Gigantic Fall at the Flumes Today

[clink]

Puncture wound from drill bit. Double points if it remains stuck in deeply enough for pics.
If a bat bite causes the fall. Double points if you contract rabies.

[NOAL]

Land in poison oak bush at base.  Bonus points if you are using John Cook's  rope.

[Brad Young]

Bonus points if you are using John Cook's  rope.

Now that's just cruel. Besides, everyone knows that if you drag John's rope through poison oak - boy - you just bought it.

[F4?]

He needs to get a tucked body suit.
The plus side, he would lose some weight due to dehydration.

Man I cannot imagine being that sensitive to the oak.
I used to get it all the time. At one point the nurse said...wash your bedding and cloths.
That nipped the full body rash.

Now I get it almost every weeek I go riding!
 

[Zay]

i got a face full of PO on my way up to elephant rock a few days ago. no reaction. ill count my blessings.

[F4?]

Well years ago, I took a full branch in the chest on the muchshitty decent.
I thought I had escaped..
A few days later my wife is scratching and scratching.
I took a look and she had gotten the PO rash...I guess from me.
But being from the east coast and later San Diego she had no clue what the rash was.

Later when working on the eastern front at the grotto, we would wash and change clothes before driving home.


I am all for eating a leaf a day...who is with me?

[mungeclimber]

Bigger books means better training.

Holy sheep dip that's a big fall!  Thx for posting zay!

Gary and Phyllis is mostly solid rock from what I remember. Up and left, then way up and right, then slightly left again?  They were good but old bolts when I did it.

[F4?]

Gary and Phyllis is great, move over to bills bad bolts. Decent down rock around the clock.

[Brad Young]

J.C. beat the hell out of me this week.

I'm tired and I'm going to bed now.

And I forgot the butter, so I'm having buttered toast for breakfast.

[clink]

J.C. beat the hell out of me this week.

 That noise you heard was likely a penny dropping and not JC's shoulder popping. 

 Hope you guys are back in good working order soon.

[Brad Young]

 That noise you heard was likely a penny dropping and not JC's shoulder popping. 

 Hope you guys are back in good working order soon.

That noise was a lot louder than a penny dropping. I thought he'd dropped a grapefruit sized rock about 15 feet to the ground. And it was his shoulder making the noise, not a rock.

[JC w KC redux]

J.C. beat the hell out of me this week.

I'm tired and I'm going to bed now.

And I forgot the butter, so I'm having buttered toast for breakfast.

Dispelling any mystery behind the incident. I placed that first bolt partially standing on the big knob that broke (the left one). Most of my weight was on my right foot and I had two knobs slung for security. I got back up there after Brad was done with the route to try and simulate my stance but it was a little misleading since that hold was gone. With what's left now and where the bolt is, it seemed like I was standing on the right knob with my left foot but as we can see - not true.
 

[Atomizer]

What is the largest fall that has ever been survived at pinnacles?

[mynameismud]

I do not know but that guy might be it.  Jeepers, that was huge

[clink]

What is the largest fall that has ever been survived at pinnacles?

 From grace or holds?

[F4?]

Why Adam, it depends....I have a 2x logged that were at least 20-30ft.
The 1st was a grounder into bushes (yes they do soften the landing).
The 2nd, luckily wasn't a grounder, as I was caught before I was going to ground. At least 20ft (hard to tell as I did a few cartwheels.
Then there was one on Pereguine. Only 10ft, but clean.

My buddy took a nice 15 footer on POD after the crux..too tired to clip, pulled up to clip and was in the air....swoosh.

Maybe Mr. Mud as a few?

[waldo]

One not so fine winter day in 1978 I decided to climb the rappel face on Elephant Rock. The initial crack took a #5 stopper something more than fifteen feet up. I climbed well past it and rain began. I decided to move right and try for an escape. My right foot slipped off a wet hold and down I went. I ended up a foot or so off the gully rocks - unharmed. Bill (yes, Bill of Bill's Bad Bolts) was several feet higher than I was, complaining bitterly about scrapes and bruises acquired when I dragged him up the Elephant.

[JC w KC redux]

How about Splatter Matt?

Some lady rapping off Monolith last year.

Seems like I heard a story about Jim at Balconies (Conduit?) taking a long one and landing upside down with his head between two big lodestones. 

I know Brad had a story about someone taking a huge fall too.

I'm pretty sure Larry said someone dropped him 80 feet after he fell on Lava Falls and he hit the ground.

[F4?]

On my 1st major fall....I was sliding down the slab....all the while Munge was yelling JUMP, JUMP into the bushes!!!!
The worst part....I shredded my Sporthill running tights.

[clink]

 As I recall, Crile and Chad Carvey  were climbing Lava Falls and Chad ran out of gear, skipped the last couple bolts. He had one biner left upon arriving at the anchor. The bolt out to the right looked better so he stepped on a large cobble to traverse over. The cobble gave way, striking Crile in the back. Chad took a huge fall.

 Crile got a helicopter ride out and a long time healing from breaking the transverse process on 5 of his vertebrae. He fully recovered. Chad faded out of climbing.

 Here is what the NAA Report had to say.

 

FALL ON ROCK, FALLING ROCK

California, Pinnacles National Monument

On May 8, 1982, Chad Carvey (18) and his unde, Crile Carvey (33), were attempting a route up a black waterchute on the Balconies when this accident occurred. They later learned that the name of the climb was “Lava Falls.” At the time, they only knew it was rated 5.8–5.10 and had first been climbed a few weeks previously.

They selected a belay stance about ten meters away and to the right of the base of the climb. Chad took the first lead while Crile belayed, using a Sticht plate clipped to his harness in front; Crile also tied into a huge tree. Chad climbed through some steep 5.9 rock and made steady progress. When he was approximately 40 meters up the wall, Crile advised him that there was only ten meters of rope left. At this point, Chad was on a resting stance, facing a difficult section. As he was tired, low on carabiners and saw no double-bolted belay stance, he expressed his desire to come down for lunch. As Crile was ready to climb, he encouraged Chad to either figure out a way to belay him up to Chad’s position or go a bit higher and look around. After discussing the options, Chad agreed to move up. As he did so, he spotted a good belay stance a few meters above. In order to give him more rope to work with, Crile moved his belay spot a few meters closer to the wall. In response to Chad’s request, Crile fed the rope to him with a good amount of slack, to help him deal with the enormous rope drag. As Chad moved into the next hard section, Crile was careful not to pull him off his tenuous holds by feeding line in pace with his swift motion.

It was at this point that Chad fell. It took Crile several moments to realize that he was falling and to apply the brakes. His fall was slowed mostly by the friction from the running belays. He had at least eight points of protection, mostly runners clipped to bolts. At one point, the placement consisted of a single carabiner clipped to a bolt in such a way that the rope dragged quite directly on the rock. Chad fell about ten meters until he was able to grab a sling and clip in.

The cause of the fall was the sudden dislodging of a foothold. Chad had tested the large block before committing himself to it but found, as he moved off of it and applied some outward pressure, that he was suddenly minus a foothold.

The basketball-size block ended its 40-meter flight on the right side of Crile’s lower back, breaking five ribs and five transverse processes and slightly injuring a kidney. Not wishing to compound a possible back injury, he remained on his back until he was evacuated by NPS staff, on-the-scene volunteers and a MAST helicopter from Fort Ord. (Source: Crile Harvey, letter to the U.S. editor)

Analysis

Sometimes, even though you feel you have done everything thoroughly, this kind of unexpected event happens. Looking at a block which you are about to grab or step on, knowing the kind of rock and its probable cleavage, testing it by the usual means of hitting it, pushing and pulling on it, and exerting pressure on it from different angles, especially if you are concerned about it, help to increase the margin of safety. (Source: J. Williamson)