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My stepdaughter has been doing a bit of climbing wall stuff bur hasn't yet been on a 'proper' climb, she's just said on Faceplant....[i]Fell off a lead climb for the first time today - scary stuff! It has my name all over it for next week though...down but not out!! :D[/i]
So just to tease her a bit, what would be a funny/inspiring answer (if any!)?
A friend of mind used to wait until someone was at the crux move of a given route (all the better if on lead and teetering on the edge of balance and skill) and then yell enthusiastically "Don't fall and die there [insert name of climber here]!!!"
damit.. my memory is failing me, but one climber (the one I can't remember, from the 30's/40's/50's) said, 'the lead climber does not fall'.
Hmmmm. I'm afraid I'm a bit old school and falling on lead is not something to joke about to be honest. Unless people are careful it can lead to a poor perspective when they convert to traditional leading outside. I would suggest some bland encouragement is sufficient.
Sorry about being a grump but all in my opinion etc, etc
Not helpful for her to think falling on her own gear placement is an ok/routine thing to do. I wouldn't encourage her to think it's a consequence-free event. In fact it's to be discouraged at all costs.
Too many stories of serious injury and death over the years when gear has come out...
[i]Not helpful for her to think falling on her own gear placement is an ok/routine thing to do. I wouldn't encourage her to think it's a consequence-free event. In fact it's to be discouraged at all costs.[/i]
Ovbiously! Maybe I should've said, 'has anyone any anecdotes I could use' Although I did mention the word 'inspiring'
(this site is hard work sometimes)
No-one ever hurt themselves taking a leader fall.
The sudden stop at the bottom though, that can be a bugger.
I'm guessing she was inside 🙂 in which case the question is how far & was it fun? Learning to fall/over-commit is an indoor thing and can be quite good fun. It also helps if you go and find some nice sport stuff.
Leading trad is another ball game but with a good sense of the gear (your first 1000 bits are shite, the next 1000 are not much better) then there are places where a trad fall isn't too bad.
as for anecdotes we used to lead up a big overhanging wall at Leicster and down climb it so you had a huge swing potential in the lower few boards we would swing over everyones heads all the time, we also had a wooden stool and the aim was to get the climber down onto the stool sitting 🙂 (probably not allowed anymore)
I missed a clip (or 2) indoors as it was a pita to get (mid way through the crux and massive jug next to the next one, all good till I missed it and ended up level with the belayer.
Whilst I agree falling whilst leading is certainly not to be encouraged, its not the scariest thing I've seen at climbing walls...
...people belaying with sloppy hand changes or not paying attention or who can't feed the rope as quick as the climber complacently shooting up the wall... there are quite a few people I know who I just won't climb with.
If I was looking to add some words of wisdom to your daughter I would possibly have said something like "... if you thought it was scary at the wall, then when you are testing your own gear placement you will gain a whole new style of climbing where the idea is never to fall."
used to carry a biggles style flying hat and goggles in top of rucsac to present prior to the leader starting the route if had a known history of falls on it
i guess the internet equivalent is a picture of same
In sport climbing, falling is the price of progression. Good climbers fall all the time when they push past their limits. Forget all the crap about don't fall 🙄
No anecdotes but, from my experience, the first fall was the scariest. After that it started to become second nature and actually quite fun.
Didn't Seb Grieve cry out "I'm Jerry Moffat! I'm on a top-rope!" whilst doing the first ascent of some silly hard thing in the Peak?
Leading trad is another ball game but with a good sense of the gear (your first 1000 bits are shite, the next 1000 are not much better) then there are places where a trad fall isn't too bad.
🙂
I spent all of Saturday with numb hands and feet, going through the following cycle:
* climbing above gear...this is horrible, why am I even doing this, I'm not having fun, I'm probably going to die
* place some gear...come on, get in, my leg is shaking, i'm going to fall, please get in, yes! it's good, the rope is clipped and I'm safe again, this is amazing! woohoo I love climbing
* commit to next move...jesus, that nut doesn't look too good actually, I doubt it will hold if I come off, it probably won't even hold being weighted, I'm going to die, this is horrible
* climbing above gear...this is horrible, why am I even doing this, I'm not having fun, I'm probably going to die
🙂
Does it ever get any better???
Jeez, some people...
Sport climbing is all about pushing yourself to the max in a relatively safe manner.
There is a saying 'if you ain't flyin' you ain't tryin''... Even I've done the deliberately jumping off just to see how it feels and I have to say there is something about taking a whipper that's pretty invigorating 
Dave McLeod's book even has a chapter all about learning to get over your fear of falling as it will otherwise hold you back!
That said, on trad, caution should be exhibited!
[url= http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2563/4425352843_53ba5825d5.jp g" target="_blank">
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/40120909@N02/4425352843/ ]s020[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/40120909@N02/ ]IanTheTerrible[/url], on Flickr
Some fat, but definately not useless, climber (John Dunne)falling off an 8b at Malham.
Some good pics of 80's climbing on this guys flickr account if anyone is interested.
That's John Dunne in Lycra and he must have lost a fair bit of weight? 😉
Look a bit like Dave Birkett Lakeland legend.
Bit different falling on trad. gear placement to sport placed & pre-bolted!
Yes a fall is to be expected at some point during your climbing career but not something you should relish or joke about!
IMO 'Climbers' (not gymnasts who use indoor walls)need to learn how to place traditional gear that they can trust to hold a fall, or at least slow them down sufficiently before they hit the deck. The skill to place gear and the confidence to trust it comes from practice, including falling off on it. Unless you are climbing E5 plus, the gear placments are usually sufficient and at regular intervals to prevent likely serios injury. And yes there is always the chance of spinning round druring a fall and clouting your head etc., but if you dont want to get hurt play tiddley winks. 😉
Seb always said silly things on a scary section. Belaying him while trying to bask in his reflected glory as he shouted "knickers" sort started to be a little embarrassing.
at my local climbing wall i have seen an instructor tell youngsters fall on lead climbs, I assume its to gain confidence that you are safe, but i was surprised ( i am no expert myself )
If this was her first fall while leading when she's been climbing x months/years, has she only just started trying?
But I agree with the above sensible sentiments also - indoor/sport climbing it's expected you'll fall as it's a safe environment and helps you progress. If she moves on to trad, you don't want to test your own gear placement unless you really have to!
For those of you that are advising 'not testing you're own trad gear placement'- How can you ever set up a relable belay / top rope ?
roadie_in_denial - MemberA friend of mind used to wait until someone was at the crux move of a given route (all the better if on lead and teetering on the edge of balance and skill) and then yell enthusiastically "Don't fall and die there [insert name of climber here]!!!"
Sheep noises & a perfectly harmonised rendition of 'Send In The Clowns' usually does the trick. 🙂
For those of you that are advising 'not testing you're own trad gear placement'- How can you ever set up a relable belay / top rope ?
Not quite sure how you'd manage to take a 15ft leader fall on a top rope or bringing up a second.
Forces are completely different and the direction of the force is much easier to predict.
Plus, standing around at a belay, taking your time and finding two or three bomber placements is completely different to being pumped and fumbling with your only free hand to get something in to stop yourself taking a big fall.
It's a while since I did any climbing, but if it's anecdotes you want, there was the chap at my local wall who appeared one day with an arm in serious scaffolding...
As I recall, the story was that he'd run the rope out to a few feet further above is last gear than that gear was above the ground (I forget how long the route was, but let's say he was 25' above gear at 20' - it was something of that order). Now only one move from the top, and on easy ground, he placed a large Friend and got heckled by his second for placing gear when he'd done the hard bit... So he took it out again... 🙄
...Then reached up, took a large block with both hands, pulled, and found himself falling backwards with said large block held just in front of his face! He just had time to push the rock to the side so that it landed on his arm instead of his head. Meanwhile, the second ran away from the wall as fast as he could to take some rope in, and just about succeeded in catching him a matter of 3-4' from the ground, which he then hit on rope stretch... All in all, he was quite lucky. He didn't walk away from it, but he was stretchered to a&e rather than the alternative!