Weekend Whipper: Sometimes Even Pro Climbers Get Unlucky (and Injured)

Readers, please send your Weekend Whipper videos, information, and any lessons learned to Anthony Walsh, awalsh@outsideinc.com.

Most Weekend Whippers that end with a gnarly rope-behind-the-leg fall are easy to see coming. Climbing’s eagle-eyed pundits can spot shaky footwork, fumbled clips, and a beginner’s confidence from a mile away. Sure, expert climbers also occasionally take gruesome, preventable falls, but those accidents are much harder to spot in advance.

Enter Thomas Salakenos, a professional rock climber from Belgium, who among other things has established 5.14d and repeated V15. Salakenos was attempting Bonsaï (8c/5.14b), a steep—30 degrees overhanging—single pitch at his home crag. Bonsaï has a tenuous cross-through move at mid-height that requires a ton of core tension. As a result, though Salakenos begins the cruxy reach with his legs neatly astride his rope, if he doesn’t stick the jug he’s coming off with limbs swinging. In his case, he flips violently upside down and knocks his head against the cliff.

About the Fall

“Looking back,” Salakenos said, “it was a big mistake to not wear a helmet. I totally overestimated the steepness of the wall.” We’d like to point out that if a belayer provides a hard catch (like in this video) their climber will surely swing like a pendulum toward the wall—which can mean hitting the rock even on steep walls. A dynamic catch allows the falling climber to fall down, rather than swing in.

“After the fall I had immediate symptoms of bleeding, dizziness, and trouble with my vision for half an hour,” Salakenos said. “I went to the hospital to get a cerebral MRI to check if I was fine. Luckily I was.” Salakenos returned a month later and sent the route “as revenge.”

Helmet?

A helmet would have drastically reduced Salakenos’s injuries in the scenario. Did this accident change his opinion on its importance? “In my eyes it was unlucky, but I do consider the risk every time I try a route for the first time.” he said. “But for send goes, at my maximum level, I need to feel light and free in my movements. I couldn’t climb efficiently with [a helmet].”

To each their own. But we’d be wearing a helmet—or trying a different route— after a fall like that.

Happy Friday, and be safe out there this weekend.

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