Late night rescue, Lovers Leap

Only a sore back, a swollen eye, and some mild bruises across the body.

...before I got the rope stopped.

30' above the last belay station

Our rope, though that would need to be decommissioned after the 2x fall.

1) What kind of belay device was Steve using and what happened when he caught the fall? You also mentioned he had you on an assisted belay when you came back up, do you mean a 3:1 or 5:1 haul or just and assisted locking belay device?

2) Why did you guys decide to wait for rescue instead of trying to rap? It appears from the pictures that Steve was hauling a second rope? I would guess that you were being conservative not knowing the extent of your injuries and freaked out because of the accident, but I think I would have been more worried about the weather and try to get down. Not trying to argue with your actions, just understand the thought process.

It's clear you're completely full of sh#t.

No, no, you don't understand. Back when he was a kid he had to climb the North Face of the Eiger every day just to go to school and then ride home forty miles on horseback in a snowstorm and manly young men learned to climb by worshiping manly older men and nobody ever had a climbing accident because gyms hadn't been invented yet to corrupt the young and everybody knew how to place pitons and not dirty the pants of American mountaineering by clipping bolts and...

Check out his TR - it is very detailed. He ended up far below his belayer.

My generation never would have called for the rescue.

...and you shouldn't need a helmet at a heavily climbed area like Lover's Leap (which has an easy approach).

My generation never would have called for the rescue

However, the most likely answer to the question you keep asking (why did 20 feet of rope slip through the belay device) is that the belayer didn't do it on purpose. He wasn't ready or expecting a fall, and let some rope slide through his cold, numb hands before he tightened down enough to stop Kush.

@BillL: Huh? What in the world are you talking about? Takes a little time...How much time, BillL, at 9 meters per second squared?!!!

Those crappy-azz little wire gate biners are a disaster as well.

Those crappy-azz little wire gate biners are a disaster as well. That stuff is fine for the sport stuff where control and clean routes abound. But the justification of a couple of pounds of saved weight between rope and rack, on trad/regular routes, dont cut much mustard. Next we could talk about modern belay "gadgets" and the replacing of common sense and attention..

So, you all see no problems, hear no problems...

* the belayer was set for maximum braking assuming a pull from above and suddenly this was the worst position for braking. Takes a little time to react to that.

So, anyone want to let these people give you a belay? One one thousand, two one thousand...oops.

how did this thread become an argument about gear? Isn't there a forum for that?

Yes, the thread drift is an intentional derailment from Phil Olinick's post, to steer the conversation away and bury the idea of nefarious intent.

I'm an industry insider, working for the primary misinformationist manufacturer to obscure their activity. May 30, 2011 - 09:59pm PT

May 30, 2011 - 11:30pm PT
Ah, climbing at its best.

@Ron Anderson: You know the issue that's getting buried here: The basic information which new climbers need to climb safely and casually is getting distorted and hidden. As a result people are getting injured and killed. That is what should be litigated, in criminal and in civil courts.

May 29, 2011 - 02:00am PT
**First, I want to thank those of you who made such outrageously erroneous statements regarding climbing safety, sometimes in response to my impatient, aggressive posts (which embarrass me, but so be it).

There have been some false statements about climbing safety made in this thread, and elsewhere. This kind of disinformation has contributed to if not caused climbing accidents. Human life has been lost. People have been seriously injured. Medical and other bills have been incurred. Taxpayer money has been spent on federal and local rescue efforts, which could have been avoided.

If they do not investigate the origins of the disinformation about climbing safety, law enforcement agencies and prosecutors would be doing taxpayers an injustice, and indirectly contributing to the continued loss of life and injuries among climbers.
**
I recommend that the appropriate law enforcement agencies contact Yosemite Search and Rescue (YOSAR) and request a representative list of erroneous statements about climbing safety, which could be published on this website and used as a basis for criminal and civil investigations. **

If anyone making these false statements has a conflict of interest due to personal profit (e.g., paid bloggers) then that too should be investigated.

There are so many things today now damaged by intentional disinformation. The affront to climbing is of particular interest, because knowledgable climbers can link the facts to the dead bodies. A known minority of climbers today understand those facts, and we can prove that many deaths and injuries should have been avoided. It's a good fight. Let's take it!

-Phil Olinick www.kornetzky.ch/GodNoSaySo phil@kornetzky.ch

There is no reason for pulling so many pieces when you are a leader on a pitch with bomber gear. With the low angle, and right leaning nature of that pitch, long slings should be used. Your first piece should also be a multi-directional so not to created a "zipper". As I tell all my clients, take it slow, learn to do it right, work through the grades, don't concentrate just on high ratings, and you will climb until you are old and crusty. The climbers who rush into leading either get scared or hurt.
At least these guys have a chance to "live and learn"!

May 29, 2011 - 02:00am PT

There have been some false statements about climbing safety made in this thread, and elsewhere. This kind of disinformation has contributed to if not caused climbing accidents. Human life has been lost. People have been seriously injured. Medical and other bills have been incurred. Taxpayer money has been spent on federal and local rescue efforts, which could have been avoided.

If they do not investigate the origins of the disinformation about climbing safety, law enforcement agencies and prosecutors would be doing taxpayers an injustice, and indirectly contributing to the continued loss of life and injuries among climbers.

I recommend that the appropriate law enforcement agencies contact Yosemite Search and Rescue (YOSAR) and request a representative list of erroneous statements about climbing safety, which could be published on this website and used as a basis for criminal and civil investigations.

If anyone making these false statements has a conflict of interest due to personal profit (e.g., paid bloggers) then that too should be investigated.

There are so many things today now damaged by intentional disinformation. The affront to climbing is of particular interest, because knowledgable climbers can link the facts to the dead bodies. A known minority of climbers today understand those facts, and we can prove that many deaths and injuries should have been avoided. It's a good fight. Let's take it!

-Phil Olinick www.kornetzky.ch/GodNoSaySo phil@kornetzky.ch