Dome, I stepped on a loose flake that took off , with me on it like a surfboard, toward a large void. I managed to dive off and snag a shrub right before it went over the edge.
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Gary
Social climber
Desolation Basin, Calif.
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Nov 22, 2016 - 07:08am PT
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SLR, really?
I'm either lucky or too cautious and have no scary stories.
Well, once I slipped on a slab. As I slid past the top bolt, no worries, but then the second bolt went by...
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Sierra Ledge Rat
Mountain climber
Old and Broken Down in Appalachia
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Nov 22, 2016 - 07:37am PT
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SLR, really? Yes, except I didn't really crap my pants. I couldn't believe that I had a front-row seat for my own death when I went sailing over the edge. My partner threw the rope down to me and I climbed up.
The carpet of moss that broke off and slid over the edge was about 4 inches thick, and about 20 x 40 feet.
I got about another 15 near-death experiences and close calls. Electrocuted in a lightning storm on the summit of Rainier, went for a couple of rides in avalanches, etc.
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Gary
Social climber
Desolation Basin, Calif.
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Nov 22, 2016 - 08:03am PT
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You need to buy a lottery ticket.
I forgot about the time I got hit by lightning up by Boundary Peak. That was a doozy.
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Sierra Ledge Rat
Mountain climber
Old and Broken Down in Appalachia
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Nov 22, 2016 - 12:28pm PT
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^^^ H.F.S.
And I thought I was suicidal for jugging a stuck rope, Cragman your story is over the top.
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snakefoot
climber
Nor Cal
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Nov 22, 2016 - 12:37pm PT
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I once lead an entire pitch of the Muir wall without finishing the knott on my figure8. at the end of the pitch, i grabbed the anchor to look at things before i leaned back, just then realizing the insanity. I was so scared for a bit, stupid to say the least.
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clode
Trad climber
portland, or
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Nov 22, 2016 - 12:45pm PT
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I was anchored at ground level, belaying my partner up some free climb at Broughton Bluff (Columbia River Gorge), when my peripheral vision detected movement off to my right. When I turned to look I was horrified to see some guy rapping down about 30 feet away, with no knots in his rope ends, which were dangling ten feet off the deck. Fortunately I yelled loud enough to get his attention in time for him to stop before rapping off the ends and fix a sling (lucky he had one) that got him the rest of the way down. If I had said nothing he probably would have survived the fall, but I would have felt bad, if I had not tried to help him out, even though I was anchored and could do nothing physical to help him.
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the Fet
climber
Tu-Tok-A-Nu-La
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Nov 22, 2016 - 12:54pm PT
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Near the beginning of my climbing career. Last climb of the day, at the top, cleaning the anchor. I realized I forgot my belay/rappel device. No problem I'll just rap on a munter hitch says I. Not a hitch I use very often... Didn't test it (stupid). Start rapping, as soon as it goes vertical, the "hitch" becomes a biner wrap only.
Thankfully I clamped down hard just in time and arrested the fall. I rope burned my hand pretty good but held on. Slowly lowered with the other hand.
It was a pretty good way to learn the lesson to always double check things before setting off. It hurt, but major catastrophe was averted.
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Sierra Ledge Rat
Mountain climber
Old and Broken Down in Appalachia
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Nov 22, 2016 - 02:09pm PT
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My brother and I did an alpine rock climb in the North Cascades back around 1990. We rapped off a loose face of the peak really late in the day, and so decided to bivouac on a little grassy knob right at the base.
That night as we were hanging out after dark, some rockfall started right above us - probably stuff we had kicked around on the rappels.
The rockfall quickly turned into an avalanche of rocks.
Suddenly we had rocks bouncing down all around us. All we could see were the sparks coming down the face of the cliff. Rocks whirled by in the darkness, but we couldn't see them. And then there is that smell of rockfall - the smell of death.
We tried to seek cover and make ourselves as small as possible. Luckily no one was hit.
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NutAgain!
Trad climber
South Pasadena, CA
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Nov 22, 2016 - 02:20pm PT
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When I was about 15 years old, before I had a driver's license (probably had a learner's permit at that point), I used to drive to work in the next town over. 1979 Chevy Malibu Classic, about 9-10 years old at the time, with automatic transmission, lever on right side of steering wheel for P N D R.
Going down the highway, probably 60 miles per hour, instead of using the correct turn signal lever on the left side of the wheel, I used the lever on the right and put the car into reverse! As you might imagine, the consequence of that action quickly my attention, and I promptly shifted back to Drive. I skidded and fishtailed for a moment, but went about my business. Never made that mistake again.
Doesn't exactly measure up to riding a 4" moss magic carpet off a 500' cliff and surviving to tell (not sure if anything can ever top that except a Revenant-style grizzly mauling). But it scared 15 year old me!
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NutAgain!
Trad climber
South Pasadena, CA
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Nov 22, 2016 - 02:22pm PT
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^^^ I was chuckling a bit imagining the shake-out process with your leg holding the rope in ;)
You gotta learn some of those rope acrobat tricks to twist yourself up and shake out that way.
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Rexi
climber
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Nov 22, 2016 - 02:31pm PT
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After a 3 month climbing trip i met some friends for some sportclimbing feeling a little too casual and talking too much when tying in.
I led the pitch and clipped the anchor, was about to let go to be lowered down when i noticed my figure 8 was weird. Looked better at it and realised that i never tied the knot, just the first figure 8 and fed the rope through the harness but never finished... clipped to the anchor with a quickdraw, tied the knot and didnīt say a word since i was too ashamed at that moment
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thebravecowboy
climber
The Good Places
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Nov 22, 2016 - 03:08pm PT
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New partner, cute and cool. First time out climbing with her. I am very much single and interested. I lower her past me and get a face-full of the fishmarket dumpster in high summer. At this point in my life I was unaware of saltbrush and its stank. It reeks like the worst, I mean absolute worst, unwashed crotch-rot.
I never said anything to her until a long time down the road when I figured out the actual source of the offensive odor - the four-wing saltbrush underfoot, undergoing its annual vernal tunafish stinkathon.
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Sierra Ledge Rat
Mountain climber
Old and Broken Down in Appalachia
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Nov 23, 2016 - 04:10am PT
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^^^
I can only imagine what you were thinking at that time.
I dated this really hot babe, and one day we went skiing together. On the way home she took off her ski boots, and I decided right then and there that I didn't care how hot she was, there was no way I was going to put up with that stink.
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Sierra Ledge Rat
Mountain climber
Old and Broken Down in Appalachia
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Nov 23, 2016 - 04:17am PT
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I was climbing a volcanic plug in the desert southwest with couple of friends. The climbing on basalt was pretty good for the first 4 pitches until we got to the last pitch, where it turned into loose, dirt-like vertical conglomerate ash.
We looked for a way up and found an off-width "crack" (erosion gully) that was only kink in the armor. It was not possible to get a belay anchor there, and it looked like there wasn't going to be any protection on the pitch, either. My brother volunteered to lead without a belay, just trailing the rope.
We took cover under overhangs, and he led upwards, sending down a tremendous hail of rocks the entire time. He yelled "Off rope" when he got to the top, and we climbed up with a top rope.
On top, there was nothing but a steep, loose, unstable scree slope, and the belay was nothing but a scree bollard.
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SC seagoat
Trad climber
Santa Cruz, Moab, A sailboat, or some time zone
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Nov 23, 2016 - 07:04am PT
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Sailing up into the Gulf of Alaska, doublehanding, just Ferretlegger and I.
The weather turns extra nasty and the colored radar screen looks like a 70s light show there is so much wind disturbance on the water.
And the noise...oh gawd, the wind noise. I thought the noise alone would make me want to go overboard.
Also sailing on moonless nights and you hear whales, and smell their spouting right next to you. I don't like the whales. Really don't like the whales when sailing.
Susan
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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Nov 23, 2016 - 07:37am PT
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Ski mountaineering solo in Cascades. Had to do a long descending traverse off the summit to get to the bowl. The light was super flat. Everything was fine at first. Then the slope got steeper and the snow went from wind blown neve to water ice in a few feet. My edges were holding but the bails of my Silvrettas were scraping on the ice and preventing me from edging as much as I wanted. Did I mention I was also traversing just above a big cliff? Then I hit the water ice runnels where the skis were spanning these 4' or 5' swales, but when my bindings came to the runnel ridges I had to be so careful they didn't make me side slip. I was down to moving one ski at a time while trying not to look at the cliff edge 40' below. Had to do about 100' of this! Stoopid American!
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