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What is the best way to determine if a fall is going to be safe? I understand the concept of ground falls, but sometimes when I am on a route or before I leave the ground I start to wonder if a fall in a particular spot would be hazardous. Does anyone have any tips for analyzing this? For example, how do you determine if you will clear a ledge, or take a dangerous swing?

the obvious hardman response is to "climb hard on steeps brah so you don't have to worry about it". the obvious dickhead response is to have your obnoxious friend have a go at it first. if he breaks his ankles you should steer clear or be sure not to fall.

but in terms of a real answer i'm not sure there is one outside of common sense and a good feel for determining distances and rope stretch at range.

-t

tbwilsonky wrote:t the obvious dickhead response is to have your obnoxious friend have a go at it first. if he breaks his ankles you should steer clear or be sure not to fall.


-t

Wanna go get on some sketchy shit ?

All the easy trad routes have dangerous ledge fall potential. It's that simple. You protect accordingly and tell your belay to keep you close. If the route is slabby,you tend to fall out away from the the face, but I'm sure there's still risk. The steep stuff is safer but harder.

Climb hard on steeps brah so you don't have to worry about it.

I always thought the hardman/old school response was..."the leader doesn't fall" so why you worried about it?

Gravity tends to pull one towards the center of the earth. If there is something between you and the center of the earth, you will hit it.

Spit test is 100% effective with conditions including but possibly not limited to the following:
(a) near 0 MPH wind
(b) A-Team belayer
(7) projected spit is "dropped" and without angular momentum
(iii) when you fall, you don't push away from the wall

i think the best way is to go to well known areas with Experienced Climbers. i say "i think a fall at X bolt would be bad. what do you think?" and then listen to what they have to say. or say "have you fallen at X bolt?" and then listen to them.

after a while of doing this my judgment has gotten a bit better - but i'm still chickenhearted when it comes to falling.

I hope you trust your belayer, most ankle breakers can be avoided by having a little extra slack out. As always though, if your sketched, climb through it, it will probably be less consequential than taking the fall prematurely.