Folks, how you climb is your business. Don't let old geezers like me dictate.
However, I would like to politely ask that you all think about the wisdom of doing "victory whippers" at the end of an RRG climb by pulling out rope at the top anchors or climbing above them, then bailing off.
A shock yank on a hanger bracket often turns it into a spinner. This Corbin sandstone pulverizes easily, allowing even the tightest bolted hangers to loosen when jerked hard.
Taking falls on the bolted hangers leading up to the top anchors is an expected part of sport climbing. But, there really is no need (other than, perhaps, to feed a defective y chromosome ) to whip at the top anchors. This should be the safest place to attach our pumped old bodies to the rock.
Just something to think about.
Rick
Victory Whippers & Spinners
Victory Whippers & Spinners
We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand. - Randy Pausch
None are so old as those who have outlived enthusiasm. - Henry David Thoreau
None are so old as those who have outlived enthusiasm. - Henry David Thoreau
I take whippers from the top a lot of the time. Partly to keep my lead head stright, and partly because I enjoy the fall. By the time you are at the top of the route, there should be enough rope out to where the force on the last bolt is minimal. If the last bolt is out of alinement with the anchors, then I can see the hanger maybe twisting some. When I do whip from the top, it is only on routes that I feel are safe to do so on, and a route with a big pendulam probably wouldn't make that list.
"There is no secret ingredient"
Po, the kung fu panda
Po, the kung fu panda
Wes, I was referring to the two hanger brackets at the anchor twisting, not the bracket below the anchor. A whipper will stress the last brackets the rope passes through.
Hey, it's your call. We'll just keep retightening the bolts.
Rick
Hey, it's your call. We'll just keep retightening the bolts.
Rick
We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand. - Randy Pausch
None are so old as those who have outlived enthusiasm. - Henry David Thoreau
None are so old as those who have outlived enthusiasm. - Henry David Thoreau
Not sure on this one, how exactly does falling from the anchors after the climb is over help your lead head?
If you just want the excitement of a fall, jump off the rock by Gladie into the Red. Or jump out of an airplane.
<----never understood why people like falling (gets enough practice while actually climbing)
If you just want the excitement of a fall, jump off the rock by Gladie into the Red. Or jump out of an airplane.
<----never understood why people like falling (gets enough practice while actually climbing)
Sarcasm is a tool the weak use to avoid confrontation. People with any balls just outright lie.
[quote="Meadows"]I try not to put it in my mouth now, but when I do, I hold it with just my lips.[/quote]
[quote="Meadows"]I try not to put it in my mouth now, but when I do, I hold it with just my lips.[/quote]
Personally I like the unexpected falls the best (the ones that you don't see coming). A foot slipping, a hold breaking, a finger popping off the holds... There is no time to be afraid and you are plummeting before you even know it.
"Those iron spikes you use have shortened the life expectancy of the Totem Pole by 50,000 years."
--A Navaho elder
--A Navaho elder
I haven't seen it like that, but lots of people reach the anchors, don't clip them, and fall on the last bolt. Falling is like anything else, the more you practice the better off you'll be when it actually happens.dhoyne wrote:Not sure on this one, how exactly does falling from the anchors after the climb is over help your lead head?