UKC

Just got back from a trip to Shepards crag where my brother and I did little Chamonix, we've talked about doing it for ages so it was great to get on the route, even it was a little slimy.

Whilst getting geared up for the route the local mountain rescue outfit, set up a simulated rescue from the top with stretcher and all, and lowered it down the route.

It got me wondering, did they do this on this specific route because it is one the most climbed routes in the uk, so therefore more likely to be an accident there?

I managed to get some photos and video, it was a little surreal trying to find my way across the saddle and on to the slab with a stretcher, pretend casualty, an abseil rescuer and a photographer all hanging directly above!!

 

In reply to GoneFishing111:

Maybe they'd sized you up and thought they'd get a headstart...

In reply to Lemony:

Probably, not far off the truth either!

In reply to GoneFishing111:

Feckin topropers have no place on a crag!

Ha, well it did make me wonder.

But then again it makes sense with so many people climbing the route to have the potential rescue scenario well rehearsed.

All good fun, memorable for sure

In reply to GoneFishing111:

Is it still loose on the top pitch ? 

In reply to Pete Pozman:

No, i didn't notice anything

In reply to Pete Pozman: There have been some rattly flakes on LC's top pitch for as long as I can remember, perhaps 40 years. They seem well bedded in but I have always felt that for an aspiring V diff leader heading up that ever so slightly overhanging pitch, coming across them unexpectedly might be the last thing you want.

 

In reply to Mike Conlon:

It was sound in the sixties but the last time I did it I got a surprise. It's a spectacular lead but,   I agree,  not recommended as a first.  

In reply to GoneFishing111: Our team certainly set up training events in likely hot spots. A couple of years back some local mountain bikers set up a new downhill route and we could see a dodgy section so organised a training exercise to find out the best approach and extraction routes. A week later we had a real incident at the same spot!

 

In reply to Mike Conlon:

I might be a wimp, but when I led it as a younger and vastly less experienced v. diff leader, the final pitch was the least of my worries compared to the pitch before it. Still need to go back, lead it again and prove a point to myself. I'm not sure what the point is, but I feel a need to prove it...

In reply to tehmarks:

crossing the tabletop over the bottomless gap?

In reply to wercat:

Yeah - my less experienced self couldn't find any worthwhile gear on the block, but placed a poor unextended cam anywhere. Took me a while to figure out how to actually cross the gap, quickly traversed to the arete, placed a bomber unextended hex and started to make upwards progress. The problem was the single rope now went from the belayer up the slab, across the block, around the arete, and then up. By the time I was below the saddle I couldn't move for rope drag. Got a bit stressed, pulled the bomber hex out which only increased the stress, and eventually clawed my way into a sitting position on the saddle.

It took some time to calm myself.

Fantastic route though.

In reply to tehmarks:

Of these things are climbers made.

In reply to Pete Pozman:

You're not wrong there. And of those things lessons about rope drag are also swiftly learnt!