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Zander
Trad climber
Berkeley
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Good thread!
Clint, could you thread the stopper upward and then clip it above with a biner instead of bending it over, clipping the rope through another biner on the lower end. It seems that the rotational force would be less? Hard to tell in the pic if that would work.
Zander
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Eric Beck
Sport climber
Bishop, California
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Gene:
FFA was 12 hours. Total previous ascents I am not sure of. Frank had done it previously with Dick McCracken. At one point when I am leading up in the flared chimneys Frank said that Dick was doing A3 up the rotten stuff way in the back. I looked in there and thought that looked very awkward.
I had been on it the previous year with Tom Frost. I was leading P5 and off route to the left. I had climbed up 15 feet on a flake, 5.7, and then continued. The crack narrowed and was filled with dirt. I put in an aid pin and was standing on it driving another. The thought "Could this be one of those expanding flakes" came to me. The piton I was standing on pulled, my protection piton pulled and I fell 40 feet right onto Tom and the anchor. As I was falling past Tom I saw the pack falling with me and knowing the pack was clipped to the anchor thought we were done for. Another instant I stopped (good to have strong partners). I had a broken arm. We descended by Tom lowering me and then rappeling.
The following day he and Royal did the route, in part to get the stuff we had left.
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DrDeeg
Mountain climber
Mammoth Lakes, CA
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Eric's mishap on his attempt with Tom Frost on the DNB a year before the FFA led to a pin in his elbow, his arm in a cast that held his elbow at a right angle (when he ate fried chicken, he could not lick his fingers) and to Steve Thompson's limerick:
A climber named Beck was becked
Upon the North Buttress Direct
Alas, poor Eric
Is now part ferric
And all of his climbing is fecked.
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Clint Cummins
Trad climber
SF Bay area, CA
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Topic Author's Reply - Jun 2, 2009 - 11:42pm PT
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Eric,
Yikes, that's a very scary fall. Sometimes I forget that pitons are not just "slam it home" and have their risks. Good thing you survived it, although I bet the broken arm was very painful. But you recovered from it. It's a long journey sometimes and not just about the highlights.
Zander,
> could you thread the stopper upward and then clip it above with a biner instead of bending it over
Cool idea - wish I had thought of that. Fortunately I didn't fall onto it.
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Eric Beck
Sport climber
Bishop, California
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Here's a dnb tale about Kevin Worral, best known for his FA of the evanescent Widows Tears with Mark Chapman. Kevin is leading, about 5.7 when he hears "Falling". Kevin is strong and is not pulled off. His belayer leaned out on the anchors and they came out!
Don't know where on the route this occurred.
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WBraun
climber
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Eric
George Meyers was leading and Kevin's anchors failed and George held on while Kevin slides down the lead rope to the end all while Kevin's Mom is watching him climb the first time ever.
Not sure if it was on the DNB though.
We had to tie Kevin's shoe laces at times while his hands were completely bandaged.
Kevin? How did you wipe your ass back then? I never really knew.
Nancy?
Insert crazy smiley here ......
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survival
Big Wall climber
A Token of My Extreme
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Mar 13, 2010 - 02:11pm PT
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What a great thread, and well worth revisiting!
Thanks for the link Clint.
And thanks to Eric, for bringing it to life.
In 1980 my partner Keith and I did it in 7 hours while the big talkers that started next to us got benighted....
Ohh that made my day, in a wicked sort of way, since they had made such rude comments about climbing "over" us....HA!!
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jstan
climber
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Mar 13, 2010 - 02:27pm PT
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Great thread.
BAD Werner.
Go lie on your blanky now.
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bmacd
Trad climber
Beautiful, BC
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Mar 13, 2010 - 04:26pm PT
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Bad anchors on the DNB ? I can remember midway or higher on the route using a hip belay while sitting on a semi dettached small block, the only piece for the station was a large Rp nut well placed between the block and the face, but positioned a foot below small ledge I sat on. I had 100% confidence in my partner Dean Hart, not to fumble it following or leading the next pitch as it was his 3rd ascent of the route.
It's truly one of the all time classic routes of Yosemite. Congratulations to Eric Beck and Frank Sacherer for the vision and talent to establish it as a free line.
Nice to read some of the history of the route from the FFA party
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le_bruce
climber
Oakland, CA
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May 10, 2013 - 04:26pm PT
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Hearing "Falling!" from your belayer while you're on lead... Damn. Had never heard that story, one of the craziest I've heard in Yos lore!
What if that anchor had popped ~20 minutes before, when Meyers was seconding up the previous pitch. Strong as he might have been, could he have held on for the nightmare scenario of his belayer and anchor coming down on his head?
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tom Carter
Social climber
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May 10, 2013 - 10:29pm PT
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Thanks to all contributors - a great route and wonderful Valley history!!
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guido
Trad climber
Santa Cruz/New Zealand/South Pacific
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May 10, 2013 - 10:32pm PT
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ditto with TC!
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fosburg
climber
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May 10, 2013 - 11:19pm PT
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Very cool history, thanks!
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