Weekend Whipper: Climber Fumbles Clip, Nearly Splinters into Tree
Many sport pitches can be fallen from with abandon. Not this one.
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This whipper comes to you from Falesia dos Olhos, Brazil, mid crux on Janela da Alma (7b/5.12b). “[It’s] an imposing route,” the climber, Renan Nogues Cassani, told Climbing, “with a very technical roof turn, with stretches and long seams.”
Cassani said the crux is mentally demanding, as, even if you successfully clip the bolt at your waist, a lurking tree serves up a dangerous fall—“if not well calculated.”
“The fall is clean if you land correctly, without throwing yourself back,” Cassani explained. “[But] I was very close to it… I hit my chalk bag on the tree.” As far as he’s aware, no serious tree-collision has happened (yet) and so local climbers have chosen not to cut it down.
Happy Friday, and if your chosen route this weekend has arboreal hazards, please wear a helmet.
Thanks to Vivência da Montanha (@vivenciadamontanha) for sharing their video.
Watch more Weekend Whippers:
- Climber “Forgets” to Clip Second Bolt, Sweeps Across the Deck
- Broken Hold Causes Ragdoll Down Slab
- An ‘Oh-sh*t’ Downclimb Goes Wrong
