I was climbing at the smokes bluffs in Squamish a few weekends ago. It was actually a fairly nice day for climbing since the annual Test of Metal bike race kept most climbers at bay from the crag we were at. However, as the afternoon got sunnier and the race wore down, more and more climbers started to show up and reinforced my reasoning for why I do not like climbing at the smokes bluffs more.
Michele was on a route called Flying Circus, a route for which someone had already had a fatal accident on this year. We were on a top rope so, there was little risk of having that occur again. However, while she was climbing on her first 5.10a ever, other climbers started throwing rappel ropes down from the top to set up climbs. It was a clusterfuck of stupidity.
There was one group who were leading and didn't even know how to place protection or set up the anchor at the top, another group that couldn't throw their rope off the top without getting it tangled half way down, and the straw on the camels back was a woman who threw her rope on my head while I was belaying Michele. The dangerous thing was not the fact that I had to maintain my concentration while having 5lbs of rope land on my head from 50ft up, but was the fact that the rope was now tangled in my belay. Thankfully, the woman next to me helped pull the rope off me for which I am eternally grateful. The climber who threw the rope in such an uncaring and dangerous manner, then rappelled down and proceeded to give a safety speech to a couple far more advanced than she was. "I wouldn't reccommend setting up a top rope on that route, there's be too much rope drag". Listening to this, and knowing that the route was perfectly fine to top rope on, I thought to myself that this woman didn't know what the hell she was talking about!
After returning from this day of climbing which, with the exception of the above, was actually a great day out. I started thinking about the fatality on Flying Circus earlier that month and my experience during my experience that day. Safety is always a huge concern in our sport of climbing. It is a claculated and risk balancing skill to be able to judge the safety of a situation and work with the tools we have. I thought to myself, why do we have accidents which cause fatalities and injuries and how can I make myself a better and safer climber from the mistakes of others.
I set out to do some research and noted a ton of accidents and some fatalities all in the popular Smokes Bluffs area. I was shocked as it was so early in the season. People taking 30ft falls, inverting, not wearing helmets, rappelling off the end of their rope because it wasn't centered properly and the list goes on. What surprised me more was the fact that the majority of these accidents were either newcomers to the sport or people who, although strong climbers, lacked the technical knowledge to be undertaking the climbs for which they took their perilous final falls.
As sad as it was, it made me realize that many of the accidents happened as a result of a lack in judgement or common sense. One fall, struck me particularly as a young man took a practice leader fall on a piece of gear without a helmet. His first piece of protection failed, he flipped inverted, hit his head and passed away shortly after. I don't know if a helmet could have saved his life. Maybe not, but I thought about how his fun and passion for the sport was quickly ended by taking a practice fall without any form of redundancies.
Redundancies are the hallmark of climbing. Put two pieces of protection in at the crux, not one. Bring an extral bail rope for long climbs, use three contact points for gear anchors so if one fails, you still have two points of contact. These are all things that one learns through experience of being with guides, teachers, and other experienced climbers. Everyone likes to believe that they have the pre-requisite experience to do a climb. Its a touchy thing to be criticized at a crag by people you don't know. This is all part of the learning process though. Some responses I've heard at crags range from "don't worry we know what we're doing" to simply "Fuck off mate!". I find it strange that people don't realize that we're all just looking out for one another. This awkwardness is further compounded when someone starts making safety reccommendations to you after they had just gone and chucked a rope on your head. Not only was this arrogant and rude but it also showed how little common sense this climber had.
Common sense is something that just can't be taught. Which is ashame, because if it could be, I could be a very rich man! It boggles my mind how some climbers have a complete lack of understanding of what is going on in their current environment. Is the route wet? Do I have the right gear? Is it windy? How many people are below me? Who is leading a route here? If the leader falls, will they hit me? Where am I standing?
Some of these questions seem odd and straighforward, especially the question about "where am I standing", however it is likely one of most important questions to understand while climbing. Are you on a cliff, a ledge, by a tree etc.. If I am belaying, will a fall from the climber pull me off of my safe perch or likewise if I drop some equipment, will it hit someone on the dead.
All of these observations can take place in a matter of seconds, and yet it is astounding as to the number of people who don't take the time to first assess where they are climbing and the risks that might be associated with that climbing location.
I may not have learned anything new from researching these accidents, however, it did make me far more accutely aware of my actions and choices and how they affect the people around me and furthermore, how the people around me can affect my level of risk that I am willing to take.
After having a rope chucked on my head, Michele and I packed it in for the day and went for a late lunch. The number of inexperienced people combined with the lack of judgement being exercised didn't make me feel comfortable and I didn't want to witness any accidents.
Lastly.....to everyone that reads this article. Don't be a statistic, wear a helmet when you're climbing!
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
And the guide book says......"a bit bold for the grade"
After having been climbing outside for a while, I had begun to get a little strength and technique back. Sending routes up to 5.10a, I figured that I might as well try the next grade up and give a 5.10b a shot.
"It can't be that much more difficult", I think to myself as I read in the guide book that the crack is a nice climb. I read over the description quickly, eager to get climbing. I gear up and start to send. The routes name....S&M's delight. I would soon understand why.
The start of the climb was bouldery. Since I'm only 5'5'', the first finger lock was just out of reach. I stemmed the first section, finding myself about 12 feet off the ground and already tired. Only another 30ft to go!
The second section brings the crux move. The wall curved away from me and in doing so, the tension on my feet is released. I have no pressure on my legs, leaving the majority of my body weight on my fingers which are gingerly locked into this small crack. I can feel the rock cutting at my hands as my feet flail and thrutch in an attempt to gain a small hold and help move myself up.
Finally, I am just able to jam my big toe into the crack and pull myself up a little higher. A small voice echoes from below "Good job! Keep it up......you got it!" as my belayer cheers me on. Its that same conundrum where you have someone complimenting you on how strong you looked up on that climb when in reality, they couldn't see your arms and legs convulsing and failing under the stress of the climb.
I reach my arm up as high as I can, noting blood on my fingers but I can't take much notice of it right now. BOOM! My hand lands in a bomber hold. I pull a chin up and reach my left arm into a small cleft in the rock. Happily, I am above the most difficult part of the climb.
A small ramp of easy climbing led me to the final section of the climb which would only be a few very straightforward moves if it weren't for my bruised hands. Each time, I placed my hands into the crack I winced slightly as sweat poured off my face and my bruised hands contorted in the bony crack to stop myself from falling out. Finally I hit the chains, yell for tension and get lowered down. Another tick in the bag.
I think to myself though "holy shit, if that's a 510b, I'm gonna suffer on a 5.10c". Then I get to reading further in the guidebook description. Little did I realize when I started that this route was well known to be a "bit bold for the grade". Still, this only added to the satisfaction of having climbed the route. My hands, battered and based, look the worse for wear. So what's the moral of the story.....Take guidebook ratings with a grain of salt. If spider man put up all the routes in squamish, they would all be rated 5.5. In any case its not about the grade. It was an amazing climb in an awesome finger crack. However, I think the name is quite fitting and I firmly believe that you'd need to enjoy S&M to get the full delight out of this route.
"It can't be that much more difficult", I think to myself as I read in the guide book that the crack is a nice climb. I read over the description quickly, eager to get climbing. I gear up and start to send. The routes name....S&M's delight. I would soon understand why.
The start of the climb was bouldery. Since I'm only 5'5'', the first finger lock was just out of reach. I stemmed the first section, finding myself about 12 feet off the ground and already tired. Only another 30ft to go!
The second section brings the crux move. The wall curved away from me and in doing so, the tension on my feet is released. I have no pressure on my legs, leaving the majority of my body weight on my fingers which are gingerly locked into this small crack. I can feel the rock cutting at my hands as my feet flail and thrutch in an attempt to gain a small hold and help move myself up.
Finally, I am just able to jam my big toe into the crack and pull myself up a little higher. A small voice echoes from below "Good job! Keep it up......you got it!" as my belayer cheers me on. Its that same conundrum where you have someone complimenting you on how strong you looked up on that climb when in reality, they couldn't see your arms and legs convulsing and failing under the stress of the climb.
I reach my arm up as high as I can, noting blood on my fingers but I can't take much notice of it right now. BOOM! My hand lands in a bomber hold. I pull a chin up and reach my left arm into a small cleft in the rock. Happily, I am above the most difficult part of the climb.
A small ramp of easy climbing led me to the final section of the climb which would only be a few very straightforward moves if it weren't for my bruised hands. Each time, I placed my hands into the crack I winced slightly as sweat poured off my face and my bruised hands contorted in the bony crack to stop myself from falling out. Finally I hit the chains, yell for tension and get lowered down. Another tick in the bag.
I think to myself though "holy shit, if that's a 510b, I'm gonna suffer on a 5.10c". Then I get to reading further in the guidebook description. Little did I realize when I started that this route was well known to be a "bit bold for the grade". Still, this only added to the satisfaction of having climbed the route. My hands, battered and based, look the worse for wear. So what's the moral of the story.....Take guidebook ratings with a grain of salt. If spider man put up all the routes in squamish, they would all be rated 5.5. In any case its not about the grade. It was an amazing climb in an awesome finger crack. However, I think the name is quite fitting and I firmly believe that you'd need to enjoy S&M to get the full delight out of this route.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Rockclimbing: An introduction/re-introduction
An introduction to rockclimbing:
Well in my humble opinion, rock climbing is the coolest sport in the world. Not only for its hair raising stunts that you sometimes have to pull to make an ascent but also for the commeradary, the time spent outside and the fact that its all about problem solving. Unlike running or cycling (sports for which I also enjoy), climbing involves more mental stamina than any other sport I've ever encountered. Long story short......it is one massive mind game.
I started climbing as a kid not for the reasons mentioned above but for the simple fact that my mom made me take rock climbing lessons after she found me dangling 50ft up a tree in my
backyard when I was 7yrs old. I don't think she knew it would become a lifelong obsession of mine from then on in. In fact, I think I can attribute the cause of a number of grey hairs on my parents heads to my very "interest" and hair raising adventures as a teenager.
In the past 20yrs, I have taught many people to climb and it has taken me to some very beautiful places in BC. I spent much of my time in high school and university mountaineering in the coast mountains. When I was in grade 11, I reached my peak when I climbed a route in Squamish called Hot Cherry Bendover. This route was graded as a 5.13a at the time. The route has since disappeared and so has my ability. You see when I was in grade 11, I was 130lbs and was only about 6% body fat. I have now been articling at large accounting firm in Vancouver for the last two years and until January 2008, I hadn't been climbing for about 3 years and haven't seriously climbed for about the last 8 years.
On to a re-introduction to climbing:
I found myself this last Christmas about 20lbs overweight and spending so much time in the office that I had put on 4 inches around my waist in the previous 6 months. It is for this reason that I cant climb a 5.13 anymore......and I don't have any plans on trying any time soon.
Well in my humble opinion, rock climbing is the coolest sport in the world. Not only for its hair raising stunts that you sometimes have to pull to make an ascent but also for the commeradary, the time spent outside and the fact that its all about problem solving. Unlike running or cycling (sports for which I also enjoy), climbing involves more mental stamina than any other sport I've ever encountered. Long story short......it is one massive mind game.
I started climbing as a kid not for the reasons mentioned above but for the simple fact that my mom made me take rock climbing lessons after she found me dangling 50ft up a tree in my
backyard when I was 7yrs old. I don't think she knew it would become a lifelong obsession of mine from then on in. In fact, I think I can attribute the cause of a number of grey hairs on my parents heads to my very "interest" and hair raising adventures as a teenager.In the past 20yrs, I have taught many people to climb and it has taken me to some very beautiful places in BC. I spent much of my time in high school and university mountaineering in the coast mountains. When I was in grade 11, I reached my peak when I climbed a route in Squamish called Hot Cherry Bendover. This route was graded as a 5.13a at the time. The route has since disappeared and so has my ability. You see when I was in grade 11, I was 130lbs and was only about 6% body fat. I have now been articling at large accounting firm in Vancouver for the last two years and until January 2008, I hadn't been climbing for about 3 years and haven't seriously climbed for about the last 8 years.
On to a re-introduction to climbing:
I found myself this last Christmas about 20lbs overweight and spending so much time in the office that I had put on 4 inches around my waist in the previous 6 months. It is for this reason that I cant climb a 5.13 anymore......and I don't have any plans on trying any time soon.
- Still, January rolled around and I decided that my Christmas present to myself was going to be an annual pass to my local climbing gym. This was also part of my token new years resolution to get fit again and included in my newly resolved passions was my fiance.
Now she had been climbing once before and the minute I found out that she knew how to belay, I dragged her down to the gym to get her belay test. So my checklist was shaping up fairly well for coming back to the sport after so many years. - -Belay Betty......Check
-Unlimited climbing even during rainy days.......got it
-Buying my fiance new climbing gear........oh crap
Well, a few hundred dollars later, both me and my better half were set for gym climbing and I had gotten rid of my awesome first generation Arc-Tyrex pink climbing harness (look closely at the pictures. It's hard to pull off awesome moves when everyone is focused on your hot pink harness). The only thing left now was to get strong for the summer climbing season and save our money for enough gear to be able to get out and climb as much as we can.
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