takin a slide

[bluerail]

Couple of weeks ago some of us took the time to go up and practice self-arresting. The experience of letting yourself go on the ice and using the axe to stop yourself was a real eye opener in regard to how quick you start moving fast. That practice paid off this past weekend, a few of us were on Gorgonio going up a fairly steep slope and two of us hadn't switched to crampons yet, the ice turned too hard for the little spikes and I instantly took off sliding, even though it took me a little time to get the axe into the ice, I was able to stop myself within about 35 or 40 feet. Not a bad ride when considering it could have been a 1000 feet.
The practice really gave me a good feel for what to do when you start sliding, the mental and practical knowledge I gained from the actual fall was invaluble, but I cant say enough how glad I am we took the time to practice.
A scraped up arm is not much when considering how it could have turned out.

[zippetydude]

I wish you had video so we could study it and see what you did right and what you'll want to do differently if it happens again. We should video a practice session and do just that.

I especially thought it was important that you discovered an option that we hadn't practiced to recover from: having the ice axe knocked out of your hand as you fall. Let's get together again for another practice, and include that as a possible scenario.

Somehow, that sounds kinda scary. I'm afraid the axe will bounce about wildly and stab me. Since you have experience in this, I'm sure you won't mind going first!

I'm glad you made it safely.

z

[SoCalJim]

I think the options if you lose your axe are a) pray and b) scream. And I've read of people getting pierced by their own out-of-control axe; makes me squirm to think about it!

[Kathryn61]

I agree with you Zip: We should practice arresting again. And you're right about practicing other scenarios. The one with the ice axe flailing about, out of control is definitely scary! But while we're at it, why not add something else.. on the day we practiced, we pretty much controlled our falls. Well, we didn't really fall at all! So, I think on the next one, we should sneak up behind one another and push each other down the slope, you know, to get a really good feel for a true and unpredictable fall. Another thing we could do would be to trip ourselves on purpose or just let ourselves fall in different positions, so that we could have the chance to experience what it would actually feel like to be out of control for a while.

[nobohobo]

always knew that microspikes were just enough traction to get one into a fix, glad you had an ice axe widcha.
wool and synthetics are slower on the slope than is gortex and nylon when sliding into oblivion!
here's a helpful little vid by an english bloke.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LM3xLshmNnk

[guest]

I was below bluerail when he went for his "ride". I looked up when I heard him go.
He was fortunate to land on his side / chest. He was quick to pull his ax close to his side where you have a lot more leverage to dig it it.
He was heading for me,(fast!), but it was easy to step to the side at that spot, but I put myself in possible danger by being below him.
Our group talked about being aware of who's directly above or below you afterwards.

This winter season has built up very inconsistent conditions, we experienced many types of snow & ice every 10-20 yards, which can catch you off guard in a heart beat.
It can be easy to get over confident & then be surprised by an immediate change in surface.

Glad we're able to share & learn from each other.

ss

[KathyW]

always knew that microspikes were just enough traction to get one into a fix, glad you had an ice axe widcha.
wool and synthetics are slower on the slope than is gortex and nylon when sliding into oblivion!
here's a helpful little vid by an english bloke.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LM3xLshmNnk

Good job arresting - it's eye opening when you slip and fall.

Yup, those microspikes aren't built for climbing steep slopes - they're made for times when you don't don't need crampons but want to be able to move along faster on nice gentle terrain that's a bit slippery.

[bluerail]

yea scott, aside from not sliding into oblivion ( or the trees at the bottom of that slope), i was real glad i didn't hit you like a bowling pin. that was the other eye opener.

hope your hike yesterday was nice,sorry i missed it. the three of us got up iron in under 3. ze did 2:37...my legs felt a little trashed today on s-line and the traverse is a mushy mess..postholed and nasty..no fun at all.

dave, my mistake with the microspikes was exactly what kathy mentioned, the two of us just kept them on too long going up a fairly steep slope, everyone else was already in crampons. they really do have their place though, i think they're great for those gentle terrain sections, problem is, i dont seem to hang with anybody that does much on gentle terrain.

next time i fall zip, i'll be sure to try and get someone to film it.
iron was fun, sorry you missed it, but i'm sure bubba, the gravedigger and larry the cable guys cousins were entertaining. i imagine the food alone was worth the trip. thanks for thinking of me.

whens the race to flatrock?

[zippetydude]

next time i fall zip, i'll be sure to try and get someone to film it.


whens the race to flatrock?

Thanks, I'll look forward to the video!

I'm kinda looking forward to the Flatrock training idea. I didn't have much time this weekend, so I just did a quick run up to the top of Shady Slope. Took right at an hour, so I'm trying to figure how long that would mean getting into Flatrock. About 2:15 or 2:20? Anyway, I held my heartrate at about 155 the whole time, and it was hard but not horrible. I think I could go just a bit faster, but breaking 2:00 coming into Flatrock is gonna be tough for this old body.

I may have started out a little too fast - I passed the picnic tables in 16, and I usually aim for 17, so I might have fizzled out anyway if we had tried the Flatrock Madness. Here's a thought: We could always do interval training, going up to the picnic tables, then running back down to Ramon and over to the museum, then hitting the whole thing again. Say, 4 intervals, and we'll have roughly 1/2 of Skyline under out belt, but we could go with crazy intensity.

Incidentally, if we did a mad run up to Flatrock, would we be able to get through right now without gear if we just hiked it on up to the tram?

z

[bluerail]

you still need crampons and the suff up there is frozen here, mushy there, real deep postholes you almost cant avoid...it's real ugly up there.. how do you think the snow on the north side of gorgonio is ?