climbhigher14k
07-05-2007, 05:08 PM
Today Jess and I had a surprise vacation day and decided to head to Kanhyeon.
When we arrived, we were dismayed to find most of the routes were sopping wet. The only routes that were dry were in the cave. This was a bummer for Jess, but one of the routes I wanted to work on just so happened to be in the dry zone.
We geared up as per norm, and I started working the moves on the overhanging crack which dominates the far left side of the cave. After a little bit of effort, I clipped the first draw on the face (the third or fourth draw, depending on which ones you clip). I worked this section for a while, having Jess take a few times. I took a couple of very small falls, but nothing major. As I was hauling myself back up to lip after a fall, I suddenly found myself headed for the ground at 9.8 m/s squared. I was caught by the next draw, and swung past my wife, very near to the rocky ground. As Jess lowered me the last few inches to the ground, I saw the broken remains of a quickdraw hanging on the rope.
The webbing around the bolt side of the quickdraw had worn completely through. It was not cut, as the failed nylon was very ragged. I can only assume that the draw had been hanging on this route for a long time and had been exposed to UV rays for too long. I was lucky. I sustained no physical injuries, and Jess is a great belayer, but this was a scary experience. Possibly scarier is the fact that the next 2 or three draws are the exact same REI draws that failed when I was climbing, leading me to believe they are just as old and just as dangerous. Had I fallen 3 draws higher up, it is possible they would have all failed, and I would have been no more...
BE CAREFUL WHEN USING FIXED DRAWS ANYWHERE!
As far as I can tell, there is no way to estimate the strength of a fixed draw. Nylon is broken down by UV rays, and while UV rays can make some dyes fade, this is not true of all dyes. THE QUICKDRAW THAT FAILED ON ME WAS NOT VERY FADED!!! It is possible that there is another explanation for what happened, but none seem super likely.
I left the broken draw clipped to the first draw of the route. If anyone can pass this message on to Koreans who habitually climb at Kanhyeon, that would be great.
The only camera we had with us was my phone. Once I figure out how to get the pictures off my phone I will post them.
When we arrived, we were dismayed to find most of the routes were sopping wet. The only routes that were dry were in the cave. This was a bummer for Jess, but one of the routes I wanted to work on just so happened to be in the dry zone.
We geared up as per norm, and I started working the moves on the overhanging crack which dominates the far left side of the cave. After a little bit of effort, I clipped the first draw on the face (the third or fourth draw, depending on which ones you clip). I worked this section for a while, having Jess take a few times. I took a couple of very small falls, but nothing major. As I was hauling myself back up to lip after a fall, I suddenly found myself headed for the ground at 9.8 m/s squared. I was caught by the next draw, and swung past my wife, very near to the rocky ground. As Jess lowered me the last few inches to the ground, I saw the broken remains of a quickdraw hanging on the rope.
The webbing around the bolt side of the quickdraw had worn completely through. It was not cut, as the failed nylon was very ragged. I can only assume that the draw had been hanging on this route for a long time and had been exposed to UV rays for too long. I was lucky. I sustained no physical injuries, and Jess is a great belayer, but this was a scary experience. Possibly scarier is the fact that the next 2 or three draws are the exact same REI draws that failed when I was climbing, leading me to believe they are just as old and just as dangerous. Had I fallen 3 draws higher up, it is possible they would have all failed, and I would have been no more...
BE CAREFUL WHEN USING FIXED DRAWS ANYWHERE!
As far as I can tell, there is no way to estimate the strength of a fixed draw. Nylon is broken down by UV rays, and while UV rays can make some dyes fade, this is not true of all dyes. THE QUICKDRAW THAT FAILED ON ME WAS NOT VERY FADED!!! It is possible that there is another explanation for what happened, but none seem super likely.
I left the broken draw clipped to the first draw of the route. If anyone can pass this message on to Koreans who habitually climb at Kanhyeon, that would be great.
The only camera we had with us was my phone. Once I figure out how to get the pictures off my phone I will post them.