RRC Archives

I have been climbing for 12 years and have never been dropped nor have I ever dropped anyone. (Yes I am knocking on wood right now b/c shit does happen sometimes.) However this is not to say that I haven't taken a hard fall that was unpleasant. This is usually due to climber error, foot behind the rope, or somehting out of controll happens like a hold breaks!

Dropping someone is a lack of experience or too much experience... the belyer has ben doing it for so long that they forget that they have someone's life in their hands!!!!

One of the things I like about thhis place and you fellers is how worked up intelligent people can become on situations in which we have the barest of facts.

Power2U wrote:Dropping someone is a lack of experience or too much experience... the belyer has ben doing it for so long that they forget that they have someone's life in their hands!!!!

Yea, like that time when you belayed some guy on Convicted and he was past the first bolt and about to pull a cruxy move when his rope "popped off" his harness?

Power2U wrote:Dropping someone is a lack of experience or too much experience... the belyer has ben doing it for so long that they forget that they have someone's life in their hands!!!!

I feel like I learned to belay from a climber that has been climbing a while...around people that have been climbing a whole lot longer than he has...

I get so frustrated with some (note i said some) people who have only learned how to belay in a gym...and don't have someone constantly being critical of them for the first few months in order to catch small mistakes. I've slowly been able to pick these people out...when they talk more to the people around them than the person climbing...etc etc...I have come down from a couple of routes now because I realized that my belayer....just isn't paying attention...

charlie wrote: How many people on this board have been dropped/hit a ledge/taken a bad fall from trusted belayers they've climbed with regularly?

charlie -- There was that time when you were 'spotting' me on Mr. Softy

....thud....

"nice spot..."

(And No, because it was so freakin' hilarious to me, I will never let that rest)

edited here:
disclaimer: This is a joke & not meant to be taken as anything other than a joke. Charlie is actually a wonderful spotter & I would gladly have him spotting me under the 3 star roof at Hound Ears, as I fall off the top out over the charcoal grill, any time!

Christian wrote:One of the things I like about thhis place and you fellers is how worked up intelligent people can become on situations in which we have the barest of facts.

Its what makes coming to this sight so darn fun.

Charllie is the king of "Southern Spots" but we love him anyway.

skychick wrote:......charlie -- There was that time when you were 'spotting' me on Mr. Softy

....thud....

"nice spot...
(And No, because it was so freakin' hilarious to me, I will never let that rest)

Heh, spotting is a luxury, it is not a right (especially when you're less than 14 inches off the ground).

Belaying on the other hand is a contractual obligation and it should be understood that you will have an attentive catch.

That said, the one time in over a decade of belaying I feel like I screwed up was less than a year ago when I gave Wes a hard catch on Disappearer. I don't think anyone can seriously complain about my experience or capabilities belaying (hopefully including Wes) but that doesn't mean people don't screw up. I inadvertantly weighted the rope as he was falling and he whipped back into the wall. Yeah, it wasn't a ledge fall, no deck, but his ankle was still messed up and he hit the wall pretty hard. I simply screwed up, not a big one, but if it was a run out or conditions were even slightly different he could have easily gotten hurt.

So, knowing that I've made that mistake would any of you trust me to belay you?

*disclaimer -- I know I've saved his (and Sonia's) asses way more than I've screwed up so that that into account.

RRO wrote:Charllie is the king of "Southern Spots" but we love him anyway.

so that's what he's doing when he should be spotting..

so all in all, what's the story with the groundfall? is the climber alright? what was the damage?

This would be an excellent opportunity for my peeps to applaud my spotting/belaying abilities cause even though I don't think I've ever blown a spot, Sonia and Matt seem to make me question myself.

And no, I was not on belay when the guy hit the deck at the motherlode.