On Fear, Falling and Safety

Alan (Monty) Montgomery 3/90

Top roping is, statistically, not a very dangerous sport. Yet it takes place in an environment where the POTENTIAL for danger is always present. Mother Gravity does not rest. She does not forgive. A ‘minor oversight’ may very well result in a long fall to a hard ground. Serious injury is the likely result.

So how should the new student feel about this? Stark fear? Utter nonchalance? No. What the beginner should feel is a very justifiable CONCERN. When you climb you are at risk. That risk is mitigated only by your own understanding and awareness of the situation but with that understanding and awareness the climber can climb and (usually) fall without fear.

So, before you climb, here are some things to think about:

The System Works
Top roping evolved as a distinct sub sport of mountaineering and continuous climbing. It was conceived of as a practice for real climbing. As such, it was set up as an environment in which the climber could try very difficult moves, and fall repeatedly without fear of injury. When the system - harness, rope, anchors, belayer works, the climber will not hit the ground. That is, after all, what the system is designed for.

The Responsibility is Yours
It is the responsibility of the climber to verify the safety of the situation. Is the anchor at the top secure? Is it backed up? Are the slings and rope set up to avoid chafing over a sharp edge? Are the carabineers secure? Are the knots tied correctly and backed up where needed? Is the rope intact and strong? Is the harness correctly worn, fastened and attached to the rope? Is the belayer positioned and anchored properly. Is the belayer competent?

If the answer to any of these questions is not a firm “YES”, then DO NOT CLIMB! If you do not trust the situation, then change the setup, or your belayer, or choose not to climb, but always trust your OWN, judgment.

This clearly presents some difficulty at the beginning. As a student, you must, to some degree, place your trust in the instructors. A good instructor, however, will not ask for blind faith. He/she will rather help you to understand the techniques, and by demonstration and discussion, help you to form your own intuitive understanding of how the system works, or why things are done a certain way. Ask about it. The buck stops with you, the student.

There are Ways You Can Get Hurt Top Roping
The Pendulum. When the climber is not directly below the anchor at the top, Mother Gravity will cause the climber, in a fall, to swing sideways toward the center point. This swing, depending on the distance, can be quite forceful, and, especially if there are jagged rocks at the climber’s point of impact, quite dangerous. It is worth pointing out here that there is one type of serious injury that is possible in such a situation, namely, head injury. Especially for a beginner, who presumably is not used to swinging around on the end of a rope, it is only common sense to WEAR A HELMET. The program has helmets available and is up to the individual to decide if he/she wears one. Many people do not wear helmets while Top roping but wear them when multi pitch climbing; this is a personal decision that you have to make.

Unlike beginners, experienced leaders are very keenly aware of the likelihood of such things as falling rocks and pendulums, and have developed an intuitive awareness of where to stand below a climb, where to set up a belay so as to avoid rockfall, etc. They also have significant experience in falling itself, so the likelihood of hitting the head is far less than for a beginner. In short, they are able to make an informed choice. Be honest enough with yourself to admit that you, at least for now, cannot.

Rope Stretch and System Slack. Even in a properly set up system with a competent belayer, a falling climber will not be stopped immediately, that is, the climber will always fall some distance (two or three feet, depending). There are several factors contributing to this distance, including actual slack in the rope, slippage through the belay itself, the position of the belayer in relation to the anchor, and the actual stretch of the rope itself. The point to remember here is that you will fall that small distance, if your are near the ground or just above a ledge, be prepared to land on it, just as if you had jumped down. Also be aware of what may happen if you have your toe jammed into a crack when you fall.

Falling Rocks or Equipment From Above. Even a fairly small rock, when falling all the way from the top of the cliff, will make a lasting impression on a climbers head. This is probably the most important motivation for wearing a helmet while climbing or belaying. Consider the belayer is anchored to the ground. What do you do when you see a rock plummeting toward your head and you are firmly attached to the ground?

Wear Your Helmet
This also brings to mind an important point: how did the rock or carabiner or whatever come to be plummeting toward your cranium? Chances are very good that not God, but some human like you dropped or pushed it over the edge. Why? Probably not because they wanted to make you into a vegetable and thereby secure their own place as best climber on the block- No, it was probably 'just carelessness'. But in this case a little carelessness can have tremendous consequences. When at the top of the cliff, be very careful not to dislodge loose rock onto the heads of your friends below. This is much easier to do than you might think. If you do dislodge a rock, however small, or drop a carabiner, or drop anything that's not soft and fluffy, you should immediately, without further consideration, at the top of your lungs, scream, "ROCK!" No, I don't mean "say, rock", I mean SCREAM, "ROCK"! Do not be shy. Do no stop to think about it. (Am I getting through to you?)

Practice Falling
If you understand the possible problems, and are aware of your situation, falling is not a problem. Practice it! With all the above said, I can now say, "relax and trust the rope!". You cannot climb well if your mind is totally devoted to a fear of falling. On a top-rope, fear is simply not worth wasting your mental energy on. If you feel you are 'afraid of heights', this section is especially for you. (By the way, all sane humans are afraid of heights. Few of us would have lived past the age of three had we not been...)

Get Used to the Feel of the Rope Holding You
No, don't just jump off at the top. Start at the bottom. Find yourself a short climb (to limit rope stretch) without too much debris at the bottom (so you have someplace to stand). Once you are 'on belay', before you even get on the rock, ask your belayer to give you 'tension'. (That's an official buzz word, by the way.) You should be able to feel a good tug in the upward direction. Now squat down nice and low. You should feel a lot of support from the rope. If there's not too much stretch in the rope, you should not be able to squat all the way down. Feel it holding you. Now, still on belay, pick a spot on the rock directly under the anchor. Climb up three or four feet, or however far you would be willing to jump down from if you weren't roped up. Again, ask your belayer for 'tension'. Feel that wonderful feeling. Look down, aim for a smooth spot and jump off. Remember, you're jumping from a height you're comfortable with. Now, be careful. This time you will swing around a little bit. The instructor will be there to help you, but it is suddenly important to keep from grabbing the rope. Your hands should be out in front of you to prevent you from bumping into the rock. (At this point, bumping into the rock is no big deal, but if you had a bit more of a swing, you might find it would matter to you.) Dangle there for a little while. Relax. Push ~ yourself away from the rock with your hands. Push off and spin around, then catch yourself on the rock. (Your belayer will turn colors eventually; don't stay there all day.) After a while, ask your belayer to let you down. Let your belayer breath a while, then do it again, until you feel comfortable with it all.

Now, again on smooth rock under the anchor, climb up a little way- Go about as far as it takes for you to feel that if you jumped down from there, you'd get hurt; then go up another body length. Ask for tension; feel that feeling; jump off. Dangle around until you feel comfortable. Not so bad, right? Repeat until copasetic. One last time: Climb up to about the same height as last time, only this time, climb off to the side a bit. (Do make sure to follow the advice of the instructor on this one; we don't want you to hit anything hard.) This time do not ask for tension; ask your belayer to give you a 'normal' amount of slack, that is, the typical amount of slack you would get during a climb. Jump off. Fend off the rock with your hands and feet as you spin around, finally landing like a cat in the middle of the wall. Elegant, non? Now, you can climb.