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Chockstone Forum - Climbing Videos

Post links and comments about your favourite climbing flicks

Topic Date User

Don't Fear The Whipper 31-Dec-2017 At 4:23:28 PM IdratherbeclimbingM9

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I went for a bit of a wander at Buffalo today and was at a good vantage point (with my camera), on the way up to The Cathedral saddle, where one can look back at Sultan.

I thought of the video featured in this thread when I saw a party starting the third pitch off the traverse ledge, as it was obvious to me that the leader was making hard work of the cruxy start to that pitch.
After two tentative false starts he got established at what appeared to me from a distance, to be above the two or three move crux, so I thought he now had it in the bag...

Wrong.

He plummeted off (possibly pulling a bit of gear, though it was hard to determine this from my location), for basically a factor two fall onto the belay (if no gear involved) by pulling up with rope stretch 10 m below it!

The whipper certainly called him, and I was impressed that he didn't wipe out his belayer in the process. He ended up back slamming the face upside down, and I reckon I could hear his grunt from where I was, or was it his helmet hitting the face(?), along with the cowbell tinkle of gear involved of the whipper death rattles!

They managed to abseil off and had lunch in the tree shade below the first pitch, so I didn't manage to catch up with them to offer the photos I took. If they read this, then they can PM me to get them sent...