UKC

I'm pretty new to bouldering - only been climbing for about a year. However I feel like I have no idea how to fall off the wall. I can jump fine and therefore if I lose balance or feel my grip slipping or something which gives me a quarter of a second to react I can push myself away from the wall and land well. However I've had a couple of falls where I had a big foot slip on terrible hands and went so hard + fast I just couldn't do anything. Did this over the weekend from 4 meters up and sort of instinctually grabbed at a couple of sloper holds on the way down but couldn't do more than slap then as I slipped past. I'm sure I slowed my fall a bit but I still hit the mat badly, nearly kneed myself in the face and gave myself really minor whiplash.

Is there anything you can do when you fall suddenly to keep yourself safe on impact? Is it just a case of experience as I felt like I went onto complete autopilot?

Jumping is easy to practice but I bad falls happen so rarely (for me...) that I feel like I'm not going to develop an instinctual feel for anything...

In reply to ashgirl91:

Wouldn't worry about slowing yourself down, focus on hitting the mat, on your feet, bendy knees
Good spotters invaluable

You can envision the potential falls before committing to the crux but that might not be the most positive headspace

Worst bouldering injury I had was from about a foot off the floor

In reply to ashgirl91:

Definitely don't try and grab anything on the way down. It won't really slow you down and both pulls you into the wall and risks hurting arms and shoulders etc.

Are you talking about indoors or outdoors?

In reply to ashgirl91:

Dont think about falling, it will get in your head, think about the move you are doing and nothing else, if you fall then you'll hit the ground before you know it and your spotter will have your back and hopefully you have the pads in the right place, if your inside you wont have to worry about pads.

In reply to ashgirl91:

Get stronger then falling won't happen as much. Nothing you can do. If it happens too quick only cats can do anything.

In reply to ashgirl91:

Sounds nasty, and we have all been there!

It does get better with experience, but the main thing to know is then you might fall and when you might not:
* If you know you are doing a risky move it is a good idea to make sure you are ok with the fall, check the landing area just before you go to make sure it is clear, and maybe ask for someone to spot you.
* If you are taking many unexpected falls then I would think about footwork, although that may not have been the cause in your case. Many beginner falls I see are due to feet not being on holds properly. I choose the exact best bit of any foothold, watch my foot all the way on, and test the feel of a marginal foothold before using it for a move.

If I do fall I try to "crumple" when I hit the ground, going from standing to lying during the impact. I have done quite a bit of judo and jitsu which I think has helped, but probably too much work for most.

Some falls are inevitable, and mine have included:
* Falling off from 1m up at Kyloe-in and rolling my ankle on the edge of my mat with a loud crack, then hobbling out using 2 sticks before it got dark (1km in 45 minutes).
* A dyno for a rounded hold at 5m up on a 45 degree overhang wall during a comp. My body went horizontal, my hand cut, I kept spinning, and landed head downwards. Put my hands in front of my face and got away with just a huge bruise on my elbow. I am now really cautious with the last move on that wall!
* Slipping off on ectoplasme (95.2 in Font). My brother was spotting me and made sure I landed well - without him I would have smacked my head on the boulder behind.

Hope you stay injury free!

In reply to ashgirl91:

I will give my 2 pence for it is worth,

I am also a new climber and started out with Bouldering but honestly as I was progressing I was getting to the stage where a bad fall was going to happen sooner rather than later and in part it did with a instant foot slip on a sloper and nearly breaking my ankle after a 2-3 metre fall, this was a wake up call that I really needed to start climbing and doing routes be it with a partner or Auto Belay..

I have improved heaps and do still head to the Bouldering gym once in a while if I have no partner or my climbing times are dictated by what is open but I will climb within my limits or head to the training wall area, funny enough since doing a few solid months of training on the Auto Belay and heading back to the Bouldering gym I am climbing up to 2 grades high (Not that it means anything).

I simply do not feel I can justify a bad injury bouldering when I can challenge myself on Top Rope routes with minimal risk (or at least greatly reduced), I climb at 3 indoor locations depending on work and all say that Bouldering is by far the most prone activity for injuries. From what I have personally witnessed I would say that is also clearly the case.

Having a spotter is a major advantage but for many people a luxury..

Just calculate the personal risk and make the best judgement for you, I would say as the months are going by and I am getting stronger I am finding I have more time to react when on the wall, obviously if you are dragging yourself up a route way above ones ability expect any fall to be quite a panicked affair..

I have spoke with a good number of climbers that simply refuse to boulder due to the risk factor but that is for another thread...

Regards

If it’s hard practice falling off (even from the top) then accept the landing and focus on reading and finishing the route.

Know you can finish the problem.

In reply to ashgirl91:

Dont land on your head it will hurt

In reply to mark s:


I'd say the opposite applies as you get stronger - you run out of easy problems, and all that are left are those that require extensive falling off. To quote the cyclist Greg LeMond, "it never gets easier, you just get faster".

To the OP, stick to the steep stuff - in my experience, injuries result from obstructions, not the height fallen from. Indoor slabs especially are accidents waiting to happen - shin-scraping, impalement by the jugs of the kids' problems. The harder and steeper it is, the cleaner the fall. Most people seem to find spotters reassuring, although I rarely find the need - I get preoccupied by the prospect of landing on spotters and hurting them, more distracting than reassuring.

In reply to thebigfriendlymoose:

Mark knows this.... it's as if someone's hacked his account.

Spot on about indoor slabs: some of the setting makes me cringe at times, especially when a big low jug waits to extract maximum consequencies for failing on a delicate move on a harder problem up above.