What’s the Best Weekend Whipper of the Year? Vote By December 31.
After nearly 12 months of exploding gear, collapsing ice, and self-unclipping draws, it's time to decide the one Whipper to rule them all.
Weekend Whipper
Weekend Whipper
Weekend Whipper: “The Biggest Fall of My Life”
A broken hold sends one climber flying down the sheer face of El Toro in Mexico.
Silence of the Cams: 11 Whips With Big Gear Rips
In this spooky edition of Weekend Whipper, we analyze 11 times trad gear ripped out and offer pro tips for ensuring your cams stay put.
Weekend Whipper: The Triple Ripper
A Utah climber rips three pieces from the top of a brand-new finger crack.
Weekend Whipper: Trad Climber Tries to Bump a Cam—Then Rips It Out
A trad climber on Mont Blanc attempts to bump a blue Totem and falls with the piece in his hand. Here's how to avoid that.
Weekend Whipper: A Slab Climber’s Worst Nightmare
Thirty feet beyond your bolt? Above a cheese-grater slab? No thanks.
Weekend Whipper: An Expert Catch Saves This Climber from Serious Injury
A 15-foot ground fall with, somehow, zero consequences
Weekend Whipper: A 20-Foot Drop in First Person POV
Yup, we don’t blame him for screaming.
Weekend Whipper: A Midair Somersault in South Africa
Check out this gnarly, 25-foot tumble.
A Quickdraw Unclipped Itself Mid-Whip. Here’s What Went Wrong.
Gate flutter almost never happens. But when it does, it’s terrifying.
Weekend Whipper: Ripping Cams in a Swedish Finger Crack
Fresh from the Alps, Fay Manners gets some air time.
Weekend Whipper: First Trad Fall … in a Chasm?!
A narrow miss in an even narrower slot.
Weekend Whipper: Lessons in Lead Footwork With Michaela Kiersch
How to not flip upside-down
Weekend Whipper: Black Metolius Cam Explodes on R-Rated Grit Route
On ‘Blockage Project’ (5.13+) in West Virginia, a guidebook author accidentally sacrifices a cam for a second attempt.
After a Horrific Belaying Accident, Sara Al Qunaibet Moves Through Recovery
Last year, the Saudi national champion survived every climber's worst nightmare. But what happened to her afterward?
Weekend Whipper: The Ground Falls Out From Under Them (Literally!)
In an instant, this practice rescue becomes real.
Weekend Whipper: Texas Climber Nearly Sends, Takes a Twenty-Footer Instead
If you're going to whip from the chains, at least do it like this.
Weekend Whipper: A Microcam Saved This Climber’s Ankles
Oh, the satisfaction of not decking.
What I Learned After Making 200 Weekend Whippers
I figured I knew what I was getting into. (I did not.)
Weekend Whipper: Climber Accidentally Pulls Out Her Own Cam
Watch the resulting near-miss in Yosemite.
Weekend Whipper: Lucky To Be Alive When Ice Climb Collapses
There’s a lot to learn from this week’s video…
Weekend Whipper: Ice Climbing Fall Could Have Been a Whole Lot Worse
What’s the first rule of ice climbing again?
Weekend Whipper: “Dude, This Rock Is Slick AF”
A big slip on a Yosemite classic
Weekend Whipper: Hook-Ripping Fall While Soloing A3
Bat hooks, anyone?
Weekend Whipper: Huge Airtime After Skipping Two Clips
“After 100 feet of climbing, you enter the crux—which is ultimately a run for the anchors.”
Weekend Whipper: Sloppy Foot + Lightweight Belayer = Big Whip
A whip at the clip in Kalymnos
Weekend Whipper: Big Fall When One Cam Helps Pull Out Another
Have you ever been hosed by the gear on your harness? This climber sure has.
Weekend Whipper: Well That Looked Uncomfortable
The climber *almost* found a good rest. Too bad it spit her off.
Weekend Whipper: Big Ice Climbing Fall on… an Iceberg?
The setting was spectacular, the medium completely inappropriate for a fall.
Weekend Whipper: Layback an Offwidth? You Might Just Whip
“Most choose to layback this beast, which makes the climbing easier, but adds an interesting challenge when placing gear.”
Weekend Whipper: Brutal Fall Off Tall V10
That's gotta hurt.
The Best Weekend Whippers of 2024
We published 51 new Weekend Whippers in 2024. These three are our favorites.
Weekend Whipper: Dangling From Quickdraw, Climber Submits to the Whip
For the second week in a row, this climber is lucky to be uninjured.
Weekend Whipper: Climber Makes Big Mistake (Grabbing a Quickdraw While Falling)
Thankfully the climber was unharmed—though could have easily been gored.
Weekend Whipper: The Brutal Crux of One of World’s Hardest Trad Routes
Plus a bonus clip of this climber lacing it!
Weekend Whipper: “I’ve Never Seen That Before!”
Full marks to the belayer for not taking their hand off the rope.
Weekend Whipper: How’d That Happen?
Did a foot jam flip this climber upside down? A long torso? Voodoo magic?
Weekend Whipper: Watch Angus Kille Attempt 5.13d R/X First Ascent
Kille says this whipper was actually in the "no fall zone" but his belayer reeled in a good armful of rope to keep him off the ground.
Weekend Whipper: Gunning for Second Ascent of 5.12 Trad
Cheers to soft, careful catches!
Weekend Whipper: Sport Climber Rips Off Big Block, Nearly Decks
Maybe it’ll clean up with traffic!
Weekend Whipper: Ripping Gear (and Nearly Decking) on ‘Meltdown’ (5.14c)
Ethan Pringle has a close call on this serious and nails-hard pitch.
Weekend Whipper: A Rather Wild and Uncomfortable Upside-Downer
That’s gotta hurt.
Weekend Whipper: A Departure From Our Typical Carnage—Though No Less Entertaining
Kudos to the filmer for respecting this climber’s privacy while still capturing the drama.
Weekend Whipper: 60 Feet of Airtime on 5.14 R Trad
'Rhapsody' is every bit as hard and runout as it was in 2006, however the many repetitions—and widely watched whipper videos—lowered the mystique of the route somewhat. Mat Wright proves its still got some bite.
Weekend Whipper: Be Careful With Those High Clips…
That looked rather exciting.
Weekend Whipper: Climber Skips a Clip and Goes for the Ride!
The inspiration you need going into this weekend’s projects.
Weekend Whipper: Quick-Thinking Bystander Protects Trad Climber With Crashpad
The party had brought a crashpad to the crag for a different, more dangerous trad route, and was able to deploy it here in a flash.
Weekend Whipper: Belay Miscommunication Leads to Huge Fall
Well, that looked exciting.
Weekend Whipper: This 60-foot Fall Ended “Very Close to the Ground”
This week’s edition is a classic Weekend Whipper: airy, huge, and quite bold.
Weekend Whipper: Be Careful on Those Low Cruxes…
Now, we know what you’re asking: The belayer doesn’t look that much lighter than the climber—so why did he get sucked up so high?
Weekend Whipper: Big Airtime on Runout Sport Climb
'La Flecha Perdida' is a…classically bolted sport climb.
Weekend Whipper: Greasing Out of the “Italian Separate Reality” (5.12 trad)
“Just because you are the belayer,” notes this week’s whippee, “doesn’t mean you can’t get hurt.”
Weekend Whipper: Near Miss Convinces Climber to Buy a Helmet
Once you watch this clip, you’ll understand his revelation.
Weekend Whipper: Massive Upside-Down Whipper on Gunks 5.12 Trad
With a route name like “Slammin’,” perhaps this violent whipper isn’t so surprising.
Weekend Whipper: Quick Instincts Prevent Nasty Groundfall
Watch this belayer’s gold-medal worthy performance.
Weekend Whipper: How’d That Happen?
It’s not just errant legs that flip us upside down.
Weekend Whipper: How to Make the “World’s Hardest 5.8” Even Harder? Try it at Night
A fourth of July ascent, to see the fireworks from up high, went a bit haywire.
Weekend Whipper: Yikes! Bridge Climber Decks When All His Pieces Pull
Maybe cams placed in concrete aren’t that bomber after all.
Weekend Whipper: Head-First Trad Fall on “The Burliest 5.8 in the Gunks”
“It was a little too close to the deck for comfort.”
Weekend Whipper: Now That’s What We Call an Initiation Fall!
This budding leader took a 30-footer trying to do her first 5.10.
Weekend Whipper: Awesome, Airy Fall on Famous Red Rock Crack
“I pushed it until absolute failure and ended up taking the whip mid cam placement!”
Weekend Whipper: Sport Climber Rips Off Huge Flake, Narrowly Misses Belayer
That could have been so much worse.
Weekend Whipper: Climbing Helmets Exist for a Reason
Especially if your guide doesn’t correct your mistakes.
Weekend Whipper: Pumped Climber Takes 30-footer Into Tree
Oh how we love to dispatch the crux. But it’s no reason to lose concentration.
Weekend Whipper: Don’t Make Promises You Can’t Keep
“I was confident about the dyno, and I assured my belayer I wouldn’t miss the hold.”
Weekend Whipper: This Hard Catch “Looks Way Worse Than It Felt”
We’ll take your word for it!
Weekend Whipper: Why Linking Pitches Can Lead to Huge Falls
Rope stretch and miscommunication are not to be underestimated.
Weekend Whipper: Dynamic Lurches and Quiet Curses Above Tiny Cam
It's no fun climbing in the sun.
Weekend Whipper: Climber Dangles From Ice Dagger. Then It Snaps.
“Upside-down double-heel hook” is not in our mixed-climbing vocabulary. Maybe that’s for a reason.
Weekend Whipper: Reminder! It Ain’t Over ‘Til It’s Over
“I let the feeling of being done take over, and I forgot to use my feet.”
Weekend Whipper: Nearly Decking on a Polished “Classic”
Be wary of clipping above your head while close to the ground.
Weekend Whipper: Committed Climber Can’t Reverse His Course. Big Fall Ensues.
“I put myself off-route, on the far end of an unprotected traverse, and climbed up moves I could not protect nor easily reverse.”
Weekend Whipper: Why (Sometimes) You Should Run It Out Above Sharp Roofs
The climber would have knocked his teeth into the roof had he placed a cam a bit higher.
Weekend Whipper: The Big, Clean Whips We Wish We Could Always Take
Although staying upright would be nice.
Weekend Whipper: Poorly Placed Arm—Yes, Arm!—Flips Unfortunate Climber
This climber totally mismanaged his rope’s position.
Weekend Whipper: Crumbly Rock + Slab = Bad Time
“I guess the lesson learned is: Can never be too careful on runout slab.”
Weekend Whipper: Sometimes Even Pro Climbers Get Unlucky (and Injured)
“Looking back, it was a big mistake to not wear a helmet. I totally overestimated the steepness of the wall.”