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gonzo chemist
climber
the Twilight Zone of someone else's intentions
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Dec 17, 2009 - 05:32pm PT
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These tales of Guillotine at Suicide Rock reminded me of an interesting experience earlier this summer, that I had completely forgotten about. I was climbing with a friend I hadn't seen in a few months. He hadn't climbed in at least a couple months, but said he was game to climb anything I felt like. I suggested we warm up on Guillotine because its got a nice mix of mild laybacking and a bit of chimneying, all very well protected. Then we'd move onto some harder objectives.
Well he starts up the climb just fine but not plugging much gear. I think he placed maybe one piece or two by the time he got up to the point of the chimney. He decides that instead of go INTO the chimney (as I always have), he's going to layback up the outside edge of the massive flake. Well he sets off up the edge without even placing a piece piece at the base of the chimney. And once you're committed, there's no place to plug in gear. So I start getting real nervous, cuz he's looking at a BAD fall if he slips. The route is called Guillotine for a reason. So he's about half way up this section, and he pretty much STOPS moving. I can hear the breathing picking up and his feet start skating a bit, slipping here and there a little. He resumes inching upward, but the cursing starts in. I can hear it well down where I am. 'Sh#t, f*#k, what the hell am I doing up here?!, damnit! shit!'
MY hands are seriously sweating at this point. If he blows it from there, it'll be a massive, chopper fall....really ugly. I yell up some encouragement, 'c'mon, man! smooth and steady! stay relaxed!' Inching his way upwards, he finally gains a jug above the point where the chimney flake pinches down, plugs a piece and guns for the anchors. No epic that day. It was a mind-blowing lead though, with serious consequences for failure.
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bhilden
Trad climber
Mountain View, CA
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Dec 17, 2009 - 05:58pm PT
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Back before SLCD's, I fell the entire length of the last pitch of the Enigma (5.10a undercling/lieback). I was about two moves from the top when I fell. The force of the fall pulled all the pro below the undercling and that combined with a very stretchy MSR rope (anybody else ever climb on one of these) sent me for at least 60'. I ended up about 2 feet above the ground, but, stormed back up and finished the lead.
Bruce
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cleo
Social climber
Berkeley, CA
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Dec 17, 2009 - 06:02pm PT
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Holy sheet.
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Quasimodo
Trad climber
CA
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Dec 17, 2009 - 08:13pm PT
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Jody,
Bob Kamps told me about two huge falls he held with a hip belay. The first one was the story you shared and another happened not long afterward. I can't remember the other account but it was over 100 foot fall on a hip belay. Bob said he quit climbing for a short time after the second fall. Bob thought he was "bad luck" and should quit climbing. Fortunately, for all of us, he returned to climbing in a big way and shared his passion with so many.
Those old school boys are the real deal... I shudder at the climbs that Bob put up in Cortina Pivettas.
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lars johansen
Trad climber
San Francisco, CA
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Dec 17, 2009 - 11:20pm PT
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Nothing like 400', but I think Clance fell out of his steps on an early ascent of ZM and went for well over 100'. I believe he might have been hammered. No damage incurred and he went back and sent it.
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Hard Rock
Trad climber
Montana
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Dec 18, 2009 - 09:30am PT
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We don't want to forget CliffHanger (SS greatest role). I think the total fall was 400 feet. I forgot the woman's name but I believed she asked David B. to get the shot in the first take.
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Fogarty
climber
BITD
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Dec 21, 2009 - 08:42pm PT
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From Prev Topic (What was your longest winger)
260+ Feet on pitch 14 Tangerine Trip in 1984 With Tracy Dorton, This was a earlier ascent of this now trade route. This pitch starts very simple I back cleaned to The first rivet, I forgot The 1/4 inch nuts at my tent, I thought no big deal, I remember flying up this pitch the 1/4 rivets some faced down, again no dig deal I then saw above me the only rivet on that pitch with a old short tie on it I thought wow A-1. As I went to reach to clip it all I remember is falling out in space and all my short ties just floating with me in space not popping off or slowing me down! I remember just screaming as I flew by Tracy belaying me in his curry Ledge laying down then I recall a big jolt then dropping a little more I was upside down and 30 feet from The wall I remember Tracy yelling are you ok as I flipped over and balanced in space I looked up to see Tracy flipped out of his ledge and Both of us in space,Tracy was out of rope, I some how gained The courage to jug back up to The anchors. I remember wile I was jugging all The gear at my waist. When I got to The top I remember thanking my bro, he then said that he would lead the pitch I remember my response, This is my Horse and I'm getting back on this mother f*#ker!
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deuce4
climber
Hobart, Australia
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Dec 21, 2009 - 09:10pm PT
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yep, off the Navajo Bridge. Took Dano there, wasn't really planning to jump myself, but ended up going for it after he set it up and made the first jump. We had his tent fly drag chute--the one we modified at my shop--which actually almost killed me because the wind had changed direction and pulled me over to the right where there was a big ledge system. Miraculously, the wind violently changed at the last minute and pulled me back toward center. Missed the ledge. But the adrenaline rush wiped me out, my muscles were useless. It took me about an hour to jug up the first rope. When I arrived at the mid point at the knot (it was two 200 footers tied together), Dano had lowered a rope with a piece of cloth tape on the 'biner, upon which he had written, "clip in dude!". He had to help haul me up the rest of the way, and belay me as I struggled over from the anchor back up to the bridge surface.
I remember as I just missed the ledge, I heard loud clanging bells, similar to a hundred church towers all ringing at once. Then suddenly, as my swing ended, the sudden silence of the canyon with only the trickling water sounds of the river now just below my feet.
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MH2
climber
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Apr 21, 2010 - 11:44pm PT
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I was following lars johansen's posts back a ways after his high value image in the 2 trolls thread and found:
I can't tell if this has already been mentioned on this thread but young Jim Stanton took a 200-240+ ft fall on the Braille Book (Higher Cathedral Rock) about 1970.
I was planning to post about that incident to see if anyone here remembered it. The belayer was Bob Johnson, a grad student in solid state physics at Brown University. From what I remember of his account, the leader had climbed about 80 feet above the belay with a few rattly nuts for pro. When he fell they all pulled. Bob was belaying around the hip. After catching the fall he couldn't see the leader. He yelled and got an answer so he shouted,
"Are you all right?"
Yes.
"I can't see you."
The climber stuck his arm out and it was entirely covered in blood.
The leader had suffered some scrapes, including scalp wounds which bleed a lot. He also had a broken nose. He was back on the rock within a month.
In catching the fall, Bob had been jerked against one of the corners. He didn't realize at first, in the excitement of organizing the descent, but he had a busted knee-cap. That injury, perhaps made worse by the hike down, took longer to resolve than the leader's, Jim Stanton, whose name the cornucopia of Supertopo has spilled all these years later.
In reference to another post above, I spent a day climbing with Andy Cox and Rob Hall on a trip from Buffalo to Mt Nemo and Rattlesnake in Ontario.
I believe Bob Johnson mentioned a burned or melted section of the rope that he caught the Braille Book fall on, about 20 feet long. If so, 80 feet above the belay to 80 feet below plus 20 gives an estimate of 180 feet for the total fall. +/- whatever guesses you want to make.
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Bulldog
Trad climber
Yosemite, CA
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Apr 22, 2010 - 08:03pm PT
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My friend Cooney, combined the last two pitches of Zodiac, got off route in a rain storm. Went left at the top, clipped into two rattie pegs and had back cleaned for some benounced reason? Then weighted the pegs and "pop"! He screamed twiced, watched his rope grate on the roof to the left of peanut ledge and ended up clipping into the anchor at peanut ledge. 150'--200'? He had a sprained wrist and ankel, got lucky! Lesson learned, don't back clean so much and pound those manky pegs!
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