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Cams are typically used to prevent big falls, not cause them. But this week’s whipper bucks that trend.
David was climbing The Sloth (HVS 5a/5.9), at the classic Roaches Upper Tier crag, in England. “[It was] not my first HVS,” David tells Climbing. “I expected it to be tough.” David climbed easily up to a midway ledge, placed a sling around a solid horn, and then climbed a few more moves to the base of a hand crack splitting the crux roof. The No. 2 cam he placed was a little small relative to the size of the crack (“tipped out”), but David said he thought it looked good enough.
Normally we’d agree that cam looked “good enough.” But the crack it was placed in gives us cause for concern. Cams are ideally placed in completely parallel cracks, or gentle constrictions, to maximize their holding power. The crux section of The Sloth involves an extremely constricted crack that opens up widely at its top. As a result, if the cam experiences any upward tugging—like rope drag or an errant foot—the cam can “walk” itself upwards until it is all but useless as a piece of protection. (Compare the angle of the cam’s lobes at 00:18 versus 00:52; the former is fine, the latter is worthless.)
Had David climbed through the crux without kicking the cam, or tugging on the rope, that No. 2 likely would have held his fall. But he hosed himself by placing his left foot high and behind the rope at 00:40. The cam was suddenly being pulled hard to the left, and, as he climbed higher, the rope became wrapped around the No. 5 cam on his harness, further pulling the cam out of place. By the time David falls, it’s all but certain his cam will fail.
“No idea if I pumped out, panicked or just let go.” David says. “Maybe in a better state of mind I could’ve fixed [the rope]. But I wasn’t!”
Happy Friday, and be safe out there this weekend.