i'm not much of an ice climber, but didn't those people just save him from a rather inconvenient fall back to his last protection? he's harnessed and clipped.
As someone who fell for the first time ice climbing just this winter, I can't say much. Not even worth monday morning quarterbacking this one. It's just awesome that he got clipped in and the whole thing ripped when it did. And....it's on video. Priceless.
I would be interested in Dane's elaboration on this one. As a novice ice climber I know falling on lead on ice is more serious than falling on lead on rock, but it depends a lot on the terrain. Vertical or overhanging ice is safest to fall on because there is less than of getting a crampon or tool snagged and breaking a leg or dislocating a shoulder. That said, it seems to be common sense that long uncontrolled falls with sharp objects should always be avoided.
These kinds of things always leave me scratching my head. Interesting to be in the age where close calls no longer are just stories told shared over a beer but can be seen by the whole community on film. May we all learn something and be less self congratulatory that we would be above such mistakes. Glad he made it home ok.
What could he have done different? If you notice at 3:21 he reaches over climbers right, past the flowing water and gets good enough sticks to move up. Maybe when he started working his way into the flow of water he should've started looking elsewhere for something more climbable. Or gotten out of bed earlier to get on it before it went too warm. ;-j
No ice climber here(yet!) so this may be a dumb comment;-but I am wondering about the climber's placement of his tools? Wouldn't he have been skewered by those things if he had fallen backwards or to the side??
I was unlucky enough to have a route start to melt out under me last winter. It was fine when we got going but towards the top it was a nightmare - the ice began to frazzle and there was water pissing down underneath.
Luckily my partner got up before it got too bad, so I cautiously seconded up. We'd have bailed if it was so bad when he was leading (we nearly did anyway).
Halfway up that pitch (2 of 3), two substantial portions of the ice broke free above me and were funnelled down directly onto me. Blew my legs out but luckily I had good sticks (and was on belay).
The key word here is 'lucky'. Be careful out there and don't take stupid risks!
Two basic kinds of water fall ice. High volume and low volume. Likelihood of stuff happening quickly when the temps go up and the sun comes out on a HIGH volume falls is huge. Not so much on a LOW volume falls but not impossible either.
If you don't know that basic tenant of water ice you should. The ice in this video was marginally high volume from what I can see.
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Climbing thin ice with water running like a waterfall?????? I guess people like the climber in the video are put on this planet for a reason.
Wow. Those folks above him saved his life.
i'm not much of an ice climber, but didn't those people just save him from a rather inconvenient fall back to his last protection? he's harnessed and clipped.
As someone who fell for the first time ice climbing just this winter, I can't say much. Not even worth monday morning quarterbacking this one. It's just awesome that he got clipped in and the whole thing ripped when it did. And....it's on video. Priceless.
Eligible for this years Darwin awards.
I would be interested in Dane's elaboration on this one. As a novice ice climber I know falling on lead on ice is more serious than falling on lead on rock, but it depends a lot on the terrain. Vertical or overhanging ice is safest to fall on because there is less than of getting a crampon or tool snagged and breaking a leg or dislocating a shoulder. That said, it seems to be common sense that long uncontrolled falls with sharp objects should always be avoided.
These kinds of things always leave me scratching my head. Interesting to be in the age where close calls no longer are just stories told shared over a beer but can be seen by the whole community on film. May we all learn something and be less self congratulatory that we would be above such mistakes. Glad he made it home ok.
What could he have done different? If you notice at 3:21 he reaches over climbers right, past the flowing water and gets good enough sticks to move up. Maybe when he started working his way into the flow of water he should've started looking elsewhere for something more climbable. Or gotten out of bed earlier to get on it before it went too warm. ;-j
If you're front pointing and see water coming down both sides of your route - well, just keep this video in mind...
"Or gotten out of bed earlier to get on it before it went too warm"
Bingo.
If you have that much liquid water flowing around your "ice climb" it's time to go drink beer.
No ice climber here(yet!) so this may be a dumb comment;-but I am wondering about the climber's placement of his tools? Wouldn't he have been skewered by those things if he had fallen backwards or to the side??
I was unlucky enough to have a route start to melt out under me last winter. It was fine when we got going but towards the top it was a nightmare - the ice began to frazzle and there was water pissing down underneath.
Luckily my partner got up before it got too bad, so I cautiously seconded up. We'd have bailed if it was so bad when he was leading (we nearly did anyway).
Halfway up that pitch (2 of 3), two substantial portions of the ice broke free above me and were funnelled down directly onto me. Blew my legs out but luckily I had good sticks (and was on belay).
The key word here is 'lucky'. Be careful out there and don't take stupid risks!
Two basic kinds of water fall ice. High volume and low volume. Likelihood of stuff happening quickly when the temps go up and the sun comes out on a HIGH volume falls is huge. Not so much on a LOW volume falls but not impossible either.
If you don't know that basic tenant of water ice you should. The ice in this video was marginally high volume from what I can see.
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