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Sierra Ledge Rat
Mountain climber
Old and Broken Down in Appalachia
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Topic Author's Original Post - Jul 1, 2014 - 01:12pm PT
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I was thinking of the thread Ground-Up
Who has taken a grounder?
I was free-soloing on Mt Evans in Colorado, and I had climbed a tricky section (5.7?) of face climbing that I did not think that I could down-climb. But I had to back off about 100 feet from the top due to verglass.
I was almost back down when I took a grounder, busted my ankle. I wrapped my rain jacket around my knee for a pad and crawled back to my car.
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wilbeer
Mountain climber
Terence Wilson greeneck alleghenys,ny,
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So.....You are not really ok yet? Are you SLR?.........LOL...
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tradmanclimbs
Ice climber
Pomfert VT
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Working on an FA had gear rip and I touched down with rope stretch. I somehow got sideways mid fall and my hip just barely touched the ledgeand i bounced up like a bunge jump. had i hit feet first might have broke something? Worst thing was I had to think about going back up and hand drilling a bolt from a hook in the same spot that i had just decked from for a whole week... talk about iceing the driller:)
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apogee
climber
Technically expert, safe belayer, can lead if easy
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Took a relatively short ground fall early on in my leading days at Suicide, on Cat's Meow...thin pro at the start, sketched off and grabbed the draw, popping the piece. Hit the ground and rolled backward onto an unhelmeted head. Nothing more than a bruised head & ego....shook it off, and sent it a little bit later (humbled).
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Jon Beck
Trad climber
Oceanside
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no discussion of awful grounders would be complete without Bill Buckner's in the 1986 World Series. He went on to commit suicide, they say due in large part to that grounder.
[Click to View YouTube Video]
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snarky
climber
ventuna
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Suicide? News to him...
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labrat
Trad climber
Auburn, CA
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As hinted above. Bill Buckner's alive and well.
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Jon Beck
Trad climber
Oceanside
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Suicide? News to him...
you are correct, news of his demise is premature, I really need to fact check my stories!
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coolrockclimberguy69
climber
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His err was more a statement on the futile stupidity of obsessive sports fans more than anything.
edit: I've never decked on a route, only bouldering :)
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RyanD
climber
Squamish
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I took one warming up on a route I've done 20 times & never fallen on. There was a fixed pin at the downward facing flake at the crux which was strangely absent that day. I placed a few pieces and boggled the sequence, starting to get flash pumped I decided to jump. Next thing I knew I was laying 30' on the ledge under the route in the only patch of snow around. When the piton got removed the flake became expanding, I think the same thing happened to someone else shortly after with a potentially worse outcome because the whole flake is now missing from the wall.
I was so startled I climbed back up & cleaned my gear & down climbed back to the ground, went and top roped some stuff. Super lucky.
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ß Î Ø T Ç H
Boulder climber
extraordinaire
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Every fall in bouldering results in a ground fall. (written before the advent of crashpads)
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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Quin the Konehead took a legendary 1500 footer off Monte Cristo Pk (IIRCC)
in the Cascades and walked away. The Quin Konehead Pre-Memorial Route,
aka The Kone, on Three O'Clock Rock in Darrington was named in his honor.
Happily, he proved us all wrong and his demise was pre-maturely expected,
if not immaturely, due to the fact that he quit climbing.
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Magic Ed
Trad climber
Nuevo Leon, Mexico
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I took a thirty-footer once and the rope caught me but with the rope stretch I landed standing on the ground. Everything would have been OK except I wasn't wearing a harness and the rope tied around my waist bruised my ribs pretty good.
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bluering
Trad climber
Santa Clara, CA
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I cratered twice being lowered-off on 2 separate occassions, both were Noobs that were apparently awesome in the gym but couldn't execute in the field. Both were about 25', one being much more crazy than the other. Basically just taking the hands off the rope by the belay. No scratches on me, thank God.
3rd time, after leading a route and trailing a line, I rigged my route for a TR and set up another route nearby with the other line. I lowered off with the wrong line tied in and fell backwards immediately when weighting the line. Fell about 15 feet, spun around back and rolled sideways along the face. The only reason I stopped from decking was the rope kinked when it ran through the anchor. The landing would have totally sucked (death). And yeah, I thanked God for that one.
Just this last weekend apparently someone hadn't learned from past idiocy. I was trailing a rope on lead, again. I untie my tie-in and feed the rope through the anchor and throw it down. I walk over and set up the other TR anchor, grab my second rope and clip it to the master point. Then, again, I call to be lowered without CHECKING MY SH#T!!!
Half way down I notice my harness is pulling to one side and I look over. I'M LOWERING OFF A FUKING GEAR-LOOP that was trailing the second line!!!
I grabbed the main line on the rest of the ride down, taking pressure off the gear loop.
I DO INDEED count my blessings.
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ECF
Big Wall climber
So Far East I might as well be dead
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Trying out my new ice tools, I took a 30 footer out of my neighbor's giant pine tree.
I hobbled home with a badly sprained ankle, but the expensive looking topiary bush I landed on, did not survive.
As I joked at the time, "Thank Yew!"
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phylp
Trad climber
Millbrae, CA
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I've taken two, both on sport climbs.
The first one when a hold popped from my right hand as I was reaching for a hold with my left handbefore I reached the first bolt. When you're on a steeper than vertical route and you have no hands, you're excellent footwork doesn't do anything to keep you on the rock!
The second when I fell on a cruxy section before the first clip.
Both resulted in significant injuries. I bought a stick clip after the second one and I use it regularly now.
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jgill
Boulder climber
Colorado
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I don't know how many times I jumped off boulders fifty years ago - many, many years before crashpads. My back will testify.
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bluering
Trad climber
Santa Clara, CA
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I took a thirty-footer once and the rope caught me but with the rope stretch I landed standing on the ground. Everything would have been OK except I wasn't wearing a harness and the rope tied around my waist bruised my ribs pretty good.
I think that's good for +5 Badassery pts. Total old-school too. Maybe another +5 Old School pts.
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limpingcrab
Trad climber
the middle of CA
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Never taken one but I was belaying someone this spring when he fell and the rope never went tight. His gear ripped and he landed on the ledge, maybe 15 ft below him but covered in boulders.
Couple friends and I got up there, lowered him and gave him a 35 minute piggy back ride back to the car and took him to the hospital for a messed up ankle.
Nothing yet, knock on wood!
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Anxious Melancholy
Mountain climber
Between the Depths of Despair & Heights of Folly
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Uhm, first time I was 14, ('71). I did have an "allowance" from my parents and was doing odd jobs for Grama and neighbors, but I could only buy ( and sneak) a hemp rope from the hardware store, order a couple of soft iron pins from REI and fabricated some chocks from hardware nuts and hacksawed scrap conduit.
Buddy and I were doing a short 2 pitch route and I was testing out "hanging belay" dynamics. He lead off on the second pitch and not only was I uncomfortable hanging from my single wrap swami, but the single pin I was tied into was flexing. Figured being clipped to the eye with half the pin blade exposed was the problem. So while still trying to belay my leading buddy I set one of the aforementioned conduit chocks, uncliped from the flexing pin, clipped the chock's sling, and began weighting it.
Next thing I knew I was flat on my back looking at a weird blue sky with circling stars.
Lucky it was a short climb, my buddy was clinging to the top, and in my innocent surprise I let the hip-belayed rope just slide through my hands ..,,
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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I just remembered a traumatic one. My house had a brick wall in the bedroom - pretty damn
convenient for a sexy soirée, n'est ce pas? Well, this particular evening I was only entertaining
myself, so to speak. I had my feet up by my hands, preparing for the big dyno, when the hold
both my hands were on broke. I had not cleared the LZ and my tush came down the 3 feet
onto an empty vase about 5" in diameter. Yeah, that hurt bad and I think my sciatica dates
from that lonely night.
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Mungeclimber
Trad climber
Nothing creative to say
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jeesh Reilly, getting it on with a vase is kinda 1970, don't ya think?
YOUCH!
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thebravecowboy
climber
in the face of the fury of the funk
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F*#k sportclimbing.
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Don Paul
Big Wall climber
Aurora Colorado
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I was just hiking up there on Mt Evans around the Chicago Lakes, think this is one of the boulder fields. That's definitely a long way back if you're injured.
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Gunkie
Trad climber
East Coast US
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Fell flat on my back from 10 feet when climbing a tree in my back yard when I was ~10 years old.
I was using a dog chain and a ground anchor to climb like 'real climbers.' I threw the big corkscrew with the chain attached into some tree limbs, then 'batmanned' up the chain until I could establish myself for the next throw and climb section. I was amazed that it worked on the first pitch. So, of course, I had to do it again from my perch in the notch of a big apple tree. After a couple of tries, and getting knocked in the head on one throw, the big corkscrew stuck in something.
I gave it the good old bounce test before all of you hard core aid climbers even knew what that was. It didn't pop out, so I swung out onto the chain, took one big reach of chain.... and I was weightless. Then I couldn't breath at all, I couldn't talk or yell, and I laying on the ground on top of some big ass apple tree roots that don't break falls too well.
I recovered without medical intervention. But I do remember not being able to throw a baseball in little league for a while after that incident. And that's when I began playing 1st base. And continued playing 1st base, mostly, through HS ball.
...Oh I have another one. This has to do with trying to get an umbrella off a roof.
Gotta work now.
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Gary
Social climber
Desolation Basin, Calif.
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no discussion of awful grounders would be complete without Bill Buckner's in the 1986 World Series. He went on to commit suicide, they say due in large part to that grounder.
What is true is that he did attempt suicide. A few years after that series he stepped in front of a bus....
but it went between his legs.
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johntp
Trad climber
socal
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Caught a grounding climber in my arms once. Pro ripped from about 20' up. Not a fun time.
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ydpl8s
Trad climber
Santa Monica, California
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I'm going to have to take the walk of shame for this one.
I was leading the 3rd pitch of Wind Ridge with a 1st time climber in tow. As I moved up off of the butt rest flake, at the start of the 3rd pitch, to grab the bucket above (5.7), said bucket was full of wasps! I am allergic and so I started slapping wildly and popped right off and somehow rotated and landed on the belay ledge next to my frightened partner, my left bun hitting a rock (leaving huge bruise) and my right bun on top of my foot/ankle. We then proceeded to traverse left into the talus filled gully and made the painful decent through the talus with my sprained ankle (swollen up like a balloon) and quickly stiffening gluteus maximus.
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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Caught a grounding climber in my arms once.
I also highly recommend that, especially if you, the belayer, do not have
an anchor. It really ups your incentive for sticking the tackle.
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snowhazed
Trad climber
Oaksterdam, CA
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Stuck the landing on a 12 foot fall before first clip in 2011, somehow managed to land in between small sharp rocks and just get a bruised heel. So psyched it didnt ruin the rest of my CO trip.
Got rope stretched onto the flake under Do or Fly while on TR way back in the day.....
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johntp
Trad climber
socal
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I also highly recommend that, especially if you, the belayer, do not have an anchor. It really ups your incentive for sticking the tackle.
ha ha! We were at the base of some thin climb right of the Pirate. He peeled, pro ripped, I caught. Good times. Well, maybe not so much...
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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What I tried to infer was that if I didn't nail him it would have gotten
a lot uglier for both of us as the ledge was only 4' wide. ;-)
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dagibbs
Trad climber
Ottawa, Ontario
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I've taken a couple as a kid -- tree limb breaking under me from 10-12 feet up one time. Another time, jumped off a garage roof into what I thought was a pile of soft now -- wasn't so soft -- knees came up under my chin, and I put two holes through my tongue with my teeth. Oops.
As a climber, though, only one (so far), and it was fairly short. Trad route with a hard start into easier climbing, popped off unexpectedly about 5 feet up and landed flat on my back on flat rock. Winded me, but no real damage. After recovering my breath, went back after it, putting in a piece to protect that bit of climbing.
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thebravecowboy
climber
The Good Places
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May 22, 2017 - 10:27pm PT
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yeah those trees. a white pine. two. thirty feet up and eight years old. leapt between them, I did, and the boughs and the pine duffs, they were soft. I landed right.
I landed. right. more than that.
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NutAgain!
Trad climber
South Pasadena, CA
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May 22, 2017 - 10:49pm PT
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thebravecowboy
climber
The Good Places
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May 22, 2017 - 10:53pm PT
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I hear you on the ropestretch+/-excellent belayer thing. it helped, the thick buttfats, on my day of biggest bedrock bedevilry. and the indomitable DP, he helped too, like a lot. I like Dave. He done good.
serendipity. we're glad to have you with us, NA.
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NutAgain!
Trad climber
South Pasadena, CA
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May 22, 2017 - 11:01pm PT
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I mostly can mention it in a detached way now, but every once in a while its good to let it sink in that every breath is a gift, and I really shouldn't get bent out of shape (ha, no pun intended) by anything! Fvck yeah life is good (sorry children, if you are reading this you have probably seen worse). And on that note I'm going to step away from the computer and broil some salmon with smoked paprika, coriander, pepper, dash of allspice, soy sauce, and sesame oil.
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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May 23, 2017 - 08:43am PT
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Smoked paprika....you have my interest, how do you smoke it?
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Cragar
climber
MSLA - MT
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May 23, 2017 - 09:15am PT
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On one of my FAs at Burst Rock, North side...
Just finished bolting a little knobby 11- route and was going for the first lead. I got to the second bolt, pulled up the rope and popped off the micro knobs I was standing on. I landed completely on my side in the talus. I got away with a little bruising. The rocks were perfectly 'arranged' and I didn't hit my head or any joints; ok, maybe a couple ;^)...hehe. We called it Talus Food when I think it got another name in the guide. It is 150yds to the left of Mouse Trap, or what we called Feminine protection..
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originalpmac
Mountain climber
Anywhere I like
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May 23, 2017 - 11:48am PT
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Can anybody elaborate on the Quin the Conehead fall? I feel like I saw his helmet in a ranger office in the Cascades once
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Ksolem
Trad climber
Monrovia, California
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May 23, 2017 - 12:41pm PT
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The only grounders I recall have been bouldering, riding a bike, or negotiating the terrain around a campfire.
There's a boulder problem you pass just before you get to Gunsmoke in Josh. At one point in time I had it ruthlessly wired. I was sitting on my "flying carpet" at the base, having just done it, when an attractive young lass came along and flashed me an engaging smile. "Can you do this one?"
"Yeah, most of the time."
Right then a guy with a video camera walked up. He asked me if I was going to do it, and if so could he film it. It was a perfect storm. My plan until then was to give the lass some coaching, maybe even some quality spotting. But conditions were perfect, and I was feeling quite full of myself, so I put my shoes back on and climbed it. Carelessly, I stood up on top and turned around to look down at my admirers. The sh*t hit the fan as I lost my balance and fell off. I was pretty shaken up and my wrist looked bad but I could walk, so a friend bouldering nearby drove me to the hospital in Palm Springs. The result was 8 weeks or so in a cast up to my shoulder.
A few years later I was bouldering at Stoney Point. There were these two guys talking, and one of them says "You should see this video I have of some dude doing Streetcar. He topped out, stood up, lost his balance, and dove off." Hoping not to be recognized, I just walked away.
Thank God this was pre-cellphone video. The damn thing would have gone viral.
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NutAgain!
Trad climber
South Pasadena, CA
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May 23, 2017 - 01:00pm PT
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Smoked paprika....you have my interest, how do you smoke it?
Snort... Just roll it in a zigzag and light it up after taking a tablespoon of nutmeg ;)
Actually, there is a subtle taste difference in buying regular vs smoked paprika. I enjoy both and use them somewhat interchangeably, and it has become one of my most frequently used spices.
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wbw
Trad climber
'cross the great divide
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May 23, 2017 - 01:13pm PT
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I fell on Temporary Like Achilles in Eldo while reaching for the finishing jug in the rotten band at the end of the poorly protected crux - feet maybe ten feet off the deck when my foot slipped on the slippery diagonal edge that I had placed it on. It was a complete surprise, and I went rolling down the hill. When I stopped I looked through a cloud of dust at my partner's face which unambiguously expressed WTF! Also I had a couple of coils of rope wrapped around me from rolling down said hill.
I've led the pitch since, but always felt a bit like a gumbie for taking that groundfall. . until a few years later I watched Miles Smart back off of that section and hand the lead over to Timmy O'Neill.
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GDavis
Social climber
SOL CAL
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May 23, 2017 - 03:45pm PT
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Caught a friend falling on the crux of Left Ski Track, they popped two pieces but got slowed enough that they landed on both legs with the large triangle rock right between their legs inches from their as#@&%e. Pretty funny and we both had a good chuckle.
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cavemonkey
Ice climber
ak
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May 23, 2017 - 06:53pm PT
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Watched 3 consecutive parties deck on left ski track as I was racking up! Sure built up the suspense!!!
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justthemaid
climber
Jim Henson's Basement
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May 23, 2017 - 07:06pm PT
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Hearkening maybe back to the days when I was a wee-skippy- maybe 8 years old?
The game... take a running leap out of the second story loft opening of the the neighbor's barn and catch the rope (about 5 feet away) that they used to pull bales into the loft ... then lower yourself down.
Well, - I missed the rope of course.
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