Bad Attitude

The latest British Mountaineering Club magazine, summit, has arrived today. There was an article about an accident at Burbage north, a small cliff in the Peak District. The climber was experienced, but didn't wear a helmet and sustained serious head injuries when he fell off. His feet got entangled in the rope, resulting in an inverted fall: the climber, held by the rope, ends up upside down. Quite often the head smashes on the rock when this happens.

I started to wonder if i should wear a helmet when climbing single pitch bolted routes in France. I always wear a helmet in England, i wear one on multi pitch climbs in France - for fear of falling stones - but not on short crags. Weeks ago, I was wondering whether I should take a ski helmet during the Chamonix to Zermatt traverse. I always wear one when mountain biking, i wore it during the 2 hours ride to Nottingham this past 2 weeks and start to feel guilty when i cycle to town without one.

But what really got me thinking was the last article, about attitude to belaying. There are very few belayers whom I blindly trust, and when someone i don't know belays me, i don't want to fall. Last Sunday, i even made a major mistake that i think comes from my lack of trust in the belayer: i grabbed the gear as i was falling on a trad route in the peak. The writer argued that for fear of upsetting their climbing partners, most climbers don't dare to voice their concerns about their belayer's attitude, lack of concentration or general level of skills.

We live in a world where we are made to feel guilty if we don't use the latest technology to protect ourselves, but where basic social skills are forgotten to the point that telling the person who holds your life in his/her hands, through the rope and belay device, is considered bad attitude.

I think those displaying bad attitude are the ones who can't face to the fact that belaying someone is taking responsibility for their lives if something goes wrong. And climbers who don't dare to tell their belayer that they expect best practice from them have a bad attitude too.

In the future, climbers may place a bouncy castle at the bottom of climbs and not use a rope. Why not? That's probably quite similar to deep water soloing. I will be heading to more remote cliffs, climbing with those who enjoy the social side of roping up with another person, trusting your life into their hands, and communicating accordingly.