Avoiding the Deck

Taking a ground fall is perhaps one of the worst experiences a climber can have, worse also for the belayer and anyone unfortunate to be standing close by. Most falls are short, and over before you know it, the rope coming tight, the fall held by the instinctive yank on the belay plate. Most falls on trad climbs are rare for most, maybe one small fall for every 50 routes climbed, one big fall (5 to 10 metres) in every 100, the reason being trad routes tend not to be so fall off able as sport climbs (less steep, more ledgy, and on trad gear).

Most climbers tend to ‘slump’ on the rope (it amazes me how someone who’s boxed out of their head can still manage to reverse the hardest moves to avoid falling onto gear!), or fall within their body zone (from feet to waist), so are unspectacular and safe. Falling is a natural feature of climbing, and it’s true that you won’t get good – or enjoy – at climbing until to accept falling (learning how to fall is also a skill worth developing).

Ground falls on the other hand are not what you want, and can be broken down into two types: hitting the ground from low on the climb (an intro fall), and falling high on a route and hitting the ground (a high catastrophic fall).

High Ground Falls

This type of dangerous, if not terminal, fall can be the result of the route having no gear, or gear spaced enough high up so that you lose your height advantage (the higher you are the harder it is to hit the ground!), or simple gear failure, or failure to place gear. Avoiding this type of fall could probably be described as what climbing is all about, the keystone of climbing safety.

The other day I watched a climber do a classic E1 in Dalkey Quarry that features some hard moves at the top (a traverse out on polished footholds), that can be well protected with small cams or opposed wires (the gear is almost above the leader as they traverse out). At the end of the traverse, you have one more sketchy move to reach up to the lip of an overhang, which you hand traverse to the top, and again you can get opposed wires and cams here (but less obviously).

In this case, perhaps because he lacked experience, or perhaps because he expected it to be unprotected (a common mistake with those new to E grades), he placed gear in neither place and instead sketched his way up the top of the climb, his last gear twenty feet below him, a slab thirty feet below that. If he’d fallen he’d have decked out before the ropes had a chance to check his fall.

As in most cases, he didn’t fall, but such sketch has a habit of biting you sooner or later (usually a monster fall that only clips your wings). Now it’s not good to dwell on hitting the deck when climbing, but when you’d seen it happen (and heard it!), or visited mates in the hospital whose legs are pinned into metal cages, or people who’ll never walk again, well then it’s worth considering.

The way to avoid catastrophic ground falls is as follows:

• Learn to place gear when you are offered up the opportunity by the rock.
• Carry a rack big enough so that you don’t have to scrimp on protection.
• Climb on double ropes so you aren’t forced to skip gear for fear of rope drag.
• Extend gear well, and carry longer draws for trad climbing so you don’t run out (well-extended gear will stop drag and reduce the risk of gear falling out) (cragmanship article here on a suggested range of quickdraws to carry).
• Don’t be bold unless you’re treating the climb as either a walk or a solo: place gear everybody length (the same as a sports route).
• If you have a single spot for protection that your life depends on (say the gear before the crux or a run out), then double it up (two pieces clipped into one rope each, or two pieces equalised).
• Don’t avoid placing gear in fear of running out, instead focus on where you are, as the higher you go the safer you are.
• If the gear is marginal then place more. Ask yourself ‘is this bomber’ or ‘is this shit?’. Twenty pieces of shit gear may be as good as five bomber pieces, but five shit pieces are putting your faith is not so much.
• When leader never scrimp on the gear on the ‘easy’ stuff, as often when you get to the hard and steep stuff you may find you can’t place good gear.
• Don’t worry about people thinking you’re a scaredy-cat because you put in protection every four feet, that’s what I’d call being professional.
• Always be aware of what you may hit if you fall (you can often delay a fall, or jump out), or if you may hit the ground, or ‘something’. Remember that a ledge is just as hard as the bottom of a route.

Intro falls

Now intro falls are falls that take place after the first runner has been placed, where the ground is still close, and are probably the most likely place where the ground falls take place, especially for those pushing their grades.

Most climbs are not like climbing wall routes, where you have bolts spaced apart in such as way as to reduce the risk of hitting the deck on the bottoms clips, or have nice holds to grip while clipping. No, many routes feature insecure, maybe bold or run out starts, perhaps starts that are polished, or steep, or have little gear.

Also, the ground is at your feet, a ground was often strewn with stones and boulders and various traps to catch the falling leader. The first thing to do is realise that the bottom of the climb, those first moves, those first runners, are the danger zone of the climb.

Here are a few tips for reducing the danger:

• Wear a helmet, as many ground falls result in traumatic head injuries.
• Make sure your belayer also wears a helmet.
• Place gear just off the ground, or on the ground.
• Check out where you need to land if you fall, and move small stones or boulders out of the way, or pad the landing.
• Place protection as soon as you can, and consider climbing up, placing it, then reversing.
• If you place gear low, then get higher gear, you can always climb down and clean it.
• Thin ropes stretch about 30%, meaning you can still hit the ground.
• Clip both ropes into low gear to reduce stretch.
• Use a single krab or clip directly into cam loops to reduce fall distance.
• Use a locker on the first piece if it’s vital.
• Belayer must pay full attention with minimal slack.
• A light belayer should be secured to the ground.
• Belayer should stand close to the base.
• Belayer can clean and throw up gear later.
• Belayer can sit down or jump to reduce fall length (carefully).

So what if you do hit the deck? In most cases people tend to hit the ground on rope stretch and brush themselves off. But some don’t. Some seem ok, then fall again. Others appear fine and then collapse later.

So if someone hits the ground you need to take it seriously. Sit them down, give them a drink, take stock, and see how they feel after half an hour. And if they’re ok then either try something easier or safer or get them to try again, only this time tell them not to “fucking fall off!”.