John Christie once took a 70-foot fall but didn’t blow the onsight. How is this possible? John was climbing a run-out pitch on Glacier Point Apron in Yosemite. Just before clipping a bolt, he slipped on the slick granite slab and started sliding backward. Somehow he managed to stay on his toes, and the angle was so low that he never picked up too much speed during his ass-backward slab schuss, yet he couldn't stop either—he slid 30, 50, 70 feet. Suddenly he backed onto a shallow ledge, rocked a few times, and stood. After gathering his wits, he climbed back up and finished the pitch. Since he never weighted the rope, he figures he still got the onsight.
About Me
- Dougald MacDonald
- I work full-time as a freelance writer and editor: associate editor, American Alpine Journal; news editor, Climbing.com; contributing editor, 5280 magazine; frequent contributor to Backpacker, Men's Journal, Outside, 5280, and other magazines. I was editor in chief and publisher of Rock and Ice magazine for five years, and cofounded Trail Runner magazine. During the 1990s, I was editor in chief of the Denver Business Journal.
Book Sale
Sadly, my book is now out of print. I have a few brand-new copies that I will sign and send for $50, including postage. (They're currently over $100 on Amazon.) Click on "my complete profile" above for contact info. I hope to find a new publisher to bring out a second edition, but this could be it.
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1 comment:
Hmm ... I guess he was happy that he fell before clipping the bolt. That was one heck of a "dynamic move"!
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