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21-Jul-2008 1:25:44 PM
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Did anyone get to see the lead fall at Hard Rock on Thursday? There has been a lot of 2nd hand info but not actual accounts. hope she is ok as she had to be taken away by Ambo.
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21-Jul-2008 2:14:08 PM
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she received a multiple fracture at c1 or c2 vertebrate, but no spinal damage. she is one very lucky girl. it looks like she be alright after a long recovery.
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21-Jul-2008 3:09:39 PM
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how far was the fall?
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21-Jul-2008 3:16:09 PM
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she was the belayer, the lead climber fell as clipping the 3rd clip and fell onto to her head
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21-Jul-2008 3:20:47 PM
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Ah! A case of the awesome….the insidious….flying butt pliers.
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21-Jul-2008 4:01:27 PM
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On 21/07/2008 pharmamatt wrote:
>she was the belayer, the lead climber fell as clipping the 3rd clip and
>fell onto to her head
hmmm. Which climb was it? Thoughts are with the injured climber. The city gym is chockers at the moment. Safety issues will become more apparent I fear.
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22-Jul-2008 8:07:05 AM
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Was very quiet that night, I think the cold have scared the brumbys away. Last night was dead.
The fall was between the 3 & 4th climbing fall not while clipping. She is very lucky indeed, could have been much worse.
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22-Jul-2008 8:54:44 AM
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On 22/07/2008 OzA wrote:
>Was very quiet that night, I think the cold have scared the brumbys away.
>Last night was dead.
I'm never that lucky. I think my immense personal charisma creates a warmth that draws climbers in and creates a soft, mild climbing environment.
>The fall was between the 3 & 4th climbing fall not while clipping. She
>is very lucky indeed, could have been much worse.
yea. which climb?
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22-Jul-2008 9:21:19 AM
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On 21/07/2008 pharmamatt wrote:
>she was the belayer, the lead climber fell as clipping the 3rd clip and
>fell onto to her head
Wow, thats the first time ive heard of that happening. When you hear about injured climbers, you immediatly think of the climber falling, not the belayer being landed on.
Hope she makes a full & speedy recovery.
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22-Jul-2008 10:53:39 AM
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I also hope she makes a full recovery! In Hard Rocks defense I recall being checked off for my lead climbing card at their cbd gym. They were very clear that you MUST stand to one side(ie: not directly below the leader) when belaying until the climber is at least above the 5th/6th clip to avoid this particular hazard from occuring. Let all of us that are new to lead climbing learn from this! (It really is up to the individuals to ensure their is enough space around the bottom of the chosen route they wish to lead. If the gym is too crowded to allow for appropriate floor space stick to top roping... where less can go wrong!)
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22-Jul-2008 10:59:45 AM
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Might bring a stick clipper in get the first 3 out of the way :-)
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22-Jul-2008 1:26:50 PM
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Unless the belayer is tethered to the floor, a lead fall will pull them under the leader, especially if the
leader is heavier and has fallen some distance.
I don't remember if this gym has any floor anchors, or if they are set back away from the fall zone?
I was only really looking at the climbs on the one occasion I was in there.
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22-Jul-2008 3:00:24 PM
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vertical and less than vertical routes + crowded gym + low first clip = bad for positioning the belayer.
I hope those affected get well soon.
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22-Jul-2008 4:06:30 PM
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Hard Rock and I have a long-standing but minor disagreement about floor anchors.
Basically whenever I am climbing (indoor or outdoor) I anchor myself or my belayer to the deck. Most of the people I climb with also have this preference.
I could go on about the advantages, but essentially anything that helps my belayer stay stable and comfortable has got to be a good thing.
Unfortunately (1) HardRock don't cater very well for people using floor anchors, and (2) they don't allow people to use floor anchors when doing their lead certification.
One of the reasons I vote with my feet and choose to climb elsewhere.
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22-Jul-2008 4:24:30 PM
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On 22/07/2008 gfdonc wrote:
>Hard Rock and I have a long-standing but minor disagreement about floor
>anchors.
>
>Basically whenever I am climbing (indoor or outdoor) I anchor myself or
>my belayer to the deck. Most of the people I climb with also have this
>preference.
>
>I could go on about the advantages, but essentially anything that helps
>my belayer stay stable and comfortable has got to be a good thing.
>
>Unfortunately (1) HardRock don't cater very well for people using floor
>anchors, and (2) they don't allow people to use floor anchors when
>doing their lead certification.
>
>One of the reasons I vote with my feet and choose to climb elsewhere.
>
One of my regular climbing partners at hardrock is about 30kg lighter than me, she has been lifted about 2 meters off the ground with some of my bigger falls. I use the other end of the rope for her to tie into a ground anchor, the hard rock staff have no problem with this, it was actually their sugestion.
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23-Jul-2008 9:04:33 AM
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On 22/07/2008 gfdonc wrote:
>Hard Rock and I have a long-standing but minor disagreement about floor
>anchors.
as do I.
I'm comfortable and competent with the belay device being anywhere between my thigh and my ribs when belaying on top rope at gyms. Last night the tall scrubber with the curly brown hair jumped in to adjust my hands as I was lowering my climber to the ground.
It was tempting to just drop him on her head to make a point about timing but instead I told her to back off! rather sharply lest I drop him on her head to make a point. They seem to be a little overzealous there of late (since the fall perhaps). Perhaps they're trying to create a generation of five step belay nazis? They have the best intentions in mind but when your climbers are forking out $17 a pop at a crowded, mediocre gym it does not pay to tick off the punter for no good reason.
Anyway, thats my bitch for the day. :)
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23-Jul-2008 11:16:06 AM
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The thing is westie, they don't know you from a bar of soap, you could be a climber of 10 years or 10 minutes. Unless they know you personally they have all the rights to presume your a newbie and don't know how to lower safely.
Especially if your talking to staff like that, more reason for them to pick on your every slight wrong movement.
Vote with your feet if you are that unsatisfied. Take it up with the manager right there and then if it bothers you so much instead of coming online with the hope they read it.
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23-Jul-2008 12:15:49 PM
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Heheh... I was told once by a new staff member that both hands must be on the brake side of the rope.
What they lacked to notice was that my lead partner was still climbing half way up the wall and I was feeding out rope for them to clip in.
Hmm... may be management should train their staff instead of putting the blame on climbers stuffing up their walls and equipment.
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23-Jul-2008 1:01:24 PM
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>
Its called "Duty of Care". The gym inherits a level of responsibility when you a pay them money , come in and climb. This Duty of care you are owed includes your actions and inactions. You may think that you are belaying correctly but it is the gyms responsilbility to correct you if it isn't. If they don't correct you and an accident occurs they can be responsible to a greater degree. To put it simply if you are observed belaying differently than what you have been certified for and they don't correct it and an accident occurs then they are responsible to a greater degree.
>Hmm... may be management should train their staff instead of putting the
>blame on climbers stuffing up their walls and equipment.
This comment appears to indicate where the problem may lie. Its not my fault its the gyms.Why don't you just belay correctly. The five step method works (its not hard to do!) and if an accident occurs it would be difficult for anyone to say that your technique was to blame. Having done some expert witness stuff in the outdoors, I can tell you that they will micro analyse anything that you and or the gym did to contribute to an accident.
Indoor climbing or climbing that you pay for is about compromise. If you want the use of somebody elses climbing environment , supervision and protection of their insurance then you may well have to compromise and follow their guidelines. Or go somewhere else.
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23-Jul-2008 1:28:54 PM
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On 23/07/2008 hangdog wrote:
>>
>The five step method works (its not hard to do!)
Is this 5 step method similar to the 5 step Queensland method that I was indoctrinated with?
Step 1 Say to the leader, "Gorn! Get up there; ya fat hairy slapper"
Step 2 Feed out several metres of slack
Step 3 Start arranging the packs etc into a nice comfy seat
Step 4 Put your walkman/radio/iPod on
Step 5 Vague out whilst looking at the view
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