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If there’s one thing that separates a regular member of society who’s watched Free Solo from a real rock climber—who, let’s be honest, has probably also watched Free Solo—it’s the understanding that a rope does not equal 100% safety.
Conversely, a ground fall does not, 100% of the time, equal injury and death.
In this Weekend Whipper, Oregon-based climber Luis Armando experiences both of these truths at once.
He’s just starting up Partners in Crime (5.11a), a 100-foot finger crack in Squamish, British Columbia. Armando had tried Partners in Crime before, but he’d never fallen in the lower section. On this day, however, it was particularly hot and slippery.
By the time he had climbed about 15 feet up from the ground, Armando had placed two pieces, and he’d unclipped the lower one—a fine choice, as the lower piece wouldn’t be useful as protection. He’s five feet above his last piece when he slips.
“Falling!” he yells.
Armando’s belayer, Matt Gowie, has Armando on minimal slack, but even so, the rope doesn’t tighten until Armando’s feet have nearly touched the ground. Gowie, being lighter than Armando, is yanked five feet up into the wall.
It’s the soft catch, plus the fact that Armando manages to stay upright, that results in zero injuries from what could have otherwise been a bone-crunching drop.
Later, Gowie tells Climbing, “[Armando] jumped right back up like a champ … and continued to climb the route.”
Armando himself didn’t seem phased. “All and all, bad place to fall, great catch, and great route,” he says. “Will be back.”
Happy Friday, and be safe out there this weekend.
