??Wolf's Head Accident - Aug. 18/19??

Cor wrote:julius, there is a rap route route down the front also..

Thanks... good to know. We are planning on doing at least one route on Pingora, maybe more, but my partner has never done Wolf's Head, so we might run up that too towards the end of the trip if the weather is good... will do the standard one rope raps though.

As for the slow party... often, when I've gotten to the top at the same time as another party, we have agreed to share ropes.
Party 1 sets up rap one, and party 2 raps down first. While party 1 is rapping and pulling ropes, party 2 has already set up and rapped down the second rap. Of course, after that it doesn't really pay off since you are waiting for the top party to pull the ropes, but there is an added degree of safety with the two parties.
Did the party ahead not want to share ropes?

Pretty lame reason to call in a chopper! Sack up and ascend the rope..Also when I climbed the route 2 years ago I recall that some of those raps are short and easly down-climbable.. If your a competent alpinist that is!!

Also if the slow moving party in front of you was so nice why didnt you just ask to pass them??

I actually just returned from the Winds.. Climbed a route where at one point I was 30+ feet run out on 5.10 terrain 6 pitches up..Couldent downclimb out of my position, no visible pro above me unless you have offsets or trick pieces for protection.. ended up lowering off a 00-Camalot in a flaired crack!! SCARY..SHit, after hearing this story next time Im just going to call in that SAR chopper to drop me the gear I needed to send!! Right!

Bikenut,
Thanks for having the nerve to share your story. I'm sure in hindsight, the lessons to all are obvious...
1) alpine starts for alpine climbs
2) single rope raps on less vertical terrain (as is the case with the Wolf's Head raps) is the best insurance against stuck ropes
3) have knowledge, equipment, and practice in ascending ropes

Classic comment J1. - I like your thinking!!!

Thanks everyone! I am surely an unworthy climber buy I am an arrogant prick with super strong opinions about shit the world doesn't care about so some day I might be as goo as you! Now eff off.

Man. If you can't do it safely stay out of the mountains. that dangerous lack of knowledge is completely and utterly unacceptable.

Solutions(in addition to what was said before)
Climb with someone who knows what they are doing.
If ascending a rope with prussiks seems an ordeal why the **** are you climbing
Or do you just simply not know how to use them...

Bikenut wrote:Thanks everyone! I am surely an unworthy climber buy I am an arrogant prick with super strong opinions about shit the world doesn't care about so some day I might be as goo as you! Now eff off.

Starting to wonder if JohnL isn't making a cameo troll appearance here on MP. This attitude goes beyond believably moronic.

Bikenut,
No offense was intended by any of my comments. I honestly believe your story contains good lessons for all and very much appreciate your sharing. You're not an unworthy climber, but hopefully a wiser one as a result. I'm glad to hear you are not hurt. Good luck on your future climbs.

sorry to sound rude in my post bikenut.

sometimes shit happens, but that ain't shit happening!

Thanks Tom. I wasn't offended by your comment. Obviously there was more to the story. I just wanted to post a short summary. Totally regretting being part of the "climbing community" and all the trash talking "hard core climbers" sitting at Starbucks on their laptop analyzing a situation they know nothing about.

I guess the short summary that I got was that you had prussiks, but chose not to use them because it might be 'an ordeal'. Can you elaborate further? I think the average reader is going to infer from your statement that laziness was the culprit.

Bikenut wrote:Totally regretting being part of the "climbing community" and all the trash talking "hard core climbers" sitting at Starbucks on their laptop analyzing a situation they know nothing about.

Next time I'm in a tight spot and trying to find ways to keep things from spiraling out of control, instead of calling SAR I'll post a note here and wait 5 seconds for the response from The Experts. You really don't have to post anything more than "Help!", and they'll be able to tell you exactly what to do!

Reality check: if the SAR folks reassured you "better safe than sorry", they meant it and you done good.

So,
It is truly a learning experience for us in reading this. There was a lack of learning and experience by this party. If the concern is for your partners safety, learn about some rope safety and rescue practices. Don't head into the alpine environment with ignorance just because you can climb 5.6. If you cant go up a rope, stick to single pitch climbs and hiking trails. I recommend to you a great book, Mountaineering The Freedom Of The Hills. Make this your bible Bikenut it can save you next time instead of a chopper.

I was there and witnessed the rescue shenanigans.. when we first saw the chopper circling - which I have never seen in numerous trips to that country... I thought the worst. Luckily, no one was hurt. And - to add - watching the chopper take off at eye level from the col was pretty damn cool. Kinda weird seeing a chopper parked at Cirque Lake for 4 hours..

That being said, I still cannot not understand not simply waiting this one out - this is the #1 trade route in the Winds... the first party thru to the raps on the morning of the rescue was thru the climb by 2ish, they would have freed the ropes. It is climbed at least once a day.. someone is likely close behind.

Anyway - glad you guys are okay, saw your note about fetching the ropes. A heavy load for someone to pack out. Talked to two parties that went by them the next day and thought "i dont wanna carry 2 ropes out here...".

As for the cell service - I guess there are not many places left sacred from electronic communication...

Bikenut, I think point you are missing is that most of us feel that a Chopper rescue is a resource that should be utilized only in dire circumstances. Now, if you were unable to ascend the rope that is one thing, but if you didn't because of lack of skill, laziness etc. then I hope they charged ($$) you for the rescue.

My fear is that as more gumby gym climbers (not saying this is you) find their way outdoors, and feel unwarranted rescues are needed it will have a detrimental affect on future funding for rescues that are serious.

Since the weather was good, there is always the option of an unplanned bivy on the summit. Descending in the dark on unfamiliar terrain is dangerous. I've spent the night out under a rock in the Winds, and yeah it was cold and we were out of food and water. We got down the next morning with no issues though. You might even find that the unplanned bivy was one of the highlights of the trip. Those small, super light space blankets are awesome ... not that I ever remembered to bring one.

I would be interested in hearing more details: shitty rap anchor perhaps? If the climbers were incompetent ascending the ropes, it would have perhaps caused more ordeal? Ascending 65M of dynamic rope without mechanic ascenders would be a PIA, and if the anchors were shitty - scary! I'm sure the SAR assessment was correct, otherwise they would have told them to sleep it over and wait till the next day for other parties come down the route and free their rope up.

Wow. What a bunch of haters.

Couple of comments:

Their ropes could have only been freed by subsequent parties if they were on route and those subsequent parties would have come across them. If they were off the established rap route, then all bets are off.

If the rope got stuck while pulling it and one end is out of reach, ascending the rope would be scary and potentially unsafe. You are relying on the knot remaining stuck while you ascend the rope. Of course there are some tricks to make this safer if you have some rope left over to work with.

I did not think that the raps off Wolf's Head were super straight forward. We did them with one rope, but there was a lot of scrambling in between some of the raps, and there were some raps that went in the wrong direction entirely. Got down them just fine in the light, but it would have been not so much fun in the dark.

This sounds somewhat like they were not in a dire, calling-for-a-rescue situation yet, but we don't really know all the details or how easily it could have become a much worse situation

Having been in a serious accident that received much Monday-morning quarterbacking I can say that it is easy for victims to say that shit happens and that "this was just an unfortunate accident". Likewise, it is always easy to second guess decisions from the comfort of your computer. The truth probably lies someplace in the middle. In my case I didn't fully recognize the lessons of my accident until many years later. Let's hope the parties involved here learn those lessons faster than I did.

Also, WH was one of the best alpine climbs I have ever done. It is simply amazing.

Is this for real?

You didn't want to put in the work to prusik up the rope so you called SAR? I hope they charged you for the rescue. Unbelievable. It is this kind of stuff that puts climbing access at risk.

there are some really nice, patient, kind souls on this website too for being understanding, or at least tolerant to the rescued party (concidering the story is true), when I'm sure they would love to shake the sh**t out of them for being stupid, lazy, dumbf#cks. I, however, will not comment but simply learn.