UKC

Never have. Taken a big one on to rock gear on a winter route, but never a bona fide, saved by a screw sky dive...

In reply to Daniel Armitage: Not that i want to...

In reply to Daniel Armitage:

Someone took a biggie onto a screw on the Ben about 4 or 5 years ago, on the Orion Face I think. I recall it ended in a rescue, but no death/serious injury. Someone here must know something about it. It made the national press.

In reply to Daniel Armitage:

Yes. Can't be bothered to talk about it tonight though. I usually mention it (on average) every three days, so watch this space on Friday when I will wheel the tedious tale out yet again. It's what I love about UKC- the variety.

Davie

In reply to Daniel Armitage: No but I caught one once. No dramas at all but it was in proper cold ice. i.e. it wasn't in Scotland.

In reply to I am the God of Strathyre: This is a CLIMBING forum.... Subjects about climbing are likely to pop up repeatedly now and then!

Try http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/organic/

For a little variety.....

Dan

In reply to Daniel Armitage:

A friend of mine held a fall direct onto the belay on physcadelic(sp) wall, the belay was one stubby screw.

In reply to Daniel Armitage:

Well sort of.

At the top of Number 2 gully BN. just about to drill a screw in under the cornice. I lost my footing and slipped down the slope. I managed to do an axe style arrest but with the ice screw still in my right hand, having sliped about 10 metres.

Has a Yahooooo, down Boomarang Gully SCNL. Thankfully the screw held. Oh that feeling when the rope goes tight....and holds.

In reply to Daniel Armitage: Fell about 30 feet onto one of those old russian titaniums a number of years back before good screws were invented. It bent through about 45 degrees! but saved me!

My axe popped out and hit me in the face. We were 2 pitches up on La Thuille(Valnontey). Thanks to my mate Steve, I woke up in the CT scanner in Aoste, and other than about a dozen stitches I was back climbing again 3 days later.

In reply to graeme gatherer:
Graeme
I have four screws that were given to me 8 - 10 yeras ago? and said to be Russian titanium jobs. They are very light, only have three teeth on the end, and have a hanger sort of like a BD screw but angled. I've often wondered about their holding power - particularly the joint where the hanger connects to the top of the tube. Are mine the same as the one you are refering to? I use them mainly as 'spares. It would be of some comfort to know that they are at least fairly reliable!

In reply to John Workman:

Some hangers have been known to simply sheer through the tube body when someone falls on to them. I threw mine away after someone told me firsthand, this had happened to them.

Davie - would you like me to recount your falling onto the ice screw story for you?

In reply to I am the God of Strathyre:

Dear Davie,
Please tell us your tale of the ice screw fall, what happened and where, go on ?
JJ

In reply to John Workman: I would agree with Toby. Bin them. I think i was very lucky if truth be told!
Only buy good screws these days.

In reply to Daniel Armitage:

Watched a lad fall the length of the Rigigd Designator (great name, great route) in Colorado. Had to have been a vertical drop of 80 foot. Screw held but the top of it was bent through about 45 degress.

In reply to Daniel Armitage:
Was once on a course with Glenmore Lodge where they made you test them after placing them. Involves fancy rope work with axes to stop them hitting you if they rip out.

It filled an hour, in quite an exciting fashion.

They were well placed in good ice and we couldn't budge em.

In reply to Daniel Armitage: I took a 20/30 footer onto a tied-off 8 mm steel re-enforcing rod on an attempt at the 3rd ascent of 'The Great White Fright'at Dover in the 1980's. It held.

In reply to Daniel Armitage:

Fell about 6 or 7m (including rope stretch/slippage) onto a screw, which held perfectly, at the end of last seaon. I was mighty impressed as the reason I fell was crampons, followed by axes, shearing through bubbly snow-ice and the ice was not much better at the screw placement. Certainly made me more confident in their holding power!

In reply to Daniel Armitage:

The Ben 2 years ago. The big icicle left of Mega route X. My axe popped right at the top exciting onto some mixed ground. I fell headfirst backwards about 40 feet. I fell onto a 18cm Grivel 360,(no screamer). It held fine and I just had a big scare and some bruises. I remember placing the screw and felt the ice was good.

So in the end it turned out allright. The icicle was steep/vertical to I hit very little on the way down. I think this helped a bit too. I used 2 8.8mm ropes.

In reply to Exile:

Have we met?! (This happened to me yonks ago)

In reply to Laubie:

>>My axe popped right at the top exciting onto some mixed >>ground.

I'd say that was pretty exciting alright.

In reply to TobyA:


I never fell on mine but on route in the alps with very hard winter ice the hangers rounded off when trying to screw or unscrew them which meant we started the route with about 8 in total but ended it with none.

In reply to Daniel Armitage: I managed to come off the very to of No.2 gully on the Ben last year whilst chopping a slot in the cornice. The last pro I had in was a screw a heady 40m below, so yes i fell 80m. Although it wasn't a full parabolic arc through space, I was going at a fair old speed and spent quite of bit of time in the air (so my partner told me anyway, as I cleared him with plenty room to spare). But anyway, the screw (that was placed in an snow covered boss of ice) held. Not to be recommended, and it hurt quite a lot, but at least I can still tell the tale. And it goes to prove that screws can be pretty bomber.

For all you gear spods it was a medium (17cm?) Grivel 360, and it had a DMM shock absorbing sling on it, with one Beal Iceline climbed in to it.

In reply to dek:
Don't think so, who were you climbing with?

In reply to Exile: Old geezer from Dundee, who should remain nameless!

In reply to dek:

Go on, tell us.

In reply to Norrie Muir: Canny....but you prob know him...and about similar age!!

In reply to dek: He wasn't at the Upper Doonie dinner on Sat was he?

In reply to graeme gatherer: Might well have been

In reply to Daniel Armitage: You see! This is why i asked! Myriads of confidence building " I fell a Squillion metres onto a single screw and it held" type stories.....

Ace

In reply to dek:
Not you then.

In reply to Exile:
What, Old Geezer?

In reply to Daniel Armitage:

Yes, took a good one onto a screw. it held, I down climbed we drank beer

In reply to Daniel Armitage:


That's because you don't get to hear the 'I fell 50 metres onto a screw and it ripped, killing me' stories, for obvious reasons.

In reply to StonedDeranger: True....... Try not to think too much about that.

In reply to Daniel Armitage:

Basically, if the ice is fairly solid a modern ice screw will hold a fall surprisingly well i.e. it will stop you falling!
Summary of mine- 8m fall headfirst onto a 13cm stubby Turbo Express, when the crux icicle snapped off with me on it. I got some bruises but went on to finish the pitch and we completed the route (False Rumour Gully IV,4 Creag an Socach).

Davie

In reply to I am the God of Strathyre: I know the theory, I just never spoke to anyone who actually tried it out!!

Thanks.

In reply to Daniel Armitage: Held a leader fall on pschedelic, then abbed off an extra Lowe Snarg, nowt as posh as a BD turbo! (Keechin maself mind!)

In reply to Daniel Armitage: held a mate on Last Post. ice was on the soft side of perfect but still good unless you had vertical front points which slid through the ice as the big man found out.

looked up just in time to see him somersaulting through the air, put ma head doen thought shit and pulled the rope tight round ma waist. fortunately he stopped six feet from easy gully after falling about 25 metres.

I was thankful of Martin Moran's advice on using a waist belay for more dynamism when the pro is questionable as the screws were in the softish ice.

how we laughed on the 3 hour hobble out on a badly sprained ankle.

In reply to yer maw: Agree with you about the waist belay!

In reply to dek:

I'm glad to know that I have been doing something right when winter climbing. Mind you, we would have both decked it if one of us had fallen on Psychedelic Wall; the protection was less than marginal.

In reply to Norrie Muir: I mind the sea of lovely thin plastic ice, where the front points had to be placed gently so as not to bounce back out after hitting the slab, engrossing stuff!

In reply to dek:

Aye, good memories.

In reply to Daniel Armitage:

The rope next to us on Patri de droite in Valnontey this last season took a majestic fall of 5-7 meters while sinking a screw. Came off in a clean fall, one tool stuck in ice above, borrowed mate's tool went up to retrieve tool and topped out.

In reply to I am the God of Strathyre:


IV, 4 with detaching icicles? Might give that one a miss...

In reply to Jamie B.:

'Icicle' does makes it sound like WI6 or summat!
The crux bit was an 8 foot column of ice in a groove barring access to the groove above. It didn't like my pie- man dimensions being added to it and set off down the route in a huff, with me attached. Tom saw this big white thing come fleeing out the bottom of the gully with a white- faced me shortly after it, heid first.
After the column had fallen off the route felt much more like IV, 4!

Davie

Davie

In reply to Daniel Armitage:

Friend of mine took a fall on the crux of cut-throat Ben Oodglie (I know thats not how you spell it) a couple of seasons back, the screw held, and we abbed off went the pub and had a laugh about it.( well i laughed he had very sore knees). I took a fall last winter at Craig meggy( I know thats not how you spell that either)off of Smiths gulley fell direct onto the belay 2 solid screws and 1 that you could slide in and out with your fingers. Lost a front tooth and messed me shoulder up but thankfully the belay held.