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426
climber
☬
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Feb 16, 2011 - 08:05am PT
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Gaston Rebuffat: (approximation) "All the best climbers die on rappel..."
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Ghost
climber
A long way from where I started
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Feb 16, 2011 - 09:07am PT
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I didn't know who gf was when he responded to my post
Yes, he's not that cute little Japanese schoolgirl. I wish he was, cuz as things actually are, this is the image of him that I'm stuck carrying around in my mind...
Gotta say, I find the schoolgirl much cuter, but what can you do?
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graniteclimber
Trad climber
The Illuminati -- S.P.E.C.T.R.E. Division
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Feb 16, 2011 - 10:57am PT
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I'd guess that there was no walk off?
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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Feb 16, 2011 - 11:01am PT
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My biggest fear (with reason) when rapping off of a big route in bad conditions is getting the rope hung up. Retrieving the rope during bad weather can be, and often is, a nightmare. Getting hung up happens sometimes even when great care and experience are put into play.
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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Feb 16, 2011 - 11:08am PT
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I beg your pardon DMT, there is NOT always a walkoff- not where I climb.
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Ghost
climber
A long way from where I started
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Feb 16, 2011 - 11:09am PT
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I beg your pardon DMT, there is NOT always a walkoff- not where I climb.
Sure there is. It's just that the last step on it may in fact be your last step.
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klk
Trad climber
cali
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Feb 16, 2011 - 11:13am PT
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I didn't know who gf was when he responded to my post here and not sure why he responded the way he did.
hahaha! we couldn't have guessed!
nor could we have guessed what yr climbing "experience" mostly consisted of.
the Illuminati avatar is a nice touch, though.
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martygarrison
Trad climber
Washington DC
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Feb 16, 2011 - 01:39pm PT
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DMT, not always a walk off....think of the mace or a number of other free standing routes
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Ihateplastic
Trad climber
It ain't El Cap, Oregon
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Feb 16, 2011 - 02:07pm PT
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Sometimes you need to rappel off the end upside down with daisy chain ready to clip the destination anchor all while grabbing the pull end and letting go.
That is one I want to see!
Back to the OP... While I consider myself to be fairly confident, calm and collected on the lead/follow, a rap can easily turn me into a schoolgirl. I have lost two friends to rap stupidity so I tend to check everything x^n ({x,n}=Z, x>2, n>x) times and then proceed with great caution. Come on folks, it's 100% gear at this point. One tiny screw-up can ruin your day.
Nope, not a lover of raps (except when Jay-Z or Dre does them.)
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hamie
Social climber
Thekoots
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Feb 16, 2011 - 03:21pm PT
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DMT
Have you done Higher Spire?
or Phantom Pinnacle?
or etc etc etc.....?
H.
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murcy
climber
sanfrancisco
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Feb 16, 2011 - 03:33pm PT
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You can walk off anything. Sometimes, though, your feet then scrabble in mid-air, and then you fall. You end up with plusses in your eyes and stars and little birds fly around your head. I have seen this many times.
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HighTraverse
Trad climber
Bay Area
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Feb 16, 2011 - 05:56pm PT
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but most rap accidents happen on bomber anchors in good conditions and usually close to the ground. Pure complacency and lack of attention.
Sure, this perfectly describes my near miss (if you call 300 feet nearly vertical "close to the ground"). I was no noob and had been climbing a lot that year. That's precisely the point. Anyone can f@#k up a rap for any of about 25 reasons.
Generally you don't live to explain to Jed Williamson what you did wrong. That's the other point.
DMT
I've had more than a couple of rap adventures when there was no reasonable option for "walking" down. Think through all the options, then take the safest one.
I suppose down climbing from Lost Arrow Tip could be considered an option.
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Melissa
Gym climber
berkeley, ca
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Feb 16, 2011 - 05:59pm PT
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No, DMT wouldn't know about any of those places. Doesn't it just piss you off? Doesn't it?
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jogill
climber
Colorado
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Feb 16, 2011 - 09:13pm PT
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Bob Kamps and I used to go down the rope hand-over-hand sometimes in the Needles. Never really enjoyed the false security of the rappel.
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steveA
Trad climber
bedford,massachusetts
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Feb 16, 2011 - 10:26pm PT
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I saved a guys bacon a few years ago at a local cliff. It was really bizarre.
I was walking up the trail to the cliff base, and looked up to see this guy rapping off, but something didn't look right.
He was up about 80 feet, hanging upside down, on this overhanging face. Plus he had a pack on. What immediately struck me was that he only had 2 FEET OF ROPE LEFT and NO knot in the end. He was motionless and terrified. I also observed his 2 buddies down below watching- who had NO idea he was in trouble.
Well, my adrenaline kicked in REAL fast. I yelled up to this guy to hang on and we would be up top pronto. He only replied "hurry".
The guy, for no obvious reason, had taken his trail rope, and run it back up thru his anchors, leaving him about 80 feet short of the ground-out of rope.
In hind-sight, he could of pulled the rope thru the anchor, letting it drop to the ground, but I didn't really see this from below, and who knows if this would of succeeded.
I told his friends that we had to get up there fast. As we ran up the trail at full speed, ( the fastest I've ever done it in), I explained what we were going to do.
I set up 2 belay stations, one to lower me and the other to lower the guy.
In the back of my mind, I was wondering if I could trust these guys to not drop me. When I reached the guy, who was really terrified by this time, I clipped into his harness, with a locking beener, using the trail rope. We were both hanging off this overhanging face.
This guy was no lightweight and he also had a big pack on. I yelled up to the guy on top to get ready, then I told the guy he could let go.
He went shooting down as if he wasn't even on belay. I instinctively reached over and grabbed his rope which gave me one hell of a rope burn. I really wasn't sure if the guy up top really had him.
He quickly came to a stop soon after, as the belay up top came into full effect. He then got lowered, as did I.
The guy wasn't hurt, but mentally pretty shaken up. I told him that I bet he wouldn't do that again. He never said a word.
Funny thing is that as we were lowering him, I saw this rescue guy arriving with a stretcher. I assumed that someone had called and thought that was a pretty fast response.
It turned out that they were coming for another climber who had broken an ankle. They never did learn about the close call, which would of resulted in a body recovery. Ya, it can turn ugly pretty fast.
After driving over an hour to get there, I decided to do a few laps anyway, but my hand felt like it was on fire. It took weeks for the rope burn to heal.
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klk
Trad climber
cali
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Feb 16, 2011 - 10:37pm PT
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Bob Kamps and I used to go down the rope hand-over-hand sometimes in the Needles.
Not so much fun with the teflon-coated floss i use now.
heh
haven't used the arm wrap method since i left the pnw.
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gonamok
climber
dont make me come over there
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Feb 17, 2011 - 02:20am PT
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Brings to mind a story. Me and a buddy decided to climb the N. face of Mt San Jacinto via the snow creek route, but in summer. We followed thr running water onto the face, unwittingly ending up on the west fork of snow creek. After 3 days of desperate climbing, including a 200 foot unprotected vertical 5.7 section that we climbed in mountain boots and with 45 lb packs, we made it to the summit. We were starving, torn up and exhausted, but proud to have pulled it off. I had our little 100ft 9mm rope on the outside of my pack, and as we walked down toward the tram station we passed some people, one of whom said "hey, looks like somebody has been rappelling".
Hell yeah i hate rappelling and dont care much for those who do it as sport either.
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