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NutAgain!
Trad climber
South Pasadena, CA
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Apr 14, 2015 - 08:43pm PT
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Ooooh ooooh I have another one...
Early in your climbing career, "invent" a new 'biner brake mechanism on the fly, thinking you remembered that diagram from Freedom of the Hills you skimmed over when you first started learning stuff.
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Flip Flop
climber
salad bowl, california
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Apr 14, 2015 - 08:59pm PT
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Robert,
The prussic is bright and pretty and easy to see in pictures. In reality, I usually use another shoulder length sling with a klemheist or prussic. I'm not sure the optimal autoblock for an icy rope.
When the autoblock engages below the rap device then it is easy to unload the prussic/klemheist/etc.
(Using term autoblock loosely meaning one of a selection of options, not the specific autobloc.)
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Chaz
Trad climber
greater Boss Angeles area
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Apr 14, 2015 - 09:23pm PT
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I just keep hold of the rope with my brake hand.
No extra equipment necessary.
Two ways to die rappelling:
1- You hit the ground at velocity
2- A piece of the ground from above comes loose and hits you at velocity
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Clint Cummins
Trad climber
SF Bay area, CA
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Apr 14, 2015 - 10:21pm PT
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3. You get stranded in the middle of nowwhere and die from hypothermia, heat stroke, dehydration or starvation.
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Bushman
Social climber
Elk Grove, California
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Apr 14, 2015 - 10:27pm PT
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#40. You remember that forty bodies are rotting in your basement and you fall forty inches to you death.
#69. You think about sex, you forget to clip into the rope, and you fall to your death.
#86. Your rope is chewed through by a wolverine and you fall to your death.
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Clint Cummins
Trad climber
SF Bay area, CA
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Apr 14, 2015 - 10:30pm PT
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When you're not moving, you're not really rappelling. When you are lying dead on the ground, after going off the ends of the rope, you are not really rappelling, either? :-)
Really, anything that happens between the time you start the rappel route and the time when you finish, it's a risk associated with rappelling.
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Bushman
Social climber
Elk Grove, California
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Apr 14, 2015 - 10:33pm PT
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You rappel into a black hole and become spaghettified to the point that other people are trying to jumar out on you to escape.
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WBraun
climber
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Apr 14, 2015 - 10:39pm PT
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One you never heard nor expect.
Guy rappels to a hanging sling belay anchor with no daisy or sling to anchor himself to the anchor.
He grabs the anchor pieces with his bare hand and pulls the end of the rope thru his rappel device.
He hangs there by his hands and arms until he can't hold on anymore.
He falls to death past his partner.
True story .....
Yeowza!!!
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Bushman
Social climber
Elk Grove, California
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Apr 14, 2015 - 10:40pm PT
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#96. You lean back to rappel on El Cap and pull El Cap over on top of yourself only to be excavated by archeologist in the year 396,207 to be exhibited in a museum as the petrified man.
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Bushman
Social climber
Elk Grove, California
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Apr 14, 2015 - 10:53pm PT
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Guy stands on a ledge a few pitches up on a wall after fixing a rope. His partner rappels fixed line to the next anchors. First guy fiddles with gear for fifteen minutes and then prepares to rappel also. He goes to clip into the rope with rappel biners and then realizes he wasn't clipped into the belay the whole time. Could have just leaned back and whoosh for 350 feet to his death...wait, that was me. True story. I told my partner I wasn't being safe and for him to find another for that route. I took a break from climbing for about a week after that.
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jonnyrig
climber
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Apr 14, 2015 - 11:04pm PT
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Store rope near car battery. Lead route without falling, then discover acid damage upon rappel.
Climb near (choose one: angry redneck landowner, illegal cartel pot farm, or excessively angered slower/faster party with whom you've just had a verbal altercation) who proceeds to sever your rope with nail clippers or a large bowie knife as you rap past.
Sever rope with carbide lamp flame in a pit while on rappel.
Traverse needlessly while on rappel with rope sawing across a sharp edge.
Rap off overhang without downleading back to wall, forget ascenders and fail to improvise a jug system.
Use substandard cord from big box store and/or manufacture your own substandard gear. That cord they sell at home depot that claims 660 lbs? Yeah... NOT. Tied around a beam at home with a bowline, made a figure 8 in the other end, and stepped up with one foot and bounced. Crap failed in the middle. The sheath is some kind of polyester braid, and the core is twisted tissue paper. Why do I know this?
Attempt Bear Gryls 550 paracord trick-knot rappel. If the fall doesn't kill you, the perpetual shame certainly will.
Hold my beer and watch this...
Attempt to demonstrate an aussie rappel.
[Click to View YouTube Video]
Screw up a tagging expedition.
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/04/01/man-found-dead-hanging-off-16th-floor-sacramento-calif-high-rise/
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Clint Cummins
Trad climber
SF Bay area, CA
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Apr 14, 2015 - 11:17pm PT
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Guy rappels to a hanging sling belay anchor with no daisy or sling to anchor himself to the anchor.
He grabs the anchor pieces with his bare hand and pulls the end of the rope thru his rappel device.
He hangs there by his hands and arms until he can't hold on anymore. Yikes.
You might think he might be able to get the biner for his rap device clipped into an anchor piece. But I guess that didn't work for some reason....
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steveA
Trad climber
Wolfeboro, NH
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Apr 15, 2015 - 04:29am PT
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I saved a guys life who was in serious trouble, hanging free, off an overhang, with only one foot of rope left. He was at least 70feet from the deck, and had a heavy pack on, hanging upside down, frozen with fear. No knots in the end of the rope.
I had just arrived at a local cliff, and saw this guy up there in serious trouble. He wasn't yelling for help, but frozen in fear. His buddies down below were oblivious to his position. I told his 2 friends we got to get up there pronto, and grabbed 2 ropes.
As we hauled ass up the trail, I explained to these apparent noobs, how we would rescue this guy. I had yelled up to the guy to hold on, hoping we would get there in time. He only replied "hurry".
Once we got to the top, I set up 2 anchors for lowering me and the guy off. One guy lowered me off over the overhang, and after I clipped the guy in, I warned the guy belaying to get ready, since he was about to hold this guy, (who was heavy), plus his pack.
I was swinging free, over the overhang, and when the guy let go of the rope, he went down like a bullet. I reached over to grab his rope, in an attempt to slow him down, and got one hell of a bad rope burn. I thought
the guy up top wasn't going to hold him, but within seconds the situation resolved itself, and the guy was lowered safely to the ground.
I was glad that I had arrived at the cliff when I did, and spotted this guy
in trouble.
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Charlie D.
Trad climber
Western Slope, Tahoe Sierra
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Apr 15, 2015 - 04:54am PT
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^^^yikes, hope the guy bought you beer for life steveA....you earned it.
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Poloman
Trad climber
Anna, Il
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Apr 15, 2015 - 06:42am PT
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That's awful WBraun!
Thinking about that poor guy knowing what was coming...
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Jaybro
Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
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Apr 15, 2015 - 06:48am PT
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Was that on overhang bypass?
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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Apr 15, 2015 - 07:21am PT
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I saved three Canuckians once and felt honoured that they bought me breakfast. Then an
argument ensued about buying me a couple of new ropes that got left. The Scot, wouldn't
you know, was against it. Then I mentioned that I was from Chicago.
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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Apr 15, 2015 - 07:24am PT
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Rappelling usually occurs after climbing is done and often a feeling of completion has set in. Remember the old but true adage, getting to the top is optional, getting back down is obligatory. I never shake hands with my partner until I am on the ground.
Rappelling in the alpine arena often begins because weather has set in and the climb is being abandoned. I've done more rapping in Patagonia in bad weather than in good.
The commonality between the two is that your awareness should be ramped up to deal with complacency, fatigue and weather conditions.....all conditions that can shorten a climbing career.
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Flip Flop
climber
salad bowl, california
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Apr 15, 2015 - 07:56am PT
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Scrubbles has interesting homoerotic wild man fantasies. That's hot!
( death by homophobia ? Only you scrubby, only you;)
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