Falling: good or bad?
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So I've heard "The lead climber must not fall.", and I've also heard " If you're not falling, you're not climbing hard enough." |
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Falling is neither good nor bad. "Planned falls" = jumping off. |
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Falling is the best part of climbing. OK, maybe 2nd to sending. But if it wasn't for falling, what would the point of climbing be? |
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I've taken maybe 50 lead falls in my life, on real rock. Probably fewer. |
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My .02... |
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Knowledge is a powerful thing. Falls happen. "The leader must not fall," is tricky because, if you have some knowledge of what is involved with falling, you can make better decisions in situations that matter. experience with falling isn't just for you; it is very important that the belayer have knowledge of potential problems and what kind of catch to provide. There's more to it than just locking-off. |
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To me falling or not falling is not really the point. I'm happiest with my climbing when I accurately assess the risk and climb accordingly. That mean when I believe it to be safe, I climb accordingly and am willing to take the risk of falling. If I assess that the situation is a no fall zone, then I climb accordingly (or not as the case may warrant). Accurately matching the actual risk and perceived risk, and acting accordingly is what gives me the greatest satisfaction. For me, the "acting" is the biggest challenge and in reality I should be more willing to fall than I am. |
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For me if i'm bouldering i need to be falling or close to to feel like i'm really giving it a good effort, i can study the whole climb from the ground and work out all the beta. And i don't mind falling 10 feet on to a pad. |
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All depends on what the fall will look like. Most any fall in the gym is inconsequential. A clean fall on bolts on a flat face outdoors is no sweat. But cheese-grater'ing down a jagged slab, bouncing off a ledge, or falling on sketchy/runout gear are very low on my todo list. |
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I personally make it a goal to work a route that I WILL take a whip on almost every time I go outside. That ensures I'm actively working on improving. However, improving my grades is my goal, and that means taking whippers. If you don't mind not pushing grades, then there's no reason to take whippers all the time... |
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I love falling - it takes your stomach and it's usually over before your mind can comprehend what the hell is happening. |
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I feel like I became a better climber after pushing myself on lead to the point where I occasionally take falls (or hang for a rest). Better at placing gear, better at assessing risk. |
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AndrewB wrote:I feel like I became a better climber after pushing myself on lead to the point where I occasionally take falls (or hang for a rest). Better at placing gear, better at assessing risk. The problem with the "never fall" mentality is you could become complacent with gear placement (because hey, you never fall). Why sew up a route and triple check those important placements if your mentality is a fall will never happen.I agree with your assessment that never falling can breed complacency with regards to protection, which could be very dangerous if/when a fall does happen. But it seems that the other extreme is just as dangerous in that if you push so hard you fall constantly, there's a higher risk that eventually something in the system will fail. I'm not saying that it WILL happen, just that the chances increase. I agree with the much stated risk assessment concept. I don't want to push so hard that I'm likely to fall. On the other hand, there are some situation where I'm much more willing to push and risk falling, and some where I know I need to climb as cautiously as possible because a fall is really not an option. But I still prefer to climb cautiously on trad, less so on sport, and simply expect to fall bouldering. |
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I think the whole "the leader must not fall" is from a bygone era when gear (including ropes and harnesses/swami belts) were not as reliable/safe to fall on as they are now. |
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The leader must not fall is more important for trad routes rated 5.6-5.9. There tend to be lots of features and ledge systems to break your ankles on. Additionally, there's a good chance a beginner leader isn't placing great pro. |
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Consider this: Everyone that actually climbed a route successfully didn't get hurt. Some of those that climbed until they fell had their pro fail and some of them died or suffered life altering brain damage. |
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I've fallen, on average, probably 10 times a day over the last 8 months. |
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My biggest and most serious fall happened unexpected while climbing a easy route. The dented #9 hex that saved my ass is now framed on my wall. Sometimes we have no a choice falls happen if we like it or not. |
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Stich wrote:Consider this: Everyone that actually climbed a route successfully didn't get hurt. Some of those that climbed until they fell had their pro fail and some of them died or suffered life altering brain damage. So, based on that fact, what do you choose to do? I would choose to climb harder and do the not falling thing. But I would rather fall on sport routes with good bolts if there's going to be grade pushing or redpoint attempting going on.I thought most climbers are brained damaged to begin with :-) Most climbers I know climb 1 or 2 grades easier on trad routes than on sport routes |
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JulianG wrote: I thought most climbers are brained damaged to begin with :-) Most climbers I know climb 1 or 2 grades easier on trad routes than on sport routesI didn't think this way about a decade ago, then right here I read about a guy that died on Yellow Spur when he fell on pitch 2 and his rope cut. Someone had gear fail on Werksupp and died as well. Then another guy fell, gear pulled, and he suffered pretty serious brain damage. Like I mentioned, I have taken dozens of falls on bolts, mostly back in Texas since once you had the three moderates wired at your local crag you had to step it up just to climb something new. I've fallen on trad gear exactly three times, two of which were on a nut at the start of Chockstone. But I have only been climbing trad really since 2003. Anyway, pick your places to fall and the circumstances is probably the best advice. |
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This is a settled issue. |