RRC Archives

have never heard of an incident at the RRG where a belayer has taken a ride off the ground and dropped their climber because of the ride

hey Sandy, I have taken a groundfall because of that before. I was at the second bolt of Crazy Fingers a couple of years ago and fell and though the rope caught in plenty of time to stop me, my belayer came off the ground and I hit on my feet right on the "shoe cleaning carpet". Somehow, my feet absorbed just enough impact before sliding out from under me that when I landed on my ass I was unhurt. I jumped up and sent the route 10 minutes later.

Mj

Oh, the reason I fell was because I was crossed up trying to get in a position to clip the second bolt and I popped.

Mj

this concerns me, since I frequently belay heavy climbers. I hold my breath until that 3rd bolt is clipped... it's really not a good scenario. While I will NEVER let go of the brake hand (I'm certain not even in death), taking big air when the climber is down low is not good scenario.

Glad you weren't hurt, Sik. Keep in mind, though, that your belayer did not drop you and that was what we were talking about--letting go of the brake hand, or having the brake on the grigri jammed open when the belayer hits rock above him/her.

weber wrote:Aw, Meadows, we all know you secretly love sprinklin' pixie dust and takin' those Peter Pan flights that result from dynamic belays.

You know it!!

A scenario: You and your belayer are up on some remote difficult climb in the Red. No one around within miles. Cell phones don't work in the Red. You are eighty feet up when you notice your belayer has had a heart attack (diabetic shock, seizure, whatever) and become unconscious. Fortunately for you, he is using a GriGri.

But, now what do you do?

Several possilities come to mind, but it would be interesting to hear answers from those of you with much more climbing experience.

Rick

Self-Rescue by Fasulo. Should be mandatory reading for all climbers, at a minimum.

No malfunction on the gri gri's part, but I think the belayer may have had a bit too much slack out with me that close to the ground (belayer inexperience?). I hadn't yet called for clipping slack either. No big deal though, I survived.

Mj

Bottom line: pay attention. I see way too many belayers (and I'm guilty of this in the gym, but not outside) talking with people, looking around, daydreaming, or otherwise not watching their climber.

Sandy,

I agree. Fasulo's book is used as the bible in most self rescue courses. I took self rescue training under Tony Barnes, and he said this book should be the most important in the climber's library. He also said that it should be revisited periodically and the techniques regularly practiced (especially important for forgetful old guys like me.)

And continuing the theme in this thread about tying in vs. not tying in the belayer, Fasulo devotes a significant amount of time explaining how to escape a belay (either to go for help or to assist the fallen leader whom, for some reason, you cannot lower. It's kinda hard to escape a belay when we aren't tied in, isn't it? In fact it is impossible, unless the belayer can struggle over to a nearby tree and conveniently has the rope or slings handy to accomplish this feat.

Rick

There is a big difference in cragging (99.9% of the routes in the red), and adventure climbing. Also, I would say that most of the climbing books do not make a point about the difference, thus people read that anchoring a belayer is the thing to do, which it is for multi pitch, and assume that is the right thing to do when belaying sunshine. Don't be one of the people that just does what the book says, try to understand why they are saying it, then you can decide if you need to follow that advice in a given setting.

Wes