Major rockfall in the Gunks today
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Anyone have any more info? |
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Nobody injured. |
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Wow, that is an area that would ordinarily have folks congregated belaying the first pitches of Erect Direction and CCK, with Moonlight around the corner possibly vulnerable as well if the rocks fell from above the GT ledge. Fortunate indeed that no one was hurt. |
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Geez! At this rate the Gunks is going to eclipse Cannon as the rock fall capital of the Northeast. |
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See this thread for the backstory and (at the bottom) a summary of today's scary event. A 40 lb piece missed me by 8 feet. And the sapling I was cowering behind wouldn't have offered much protection had it come right at me. |
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So all that dodgeball you played in elementary school finally paid off? |
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Wow, really terrible. I am so glad that no one was seriously hurt. |
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I was starting to second the first pitch of face to face when this happened. Three people were on the ground under no glow. The rock, maybe microwave or tv sized, smashed on the GT ledge about twenty feet right of my leader and sent big rocks and shrapnel down at us. I jumped down, got close to the rock, and covered. The other three got behind trees and ducked for cover. It's not clear if I was hit by a small rock or if I hit something as I came off the rock, but i ended up with a minor wound on my shin that only took 5 minutes or so to clean up and get the bleeding to stop. |
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Re: Overhanging Layback - about half of that second pitch is gonna go down sometime, do the route now before it doesn't exist. |
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horrifying. |
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JamieG wrote:It's not clear if I was hit by a small rock or if I hit something as I came off the rock, but i ended up with a minor wound on my shin that only took 5 minutes or so to clean up and get the bleeding to stop.Glad to hear that you are ok! Very close call. So far we have had spring rock fall at the Gunks, Birdsboro and Safe Harbor. Due to the unusually long winter/snow and ice? Lucander...Once all that stuff comes off Overhanging layback maybe we will have a new climb. Not sure I want to get on it again, it was pretty sketchy. |
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People had 3 close calls near city lights on April 20th, rocks large enough to kill anyone without a helmet, no warnings... |
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rogerbenton wrote:as the general background/experience level of climbers shifts more towards "gym climbers getting into real rock" as opposed to "rock climbers using the gym to get stronger" these accidents will happen more frequently; it's easy to see how people who climb in gyms 95% of the time are used to taking it for granted that whatever they grab will be solid. as opposed to the experienced rock rat who is wary of these things at all times.No need to apologize. And I'll expound on this more at the risk of sounding like a dick. Gym rats becoming "climbers" after dropping $1,000 at EMS is becoming more common. It IS a problem that no one has addressed, as many of these 11b plastic pullers think climbing is entirely the skill of being able to haul themselves up something, so they rarely ask for guidance and get defensive when you point out something they're blatantly doing wrong. The ability to ascend rock is only a small part of trad climbing. It's one of the reasons I like it. [I went out several times with a guide and eventually climbing friends to learn the ropes before declaring myself trad worthy] I've lost track how many times I've seen a newb walk up to some random 5.9 with their shiny new rack, hang dog their way up and leave a piece or more of gear stuck somewhere on it. And I only spend maybe half my climbing season at the gunks. This needs to be said publicly so novices can get perspective before they do something stupid. There's many here on MP alone willing to bring new climbers along. It's not an absence of mentors, it's an attitude of invincibility or a terminal case of fullon Clavin among the students. I've seen other near fatal (serious injury) newb related stuff elsewhere. People have and will continue to die from this stuff. Each one teach one. |
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The fact that a novice may have pulled this off is incidental. The rock in question was well camouflaged. I remember climbing No Glow the first time and rocking the stone an inch away from the wall, freaking out and gently pushing it back. I can't believe it stayed there as long as it did. |
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I had gotten off of updraft about an hour before this happened, heard it, scared the crap out of me. |
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Could the rangers get involved with organized trundling of some of the more dangerous stuff? |
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Joe M. wrote:Could the rangers get involved with organized trundling of some of the more dangerous stuff?I really hope not. |
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divnamite wrote: I really hope not.Curious as to why you say no (not trying to start an argument, genuinely interested in your opinion)? With such a hugely popular area, a round of organized, safe trundling (do it on a weekday, close the area around the base, trundle from above, etc.) by the rangers might be in order, especially if it can save someone injury or worse... |
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Joe M. wrote: Curious as to why you say no (not trying to start an argument, genuinely interested in your opinion)? With such a hugely popular area, a round of organized, safe trundling (do it on a weekday, close the area around the base, trundle from above, etc.) by the rangers might be in order, especially if it can save someone injury or worse...You don't think this would be a Sisyphean task? Joe M. wrote:especially if it can save someone injury or worse...Should rangers check all the rappel anchors? What about making sure each climber is certified at trad climbing so their gear placement is correct? At what point do you stop? You see what I'm getting at. Falling rock is simply part of the nature, even if we want to blame it on the newbie climbers in this case. |
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PeterW wrote: I can't believe it stayed there as long as it did.I have seen the rock over the years...I agree...it's hard to believe it lasted that long. That's not the only suspect rock at the gunks (or any other climbing area). |
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Joe M. wrote: Curious as to why you say no (not trying to start an argument, genuinely interested in your opinion)? With such a hugely popular area, a round of organized, safe trundling (do it on a weekday, close the area around the base, trundle from above, etc.) by the rangers might be in order, especially if it can save someone injury or worse...It's a bad idea because rocks will still be knocked off, and if someone gets clobbered, lawyers are better at making it look like the Preserve was negligent by missing "an obvious hazard" than the rangers are at finding every possible loose flake and block. |