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Bad Climber
Trad climber
The Lawless Border Regions
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Topic Author's Original Post - Feb 16, 2017 - 04:50pm PT
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Read this over at Evening Sends:
Will Gadd to students at a clinic:
On Self Rescue: “It’s great to know how to escape the belay, or create a Z-pulley to haul someone out of a crevasse. But in all of my years of climbing, I’ve never had to use those skills. It’s much better to not get yourself into those situations in the first place. If you are facing a situation where you have to self-rescue, you’ve already made mistakes that could’ve been prevented. Spend more time focusing on how not to get yourself into that situation.”
On Placing Gear: “Old climbers don’t run it out. If you want to be climbing for a long, long time, you won’t either.”
Use a Gear Sling: “I prefer to rack on a gear sling. It just makes it easy to swap leads with your partner.”
Protect the First and Last Part of the Pitch: “The first piece can’t pull out, so make it multi-directional. And I always seem to fall going to the anchors, so I like to put in extra gear right at the end.”
Use Lots of Nuts: “Nuts are way more reliable than cams. They’re cheap. They’re solid. They’re reliable. Use them.”
On Building Anchors: “All those acronyms for building anchors have some value, but in the real world you’ll never find textbook situations. The most important rule of thumb for building anchors is that you need at least one absolutely bomber piece of gear. Then, if you can clip in to one or two more pieces of gear—and there are a million ways to do that—that’s going to be all you need.”
“You have to train your mind to be strong!”
Seems pretty right-on to me.
BAd
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Mtnmun
Trad climber
Top of the Mountain Mun
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Feb 16, 2017 - 04:55pm PT
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I could not get use to climbing with a gear sling. I always rack on my harness so the gear is not swinging around and getting in my way. This is a personal preference of course.
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NutAgain!
Trad climber
South Pasadena, CA
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Feb 16, 2017 - 05:04pm PT
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Mostly agree, but being prepared to self-rescue seems more important to me. A silly thing like a falling rock can take out your partner, and no matter what happens you have to be able to get your team out alive.
Insurance seems like a waste of money until you need it. Self-rescue skills seem like a waste of time for a low probability event, until your life depends on it.
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sDawg
climber
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Feb 16, 2017 - 05:18pm PT
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I genuinely don't understand the argument that a gear sling makes it easier to trade leads. I would believe it depends on the route, but most of the time I try not to carry more than twice as much gear as I'll need. By the end of the pitch, over half the gear I started with has been set, cleaned, and is now on my follow's harness right where it needs to be if we trade.
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k-man
Gym climber
SCruz
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Feb 16, 2017 - 05:22pm PT
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Old climbers don’t run it out.
I suppose I'm still young at heart.
Although, I think I do notice now more than ever when there's not a piece above my head.
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ecdh
climber
the east
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Feb 16, 2017 - 05:36pm PT
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What WG says and what WG does are not the same.
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Kalimon
Social climber
Ridgway, CO
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Feb 16, 2017 - 08:55pm PT
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Hopefully WG will get back to us after he makes a winter ascent of an 8000m peak, perhaps he will share more good advice!
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Mark Force
Trad climber
Ashland, Oregon
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Feb 16, 2017 - 11:19pm PT
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Bad, Thanks for the share. All those points seem right on to me.
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wbw
Trad climber
'cross the great divide
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Feb 17, 2017 - 07:25am PT
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In the day and age where climbers carry their cell phone to backcountry climbs fully expecting to call a rescue if things go wrong, when noobs are taught by guides to simeau-rap when not necessary, when people no longer trust belay devices such as ATCs because they depend on user competence, I think WGs comments are sound. While I know that accidents happen to the best of us (I've been involved in two backcountry rescue situations where I was the only one available to rescue my partner), I also know that being safe in dangerous situations is as much about an appropriate attitude as anything else.
To prepare oneself with overly-complicated strategies and specialized techniques is much less important than knowing the "basics" and having a certain attitude that one is responsible for one's self when in the backcountry.
While everyone needs a little help at times, it's a real shame that as a society we've lost that sense of self-reliance.
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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Feb 17, 2017 - 07:37am PT
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Take crevasse rescue techniques as an example. There are those that love to practise crevasse rescue ad nauseum. If you can read a glacier and conditions and practice good rope discipline your chances of ever having to use 3/1 or 5/1 pulley systems to extract someone are microscopic.
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Nick Danger
Ice climber
Arvada, CO
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Feb 17, 2017 - 08:49am PT
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RE crevasse rescue; I have the very highest respect for Jim Donini's accomplishments, skills, and knowledge, and understand why he says what he does about crevasse rescues. All that being said, I was involved on a scientific expedition to Alaska where several of the scientists involved were extremely accomplished scientists, but much less skilled mountaineers. We practiced crevasse rescue with them and used that knowledge to rescue one of them from a situation that I and my climbing partner (another experienced Alaska climber) had avoided, due to our greater experience. Judgment is good (vital, in fact), but having some rescue skills can also pay handsome dividends.
Cheers all, and be safe out there,
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Degaine
climber
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Feb 17, 2017 - 10:06am PT
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Self and crevasse rescue techniques are useful skills to have. I've helped others with a real crevasse rescue - so maybe you'll never the need the skills for you, but being able to help others is never a bad thing. Also, I once had to conduct an assisted rappel when my partner hurt his hand bad enough that he couldn't rappel on his own.
However, just as avalanche education classes switched 10 or so years ago to focusing more on avoidance (route planning) and human factors, self and crevasse rescue should of course also be taught in this context.
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Reeotch
climber
4 Corners Area
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Feb 17, 2017 - 11:28am PT
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Didn't some poor guy get his back broken by having too zealous a rescue team, using a mechanical advantage, pull a little too hard?
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Mark Force
Trad climber
Ashland, Oregon
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Feb 17, 2017 - 12:41pm PT
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Good judgment comes from experience...
...and experience comes from bad judgment.
~ Will Rogers
Still working on good judgement, but at least I'm lucky!
Definitely agree with the sentiment that it's better to stay out of trouble than know how to get out of trouble.
Though, the other is good, too.
"Aw shit!" The adventure begins...
...though, being the punter I am the adventures are wee little things compared to the big guns around here.
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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Feb 17, 2017 - 01:02pm PT
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"Adventure only begins when things start going wrong," Yvon Chouinard.
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Mark Force
Trad climber
Ashland, Oregon
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Feb 17, 2017 - 01:36pm PT
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Words of wisdom...
...and experience..
...of a big gun from another big gun!
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Reeotch
climber
4 Corners Area
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Feb 17, 2017 - 02:09pm PT
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Believe in that gut feeling. Trust your partner's gut feelings.
How many times I've wished I had trusted my gut? How many times was I glad I trusted my gut.
Never disparage a partner for wanting to back down. Yeah, they may be just chickening out, but they may be in touch with something you're not, at the moment.
Those routes tend to stick around so you can try them again.
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norm larson
climber
wilson, wyoming
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Feb 17, 2017 - 03:13pm PT
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This is worthy thread. Thanks Bad for posting.
I agree better to stay out of trouble in the first place. But...I have found trouble waiting a few times so it's best to be an all arounder that knows a few ways to back down and out gracefully.
In another 30-40 years Will Gadd will be the Donini of the day posting on whatever they use in the future when remembering the old days and ways.
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the albatross
Gym climber
Flagstaff
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Feb 17, 2017 - 03:23pm PT
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Good advice from WG.
I like the thoughts of those who have voiced "what if". Way back in the day (2000-2013), I managed to squeak my way up about ten grade V-VI first ascents in the hinterlands of northern AZ and a serious route on Notch Peak. Mostly because of excellent partners hanging up the rope and mostly on very sketchy rock. Anyway, I later witnessed one of my stronger partners break his neck rope soloing 500' above. it's always good to know rescue options, either self or professional especially if you like hanging your neck out.
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