Weekend Whipper: The Nutcracker
As someone in the Rock and Ice office commented yesterday, this Weekend Whipper is “nut” for the faint of heart.
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As someone in the Rock and Ice office commented yesterday, this Weekend Whipper is “nut” for the faint of heart. It takes place Down Under. The lovely music in the background is Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy, from The Nutcracker.
Last Sunday, Simon and his mates from ATA (“All the Activities”) were climbing in Brooyar, South East Queensland, Australia. It was the end of a full weekend of climbing, but they were still ready for some try hard. In the video, shot by Simon’s friend Brett, Simon starts up Celluloid Hero (21/5.11a), a route with a particularly burly, pumpy start—standard for the area.
As he thugs up the climb beyond the first bolt, fatigue starts to creep into his forearms. By the time he’s staring at the second bolt, he’s already gripped. “This was the last climb of the weekend for me and I could not take a hand off to make the clip, even with the draw still up,” Simon told Rock and Ice. “I was so pumped my hand peeled right off it, and down I went.”
And, well, the aftermath is one of those scenarios we all wonder about—“Does that ever happen?”—but rarely see play out. The belayer takes the rope straight to his, um, sugar plums.
Simon gave credit where credit was due. He told Rock and Ice that, while he was “honored” to be featured in the Weekend Whipper, he figures “the true legend here is Fabian, my belayer. Took the nutshot and kept holding on!”
Happy Friday and climb safe this weekend!
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