Mountain Project Logo

Gunks rockfall (son of easy o)

Original Post
Molly Z · · Longmont, CO · Joined Jun 2015 · Points: 35

A party on Son of easy O knocked off a head sized rock today. The follower had trouble at the roof on the 2nd pitch so he put in a cam, tried to stand on it and aid through the crux. He tried for a long time, probably 20-30min, and eventually, the block holding the cam was knocked off. It was huge! And nobody yelled anything. It just went down and shattered into pieces, luckily a few yards away from us. The follower had scratches on his face and was lowered to the ground. He didn't ask if anyone is hurt.

We had our helmets on but that thing would kill a person anyway.

take TAKE · · Tempe, AZ · Joined Dec 2013 · Points: 186

Damn! Glad to hear nobody got hit by it, it'll be interesting to see if the climb is any different now. Not too many blocks that big except through the crux of p2...

Optimistic · · New Paltz · Joined Aug 2007 · Points: 450

Glad everyone is ok...

Doesn't really matter I guess but was he up in the roof when the block pulled, or down lower near the start of the second pitch? There was a good sized "X" block down there that I'd be glad not to see again, although that wouldn't have been quite the approach I would've taken to trundling it!

Molly Z · · Longmont, CO · Joined Jun 2015 · Points: 35

He says it's not one of the handholds so I assume the climb is still the same. Hope someone knows which block was pulled off.

The block didn't hit the wall and went straight to the ground. Luckily we thought he was going to take a while so we walked away to get some tea and snacks. It would be a disaster if someone was racking up at the start...

Gunkiemike · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Jul 2009 · Points: 3,492

I really hope someone clued the dumbass into the proper thing to do when a potentially dangerous rock comes down. If not, he's free to do it again.

Leo Wu · · Longmont, CO · Joined Oct 2010 · Points: 0

He was at the start of the crux roof (before the piton anchor that many people TR off with a 70 meter rope).

Timothy L · · New York · Joined Aug 2015 · Points: 110

I was climbing in this area that day as well. The dude in question was a total rookie. He did not have a helmet on which definitely added to his injuries.
I also wonder if the block that fell was the on with the X.
After the rock fell a ranger did come up to check out the scene.

Optimistic · · New Paltz · Joined Aug 2007 · Points: 450

Just something to think a little about here, as leader I've definitely misjudged the appropriateness of a particular route for my second. Advice has been offered above for the guy who knocked off the block, but it sounds like he didn't really have the necessary experience to safely evaluate his situation. If that's the case, there might be something for the leader of the party to learn as well?

Molly Z · · Longmont, CO · Joined Jun 2015 · Points: 35

The leader doesn't seem to care. He didn't have helmet on, either. They use cellphone to communicate. My partner heard the leader telling the second "just try" on the phone. They are both very young, probably teenagers.

Optimistic · · New Paltz · Joined Aug 2007 · Points: 450
Molly Z wrote:The leader doesn't seem to care. He didn't have helmet on, either. They use cellphone to communicate. My partner heard the leader telling the second "just try" on the phone. They are both very young, probably teenagers.
Ah. That all fits together then :)
Nick Goldsmith · · Pomfret VT · Joined Aug 2009 · Points: 440

make fun of them now while you can. 10 years down the road they might be on the cover of Alpinist ;)

Optimistic · · New Paltz · Joined Aug 2007 · Points: 450
Nick Goldsmith wrote:make fun of them now while you can. 10 years down the road they might be on the cover of Alpinist ;)
Sad but true! Maybe someday I can get on there for the oldest person to climb Betty? I think that's my only shot at this time.
Kevin Heckeler · · Las Vegas, NV · Joined Jul 2010 · Points: 1,616
Nick Goldsmith wrote:make fun of them now while you can. 10 years down the road they might be on the cover of Alpinist ;)
If they keep this up there's a good chance they won't live that long. Poor judgment has a way of creeping up on climbers. Luck only gets you so far.

Accidents happen and with any luck they actually learned something, even if it wasn't evident to those on the ground.
frank minunni · · Las Vegas, NV · Joined May 2011 · Points: 95

Did you get to scarf the cam anyway?
I'd pick on them about not wearing helmets but I can't remember the last time I wore in the Gunks...1979 maybe?...nah, probably never.
But someone should have given them a little education about warnings.

Nick Goldsmith · · Pomfret VT · Joined Aug 2009 · Points: 440

Kevin. most of us who started climbing in the self taught era before mandatory belay tests at the gym had a few epics before we got things sorted out. jest saying that you guys who bash them now may be supprised when they climb circles arround you a few years down the road.

Kevin Heckeler · · Las Vegas, NV · Joined Jul 2010 · Points: 1,616
Nick Goldsmith wrote:jest saying that you guys who bash them now may be supprised when they climb circles arround you a few years down the road.
They probably already do. I just hope they don't die learning to do it safely.
frank minunni · · Las Vegas, NV · Joined May 2011 · Points: 95
Nick Goldsmith wrote:Kevin. most of us who started climbing in the self taught era before mandatory belay tests at the gym had a few epics before we got things sorted out. jest saying that you guys who bash them now may be supprised when they climb circles arround you a few years down the road.
You're absolutely right. The last two guys I taught outside were in their 20s. I told them that I was getting them ready to lead me up routes I want to do but I'm getting too old to lead. Sure enough, one of them outclimbs me and they're happy to carry all the gear when my legs are bothering, A fair trade. I did it when I was younger.
Molly Z · · Longmont, CO · Joined Jun 2015 · Points: 35

We climbed son of easy o today and my partner believes that the climb HAS CHANGED.

He believes that one key hand hold was pulled off. He also found pieces of the broken hold with a lot of chalk on them at the base. This is my first time on easy o so I don't have an opinion. But I did feel one roof move was much harder than others. It's no longer jugs all the way up. It's still 5.8, though. The move is still no harder than the start, imn.

My partner is very mad the guy now because, besides his stupid "aiding", not yelling "rock", breaking the flow of a beautiful climb, he is also a total liar (about not breaking a key hand hold).

Optimistic · · New Paltz · Joined Aug 2007 · Points: 450
Molly Z wrote:We climbed son of easy o today and my partner believes that the climb HAS CHANGED. He believes that one key hand hold was pulled off. He also found pieces of the broken hold with a lot of chalk on them at the base. This is my first time on easy o so I don't have an opinion. But I did feel one roof move was much harder than others. It's no longer jugs all the way up. It's still 5.8, though. The move is still no harder than the start, imn. My partner is very mad the guy now because, besides his stupid "aiding", not yelling "rock", breaking the flow of a beautiful climb, he is also a total liar (about not breaking a key hand hold).
If the broken hold really was up in the headwall/roof section, then what he broke by aiding was almost certainly something that someone was previously counting on as "bomber pro", so he did us all a favor by finding out that it wasn't bomber. If it wouldn't hold body weight, it probably wasn't going to hold a whipper!

Plus, that section wasn't really 5.8 before anyway, so maybe he was just editing the route to match the guidebook?
Kevin Heckeler · · Las Vegas, NV · Joined Jul 2010 · Points: 1,616
Optimistic wrote: If the broken hold really was up in the headwall/roof section, then what he broke by aiding was almost certainly something that someone was previously counting on as "bomber pro", so he did us all a favor by finding out that it wasn't bomber. If it wouldn't hold body weight, it probably wasn't going to hold a whipper!
It was nice of them to accidentally do us all a favor.
M Mobley · · Bar Harbor, ME · Joined Mar 2006 · Points: 911
Molly Z wrote:We climbed son of easy o today and my partner believes that the climb HAS CHANGED. He believes that one key hand hold was pulled off. He also found pieces of the broken hold with a lot of chalk on them at the base. This is my first time on easy o so I don't have an opinion. But I did feel one roof move was much harder than others. It's no longer jugs all the way up. It's still 5.8, though. The move is still no harder than the start, imn. My partner is very mad the guy now because, besides his stupid "aiding", not yelling "rock", breaking the flow of a beautiful climb, he is also a total liar (about not breaking a key hand hold).
wow, how mad is he?
Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

Northeastern States
Post a Reply to "Gunks rockfall (son of easy o)"

Log In to Reply

Join the Community

Create your FREE account today!
Already have an account? Login to close this notice.

Get Started.