# Learning to climb



## Dennis (Jul 21, 2003)

So, my first climbing expedition was a good one...climbed 30' in 47 seconds on an old dry power pole at the Clearwater Revival...

but...Roger(rbtree) didn't tell me I wasn't supposed to use the spurs in my leg....

One week after....


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## YUKON 659 (Jul 21, 2003)

OUCH!!!!! Looks like it's healing good though. It could have been worse Dennis. I was watching the speed climbing on the Great Outdoors Games this past weekend and they made reference to a climber who gaffed his leg on his descent and hit a major blood vessel!!!! Must be tough...he was back at it this year!!!!

Jeff


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## Mattman (Jul 21, 2003)

I'm sorry, but my first reaction was to laugh like hell. And then I thought about how crappy it must feel to sit at home with a big gaping wound in your leg. 

And then I laughed like hell again. No, but seriously. Competition is for atheletes, not workers.

Think about it come payday.


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## Ryan Willock (Jul 22, 2003)

That sucks Dennis!!!! I have never gaffed my self although I have come close!!! I was teaching a friend of mine to climb on them a few months ago and he kicked out coming down about two feet off the ground and landed one foot on top of the other and DID NOT land like I told him (land with your feet APART!!!) well he put one of my 3 1/2'' tree gaffs through his foot!! fortunately for him it missed the bones in his foot but to this day he won't mess with spurs!


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## ok2climb (Jul 22, 2003)

*gaff scar*

Dennis,

Learning to climb should not be a timed event, go ahead and look at your leg to realize that. Take your time, learn all that you can and have fun while doing it. As always, be safe.


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## Dennis (Jul 24, 2003)

ok2, its not really as bad as it seems..we had 4 or 5 guys that had never climbed before...and I made them go up the pole...so on Sunday it was my turn...Roger had me roped in so I wasn't worried whatsoever...and I have done plenty of rock climbing...

The gash is getting better if I would just quit hitting it and scraping it open...

I am looking forward to climbing again though...i want to learn to free climb the pole...we had one guy here doing it...he wasn't as fast mind you...as the guy with the rope...but he wasn't near as young either...lol....


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## John Paul Sanborn (Jul 24, 2003)

I did that in the USMC while I was stringing Com wire around a motor pool for the dispatch speakers. I went up this old tree by a quanset hut, it had so many nails in it my gaffs just bounced right on by and into my ankle.

Still got a shadow of a scar there 20 years later.


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## njarbor (Jul 25, 2003)

yeah i saw that on the great outdoor games .. he actually landed with his leg tucked under him ,putting the gaff through his hamstrings .. looked like fun


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