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YoungGun
Trad climber
Ottawa, ON
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Topic Author's Original Post - Sep 2, 2011 - 09:41am PT
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Okay, so I'm relatively new to climbing, compared to most of you, in that I just started a little over a year ago, so I appreciate your tolerance for my question. I'm obsessed with climbing now, and it's completely changed my life. It's hard for me to think about anything else. Hell, I'm writing this right now at work! I'm sure many of you can relate. I've managed to redpoint 5.10d sport and 5.10a trad.
My greatest weakness is slab. I've never taken a fall on slab, mostly because I'm too afraid to fall. I'll stall out for a few minutes sometimes before I commit to some tenuous move because I want to be sure I have it. I think this means, however, that I'm not learning as much as I could, and I'm not pushing myself as much as I should if I'm not falling.
Is the so called "cheese grater" a real risk? Am I going to f*#k up my hands for weeks and not be able to climb if I fall on slab? Should I be scared, or should I go for it, or both? If you could share your experiences falling on slab, that would be awesome!!
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Gary
climber
Desolation Basin, Calif.
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The leader must not fall.
If you fall on slab, just start running.
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mojede
Trad climber
Butte, America
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Stretch your arms and legs towards the wall and "Cat Slide" the fall...
edit: BTW, one never really "falls" on a slab--"tumble" would be a better definition of the event.
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neversummer
Trad climber
30 mins. from suicide USA
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If you start to fall...just run down backwards...you're gonna die anyway.
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Rock!...oopsie.
Trad climber
the pitch above you
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tuck and roll. I call it bowling for belayers.
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jfailing
Trad climber
Lone Pine
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My very first post on ST is similar to this... only with crack climbing, and I received some excellent advice from many people.
Slab climbing is rad! Like a few other posters have said, don't focus on falling. Just start with the easy stuff - try doing every 5.7 slab climb at your local crag. Then move to every 5.8 and so on.
Then go to J-tree and eventually the valley/Tuolumne and focus on slab climbing. Before you know it, you'll bag the 3rd ascent of Hall of Mirrors.
When you eventually fall, it will be either because your foot slipped (something we don't necessarily have control over), or because you were gripped and your elvis-leg caused your foot to slip. Don't rag-doll in this situation, start running...
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YoungGun
Trad climber
Ottawa, ON
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Topic Author's Reply - Sep 2, 2011 - 10:10am PT
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Hahaha I've never run it out 20 ft on slab. Maybe I should try that. I guess running backwards doesn't work if you're taking a 40 footer.
So basically: go balls out, risk a little scrape, and learn good footwork?
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Daniel Eubank
Sport climber
Woodbridge, VA
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Young Gun,
Have popped on lead slab climbing at Suicide Rocks. Managed to stay on my feet when my first piece popped, was really haulin' ass backwards when the next piece, a #3 Camelot with a double length runner finally arrested my rearward fall. Keep your legs/feet motoring to avoid road rash. Climbed back up, replaced the popped piece, albeit a better placement, and finished the route.
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guido
Trad climber
Santa Cruz/New Zealand/South Pacific
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"Slid and Glide and Save Your Hide"
Motorcycle leathers!
"We use to joke about the ideal Apron climbing attire being motorcycle leathers, We even
had our own Apron dialogue with such terms as Pilot Slippée and Piolet Crashée, just a little game with Yvon’s book on ice climbing."
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Brian in SLC
Social climber
Salt Lake City, UT
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Is the so called "cheese grater" a real risk?
Seems real enough to me. My middle finger on my right hand is 3/8" shorter from a slab fall. 4 hours of surgury to repair the tip (after two weeks of soaking in peroxide to get the f'n plaster of paris cast out of the wound from an ER doc in remote Utah).
Good times.
Needless to say, my life as a "slab master" changed pretty much on the spot that day. Bit less carefree about running it out on hard friction.
Your lead...ha ha.
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ec
climber
ca
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No. Refer to Tami, the cheese grater only applies to O/W.
I've run out long & taken long slab falls. Ain't no big deal, unless there's somethin' to hit (i.e., chickenheads) or swing into (a corner).
Focus, Grasshopper, focus...snatch the hacky from my hand...
 ec
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froodish
Social climber
Portland, Oregon
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Often slab falls are slow and undramatic. Sometimes, if you keep your balance, you'll even stop before the rope catches you. I think the main thing you want to avoid is tumbling. There have been some bad accidents where the climber's feet have caught on either the rope or a feature on the rock and flipped them backwards resulting in a whack to the back of the head. Stay aware of where the rope runs and any features below you.
The "turn and run method" can work well for really low angle falls, esp. if you're to one side or another of your last piece of protection. Otherwise, the general rule is to "cat" it out when you start to fall. Keep your arms and legs wide and your weight centered.
As for the cheese grater effect, it's real but the grit of the rock is a big determining factor. Smooth granite like at Suicide usually isn't too bad. I've taken plenty of sliders there with no bad effect.
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ME Climb
Trad climber
Behind the Orange Curtain
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Call me weird but I love slab climbing. I am old, fat and have never been able to pull hard. So slab climbing is my strong suit. I enjoy the concentration it takes to find the tiny imperfections in the rock and trust your feet. Standing on things where you have no idea how you are sticking.
My very first lead fall was a 15 footer on a 5.6 slab. Seemed like I just kept sliding and sliding. The thing I remember is how hot my hands got.
Eric
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ec
climber
ca
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You guys that tear of the tips of your fingers or get hot hands.
Let the f*ck go if it's inevitable that you cannot stop the momentum.
ec
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YoungGun
Trad climber
Ottawa, ON
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Topic Author's Reply - Sep 2, 2011 - 02:16pm PT
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No. Refer to Tami, the cheese grater only applies to O/W.
I thought with O/W the biggest risk was getting my knee stuck and shitting my pants.
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ME Climb
Trad climber
Behind the Orange Curtain
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EC- I learned that lesson rather quickly but all be it to late.
Locker definately has the best advice!
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ydpl8s
Trad climber
Santa Monica, California
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Most slab falls I've seen and been a part of kind of resembled a way over inebriated drunk falling down a steep San Francisco sidewalk. Slow motion, stops and starts, lots of rash that looks more impressive the next scabby day.
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Nate D
climber
San Francisco
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You just can't approach slab climbing with the sport climbing "must fall to progress" mentality.
Work up the grades. Don't plan on falling, but try to be aware of your trajectory and what you might hit. :)
Many of us have seen 5.10-11 sport climbers wig out on 5.8 slab. Completely different animal, as you already know.
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jaaan
Trad climber
Chamonix, France
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I saw these two guys climbing Hair Raiser Buttress just after we'd done it on October 9th 2007... except, they weren't - they'd got onto another route to the left. Realising his mistake, the leader unclipped the bolt he was next to and traversed right towards HRB. This was harder than he thought it'd be and he fell, catching his foot in a hueco before the rope caught him, and flicked him upside down. Bust his ankle. We helped him to his car and he and his partner drove off to Mammouth (where he worked in a climbing store) to get patched up. Hey, if you're reading this, I hope the ankle's mended well. I'm more afraid of this happening than going for a slide...
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Inner City
Trad climber
East Bay
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a couple weeks in Tuolumne can definitely answer this question...good rubber is a key...C4 works well...the steeper the slab, the less the grate
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mongrel
Trad climber
Truckee, CA
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I'm afraid I strongly disagree with the previous post: the less steep the slab, the smoother it has to be in order to be hard enough for you to fall. Steeper face climb (not truly slabs) has features, and if you fall, somewhere along the way down, you're going to hit these and be grated or fully flayed. Yes, the cheese grater is real, but not on true slabs that are difficult. Even in Tuolumne, the knobby face climbs you can get pretty grated on; but the Orange, now that's slab climbing.
Running downward only works for short falls. The big wings, you slide on your hands and shoes or turn around quickly and butt-slide. Over 40+ years, I've had about four short slab falls and two that deserved frequent flier miles (60-70 ft). The first of those (Glacier Pt. Apron) I did not even get the slightest abrasion on my palms, instead one biggish blister. Just like glass. The second (11b R/X at Calaveras Dome - not sure which of the routes on that face that gets the same rating, as we had no topo or info at the time). That one, I quick jumped around and butt-slid the whole way with zero ill effects of any kind.
Cragman nails it: get really good at footwork (and I would add, at calculated downclimbing to a decent edge to reassess), then get better at it, finally go for it. Ideally, never, ever fall until you get to upper grades, or you are probably pushing your leading level further than you ought to and this does not really help in slab climbing. Steep climbing, you can perfect movements by trying and falling (on toprope or slack toprope [also known as "sport climbing"]), but slabs and to a large extent cracks you get better by climbing within your no-falls ability for long continuous stretches.
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Blitzo
Social climber
Earth
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Whatever!
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ec
climber
ca
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Tami,
I was just remembering artwork of the cheese grater O/W...
ec
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nevahpopsoff
Boulder climber
the woods
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also old and fat, love to climb slab. footwork is essential, also you must believe. best to keep moving, at least between good stances.
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Ihateplastic
Trad climber
It ain't El Cap, Oregon
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It's weird, back in the day of EBs and even Fire's if you started to slide you could count on your shoes sliding with you at a controlled speed. With modern shoes you slide and the shoes stick causing you to overcompensate and actually tip backward into a worse fall.
At least that's how it works for me...
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Chinchen
climber
Way out there....
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Did a bit of slab climbing today at Pine Creek. The John Fisher Memorial Route, 5.10c-ish....lots of well protected slab moves mixed with tips laybacks, roofs and everything in between. Classic!
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Decko
Trad climber
Colorado
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Ah Slab climbing..........
Nothing gets you more focused than climbing up nothing......
Years back, (you know your getting old when you say that) Twas down in the mighty mighty South Platte.....
We'd just finished climbing Topographical Oceans a 10b or so slab climb....there was a gentleman at the base with his rope, and partner, but they were at the wrong area where you start....
It was a warm day, actually had turned hot, we were tired and real thirsty as we'd only brought a little water......
This guy had peeled off from too high........slid down the face at a high rate of speed, and he turned over his hands to show them to us......
Everywhere there was skin on his palms was a big ole blister caused from the friction of his slide down the face.......
They were done climbing for the day, and seeing how they were packing up we thought heck why not help them with their weight in their packs...
So we said, "Um do you have any extra water you could spare "......
True story......
Only run out ice climbing compares to slab climbing......
TRUST YOUR FEET TO STICK TO TEETH SIZED HOLDS.....
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August West
Trad climber
Where the wind blows strange
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I'm not very fond of the turn of the run approach. If it works, great. When it doesn't work well, it can be even worse.
I wear knee pads (under loose, long pants) and try to stay balanced and keep my weight between the balls/toes of my feet and my knees.
I also wear long sleeves and have slid on my forearms to save my finger tips. More than once I have thought that it would be a good idea to wear thick leather cuffs on the wrists (to provide something to slide on), but never followed through with that.
Focusing on climbing is a good idea. However, I also think it is a good idea to already know what you want to do before you fall (turn and run, turn and slide, "cat" slide, etc.) and to always know how the rope is running and whether there is terrain that can flip you.
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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Ah....just back from two days of multi- pitch in the Black and not a single move of slab climbing.
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sac
Trad climber
Sun Coast B.C.
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Yeah, was on this route the other day,"Gone Postal" @ Khartoum.
A few pitches up from the photo, my buddy takes a few "spills". Tried to arrest his fall. first lead falls on gear.
I notice @ the belay, the hole, in the ass of his swank NF "climbing" pants.
Not a rip... a hole ,silver dollar size hole, then I see a hole in his "ginch"
... then I see skin... then I see blood... yep.
Anyway, good times!!
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| Messages 1 - 35 of total 35 in this topic |
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