Trad fall (Heart of Darkness) - Joshua Tree Climbing

[evanvideo]

Awesome looking climb, good job. But from one trad/aid climber to another, make sure your belayer knows when to take slack and when to give it on a fall. Having an undercut like that below you is definitely an example of when the belayer would give you slack to allow you to land below. Remind your belayer that a longer fall does not equal more pain, its what you smash into that equals the pain! lol. sources: many many trad falls and broken bones :(

[Hiddenfatetoo1]

@evanvideo Hmmm....three more feet of slack would mean a broken face instead of a scraped shin. Five more feet of slack and a cam that pops would result in a grounder. I don't think in this case more slack would have been wise, despite the cut shin.

[evanvideo]

@Hiddenfatetoo1 Well, yes, you would have to worry about a faceplant, but as long as she keeps her feet under her she could prevent that, especially if it's 90 degrees vertical. Also, consider, that the more rope you give, the lower the fall force, and the more likely a piece of gear is to hold. By short roping a fall, you can greatly multiply the force on a piece of gear.  I'm surprised she didn't break her shin..

[Hiddenfatetoo1]

@evanvideo Once again, hmmm. Let's say she's about 40' up and 5' above her pro. That's about a 10' fall with 40' of rope out. That makes a fall factor of 10/40 or .25. If we give her another 5' of slack that makes a 15' fall with 45' of rope out. 15/45 = .33 fall factor, which of course results in a higher force on her anchor making it more likely to fail.

[evanvideo]

@Hiddenfatetoo1 The difference is negligible in terms of the overall force, which w/ the 15' fall is 3.4kN on the piece. Plus, even with letting out a foot or so of rope to allow her to land below the obstacle, and then providing a soft, jumping catch you can greatly reduce the force below that 3.4kN. Judging by the fact it was a thin hands crack, the cams should be holding far more than 3.4kN. I've had a 2kN micro cam catch a fall we calculated to be 3.5kN. Either trust your gear or place more!

[ZhengmuWang]

Is this slightly overhanging? I've put this route on my todo list for spring break.

[ndtitanlady]

@ZhengmuWang nay, straight up vert. amazing splitter thin hand and finger crack

[ZhengmuWang]

@ndtitanlady Yum....can't wait to try this climb when come to the tree. Hope not to get bailed on this time.

[Lachsfilet]

good gear placement!

[ndtitanlady]

@Lachsfilet thanks! this was my first ever trad lead

[rhinocerosandbenches]

I'm 12, um I love climbing. I'm quite good at it if I do say so myself, Not Chris Sharma or Alex Puccio material quite yet. But you know I'm working on it. Any tips for when starting at a new gym? I'm switching .

[MariahGraceFace]

Freelance Whales FTW.

[vallehoe]

You seem less Hyper when you climb, Nat. Maybe it's the 127 hrs. thing setting in.

[FluffehDinos]

That's so 127 hours. Seems scary. At least you didn't have to cut your leg off...

[Liangry]

Vibram five fingers at 2:28. I want one so I can feel like I'm walking without shoes. Nat your hardcore.

[buzynuptrader]

well you're still safe about climbing so, & You think to your fans with this beautiful shot of the valley at the end thks!

[novatrek]

Bad ass!!

how do I improve my grip???

[Nickitynatnat]

@novatrek i dunno... climb more?

[calibansvg]

Fuuuck that's scary. There'd better be a really good reason to climb something like that. "Because it's there" is insufficient. There'd better be cake or something at the top.

[sparkysports]

Uh oh, Natalie got an Ouweeee!!

knee pads ok

[DaYearOfTheDragon]

Pobre Gato Baby! I hope you heal up real soon. Be safe, I can't have anything happen to my favorite Youtuber.

[luvsbuffgurls]

woo hoo blood !! haha!! no really, ouch!! poor baby!! i be right over with a nice big gauze pad and ointment. you deserve a nice massage all over the rest of you!! and a nice big meal too!

[IAmFlipEY]

Yay... i started rock climbing at school? does that count? ^_^

[helentheswimstar]

was that guy like your trainer or something?

[petitesalade]

Your fall coincides with the song with lyrics that read "come down now, they'll say"; pretty poetic

[creepshowfan201]

wheres the tree!

[Tuba408Bass]

natalie! you have inspired me to start climbing! for the past month i've been going to my local rock climbing gym and i think in another 2-3months ill start outdoor climbing!

[Nickitynatnat]

@Tuba408Bass THATS AWESOME! im really really glad you will go outdoors though, the gym is a great place to start and get strong... but outdoors is just the bees knees

[altradude]

Two words, Knee Pads ;-)

[chakuitiao]

Thanks for that closeup x]

[CycleClimber]

Dang you are tough, belay FTW! ^^

[Sarzz515]

go you and your climber friends. so hardcore.

[thespilledmilk]

i'm liking the climbing soundtrack...heard some iron & wine in there, but if you want to post the rest of the songs played that would be cool...

[w35t51d369]

Naaatt please do not go in the middle of no where to rock climb, i dont want something like 127 hours to happen to you, please stay be careful!!!!!

[tinyshutterbug]

@w35t51d369 That 127 hours accident? Could have been prevented (in hindsight) if Aron Ralston had brought along a buddy or told someone where he was climbing. With these precautions in place, Natalie is pretty okay to climb in the outdoors! (also, she's as tough as nails)

[headintheclouds22]

lovely music in the background, i recognized iron and wine 'such great heights' (very relevant, i like it) but what are the others?

[slownsilent]

"It's gross. Done. I think I'm done" -"Iiiii'm thinking its a siiiiign~" (lol @ background music)

[Nickitynatnat]

@slownsilent ironnyyyy

[STFUjay]

LMFAOOOOOOO.

"AHHHH OMG UGHHH OOOO THAT'S GROSS."

Make more rock climbing videos! I love em'.

[liltetsuni]

When I see you fall.

I have flash backs to 127 hours.

And hope to GOD that, that never happens to you.

[xcookiekiddo]

@liltetsuni i was thinking the same thinggg!

[prettymuchallofit]

are you gonna post any vlogs on your regular channel soon??

[iDemonicFantasy]

That looks really fun and must take a lot of upper body strength to do!

[Zechlarr]

Joshua tree is amazing

[Nickitynatnat]

@Zechlarr yes it is, i agree 100% percent.

[TheRawrzard]

Wow, very impressive. omg and when you fell geez!! give me a heat attack why don't you!! have you gotten badly injured before like that or broke something o_o... lol

Crazy shit! pretty sure you would survive the end of the world!

[SBNMario]

Great view!

[lisalove321]

fourth commenter! oh my :O :P ily btw <3

[rrcczz]

Co za asy.....

[Muffinsparklez]

NICE~



[DivineOut]

ily