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Best way to fall off slabs? 29-Nov-2005 At 10:23:59 AM Nottobetaken

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I was climbing with a friend up on Tjuringa not long ago and found myself thinking about the same issues raised in this thread. This friend was however well versed in falling off slabs and like-minded terrain - having done some of the scariest multi pitch outings in the Alps - as well as some firey stuff in Toloumne (like the famed Bachar Yerian onsight). See Mr Carters website for details. His advice (when I was asking him before launching into the 5m runnout above the flake) was simply to just jump backwards (not too forcibly) - but act like it's a vertical face route. He had taken enough 6m+ whippers to know - so I went with that. Thankfully I didn't have to test out the theory...

I think far worse is pendulum falls in a runout position - where you are going to fall and take a big swing. The next runnout on Tjuringa is like that - 3m+ diagonally rightwards - and to be honest it would be pretty ugly. Stefan and I both agreed on that one.

Yesterday I did a ground up useless - perhaps first ascent - at the base of Tiger Wall. Starting up Is Vanja A Dog? (which is severly undergraded I might add). It had no gear - apart from what was on Vanja - so I climbed up to a couple of Alien placements on that route - then downclimbed (1 move) and headed out left. The crux came 4 or so metres horizontally out left - which then leads to a grade 12? crack/trench once over the bulge. My partner (well versed in gritstone solo slabs - but not so in Arapiles funk) - came off - going for the 2nd asc. 7m pendulum with two 360's later - skimming 3 feet above the deck. I can tell you - it wasn't pretty. She was OK after the intial shock - but here's the thing: If she had been wearing a helmet - she would've been a lot better off. I might invest in one myself!