Happened to me today, Stressed to the max all week. went to climb extremely focused, made it all the way to the top of the wall before i realized I wasn’t clipped in at all. with the help of luck and adrenaline I was able to scale down using other holds. it has Definitely shook me up. I would’ve never expected myself to do that. terrifying.
Sorry to hear that, but very glad you realised before releasing. None of us are always 100% on it all the time. Creating a strict system check to go through every time you leave the ground is essential.
Man I couldn't even fathom scaling back down after realizing such a thing, my hands get so sweaty even trying to imagine. I think I'd just be so nervous that I'd keep needing to chalk up every 2 seconds lmao.
Was there someone close by in the gym? Just wondering if that happens (making it to the top unclipped) if instead of downclimbing it would be worth it to shout to someone to release the clip from the anchor so it comes back up. Then you can clip in at the top and hop down.
@@matt72986that can damage the autobelay if you miss and also hit you quite badly, usually worth clipping into a quickdraw or something (there’s usually some on most walls) and getting someone to go up the line next to you
A few months ago I went climbing, did several routes on autobelay and then noticed an acquaintance who could belay me. So I got the rope, tied in and went for a light route in order to climb several for endurance. I completely forgot to clip and got to about 7 meters until I heard my belayer shout"Clip! CLIP!!". So I clipped and luckily nothing happened. I am overcautious, always checking knots and gear twice, this can happen to anyone. Stay safe folks!
Warehouses use bluetooth carabiners to hook into PITs that raise up high, I don't understand why climbing gyms don't implement the same thing. At the very least with their own harnesses
non climber here but would having a self check routine, used every time, help with this? E.g. Always mentally count off the first few holds and then check when at the xth hold.
@@humfreee we do that routine on the ground, a (partner) check every time. At least we should. And of course we should do it even on the autobelay. But mishaps happen.
Every time you use an autobelay jump off after 1m up as a safety check. It might look silly but it will save your life if you make it an ingrained habit.
I have no idea how this could happen, the triangle cover at the bottom and the rope must make it impossible to climb. I was always taught to double check everything before climbing so it's a habit
Side walls bro. I our gym the side walls have routes that you start and traverse over back under the AB. I've done it a few times just starting out like that!
I'm an experienced climber, not reckless nor accident prone, but I had a bad day too. My gym had set a bunch of bouldering problems for an upcoming competition, but had not yet taken down the surrounding auto belay routes. Bouldering is not normally my thing because I don't like the wear and tear I get on my old knees from falling off, but I tried one of the easier looking boulder problems anyway. I got it on my first try, but then instead of jumping off, or downclimbing, my brain farted and I reached for a hold on a difficult project that I had recently got wired. I continued up on autopilot, got to the top at 28 feet, and then without noticing that I wasn’t clipped in, grabbed the rope with both hands as usual, and jumped off. The rope quickly slid through my hands and burned them without slowing my fall at all. I reflexively let go of the rope, and concentrated on remaining upright and hoped not to hit the wall on the way down. I made a beautiful landing on two feet with my arms stretched overhead, but the impact happened so fast that I was unable to roll out of the landing, nor absorb the impact with my legs. I folded into a deep squat and heard a popping sound that I later learned were my lumbar vertebrae cracking and crushing.
A few days in the hospital, three months in bed or walking strapped into a hard plastic back brace, four more months of getting my strength back, until I was back to climbing again. Although now sometimes when I am partway up a climb, I will have a little panic attack and have to check to make sure I am clipped or tied in.
Why didn’t I downclimb from the top of the boulder problem? Why didn’t I notice that the rope was in my way on the way up? Why while I was shaking out in a rest stance, and made eye contact with some strangers on the ground didn’t they notice I wasn't clipped in? Why didn’t I notice that I wasn’t getting the usual 40 pound lift from the auto belay.
I’m sorry this happened to you. But I’m also a bit confused as to what you’re describing. Do the boulder continue up into a proper route? How can you continue from a boulder to a route? If it’s actually set like that, that seems shockingly reckless from the gym.
@@motherlove8366 That wall is usually just full height auto-belay routes. That day they were putting up boulder problems on the lower part of that wall, but had not yet taken down the floor to ceiling auto-belay routes. Each route, and each problem, are differentiated by hold color. The only thing preventing me from continuing unclipped from the boulder problem to the route, was my own common sense. I accept responsibility for my mistake. I do not blame the gym.
Your so brave to publish this honest account... Thank you for sharing what must be hard of others to recognise in themselves. We're all human and I know "it" could easily happen to me withoit my friends spotting such a mistake
The American Alpine Club publishes a list of accidents in climbing and mountaineering every year, which includes analysis of the incident and tips to avoid it. Tough reading, but valuable
I also had a bad accident as described here. What is astonishing is that you do it 1000 or even more times correctly (you check and you doublecheck always) and then one day it also happens to you. Every thing that can go wrong goes wrong one day. That is what I am afraid of always. One can really make the most incredible mistakes. This not only when you go climbing. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for sharing this. This happened at the gym where I climb. The guy didn't clip in and fell from the top, the routes are maybe 30' tall. I heard a bang and then saw him bounce. His leg was broken with a compound fracture half way up his calf. I think it happens more often than we know. In Canada these accidents are not mandatory to report and gyms often don't even share this information with other gyms in the area.
That's why you make safety checks a routine you never break. Our brains are not to be trusted. I worked on a circular saw for 5 years and never had an issues. So over time i stopped pulling down the safety hood that goes over the blade. Because i knew what i was doing and always paid attention. One day, i was just about to cut a piece of wood, i was tired, already thinking about going home soon, someone behind me started swearing about something, i look back to see what was going on and without looking.. i grab my piece of wood that was lying on the running circular saw. Just that i didn't grab the wood. I grabbed into the saw and cut off my thumb. With disbelief i watched the stump where my thumb used to be and i remember how confused i was at first. How the fuck was i dumb enough to put my hand towards a running circular saw with an open protection hood WITHOUT LOOKING AT IT. I was perfectly safe and focused for 5 years. All of the sudden.. one day.. i just didn't. No idea why. Didn't even occur to me that i made a mistake until that thumb was gone. So yeah. Be a pedantic, nitpicking and annoying autist about your safety checks. Because once you think you don't need them, you are inviting accidents. And if you give them the chance, sooner or later they will crash your party.
A good friend of mine did something similar with a bandsaw and chopped down the centre of his thumb, which was saved, but only just. He had a picture of his sliced thumb taped to the front of the saw after that. I worked in the ports industry for years and they drilled into us on every safety course that it’s disproportionately the guys who are first day on the job or the guys who’ve got 20 years experience who have the accidents; the former through lack of training and the latter through overconfidence.
Climbing has its risks but the biggest risk is carelessness on behalf of the climber or the belayer. We don’t need to change anything people just need to give this activity the seriousness it deserves. Double and triple check everything. I am 71 and have been climbing since I was 17. My only serious injury was due to lack of skill when starting to lead. The few near misses that I have had that could have been fatal were always due to my own lack of attention and failure to double and triple check my tie in or my anchor. I have had friends killed in stupid accidents - all due to their own carelessness. Stay safe everyone, wear a helmet outside and double and triple check everything.
It's shockingly easy to do and it's one of my worst fears in a climbing gym. My brother got half way up an auto belay wall when his mate shouted up that he hadn't clipped in. Thankfully, he down-climbed and was ok. I think if I was fairly high I would switch myself to the easiest holds, grab the belay strap and call down for someone to unclip the line at the bottom to send it up to me. Getting sweaty palms just thinking about it.
Thanks for your comment Ryan. It is indeed so easy to do. The more people hear about incidents like this, the more it will be in their head. I'm glad your brother got away with it!
I was climbing few years ago on autobelay and needed a couple of minutes for some rest. unclipped and forgot to clip in, since I was tired and distracted by a podcast. Topped a fairly hard 30 ft route and let go of the top hold. landed with one leg on a hard floor. shattered my ankle and got a minor lumbar spine injury. 3 surgeries and 1.5 years later was recovered and climbed at the pre injury level. feel lucky for not hitting the floor with my head. that could happen to anyone. stay focused and stay safe and alive
Idk, at the same time it makes you think way more about the process when you go do lead, top rope or auto belay, exactly because it is out of your comfort zone. People that have a lot of experience tend to stop thinking, and that’s when accidents happen. That is seen a lot in work accidents statistics
Nah most errors are made because routine becoming so habitual that you aren't consciously engaged when doing it. Bouldering wont increase your odds of fucking it up unless you dont have the proper training.
Dunno, in bouldering I am much more conscious of my ability to take a fall. People who do mostly rope climbing seem much less afraid of taking falls. I think the issue is getting too comfortable to the point that you think you can stop paying attention.
@@the-climbing-academy Thank you for reply. I am sorry for asking but do you know if there is any published paper/article regarding the injuries that happened because of these kind of cases? I have been trying to look for any reports but I couldn't find any.
The gym I climb at had a history of people not clipping in and having accidents. They made changes to the belay gates. They replaced the dark blue ones with bright yellow ones to assist the climber in seeing it. They also replaced the small gates with long ones that make it very difficult to climb without clipping in.
The Prop Store (where Sam's accident happened) installed giant belay gates, where all starting footholds are covered, making it extremely difficult to start any climb without being clipped. It makes sense.
Good to hear changes were made. These accidents are learning opportunities. Another practice I seen employed is keeping all the auto belays together and not co mingled with roped routes.
This happened to me once. I made it about 25 feet up and fell on a hard move. Luckily the floor was a little padded and I just bounced off my butt/back and was totally fine. I think it happened because I initially was clipped in, but then realized I left my chalk bag at the base of the previous route I had climbed, so then I went to grab it and forgot to clip back in when returned. This was also made a little more awkward by the fact that I worked at the gym...
@@neildutoit5177 Well I didn't even realized it happened until I was already on the ground. Although I'd image it'd be best to land feet first and allow yourself to keep falling and roll off onto your side to dissipate the force. Kinda like a parkour roll except it's a little tricky since you don't have any forward momentum to work with.
When you’re too busy watching what your mind is doing instead of using your eyes to watch what’s in front of you is the moment you’re a dangerous climber. I know in this modern world with all the distractions it’s easy to forget, and most people don’t even know they can stop watching their mind and use their senses, but the majority of belay failures happen in the moments you’re distracted by watching the tv show your mind is making rather then whats going on in the moment. If it’s not happening in front of you, it shouldn’t be happening inside of you. Just be present and safety is always easy.
Really cool to share this, I think we all have some example of a properly dangerous dumb thing we accidentally did, fortunately it's usually, "shit that was close". But it's rare that we're brave enough to share it! Cool that this lady isn't so proud that she keeps it to herself
@@the-climbing-academy Yeah totally agree. We should all - for the safety of others - be a bit braver and be willing to share stuff where we 'don't look our best'
If you watched the video you’ll realize how it happens. That’s why it’s best to always climb with someone else. That way, you’ll always have someone watching you, especially when you get hyper focused on a certain move like she did.
I forgot to clip in auto belay too. Someone shout to me where i was on top..... i relaised it ant freezed on top. The guy runs to me and unclip the auto belay on the bottom. i catched it and go down.... Then i went home..... It was so sick
This in flying is called the accident chain. Break one link and the accident doesn't happen. Unfortunately, many times someone doesn't know how close they came and continues the behaviors until the missing link aligns and a accident happens. I have had people give me OK at belays, which could be misunderstood adding the link. Or being taken off belay on a big ledge, being tired, and leaning over forgetting you are unclipped, adding the link. Or a habit of taking your hand off the belay, having a fall happen, being the link. There are a million ways to kill yourself climbing and most are preventable.
Hi Jimmy. That's very interesting. Climbing is indeed very safe - if it's done correctly. We ask all climbers to look out for one another to help prevent these links happening. Thanks for taking the time to watch and comment.
i did this about a month ago, fell from 20ish feet onto a soft floor and was luckily fine. Just a sore upper back and neck. Was climbing before work and pretty tired. Been climbing a ton for the last 4 years and never done it before then
I used to equate this with old seasoned climbers and wondered about an early signs of things like dementia or alzheimer's, but have talked to many in their twenties and thirties who failed to clip in, as well. The triangle wedges help greatly, but sometimes the autobelay does not get replaced, after being moved to access a lead start, etc. Mark Hesse, a veteran rock and alpine master who'd soloed a hard route on McKinley, died in 2014, apparently falling from the top of the gym wall with no autobelay clipped in. Everyone has to figure out their own safety mantra, for checking tie-ins, and indoors watching others can occasionally catch a mistake before the stakes get too high, no pun intended.
I like thinking about it as a mantra. It needs to be an ever-present thought. The story of Mark Hesse is a very sad one. We now have much larger safety flags at the bottom to make it even harder to start without being clipped.
@@the-climbing-academy I left out my own "senior moment," when at the same gym I was on a moderate warm-up, then suddenly realized I was ten feet from the top, but with nothing clipped to my waist. In fifty years of climbing, I at least had built an internal composure, and I just reached for the nearby lead quickdraw, clipped it into my belay loop, then calmly got the attention of a person below. I instructed them to unclip the autobelay from the sandbag, and let it go; I know they don't rocket up, but rise at a modest rate. I was within reach of the webbing, and when the carabiner got to my hand, I just clipped it to my harness, unclipped from the quickdraw, and topped out before lowering normally. I have even young friends who also have spaced out clipping to the autobelay; mostly the large triangle wedge blocks leaving the ground, an effective visual jolt that the climber has to directly deal with. Where sandbags, etc. are used to get the autobelay out of a lead climber's way, I make a point of always moving it back to the triangle wedge, and also tell onlookers why I do so, with emphasis. Creating some sort of personal mental checklist, before leaving the ground in any situation, or letting a partner start up, has to be absolute, and cannot be interrupted by gym banter or distractions - lives depend on it.
Saw this happen to a guy several years ago. He was an experienced climber but he forgot to clip in and fell 30 or 40 feet onto a padded floor and broke his back. The impact was very loud.
Your own complacency will kill you. I always check my harness clip before I start the climb. When I get to the top before I let go I check again. Being cautious keeps you alive.
This happened at my gym and the guy climbed the full 40 feet because all the autobelays are set easy. He let go at the top and fell 40 feet, walked away lucky with a broken ankle.
I climbed 30 ft up the speed wall on autobelay and was thinking about getting to the top and letting go when I realized I wasn't clipped in. I downclimbed as quick as I could and spent the next 15 minutes verbally berating myself as to how the heck I screwed that up.
Man I can imagine it would be much more likely to end badly on a speed wall. Firstly they are super tall, then if you are totally focused on climbing fast you probably won't notice the belay and lastly that route finishes in a dyno! You did well to notice.
@@jeffreychongsathien It was, but for some reason that route had a small platform just to the side where you started from so it was just out of line with the triangle. In hindsight I should have noticed that but I missed it.
Happened to me :( I clipped belay off between reps to help some guy with his move and then went to the wall without thinkinh. I was totally pumped and wasn't thinking straight. Thankfully I was used to "flying" from other sports, therefore despite letting go off the wall in complete weird position and just relaxing before belay catches me, I somehow managed to react in time and land on my feet, almost straight. I was extremely lucky and got off with only broken heel. Always think at least once before getting on the wall!
@@wsemenske You're right, my mistake was dumb af however, if my comment was "too cool" for you, I don't know what to say :D It was one of the most stupid things I heard latately. Just to clarify why I made this comment, is to maybe someone to: - Never clip off your belay between the reps - Always think before getting on the wall - Let off the wall in a controlled manner This may seem obvious, but as this comment section and things I hear on the gyms, shows that people do make this mistake and maybe someone will think twice after reading it.
Few years ago , there was a horrible accident with a guy that drove his kid to kinderschool and then drove to work. He left the car on parking lot , and went inside the building. It was 30 degrees hot summer. During the lunch break he realised that his kid is still in the car. It just fell asleep on the rear seat in a baby seat and his mind was so took over by work things and other stuff that he just went straight to work , never even being close to kinderschool. Kid died. its easy to say " well, you should think , pay attention" , but i thinks its easy to say thing like that until it happens to you. Peace people. be safe. Double check yself and others.
Sounds like you're describing a lead fall, but an autobelay only has one point of contact, similar to toproping. She was saying she was lucky to fall from only part way up the wall because a fall from the top would've been much worse.
It happened to me several weeks ago, fortunately I only broken my left leg. And 4 month ago I just saw a guy fell because unclip auto-belay. After my accident the another climbing gym try to use a larger cover to replace the old small triangle cover, so that it can be covering all the starting points. Additionally, they have using a auto-alarm speaker to alter people.
Someone at my home gym didn’t tie the back up know correctly on lead and fell and the bones in legs were almost sticking out but like kinda same thing u said
Glad she was ok. Climbing can be a dangerous sport, if you're not paying attention. What she describes is a very rare / extreme instance of absent mindedness. Always check your knots or you're clipped in kids!
Just started climbing a month ago and I’m actually shocked by how lenient safety protocols are for rock climbing. I worked at a resort’s attraction place and we always checked if everyone was clipped in before people started rock climbing or doing ropes course. But in rock climbing gyms, there’s no process like that. You’ll just see employees walking around not caring about anything.
At a holiday resort people may only be climbing once (having never done it before) and therefore personal attention for every climb is essential. At climbing centres - certainly at TCA - all climbers must pass a competency test before they are allowed to climb in our centres. This is monitored by floor walks from qualified staff who are highly concerned about climber safety.
@@the-climbing-academy When I started, they just made us watch a video on how to use the auto belay and then we had to show how to clip in and answer a few questions regarding the auto belay. This took about 15 min to do and then they just left us alone after that. It felt really strange to be responsible of our own safety and felt terrified since professional staff wasn’t there to make sure we clipped in correctly and had our harness on correctly. And we only did a 15 min training on auto belay. I made a mistake once with putting on the harness and thank goodness someone noticed. When I worked at the resort, safety was #1 and we never let people clip or harness themselves so it was really shocking letting people be responsible for themselves at the rock climbing gyms. This is probably why mistakes like these happen at the rock climbing gyms since there’s no staff or second person making sure you’re clipped in before you start climbing. We never had any incidents at the resorts.
And even the employees at the resort would check each other if they had their harness on correctly and are clipped in correctly. We always triple checked since people and us could die if we were lenient at all.
@@Shibesuke Yes indeed. At a resort people would be climbing most likely for the first (and sometimes only) time. In that case every single person must be observed 100% of the time. At professional climbing centres all of our climbers must prove competency in a thorough safety check before they are allowed to climb.
I hope this never happens to me but I read some other comments where people had to climb down, and I wanted to share that I always keep my lanyard on my harness even when climbing indoor. I always thought it could be useful in case of an emergency (belayer fainting, problem with the rope, or the situation discussed here). Of course, you would need to realize the mistake before falling...
It does seem like something that would be hard to have happen; but it did happen to my friend who is a very experienced climber. It is just a good reminder to double check, most accidents are just mistakes that in hindsight seem like they shouldn't have happened.
over the years i have a couple of stories that i ve seen. two months ago a guy top roping being belayed by his sister fell 7 meters to the Ground on his side, because she didnt pay Attention and used a tube. What stuck with me the most was two idiots going to the climbing gym seing me climb on the Auto Belay, then once i got down to get a drink they went to me and asked if i can Show them how to tie the knot on the on their harness….
tony breebree huh? Tie a rope on their harness. Jesus man, these people are the reason I prefer to climb outside with people who have done it a long time. I don’t have to worry about looking over and watching someone fall 10m...
@@Dial8Transmition unfortuantely in germany you can climb anywhere you want without training, and every year someone gets hurt and the discussion starts over if it should be allowed or not. There is at least a death every year. But not everytime by a complete tool. Some of those who died were experienced climbers who got to confident with themselves
Was about to ask what’s so bad about that? I ve been bouldering for some time now but never got to climbing with a rope and as one person already mentioned, in Germany anyone can go. So if I wasn’t sure, I d rather ask someone who seems a bit more professional before taking a rusk
@@andulasis6283 fair question, of course you should ask if you are not sure. Usually when you have two guys climbing, one has enough experience, the other does not. I have never had the situation that both guys dont know the knot, which implies both dont have a lot experience belaying, clipping etc. thats what i dont like, its just not the same thing as going to a soccer game with your friends without knowing the sport etc.
I love climbing but haven't been in some time. It was my first time going to any climbing place and the, beginner friendly, area was all auto belays. There was this slightly tricky route that I had been trying with the person helping for a short time. It was the last climb before the seasion time was up and began to climb it. Maybe 5 moves or so in almost over the first ball when she panicked and reminded me to that I needed to clip first. I decended back and clipped in but it was defenetly a shock. In all honesty she seemed more panicked than me but if it wasn't for her I don't know what might have happened.
One of the ways we responded to this incident was by creating much bigger auto belay flags that will make this (in theory) impossible now. We even commissioned bespoke sizes for each line to entirely cover the lower section of each climb. Starting holds must be behind this. The more climbing centres can take action like that the less likely it is that incidents like this can happen again.
@@the-climbing-academy That doesn't really answer the question though. Where was the line at the start? I think it must have been in front of her but her brain disregarded it?
It happened to me also one time, luckily I realized after 1 hold but it was scary as hell, as I could easily have continued the route without noticing. In my case, there was the autobelay flag yes, but I was doing a route at the left of it, not covered exactly by the flag... The flag should be definitely larger I guess ... Well, now I always take care of that, but yeah not surprised accidents can happen, cause with routine, you forget things sometimes, it can happen to anyone
Good climbing buddies are invaluable. When you are on your own, retaining a habit of doing a pre-climb "buddy" check - even if it's just with yourself - is a good idea.
Worth keeping in mind that she did have a buddy with her. But when they established the climbing was done, he went to the toilet and she decided to give it another go. Just worth keeping in mind, it can happen to everyone, even the most careful
It happened to me also one time, luckily I realized after 1 hold but it was scary as hell, as I could easily have continued the route without noticing. In my case, there was the autobelay flag yes at the beginning, but I was doing a route at the left of it, not covered exactly by the flag... The flag should be definitely larger I guess ... Well, now I always take care of that, but yeah not surprised accidents can happen, cause with routine, you forget things sometimes, it can happen to anyone.
We hope not. Hopefully, it'll stay in your mind, so that this is much less likely to ever happen to you! Lack of awareness is where the accidents happen. Being fully aware of the risks makes you a much safer climber.
Im sorry but its called pay attention. Climbing is dangerous and if you're not clipping in you're not caring enough about safety period. I really dont care how busy your mind of the gym is. If you cant handle those conditions come back another day. Its a danger to you and others.
Everyone thinks it would never happen to them...until it does. There are plenty of documented cases showing that very experienced climbers are as likely, if not more likely to be overly confident and forget. By raising this issue, we get it into people's minds which will in turn help to minimise the instances of this happening.
@@the-climbing-academy Not going to disagree with what you're saying but in my eyes if this is still an issue with paying attention. If all it takes is more awareness to the topic is that not along the same lines of thought as paying more attention? We all know we need to clip in. With that said it may be possible to build in automate safety checks in auto belay devices. Im assuming the reason I havent seen anything like that is from cost.
@K R Im so paranoid on the belays Its hard to foresee such a fuck up my dude. I check all the gates multiple times because im scared shitless of breaking my legs. Its a really straightforward and fool proof thought process, if you care about your legs lol. And I am adding something. Im saying that its absolutely ridiculous to not be clipped in on an autobelay and to shrug it off and act like this happens to even the best is a terrible attitude. Increase your standards for safety and never allow something like that to happen instead of just saying it can happen. Damage control. Safety starts with you.
@K R Bro, the channel that uploaded this video literally said this in response to me just up above you... "Everyone thinks it would never happen to them...until it does. There are plenty of documented cases showing that very experienced climbers are as likely, if not more likely to be overly confident and forget"
It only takes one distraction to make a serious error .I was on a lead climb indoors a few weeks ago I was warmed up and it my turn to climb checked my knot checked the belay device and went straight past the first clip,my climbing partner of 2 years advised me that clipping in may be a great idea .I climb every weekend outdoors if the weather is good or indoors about 4 times a week.Music is a distraction in all climbing gyms however the biggest distraction is over confidence .luckily my buddy was on top form.
We are sorry you feel that way. This video is intended to act as a warning that this could happen to anyone. If this story even briefly flicks through the mind of any climber who approaches an auto belay and reminds them to clip - we are happy that it has done its intended job.
Speaking as someone who has had an ACTUAL climbing accident and probably lucky to have only sustained a broken Calcaneus from a 40ft whipper with one cam failure. GTFO with this. Couldnt climb for 10 weeks? I haven’t walked for 12 weeks and I can promise you the moment I am better. I will be back on the sharp end.
Happened to me today, Stressed to the max all week. went to climb extremely focused, made it all the way to the top of the wall before i realized I wasn’t clipped in at all. with the help of luck and adrenaline I was able to scale down using other holds. it has Definitely shook me up. I would’ve never expected myself to do that. terrifying.
Sorry to hear that, but very glad you realised before releasing. None of us are always 100% on it all the time. Creating a strict system check to go through every time you leave the ground is essential.
Man I couldn't even fathom scaling back down after realizing such a thing, my hands get so sweaty even trying to imagine. I think I'd just be so nervous that I'd keep needing to chalk up every 2 seconds lmao.
Was there someone close by in the gym? Just wondering if that happens (making it to the top unclipped) if instead of downclimbing it would be worth it to shout to someone to release the clip from the anchor so it comes back up. Then you can clip in at the top and hop down.
@@matt72986that can damage the autobelay if you miss and also hit you quite badly, usually worth clipping into a quickdraw or something (there’s usually some on most walls) and getting someone to go up the line next to you
A few months ago I went climbing, did several routes on autobelay and then noticed an acquaintance who could belay me. So I got the rope, tied in and went for a light route in order to climb several for endurance. I completely forgot to clip and got to about 7 meters until I heard my belayer shout"Clip! CLIP!!". So I clipped and luckily nothing happened. I am overcautious, always checking knots and gear twice, this can happen to anyone. Stay safe folks!
It should be written on the wall like 2-3 meters up, so you get it in your face when you started the climb: "DID YOU CLIP IN" on the autobelay walls!
My climbing gym 2 meters up says "clipped in?" and about 5 meters up say "definitely clipped in?"
I was climbing a 100 foot wall and like 20 feet up it says are you clipped in bruh if I’m that high and I’m not then if I fall I’ll break my spine
Warehouses use bluetooth carabiners to hook into PITs that raise up high, I don't understand why climbing gyms don't implement the same thing. At the very least with their own harnesses
non climber here but would having a self check routine, used every time, help with this? E.g. Always mentally count off the first few holds and then check when at the xth hold.
@@humfreee we do that routine on the ground, a (partner) check every time. At least we should. And of course we should do it even on the autobelay. But mishaps happen.
Every time you use an autobelay jump off after 1m up as a safety check. It might look silly but it will save your life if you make it an ingrained habit.
It doesn't look silly - it's the rules. Great advice!
I have no idea how this could happen, the triangle cover at the bottom and the rope must make it impossible to climb. I was always taught to double check everything before climbing so it's a habit
They might have added those after that happened. My gym doesn’t have those
Side walls bro. I our gym the side walls have routes that you start and traverse over back under the AB. I've done it a few times just starting out like that!
I thought this was supposed to be a super serious parody video about someone that forgot to clip the autobelay to the anchor at first
Ha I did that shit before
I'm an experienced climber, not reckless nor accident prone, but I had a bad day too.
My gym had set a bunch of bouldering problems for an upcoming competition, but had not yet taken down the surrounding auto belay routes. Bouldering is not normally my thing because I don't like the wear and tear I get on my old knees from falling off, but I tried one of the easier looking boulder problems anyway. I got it on my first try, but then instead of jumping off, or downclimbing, my brain farted and I reached for a hold on a difficult project that I had recently got wired. I continued up on autopilot, got to the top at 28 feet, and then without noticing that I wasn’t clipped in, grabbed the rope with both hands as usual, and jumped off. The rope quickly slid through my hands and burned them without slowing my fall at all. I reflexively let go of the rope, and concentrated on remaining upright and hoped not to hit the wall on the way down. I made a beautiful landing on two feet with my arms stretched overhead, but the impact happened so fast that I was unable to roll out of the landing, nor absorb the impact with my legs. I folded into a deep squat and heard a popping sound that I later learned were my lumbar vertebrae cracking and crushing.
A few days in the hospital, three months in bed or walking strapped into a hard plastic back brace, four more months of getting my strength back, until I was back to climbing again. Although now sometimes when I am partway up a climb, I will have a little panic attack and have to check to make sure I am clipped or tied in.
Why didn’t I downclimb from the top of the boulder problem? Why didn’t I notice that the rope was in my way on the way up? Why while I was shaking out in a rest stance, and made eye contact with some strangers on the ground didn’t they notice I wasn't clipped in? Why didn’t I notice that I wasn’t getting the usual 40 pound lift from the auto belay.
I’m so glad I didn’t fall on someone.
Thanks for sharing. That's a scary story. We're glad to hear that you are back to climbing
I’m sorry this happened to you. But I’m also a bit confused as to what you’re describing. Do the boulder continue up into a proper route? How can you continue from a boulder to a route? If it’s actually set like that, that seems shockingly reckless from the gym.
@@motherlove8366 That wall is usually just full height auto-belay routes. That day they were putting up boulder problems on the lower part of that wall, but had not yet taken down the floor to ceiling auto-belay routes. Each route, and each problem, are differentiated by hold color. The only thing preventing me from continuing unclipped from the boulder problem to the route, was my own common sense. I accept responsibility for my mistake. I do not blame the gym.
Your so brave to publish this honest account... Thank you for sharing what must be hard of others to recognise in themselves. We're all human and I know "it" could easily happen to me withoit my friends spotting such a mistake
accidents in climbing need to be talked about, when mistakes are made the outcomes can get pretty scary
Absolutely. We totally agree. Getting something like this into the back of your mind, will definitely help.
The American Alpine Club publishes a list of accidents in climbing and mountaineering every year, which includes analysis of the incident and tips to avoid it. Tough reading, but valuable
I also had a bad accident as described here. What is astonishing is that you do it 1000 or even more times correctly (you check and you doublecheck always) and then one day it also happens to you. Every thing that can go wrong goes wrong one day. That is what I am afraid of always. One can really make the most incredible mistakes. This not only when you go climbing. Thanks for sharing.
We're sorry that you experienced this too. I hope you're doing ok.
I like to think my fearful and cautious nature keeps me alive. My routine is clip, shake, squeeze, pull and often take a small jump off at the start.
Thanks for sharing this. This happened at the gym where I climb. The guy didn't clip in and fell from the top, the routes are maybe 30' tall. I heard a bang and then saw him bounce. His leg was broken with a compound fracture half way up his calf. I think it happens more often than we know. In Canada these accidents are not mandatory to report and gyms often don't even share this information with other gyms in the area.
That sounds like a bad one. Definitely spread the word. Improved awareness = safer climbers.
That's why you make safety checks a routine you never break. Our brains are not to be trusted.
I worked on a circular saw for 5 years and never had an issues. So over time i stopped pulling down the safety hood that goes over the blade. Because i knew what i was doing and always paid attention. One day, i was just about to cut a piece of wood, i was tired, already thinking about going home soon, someone behind me started swearing about something, i look back to see what was going on and without looking.. i grab my piece of wood that was lying on the running circular saw. Just that i didn't grab the wood. I grabbed into the saw and cut off my thumb. With disbelief i watched the stump where my thumb used to be and i remember how confused i was at first. How the fuck was i dumb enough to put my hand towards a running circular saw with an open protection hood WITHOUT LOOKING AT IT. I was perfectly safe and focused for 5 years. All of the sudden.. one day.. i just didn't. No idea why. Didn't even occur to me that i made a mistake until that thumb was gone.
So yeah. Be a pedantic, nitpicking and annoying autist about your safety checks. Because once you think you don't need them, you are inviting accidents. And if you give them the chance, sooner or later they will crash your party.
Could they reattach your thumb or is it gone for good?
You can always trust your brain. You just can’t trust yourself when you’re not using your brain.
Is your thumb back? Do you climb?
A good friend of mine did something similar with a bandsaw and chopped down the centre of his thumb, which was saved, but only just. He had a picture of his sliced thumb taped to the front of the saw after that. I worked in the ports industry for years and they drilled into us on every safety course that it’s disproportionately the guys who are first day on the job or the guys who’ve got 20 years experience who have the accidents; the former through lack of training and the latter through overconfidence.
Climbing has its risks but the biggest risk is carelessness on behalf of the climber or the belayer. We don’t need to change anything people just need to give this activity the seriousness it deserves. Double and triple check everything. I am 71 and have been climbing since I was 17. My only serious injury was due to lack of skill when starting to lead. The few near misses that I have had that could have been fatal were always due to my own lack of attention and failure to double and triple check my tie in or my anchor. I have had friends killed in stupid accidents - all due to their own carelessness. Stay safe everyone, wear a helmet outside and double and triple check everything.
It's shockingly easy to do and it's one of my worst fears in a climbing gym. My brother got half way up an auto belay wall when his mate shouted up that he hadn't clipped in. Thankfully, he down-climbed and was ok. I think if I was fairly high I would switch myself to the easiest holds, grab the belay strap and call down for someone to unclip the line at the bottom to send it up to me. Getting sweaty palms just thinking about it.
Thanks for your comment Ryan. It is indeed so easy to do. The more people hear about incidents like this, the more it will be in their head. I'm glad your brother got away with it!
If you're near a lead line id clip into a quickdraw
I was climbing few years ago on autobelay and needed a couple of minutes for some rest. unclipped and forgot to clip in, since I was tired and distracted by a podcast. Topped a fairly hard 30 ft route and let go of the top hold. landed with one leg on a hard floor. shattered my ankle and got a minor lumbar spine injury. 3 surgeries and 1.5 years later was recovered and climbed at the pre injury level. feel lucky for not hitting the floor with my head.
that could happen to anyone. stay focused and stay safe and alive
@@angrypacman that's horrific! Glad you recovered!
@@angrypacman Wait, why did you unclip at all?!
It happened to me also already but lucky i realized that i forgot to clip in half way up the wall and i could climb down again.
I imagine it's easier to do with a background of bouldering. Tying or clipping in isn't part of their normal pre-climb routine
Idk, at the same time it makes you think way more about the process when you go do lead, top rope or auto belay, exactly because it is out of your comfort zone. People that have a lot of experience tend to stop thinking, and that’s when accidents happen. That is seen a lot in work accidents statistics
Nah most errors are made because routine becoming so habitual that you aren't consciously engaged when doing it. Bouldering wont increase your odds of fucking it up unless you dont have the proper training.
Dunno, in bouldering I am much more conscious of my ability to take a fall. People who do mostly rope climbing seem much less afraid of taking falls. I think the issue is getting too comfortable to the point that you think you can stop paying attention.
Same thing happened to a guy in my town some years back. He had been climbing for 25, forgot to clip in, fell and died
So sad. It's such an important topic.
Can you please tell me where did that event happened? Because I am doing a research on rock climbing injuries/death.
@@muhddanial7129 It happened at The Prop Store in Glasgow (one our 4 TCA centres) www.theclimbingacademy.com/locations/the-prop-store/
@@the-climbing-academy Thank you for reply. I am sorry for asking but do you know if there is any published paper/article regarding the injuries that happened because of these kind of cases? I have been trying to look for any reports but I couldn't find any.
@@muhddanial7129 It would be worth touching base with the Association of British Climbing Walls - www.abcwalls.co.uk/
The gym I climb at had a history of people not clipping in and having accidents. They made changes to the belay gates. They replaced the dark blue ones with bright yellow ones to assist the climber in seeing it. They also replaced the small gates with long ones that make it very difficult to climb without clipping in.
The Prop Store (where Sam's accident happened) installed giant belay gates, where all starting footholds are covered, making it extremely difficult to start any climb without being clipped. It makes sense.
Good to hear changes were made. These accidents are learning opportunities.
Another practice I seen employed is keeping all the auto belays together and not co mingled with roped routes.
This happened to me once. I made it about 25 feet up and fell on a hard move. Luckily the floor was a little padded and I just bounced off my butt/back and was totally fine. I think it happened because I initially was clipped in, but then realized I left my chalk bag at the base of the previous route I had climbed, so then I went to grab it and forgot to clip back in when returned. This was also made a little more awkward by the fact that I worked at the gym...
What is the best way to fall if this happens? Tuck your limbs in and land on your back?
@@neildutoit5177 Well I didn't even realized it happened until I was already on the ground. Although I'd image it'd be best to land feet first and allow yourself to keep falling and roll off onto your side to dissipate the force. Kinda like a parkour roll except it's a little tricky since you don't have any forward momentum to work with.
Thank you. Did your gym "have the triangle cover at the bottom"? Like the top comment says this "should" make it almost impossible to forget?
When you’re too busy watching what your mind is doing instead of using your eyes to watch what’s in front of you is the moment you’re a dangerous climber. I know in this modern world with all the distractions it’s easy to forget, and most people don’t even know they can stop watching their mind and use their senses, but the majority of belay failures happen in the moments you’re distracted by watching the tv show your mind is making rather then whats going on in the moment. If it’s not happening in front of you, it shouldn’t be happening inside of you. Just be present and safety is always easy.
Really cool to share this, I think we all have some example of a properly dangerous dumb thing we accidentally did, fortunately it's usually, "shit that was close". But it's rare that we're brave enough to share it! Cool that this lady isn't so proud that she keeps it to herself
Absolutely. It is a brave thing for Sam to share, but an awareness that this can happen is a crucial part of preventing it from happening to others.
@@the-climbing-academy Yeah totally agree. We should all - for the safety of others - be a bit braver and be willing to share stuff where we 'don't look our best'
I accidentally took my dog’s medicine while distracted, I honestly can see how this can happen easily. It’s terrifying.
This literally just happened to a close friend- she sustained serious but non life-threatening injuries and is in hospital. She was incredibly lucky
How can this happen? Surly you’d notice the cord in front of you constantly and wouldn’t it get in your way?
If you watched the video you’ll realize how it happens. That’s why it’s best to always climb with someone else. That way, you’ll always have someone watching you, especially when you get hyper focused on a certain move like she did.
Thank you so much for sharing this.
Thanks for watching
I forgot to clip in auto belay too. Someone shout to me where i was on top..... i relaised it ant freezed on top. The guy runs to me and unclip the auto belay on the bottom. i catched it and go down.... Then i went home..... It was so sick
Damn that’s pretty wild
I can tell why you forgot. Check your spelling.
one of the reason i love bouldering is that i know i'm never high enough to get life treatening injuries.
This in flying is called the accident chain. Break one link and the accident doesn't happen. Unfortunately, many times someone doesn't know how close they came and continues the behaviors until the missing link aligns and a accident happens. I have had people give me OK at belays, which could be misunderstood adding the link. Or being taken off belay on a big ledge, being tired, and leaning over forgetting you are unclipped, adding the link. Or a habit of taking your hand off the belay, having a fall happen, being the link. There are a million ways to kill yourself climbing and most are preventable.
Hi Jimmy. That's very interesting. Climbing is indeed very safe - if it's done correctly. We ask all climbers to look out for one another to help prevent these links happening. Thanks for taking the time to watch and comment.
i did this about a month ago, fell from 20ish feet onto a soft floor and was luckily fine. Just a sore upper back and neck. Was climbing before work and pretty tired. Been climbing a ton for the last 4 years and never done it before then
We're glad you are OK
Is it best to fall on your back?
I used to equate this with old seasoned climbers and wondered about an early signs of things like dementia or alzheimer's, but have talked to many in their twenties and thirties who failed to clip in, as well. The triangle wedges help greatly, but sometimes the autobelay does not get replaced, after being moved to access a lead start, etc. Mark Hesse, a veteran rock and alpine master who'd soloed a hard route on McKinley, died in 2014, apparently falling from the top of the gym wall with no autobelay clipped in. Everyone has to figure out their own safety mantra, for checking tie-ins, and indoors watching others can occasionally catch a mistake before the stakes get too high, no pun intended.
I like thinking about it as a mantra. It needs to be an ever-present thought. The story of Mark Hesse is a very sad one. We now have much larger safety flags at the bottom to make it even harder to start without being clipped.
@@the-climbing-academy I left out my own "senior moment," when at the same gym I was on a moderate warm-up, then suddenly realized I was ten feet from the top, but with nothing clipped to my waist. In fifty years of climbing, I at least had built an internal composure, and I just reached for the nearby lead quickdraw, clipped it into my belay loop, then calmly got the attention of a person below. I instructed them to unclip the autobelay from the sandbag, and let it go; I know they don't rocket up, but rise at a modest rate. I was within reach of the webbing, and when the carabiner got to my hand, I just clipped it to my harness, unclipped from the quickdraw, and topped out before lowering normally. I have even young friends who also have spaced out clipping to the autobelay; mostly the large triangle wedge blocks leaving the ground, an effective visual jolt that the climber has to directly deal with. Where sandbags, etc. are used to get the autobelay out of a lead climber's way, I make a point of always moving it back to the triangle wedge, and also tell onlookers why I do so, with emphasis. Creating some sort of personal mental checklist, before leaving the ground in any situation, or letting a partner start up, has to be absolute, and cannot be interrupted by gym banter or distractions - lives depend on it.
Saw this happen to a guy several years ago. He was an experienced climber but he forgot to clip in and fell 30 or 40 feet onto a padded floor and broke his back. The impact was very loud.
Well thankfuly it was padded. A girl at my gym fell on hard ground from around 20 feet and broke her ankles, feet and spine
Your own complacency will kill you. I always check my harness clip before I start the climb. When I get to the top before I let go I check again. Being cautious keeps you alive.
This happened at my gym and the guy climbed the full 40 feet because all the autobelays are set easy. He let go at the top and fell 40 feet, walked away lucky with a broken ankle.
I climbed 30 ft up the speed wall on autobelay and was thinking about getting to the top and letting go when I realized I wasn't clipped in. I downclimbed as quick as I could and spent the next 15 minutes verbally berating myself as to how the heck I screwed that up.
It is a very scary thing indeed. We're glad you were ok.
Man I can imagine it would be much more likely to end badly on a speed wall. Firstly they are super tall, then if you are totally focused on climbing fast you probably won't notice the belay and lastly that route finishes in a dyno! You did well to notice.
I don't understand - where was the line when you first started the climb? Wasn't it clipped to the big warning triangle at the base of the wall?
@@jeffreychongsathien It was, but for some reason that route had a small platform just to the side where you started from so it was just out of line with the triangle. In hindsight I should have noticed that but I missed it.
Happened to me :( I clipped belay off between reps to help some guy with his move and then went to the wall without thinkinh. I was totally pumped and wasn't thinking straight.
Thankfully I was used to "flying" from other sports, therefore despite letting go off the wall in complete weird position and just relaxing before belay catches me, I somehow managed to react in time and land on my feet, almost straight. I was extremely lucky and got off with only broken heel. Always think at least once before getting on the wall!
Wow, a lucky escape
Weird flex trying to sound cool making a totally dumb mistake
@@wsemenske You're right, my mistake was dumb af however, if my comment was "too cool" for you, I don't know what to say :D It was one of the most stupid things I heard latately.
Just to clarify why I made this comment, is to maybe someone to:
- Never clip off your belay between the reps
- Always think before getting on the wall
- Let off the wall in a controlled manner
This may seem obvious, but as this comment section and things I hear on the gyms, shows that people do make this mistake and maybe someone will think twice after reading it.
Few years ago , there was a horrible accident with a guy that drove his kid to kinderschool and then drove to work. He left the car on parking lot , and went inside the building. It was 30 degrees hot summer. During the lunch break he realised that his kid is still in the car. It just fell asleep on the rear seat in a baby seat and his mind was so took over by work things and other stuff that he just went straight to work , never even being close to kinderschool. Kid died. its easy to say " well, you should think , pay attention" , but i thinks its easy to say thing like that until it happens to you. Peace people. be safe. Double check yself and others.
Can someone explain exactly what happened to her? She forgot to clip in as she was climbing to the point where she fell and hit the ground?
Sounds like you're describing a lead fall, but an autobelay only has one point of contact, similar to toproping. She was saying she was lucky to fall from only part way up the wall because a fall from the top would've been much worse.
It happened to me several weeks ago, fortunately I only broken my left leg. And 4 month ago I just saw a guy fell because unclip auto-belay. After my accident the another climbing gym try to use a larger cover to replace the old small triangle cover, so that it can be covering all the starting points. Additionally, they have using a auto-alarm speaker to alter people.
Sorry to hear about your accident. It is a scary thing. Hopefully this film will help with awareness.
I heard of someone who forgot to clip then jumped off the top and his legs went through the floor and snapped both his legs.
Someone at my home gym didn’t tie the back up know correctly on lead and fell and the bones in legs were almost sticking out but like kinda same thing u said
Glad she was ok.
Climbing can be a dangerous sport, if you're not paying attention. What she describes is a very rare / extreme instance of absent mindedness.
Always check your knots or you're clipped in kids!
I think the exact same thing may have happened to me shattering my heel and breaking my ankle. Please say a prayer for my recovery.
Sorry to hear that. I hope you heal quickly.
Just started climbing a month ago and I’m actually shocked by how lenient safety protocols are for rock climbing. I worked at a resort’s attraction place and we always checked if everyone was clipped in before people started rock climbing or doing ropes course. But in rock climbing gyms, there’s no process like that. You’ll just see employees walking around not caring about anything.
At a holiday resort people may only be climbing once (having never done it before) and therefore personal attention for every climb is essential. At climbing centres - certainly at TCA - all climbers must pass a competency test before they are allowed to climb in our centres. This is monitored by floor walks from qualified staff who are highly concerned about climber safety.
@@the-climbing-academy When I started, they just made us watch a video on how to use the auto belay and then we had to show how to clip in and answer a few questions regarding the auto belay. This took about 15 min to do and then they just left us alone after that. It felt really strange to be responsible of our own safety and felt terrified since professional staff wasn’t there to make sure we clipped in correctly and had our harness on correctly. And we only did a 15 min training on auto belay. I made a mistake once with putting on the harness and thank goodness someone noticed. When I worked at the resort, safety was #1 and we never let people clip or harness themselves so it was really shocking letting people be responsible for themselves at the rock climbing gyms. This is probably why mistakes like these happen at the rock climbing gyms since there’s no staff or second person making sure you’re clipped in before you start climbing. We never had any incidents at the resorts.
And even the employees at the resort would check each other if they had their harness on correctly and are clipped in correctly. We always triple checked since people and us could die if we were lenient at all.
@@Shibesuke Yes indeed. At a resort people would be climbing most likely for the first (and sometimes only) time. In that case every single person must be observed 100% of the time. At professional climbing centres all of our climbers must prove competency in a thorough safety check before they are allowed to climb.
I hope this never happens to me but I read some other comments where people had to climb down, and I wanted to share that I always keep my lanyard on my harness even when climbing indoor. I always thought it could be useful in case of an emergency (belayer fainting, problem with the rope, or the situation discussed here).
Of course, you would need to realize the mistake before falling...
It does seem like something that would be hard to have happen; but it did happen to my friend who is a very experienced climber. It is just a good reminder to double check, most accidents are just mistakes that in hindsight seem like they shouldn't have happened.
over the years i have a couple of stories that i ve seen. two months ago a guy top roping being belayed by his sister fell 7 meters to the Ground on his side, because she didnt pay Attention and used a tube. What stuck with me the most was two idiots going to the climbing gym seing me climb on the Auto Belay, then once i got down to get a drink they went to me and asked if i can Show them how to tie the knot on the on their harness….
tony breebree huh? Tie a rope on their harness. Jesus man, these people are the reason I prefer to climb outside with people who have done it a long time. I don’t have to worry about looking over and watching someone fall 10m...
Are you even allowed to climb if you don't have the right licenses?
@@Dial8Transmition unfortuantely in germany you can climb anywhere you want without training, and every year someone gets hurt and the discussion starts over if it should be allowed or not. There is at least a death every year. But not everytime by a complete tool. Some of those who died were experienced climbers who got to confident with themselves
Was about to ask what’s so bad about that? I ve been bouldering for some time now but never got to climbing with a rope and as one person already mentioned, in Germany anyone can go.
So if I wasn’t sure, I d rather ask someone who seems a bit more professional before taking a rusk
@@andulasis6283 fair question, of course you should ask if you are not sure. Usually when you have two guys climbing, one has enough experience, the other does not. I have never had the situation that both guys dont know the knot, which implies both dont have a lot experience belaying, clipping etc. thats what i dont like, its just not the same thing as going to a soccer game with your friends without knowing the sport etc.
I love climbing but haven't been in some time. It was my first time going to any climbing place and the, beginner friendly, area was all auto belays. There was this slightly tricky route that I had been trying with the person helping for a short time. It was the last climb before the seasion time was up and began to climb it. Maybe 5 moves or so in almost over the first ball when she panicked and reminded me to that I needed to clip first. I decended back and clipped in but it was defenetly a shock. In all honesty she seemed more panicked than me but if it wasn't for her I don't know what might have happened.
Thank you for sharing your experience. I'm glad that the other climber was looking out for you. This is something we ask our climbers to do.
Same thing happened to me then someone said I wasn’t clipped in. Thank god! I ended up climbing down half way. This could’ve been a major disaster
That's really good that someone let you know. Let's all look out for each other.
I don't understand. Wouldn't the auto belay be in front of you? Wouldn't you have to move it to be able to start climbing?
One of the ways we responded to this incident was by creating much bigger auto belay flags that will make this (in theory) impossible now. We even commissioned bespoke sizes for each line to entirely cover the lower section of each climb. Starting holds must be behind this. The more climbing centres can take action like that the less likely it is that incidents like this can happen again.
@@the-climbing-academy That doesn't really answer the question though. Where was the line at the start? I think it must have been in front of her but her brain disregarded it?
It happened to me also one time, luckily I realized after 1 hold but it was scary as hell, as I could easily have continued the route without noticing. In my case, there was the autobelay flag yes, but I was doing a route at the left of it, not covered exactly by the flag... The flag should be definitely larger I guess ... Well, now I always take care of that, but yeah not surprised accidents can happen, cause with routine, you forget things sometimes, it can happen to anyone
This is why you need a buddy! Who constantly has your back! :)
Good climbing buddies are invaluable. When you are on your own, retaining a habit of doing a pre-climb "buddy" check - even if it's just with yourself - is a good idea.
Worth keeping in mind that she did have a buddy with her. But when they established the climbing was done, he went to the toilet and she decided to give it another go.
Just worth keeping in mind, it can happen to everyone, even the most careful
It happened to me also one time, luckily I realized after 1 hold but it was scary as hell, as I could easily have continued the route without noticing. In my case, there was the autobelay flag yes at the beginning, but I was doing a route at the left of it, not covered exactly by the flag... The flag should be definitely larger I guess ... Well, now I always take care of that, but yeah not surprised accidents can happen, cause with routine, you forget things sometimes, it can happen to anyone.
how do u forget slmething like that
Watch the video my man
@@CirrusLK i kinda just only read the title srry
@@dposch lol all good but yeah definitely scary stuff
She said she used to climb "fearless"....big mistake.
Too many people who climb, not enough climbers.
Thank you lol.
Stupid accidents happen even to professional climbers.
Ive never truseted those auto belays, they freak me out a bit.
This is nothing to do with the autobelay really... Would have been the same result with top roping or lead climbing if she didn't clip in there
@@John...44... Oh yeah absolutely its human error. But I still don't trust those auto belays they dont scream profanities at you like a real belayer.
@@bker5376 😂😂 good point
@@bker5376 I feel the same. Its a machine it can fail.. I'm always telling myselft when I clip please dont fail this time lol.
I just did this 2 days ago it was really something
I hope by the fact that you are posting now that you are OK. It's a scary thing. Definitely a wake up call.
Thankyou
No problem. Thanks for watching
@2:16
"What was the impact?"
...pun intended? Yikes...
10 weeks????????? Come on. That's not an injury.
My fair lady situation I can’t understand a word she is saying
Ha! Don't worry, we have captions if you need them.
Why did i watch this lol... its going to make me scared to autobelay
We hope not. Hopefully, it'll stay in your mind, so that this is much less likely to ever happen to you! Lack of awareness is where the accidents happen. Being fully aware of the risks makes you a much safer climber.
@@the-climbing-academy yeah, I will be a good safe climber. Thank you!
Im sorry but its called pay attention. Climbing is dangerous and if you're not clipping in you're not caring enough about safety period. I really dont care how busy your mind of the gym is. If you cant handle those conditions come back another day. Its a danger to you and others.
Everyone thinks it would never happen to them...until it does. There are plenty of documented cases showing that very experienced climbers are as likely, if not more likely to be overly confident and forget. By raising this issue, we get it into people's minds which will in turn help to minimise the instances of this happening.
@@the-climbing-academy Not going to disagree with what you're saying but in my eyes if this is still an issue with paying attention. If all it takes is more awareness to the topic is that not along the same lines of thought as paying more attention? We all know we need to clip in. With that said it may be possible to build in automate safety checks in auto belay devices. Im assuming the reason I havent seen anything like that is from cost.
@K R Im so paranoid on the belays Its hard to foresee such a fuck up my dude. I check all the gates multiple times because im scared shitless of breaking my legs. Its a really straightforward and fool proof thought process, if you care about your legs lol.
And I am adding something. Im saying that its absolutely ridiculous to not be clipped in on an autobelay and to shrug it off and act like this happens to even the best is a terrible attitude. Increase your standards for safety and never allow something like that to happen instead of just saying it can happen. Damage control. Safety starts with you.
@K R Bro, the channel that uploaded this video literally said this in response to me just up above you... "Everyone thinks it would never happen to them...until it does. There are plenty of documented cases showing that very experienced climbers are as likely, if not more likely to be overly confident and forget"
It only takes one distraction to make a serious error .I was on a lead climb indoors a few weeks ago I was warmed up and it my turn to climb checked my knot checked the belay device and went straight past the first clip,my climbing partner of 2 years advised me that clipping in may be a great idea .I climb every weekend outdoors if the weather is good or indoors about 4 times a week.Music is a distraction in all climbing gyms however the biggest distraction is over confidence .luckily my buddy was on top form.
Free soloing above pads in a controlled environment....
Knew it was her husband's fault somehow.
Bru awareness people
oops...
Not an informative video at all.
We are sorry you feel that way. This video is intended to act as a warning that this could happen to anyone. If this story even briefly flicks through the mind of any climber who approaches an auto belay and reminds them to clip - we are happy that it has done its intended job.
Speaking as someone who has had an ACTUAL climbing accident and probably lucky to have only sustained a broken Calcaneus from a 40ft whipper with one cam failure. GTFO with this. Couldnt climb for 10 weeks? I haven’t walked for 12 weeks and I can promise you the moment I am better. I will be back on the sharp end.
Injuries are not a competition and just because outdoor falls are riskier doesn't mean we can ignore gym safety
wow so manly