GoPro Climber Would Do Anything For Facebook Likes
This article originally appeared on Climbing
First Unbelievable Story
At a local crag, a guy set up a toprope, prepared to rap off of the anchors with his tube-style device, and then decided it would be cool to add 25 feet of slack into the system and jump off. His anchor was a single carabiner attached to webbing. But he had a GoPro on his head, so he must’ve known what he was doing. Right! -David McGee via Facebook
LESSON: While we’re sure that epic GoPro video would generate a ton of Facebook likes, we wouldn’t recommend this to anyone. Rope jumping has seen popularity with daredevils in the Southwest and teenagers in Russia, but both groups face a high mortality rate. Bungee jumping is done with a large, elastic cord designed to catch massive falls. It stretches significantly more than a climbing rope. While a climbing rope can certainly handle a 25-foot fall (more when accounting for rope stretch), it won’t be as comfortable or as safe of a plunge. That’s assuming everything goes well and you don’t crash into a ledge or the wall. Furthermore, big falls reduce the life of your rope. And if you are going to huck yourself off a cliff, at least pretend like you’re doing it safely by using opposite and opposed biners in your anchor.
Second Unbelievable Story
A guy waited until he was at the third bolt to teach his girlfriend how to belay. He called “take.” She proceeded to give slack, pulling the climber-side of the rope with both hands. She would’ve pulled out enough rope for him to deck if her Grigri hadn’t locked up. The climber saw this and yelled, “No, pull the other side of the rope!” Then he rested and continued climbing like nothing happened.-Kerry Mcwilliams via Facebook
LESSON: Climbing with an inexperienced belayer can be as dangerous as free soloing, or moreso. At least when you’re free soloing, you’ve accepted the fact that nothing is going to catch you. Always make sure your belayer has a firm grasp of the concepts before starting up the wall. If you’re teaching someone new to the sport, it’s good to start in a controlled environment, like the gym. For added safety, employ a backup belayer until both you and your belayer are confident he knows what he’s doing.
Want more? Check out these stories of near misses.
What's Wrong With This Anchor?
This Guide Could Have Killed Them Both
Thought Home Depot Rope Was Fine For Climbing
Leader Decks When Experienced Climber Bungles the Belay
Saw Through Someone Else's Rope
Belayed With Hands Only--No Device!
Smoke Brick Weed and Go Climbing
Belay With a Knife In Your Hand
Don't Let a Clueless Dad Take a Kid Climbing
She Got Frustrated and Untied--On Lead
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