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rectorsquid
climber
Lake Tahoe
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I almost crashed an airplane. Doing a go-around in hot weather at high altitude and forgot to turn off the carb heat until I was within ground effect. I'm sure that I freaked out a few motorists on the road as I went over ten feet above their heads.
Thank goodness that there is ground effect.
Dave
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kaholatingtong
Trad climber
the green triangle, cali
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not sure if this actually counts, but,
when i was a freshmen in college me and two buds went out to try out skydiving. we did the usual tandem, guide on your back jump thing. when it got to the point to pull the chute out i pulled it but we had a little bit of an issue. some of the lines when opening out into the chute got tangled/crossed and the chute did not open all the way. i recall being in this big spin in the parachute while looking out to see my two buddies chutes open normally and they slowed down much more then i did. the guy on my back tells me that exactly on his count i need to kick my entire body as hard as i can to the left. 1,2,3, me and him both simultaneously kick left hard. nothing happens. once more, another kick and still nothing. i remember looking out thinking that we are still falling a lot faster than my buddies and they seem to be a bit higher up than us at this point, with their chutes open and cruising. on the 5th kick the cords untangled and the chute finally opens all the way. when we finally got to the ground i forgot to land and then fall backward with my tandem guide, guess the excitement threw me off. oops. the dude is super pissed off at me, and tells me i coulda "broken" us because i didnt fall backward when we hit the ground. whatever, perhaps he shoulda packed the chute properly; or maybe i was, as they told me later, that "1 out of 500" that try skydiving. he also told me that if we had not managed to get the chute to finally open properly on that last kick he was going to cut it and pull the backup, and he already had his cutter in hand, apparantely. i enjoy the heights but not sure i would ever pay to skydive again, much less try base jumping. shrug.
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Norwegian
Trad climber
dancin on the tip of god's middle finger
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Apr 19, 2014 - 09:57am PT
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i am the lung of the sunrise;
that imploding phase change
is hungry for oh-two, and i
control the valve;
i think i'll dim it today,
starve it to near death
and then unsuffocate
the smoldering mass
with an increased ration of gas.
so leave your shades behind,
and walk into my dimly-lit dream.
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Charlie D.
Trad climber
Western Slope, Tahoe Sierra
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Apr 19, 2014 - 12:59pm PT
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Great stories everyone!!! Yikes!!!
BTW splitter, if we ever meet I'll buy you a beer but please don't ask me to share a rope....no offense ;^)
Charlie D.
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MisterE
Gym climber
Bishop, CA
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Topic Author's Reply - Nov 8, 2014 - 09:38pm PT
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Bump for the real issues of our lives and passages - Werner is a wise man:
Everyone dies every day.
You're not the same person as yesterday ......
One thing Werner - how will I die tomorrow?
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Aeriq
Sport climber
100-year Visitor
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May 31, 2019 - 04:50pm PT
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Since we are close to death
Bump
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Chris Cunningham
Trad climber
San Francisco
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May 31, 2019 - 08:52pm PT
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I went climbing with Chuck Clance....he nearly got me killed, himself killed, both of us killed and total strangers killed on numerous occasions.
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Ricky D
Trad climber
Under the Webmasters Thumb
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May 31, 2019 - 09:07pm PT
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It's the end of the world as we know it and I feel fine.
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johnkelley
climber
Anchorage Alaska
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May 31, 2019 - 09:36pm PT
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Waiting in Bever Basin after the FA of Continuing Education for a plane pick up for a week with no food, water, or fuel and low temps of -30*. It was the most weight i’ve ever lost on a trip.
The West Face of the still unclimbed Middle Peak. Two attempts same outcome. Huge spendrift slides. Big enough that they’d push you to the knot at end of the ropes. You would just bounce up and down on the knot while snow packed into your mouth... to the point of not being able to breath.
Being swept, with Matt Neuner, what seemed like a huge distance by a massive avalanche on the N.E. of Mt. Owen. I remember seeing his yellow boot pass right by my face a few times as we cart wheeled in the side. We both just stood up and walked away. Had some gear pulled off during the slide. A glove and my helmet.
An avalanche on the Valhalla Traverse after a failed winter attempt of a new route on the North Face of the Enclosure. I saw Steve trigger the slab above me. It hit me and I was falling with it. We were unroped. Got pushed/tumbled maybe 75’-100’ and got caught up by a boulder and the slide went over the cliff a dozen feet past me.
Attempting a virgin peak in the very back of Tsum Valley on the Chinese border. The entire area is f*#ked up. We were sleeping in a villagers yak barn. I think the yak herder was sleeping with his daughter and likely beating her. We ran into 3 brothers who were in a fist fight over the wife the 3 of them shared. The next day we were told to leave at knife point by a large gang of locals with a bunch of Maoist flags and banners and sh#t. We were out of there pretty quick.
Had I been in base camp when I was up on Choppa Bamare things could be different. The camp and the entire upper valley were completely overrun by avalanches. Our tent and everything in it were simply gone. Buried under at least 8’ to 10’ of snow.
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