What I learned from my massive ice climbing fall?

I just had my first and hopefully last massive ice climbing fall at an ice climbing trip to Hemsedal in Norway. And that was a scary experience!

In this short ice climbing video I will show you what happened and talk you through the ice climbing fall, and in the end also talk a bit about how I see such an ice climbing fall could have been avoided in the first place.

And I will also explain why falling on ice is dangerous and in any means should be avoided!

We were ice climbing a single pitch WI5 at Golsjuvet in Hemsedal where we had to top out above a small overhang and bridge a hanging pillar. The finishing move on the ice climbing route was to basically to pull yourself over an overhang after the ice axes had been buried deep in the snow and frozen turf.

If you are asking yourself why there are a couple of Petzl Nomics sitting at the top of the route, then my climbing partner had just taken a similar ice climbing whipper, so I promised to retrieve his ice axes. But after my fall my ice axes were stuck too! Fortunately for us we could walk out of the gorge at Golsjuvet and retrieve our ice axes by abseiling down the route from the top.

I gained a few learnings from my ice climbing fall and there are a series of things I could have done differently to prevent myself from falling. First of all, if I couldn’t find a decent rest, then I should just have rested in the last ice screw, or clipped one of my ice axes and then rested where I were. Secondly, I was so close to topping out at the tree that I could probably just have hooked the tree with one of my ice axes or grabbed it with my hands. I must admit though that it seemed a bit sketchy to do in the situation. And pulling in trees is something I generally try to avoid because their roots could be rotten, and not hold my pull! Because then you can easily make an ice climbing fall.

I was happy that I did not climb with leashes that day as my ice axes would have ricochet against me, when the strings pulled tight by the fall. And that could inflict serious injury!

And falling on ice is something you should by any means try to avoid! Even though ice climbing falls happen, fortunately they happen rarely – but the stakes are much higher! You have sharp pointy crampons on, ice axes in your hands and the ice might not hold if it not solid enough – and you might even break off ice that could hit you or your belayer. And most ice climbing happens in remote places, so you might have to be rescued out.

I guess I got a bit too eager finishing the route, and what I learned is that I should take resting very seriously when climbing steep ice. So for those reasons I could have a avoided this ice climbing whipper.

So, have you been in a similar situation taking a fall of ice – and what did you learn you your ice climbing whipper? Leave a comment below.

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By The Croft by Joakim Karud

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Moon by Lemmino

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#IceClimbing #IceClimbingFall #Norway

[aldenpellett]

I'm glad to see you redid this video and seem to have learned from your fall. Have a safe winter!

[ChaseTheSummit]

I'm glad you reposted this with a different narration. We can all learn from these things. When I saw you land those turf shots I thought you'd be fine! That looked like a tough climb. Glad you're ok!

[jonmurua]

Good rework of the previous video!

Toping out is often the hardest move, and even more having the pump build up.

Placing a screw then it's very hard and it feels easier to just finish the route. The best I find is to clip the personal anchor to the ice axe to take a break

[misterlarryb]

Thank you so much for sharing your experience, your lessons learned, and the recommendations of the community! Yes, absolutely, as from many clinics with Don Mellor (I'm a slow learner), stop and think, stop and think, check your fuel gages (energy and pump levels), rest and refuel. Another wise-guide said the goal is to keep your heart rate low. Your video definitely makes me stop and think about some needless risks I take when leading (currently WI4, single-pitch). My belayer (wife) periodically yells up "TIME FOR A SCREW!" which makes me chuckle and then relax and remember to (as one commenter said) not let ego overtake common sense, and focus on climbing safely (I like the suggestion of one screw per body length) instead of just focusing on the destination (topping out). I'm particularly bad about putting in that last screw before topping out - I'm so close (1-2 body lengths) and just get caught up in going for it. The way your tool fractures the ice, it looks like the ice was pretty hard/brittle that day, and with every swing on the bulge, I was expecting the dry-looking hanging pillar to pop and drop, like in the EpicTV video of John Freeman riding a column to the ground. Always a good day when you can walk out! Thanks again! (PS - Why ARE there another set of ice tools at the top of the climb?)

[JohnnyIDive]

So glad you are ok Cragcloud, stay safe, don't over pump.👍 love your videos!

[mrriesen]

Many years ago I took a leader fall topping out on Louise Falls. There was a quite a few parties below and I was trying not to drop ice. I didn't sink home my ice axes and both pics popped. I did a graceful back flip and stopped just before hitting the ice at the bottom of the piller. I hammer in Snarg held the fall. I don't worry about falling ice anymore, it's their responsibility to not climb under somebody else.

[crewdoglm]

Wow. Thanks for the absolutely sound counsel.. SO glad you got away good. Typical topout crux and I agree, the tree was candidate for sure although I could see being too pumped to hold on to it! Good work getting a screw below that topout! This is also one of reasons Mark Twight recommended using a "chick sling" (now called a PAS) 20 years ago - and it supports using tools with full strength holes in the pommel. A Fifi hook on the belay loop works for the tool rest also. Can I ask, what length screw stopped you? Good job again man.

[fab]

I had missed this video. Last saturday I downclimbed one meter and took a rest on WI5 (Arolla), I felt a bit bad about it but not as bad as if I would have fall...

[kristaps]

So close to finish that climb… So basically rule is don’t give everything to reach the top. Rest, recover, Have something in a bag to climb over that edge. Thanks for video.

[ralphmunn]

When there's a decent screw in front of us or a good axe placement, risking a fall rather than resting on it is simply a matter of ego overcoming common sense. We've all been there, whether we've "paid the price" for our indiscretions or not. The VERY possible consequences of falling on an ice lead need to be heeded!

[grimlund]

I have been leading on ice for about a few years now. I threw away the leashes the first winter. It was just to scary to lead with them on.
Must be a nightmare to do a big fall with the axes leashed to your wrists.

And with no leash Its much easier to using the screws and handling the rope.

[johnvanek]

Good redo. And it's even better you had the humility to redo the video. I enjoy (and watch) all your videos. It was frustrating to see all the hate mail you got from the first video. Critiques, recommended options, etc. can always be delivered without the hate. I hope our climbing community can be better. Climb on!

[Johnnyhumbkr]

Good video, guy. You bring up a lot of good points to consider. But, nobody really considers these concepts while they’ve climbing because we’re too focused on topping out. My big takeaway from your video is be ready physically for the challenge! Well, thanks for the video, be safe!!!

[Gauthierbrad]

I was climbing last weekend, belayed from the bottom. I tried to be to aggressive in ascending when I was tired, blew out from the ice and had to by lowered down. Don’t F around with ice. It doesn’t play

[tomerzussman]

I had my first fall 2 weeks ago in a traverse, it was a massavie fall and as they ice was thin I used the shorter screw I had. I felt very confident on the ice and becouse it was a traverse my placements were way to far from each other. I was almost 10m away from the last ice scrow. Luckly nothing happened and I felt with both ice axe in my hands. It could have been different. I should defiantly place more scrows even if I feel confident especially that traverse is not something I do a lot. Let's hope it is the last fall 😀

[davidmaddox]

I'm writing a screenplay about someone who falls through the crack in a glacier in Folgelfonna. I'm not a climber so do you think it's possible for the icescrew to come loose or is there a more realistic type of fall?

[ralfrussel]

Yes, always have energy left to place an ice screw and rest.

[johnnightingale]

Why was there a set of in situ axes at the top?

[martintheriault]

why was there a pair of nomics up there ? did someone else already fall?

[jaimenavarrogutierrez]

I would also add you were swinging your tools too close to each other at the top cause you were pumped. That dinner plate could've taken both your tools out! The reality is all of us who push ourselves on ice will fall eventually. Even though you could argue that you made lots of mistakes I think you did all the right things not to get hurt during the fall. Happy climbs!!