Chockstone - Rec.Climbing Recent Topics of Interest

Rec.Climbing Recent Topics Of Interest

I read the rec.climbing newsgroup fairly regularly, and thought I might start making a note of topics of interest. If you don't have a news reader, Google provides a web based interface. See also the other climbing forums in the links section.

Chockstone Quote

"Hours slide by like minutes. The accumulated clutter of day-to-day existence — the lapses of conscience, the unpaid bills, the bungled opportunities, the dust under the couch, the inescapable prison of your genes — all of it is temporarily forgotten, crowded from your thoughts by an overpowering clarity of purpose by the seriousness of the task at hand." - Jon Krakauer.

December 2003
TR: Whatever - A good trip report of a tall route at Red Rocks, old school trad meets modern climber.
FFA Hourglass - Recollections of the FFA of the Left Side of the Hourglass.

November 2003
Jules Verne - The infamous runout face of the third pitch of Jules Verne.

July 2003
Never Take A Sport Climber - An epic multi-pitch leaves the team hiking out in the dark with no torches or water.
The Perverted Diamond - Desperate descent off the Diamond as a storm hammers them and rock fall nearly takes out another party.
Trad Eye for the Bolt Clipper - Funny little skit about trad vs sport climbers.

March 2003
This Is Real - Discussion of a photo taken of some first time aid climbers practicing. Quite funny! Further down the thread the pic is enhanced with humorous notation.
A Scary Little 5.8 - Marvellous trip report by Larry on the loose rock of Calico Basin.

January 2003
Vegas Vignettes - An entertaining, and oddly formatted trip report from Alex, plus some interesting follow up posts from other team members.
Squamish TR : Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V, Part VI, Part VII, Part VIII, Part IX, Part X - Entitled "Fear of A Black Granite", this trip report is a nice read, and describes a few days of multi-pitching some humbling routes.
Bad Anchor Stories - A couple of replies to this thread offer some interesting tales. Single piece belays, etc.
The Stall - Trip report of bouldering the office toliet. Funny!

October 2002
Are You A Safe Climber - Discussion on just what is considered safe. "Good judgement is the result of experience. Experience is the result of bad judgement".
Rainbow Wall - A nice little retro trip report of a big wall experience.
Anymore Weekend TRs? - This is actually a reply to this thread. It's a marvellous trip report of an ascent of El Cap's Nose route in, what 27 hours of continuous free and aid climbing, and a life-time goal for the articles author. Well written and very enjoyable reading.

September 2002
From A Simple Climber - See Also: Part 2 & Part 3. Retro essay on getting into climbing. Well written. Leads into a trip report including an accident.
Climbing TR Of Sorts - Funny collection of possibly fictional letters home detailing the start of a climbing career.
Climbing Editor Chops Route - Heated debate on the age old Bolt Wars saga. Dudes bolt a new route, another, possibly more experienced climber sees bolts next to cracks and chops the offending hardware. (You'd be tar and feathered if you bolted a crack here in Australia). The spin on this event is that said climber is in fact, the editor of a popular US climbing mag.
Climbing Chopper Edits Route - Secondary thread associated with above topic.

August 2002
Dancing With The DNB - A good trip report of an all day climb on Middle Cathedral.
Slaying A Nemesis - Short trip report of returning to do a route in better style.
If The Leader Must Not Fall Then What? - Discussion of when to "make the move and take the chance".

July 2002
Report From Zion Rap Accident Survior - Abseiler raps off the ends of the rope despite knot?
Braille Brook Accident: A Rescuers Account - Lead soloist falls (device failure?), rescuer is also hurt during helicopter evacuation.
Getting Religion - Dingus gives us a masterful trip report of a tall, easy classic where-in much is learned.

June 2002
It's All Kitchen Sponges & Bad Advice - A response to this thread, detailing a terrible accident in which a female top roper falls ripping the top rope's single anchor.
Report On Braille Brook Rescue - Details of an accident in which solo climber falls, and a further mishaps occurs during the rescue attempt. Unfortunately the climber dies and one rescue worker is injured.

May 2002
Confessions Of An Altar Boy - A trip report from John Byrnes detailing an epic ascent in "Castle Valley". Wild off-width climbing, stuck ropes, a storm, rock fall, multiple injures, but they live to tell the tale.
How Many Tries For Your First Big Wall - Admissions from Big Wall climbers who had to bail many times before success was finally granted.
Best Method For Connecting Two Sewn Slings - The topic gets rehashed once more.

April 2002
Helicopter Evacuation - Details of a lead fall in Joshua Tree that results in head injuries. Climber not wearing a helmet.

March 2002
A Not So Rosy Crucifixon - A good trip report from Kreighton, who writes eloquently of being shagged out while sharing the lead on an Eldo climb.
More Fuel For The Old Helmet Debate - Describes a head injury incurred during a fall. The subsequent thread rehashes the helmet debate.
Self Rescue Question - How a belayer could set about rescuing their unconscious leader, if they were more than half a rope length out.
Taking In Rope On A Leader Fall - Discusses the advanced belay technique of taking in (or letting out) slack during a fall. Mention is made of an article on the Planet Fear web site that goes over this technique.
Tie In With Biner - Discusses attaching the rope to the harness with a figure eight, bowline, locking carabiner(s), cross loading and self opening issues, wear on the rope at the knot, etc.
Warren Harding Dying - Comments from climbers surrounding the death of a legend, Warren Harding, who established many a route up El Cap, Yosemite back in the "good old days", including, I believe, the all time classic Nose route.

February 2002
Knotting The Ends Of Rappel Ropes - So you don't abseil off into the abyss below. Thread also gets into abseil backups, etc.

January 2002
Accident In The Gym - Leading a gym climb, dude impales himself on a draw - ouch!

December 2001
Colin's Gunks Fest Tumble - Accident report, a fall from low down on an easy climb still results in a "severely contused pelvis". A lesson for us all?

November 2001
The Femur Is The Strongest Bone - Trip report from "tradkelly" detailing an Indian Creek climb in which piece pops and a deck out fall is taken, but climber walks away uninjured.
Mace - A good trip report from Brutus, detailing his ascent of "The Mace" with two others.
Gri Gri/Rope Diameter - Discusses how thin a rope can be before a GriGri will fail to lock off, other reasons why a GriGri might fail, such as a wet, dirty or icy rope, etc. See Also: similar thread.

Please contact me if you believe there is a broken link, or you have a suggestion for inclusion in this section.

Chockstone Quote

"Doubly happy, however, is the man to whom lofty mountain tops are within reach." - John Muir.