Ice climbing is not rock climbing

Translator's Note: Unfortunately, during the Spring Festival holidays, we learned of the accident that occurred in Shuangqiaogou. In spite of doubts in his mind, he was still waiting for the report of witnesses. He did not dare to speculate more on this matter. I just hope that all the friends who like ice climbing can pay attention to safety.

A few days ago, "Piracy Rocks and Wine" on ceramic shrimp reproduced a post written by Will Gadd in 2011 "Ice Climbing is NOT Rock Climbing" and was invited to translate the text. Let's share with everyone, or emphasize this old and important topic - security.

Ice climbing is not rock climbing

Translation: buds

Will Gadd made the following post after seeing this video: Please say something constructive in your comments, and also pay attention to the civilization of words. The audience added a lot of useful information in the following replies, such as information on seat belts and GiGi, but still let us pay more attention to the problems in the actual operation of climbing, instead of attacking the ice climbers and photographers in the short film. I did a lot of mistakes in my own short video. We all made mistakes in the video, but we also learned something from it and we hope to do better. Thank you!

The two screenshots in the post are about screens that don't have a buckle, and Kong's GiGi Protector is not being used correctly. I was shocked when I saw the use of seat belts and protectors. I wouldn't spend money on equipment that couldn't be fixed for a short distance. Thank you for the comments below that can point out the problems with seatbelts and GiGi. I didn't realize it until I was pointed out. It was quite scary to think about... Jeffrey Butler

Short film "The Fall"

http://static.video.qq.com/TPout.swf?vid=q0184vz1f68&auto=0

One of the biggest problems I realized was that at the beginning of the ice-climbing period, ice climbers would go to ice-climbing like climbing. This idea is completely wrong, and it will also lead to avoidable accidents. Recently, a friend of mine sent me a video link about a crash that occurred on the typical WI4 ice climbing route in Dracula, New Hampshire. The Pioneer's arm swelled, placing the ice cone reluctantly, and then fell. An accident occurred 3 minutes and 28 seconds into the video, but there have been signs of this as early as before. Here, I will pick out a few very serious mistakes in the video. Unfortunately, these mistakes are very common and they should not be committed.

Fortunately, this video can be found on the QQ video. You can load the entire video and drag it on the timeline to watch it. This video is not what the film narrator hinted at. The topic is about "change." In the video, the “changes” I can see and hear are minimal, and the more I see is the common mistakes made while pioneering the climb. These accidents can be completely avoided. In addition, in the next shot, it did not see any enlightenment for other climbers.

The first one I would like to point out, but also the first mistake, is that at the end of the film, 14 minutes and 20 seconds, the protector said, “The fall is very common and it should be predictable.” No, Completely wrong. During the ice climbing career of the past three decades, I only braked one of the pioneering crashes that occurred in the ice climbing and I had never experienced any pioneering fall. The same is true for most of the partners who climbed ice with me; only a few people had 1-2 ice climbing crashes at the beginning of ice climbing, and then they discovered that the crash that occurred during the ice climbing was really so terrible. Although only a few moments, there are some unexpected things happening, but this kind of thing is very few. Three people, I know, crashed a short distance while climbing ice, causing an ankle fracture to hit a nail or worse. Therefore, the fall is not common, and it should not be "foreseeable." This must be revisited.

In the video 2 minutes position, the protector's position is obviously where the ice falls. For this problem, the protector in the video decided to leave enough rope to avoid falling into the ice by moving the position. Because "If I were crushed by ice, would I still be a qualified protector?" This is not what I compiled. A better solution is to completely protect the protector from directly below the route. That's it. As of now, I only remember that I couldn't ensure the safety of the protectors on two ice climbing occasions (ironically, it was with Mark Twight climbing the ice on one occasion), and I placed protection points on two very inconspicuous places. (I'm sorry you, Dornian). So although you desperately shorten the pitch for climbing, it would be foolish if you put the protector in a dangerous position where he would be hailed. 3 minutes 20 seconds of the video, even the guy who took the video is standing under the ice. Fortunately, Dracula is just a single piece of ice climbing. Must not stand directly below the line! If the first rule of ice climbing is not to fall, then the second law of ice climbing must be "Don't stand on the ground where the ice will fall." If it is thought that falling ice is infrequent, this is the climbing thinking. . It must be assumed in advance that there will be a lot of ice in the ice climbing process, and then plan and respond to this.

There are also many shots of ice climbers waving in the video. Although this may sound harsh, I still need to be honest: The ice climber is simply not qualified to pioneer ice climbing. His snoring is very poor (3 minutes and 17 seconds is the best example of a gangster, you can see him waggling when he pulls himself up), his footwork is also very bad, so I am really puzzled by him It was only at this time that the crash occurred. I said that this does not mean any insults, but I fear that it will be too euphemistically ineffective for what it later does.

The video said "Yes, I'm more confident about equipment now, which also gives me a reason to put more protection." This sentence is also wrong on many levels. First, it did not catch the ice. The essentials, not crashing is the key to climbing ice, rather than placing protection. Because you have enough protection, you don't hang up when the accident happens (in the video, he does put enough protection), and then you think, "Look, it works, it's great, I can do more now. It's a mistake to think about it." The correct idea should be, "Damn, I've crashed. If I'm not so lucky, I might hang up. I need to rethink my approach to ice climbing."

I want to know what other ice climbers covered by the voice-over is covering in the video from 8 minutes 50 seconds to 9 minutes 20 seconds. I think they may be saying, "Brother, you should fight and hit the solid point. It should be like this. You should buckle the cow tail in the upper hole or lower hole of the hailstone so that you don't get nearly killed." It is a very basic technology, and ice climbers should all know it, but obviously they don't know it.

Ice climbers in the video should stop climbing before they fall. When climbing, if your arm is still bloated, you can still climb and even climb until you fall. In fact, rock climbing is to reach this critical point frequently. However, when climbing ice, it is very problematic to climb up to the special soreness of the arm. The possibility of a fall is very high. The man in the video may have an ankle fracture, he may be paralyzed for the rest of his life, or may be dead. If you feel that the arm is sore when you are climbing ice, you should do what the ice climber suggested in the video in 9 minutes: hook yourself up on a hail and hit an ice pick. This practice can be practiced under guidance, so that you can feel more at ease. Ice climbing for so many years, in this case, I have seen people screwing in the ice cone and only screwing it in. I have also seen someone snoring beside the ice cone, but I haven't seen it yet. rest). Falling when placing an ice pick is a common kind of sinking, but this kind of sinking can simply be avoided. So, stop climbing when the arm is sore, then screw in a cone and adjust it again. If the arm is really sore and unable to complete this pitch, it will come down. Or, climb 1.5 meters upwards, place an ice cone and hang yourself there to rest; for me, the ice climber who still climbs to the sinker compared to the soreness of the arm, I respect the courage to retreat. Ice climber. If your arm is already sore, stop and readjust. There is no route that is worth the damage.

So what can we do to avoid such accidents?

- More top rope climbing. Climb one by one. Practice placing ice cones, climbing crampons, climbing without crampons, and practicing hooking techniques. I bet that this climber has not climbed more than 30 pitches from beginner to now. A 30-meter line, at least 150 times, will begin to feel a little bit of ice.

- Practice putting yourself in a hail and practice placing ice cones. In general, this situation requires two quick-clamps on the seatbelt, or a flat strap on the seatbelt's guard ring. There are many ways to do more exercises.

The biggest problem I have seen in climbing ice is that few people do fitness. Most ice climbers begin this sport in the form of climbers (climbing).

Finally, there is a more critical issue. There is not too much criticism here, but everyone can think hard about it. If I want to fall like this, please do not put my head down on the ground. When the film was 9 minutes and 50 seconds, the ice climber was put in an inverted posture. Again, this time is very critical. With such speed and impact, I seriously doubt that the climber's spine will be injured... but I haven't commented on this point in the entire video. Fortunately, at the time of the incident, there was just one climber who was an emergency doctor – if the situation were worse, the ice climber might face a different outcome of life or death.

Well, probably this is, there are many other issues, but the above issues are the most important to me. I'm happy to provide free training for the ice climbers and video-shooting buddies in the video to enhance their ice climbing techniques and methods; I'm not so vocal and I don't mean for a certain ice climber. They Just took a video, but if you're lucky, my article will lead to more extensive thoughts among readers about these common mistakes in climbing ice.