Weekend Whipper: Dangling From Quickdraw, Climber Submits to the Whip

Readers, please send your Weekend Whipper videos, information, and any lessons learned to Anthony Walsh, awalsh@outsideinc.com.\

Alright, everyone. Let’s not make a habit out of grabbing quickdraws while on lead. Like last week’s whipper, which showcased a climber making a rather dynamic lurch to a carabiner while falling, this week we have another sport climber who is unwilling to simply take the whip.

Brett Pinar was attempting the second ascent of King Salmon (5.12b), filmer Evan Wisheropp reports. “The route is comfortably bolted, but [doesn’t have] a lot of clipping stances,” he says. Pinar misses one clip off the ledge, then fumbles the second. After a few moments of indecision, he grabs the second unclipped quickdraw and cuts his feet—and then jumps off all together.

While we applaud Pinar’s belayer for what looks to be a soft, comfortable catch, allow us to reiterate the warning we gave last week: grabbing quickdraws while climbing is an easy way to gore yourself. Unless you’re in a situation like Leo Houlding was in 1998, wildly runout while nearly onsighting El Capitan’s El Niño (5.13c), it is typically safer to take a big, clean fall than desperately grabbing a pointy piece of metal. Just take the whip!

Happy Friday, and be safe out there this weekend.

The post Weekend Whipper: Dangling From Quickdraw, Climber Submits to the Whip appeared first on Climbing.