Bogley

Jaxx · Joined: 16 Jan 2007 Posts: 1980

My wife got a Grivel Salamander, pink of course.

(bottom left)
http://s7ondemand1.scene7.com/is/image/MoosejawMB/10037783x1025057_zm?$product475$

hank moon · Joined: 16 Mar 2007 Posts: 1164

Iceaxe wrote: I just know the helmet police are going to get me for this....

.... my new 2008 helmet.

:lol8:

*** HELMET POLICE MEMO *** FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ***

RE: BURROWS’ TEXTILE HELMET

additional C/BD considered impossible STOP copycat potential nil STOP no further action required STOP

Jaxx · Joined: 16 Jan 2007 Posts: 1980

hank moon wrote: copycat potential nil

ZING!!!

Iceaxe · Joined: 07 Mar 2005 Posts: 7930 Location: Local Bordello

Hey... at least I was wearing my safety glasses.

wiese · Joined: 05 Mar 2007 Posts: 14

Yea we are all broke, but its a helmet. Its like skimping on a condom or a seatbelt. Yea it might cost 20$ more but how much is your skull worth to ya.
Price should NEVER be an issue.

Trust me:
1 fractured skull
7 concussions
3 cracked AND replaced helmets

the above probably explains a little to much:(

when you buy your new brain bucket, you might want to put a date on it so you know when to replace it (depending on the type you buy).

Good Luck
EW

Iceaxe · Joined: 07 Mar 2005 Posts: 7930 Location: Local Bordello

wiese wrote: Trust me:
1 fractured skull
7 concussions
3 cracked AND replaced helmets

Just curious.... any of these from canyoneering?

I'm not saying a helmet is not a great idea. But I really only know of one canyoneering accident that a helmet would probably have made a big difference in the outcome.

Leprechaun Canyon - Technical Canyoneering Rescue
http://climb-utah.com/Powell/leprechaun2.htm

I'd also like to hear any canyoneering stories where someone believes wearing a helmet made a big difference?

Inquiring minds want to know.....

:cool2:

wiese · Joined: 05 Mar 2007 Posts: 14

Quote:
Just curious.... any of these from canyoneering?

Nope

Quote: I'd also like to hear any canyoneering stories where someone believes wearing a helmet made a big difference?

I have said it before, but I dress up like a Power Ranger. I wore a modified motocross suit while running a muck on Maui. If you put up 1st descents in class C, you will find plenty of lose rocks. You also can slide or be launched in areas you don't wish to be when playing with water, I have witnessed it breaking bones. (bone to be more correct) And I know he is glad he was wearing his helmet.

Also because of the goats:) Long stories, involving videos and rock rain.

I think it all comes down to where you are playing and how you playing.

take care
EW

skianddive · Posted: Thu Mar 20, 2008 5:28 pm Post subject:

Iceaxe wrote: I'd also like to hear any canyoneering stories where someone believes wearing a helmet made a big difference?

Inquiring minds want to know.....
I believe a helmet has prevented injuries to my cabeza several times here in SoCal, but I can't quantify how "big" this difference was because I have no reference point. I know without it, there would have been blood loss and maybe a possible concussion.

The canyons here in SoCal are notorious for having a lot of crumbly granite, and while I normally take precuations to make sure I am not underneath these sections of rotten rock, sometimes it is unavoidable.

Once upon a time, we were descending a canyon with a couple of newbies, and I was the designated bottom belayer on a particular drop. Normally, we descend right in the water course where there is hard granite, so rocks are usually not a problem, but because the anchor for this rappel was off to one side, the newbies descended through a section of crumbly granite and both kicked off pieces. I was standing off to one side executing the belay, and most rocks fell straight down, but several pieces bounced on the way down and struck my helmet. I know I would have been injured had I not been wearing it.

In addition, many SoCal descents involve scrambling around/in trees and branches, and I know my helmet has saved my noggin several times from being pierced or, worse, impaled. Three weeks ago, we came to a narrow 45' drop in one of our canyons that had a tree sticking up from the bottom - it had toppled over and the roots were at the top. Carrying a handsaw, I was lowered down the waterfall to cut some of the many branches and make a chute, and I'm glad I had my helmet on.

So that should explain why helmets are almost mandatory here in our mountains, but I can understand how some Utah canyons could be done without them when you don't have to worry about falling rocks and branches that reach out and grab you.

AJ · Joined: 06 Dec 2005 Posts: 245 Location: Boulder, CO

Tanya, in your fish animation; both Hank and Stevee are wearing Petzl Elios helmets. Hanks is a newer model.

I'm a fan of the Elios as well. Lightweight, comfy, and you can add a visor for ice climbing.

Shane, I've taken a few rocks off the helmet in canyons, that sure wouldn't have felt good without a helmet. A couple of them were large enough where I'm sure I would have been seriously injured; so I'm a strong promoter of helmets (and I require them for the trips I'm leading...)

Definitely second that opinion that there is a lot of loose rock in CA canyons...

Take care,
A.J.

stefan · Joined: 09 Jan 2006 Posts: 4667 Location: somewhere

Iceaxe wrote:
I'd also like to hear any canyoneering stories where someone believes wearing a helmet made a big difference?

it might have made a big difference in this situation:
http://www.canyoneering.net/forums/showthread.php?t=1038

Iceaxe · Joined: 07 Mar 2005 Posts: 7930 Location: Local Bordello

stefan wrote: it might have made a big difference in this situation:

I doubt it..... ya can't fix stupid.

:lol8:

m cabourne · Joined: 14 Feb 2008 Posts: 3

Let me echo skianddive's comments. The San Gabriel's are really crumbly probably owing to the proximity of the San Andreas fault. It's quite likely you will knock pretty good chunks of rock down when getting into some of these canyons. Entry tends to be steep and loose as a rule. I have a number of stitches from one such incident. So......leave your helmet off if you want Shane, but you may change your mind if you visit some of our mountains.

Mike C.

Summit42 · Joined: 03 Aug 2006 Posts: 2085 Location: 127.0.0.1

mock me all you want but i love pro-tech helmets.
Skate, bike, board, or whatever you want. When copelands went out I pikced up 4 of them to 10bucks each.

Iceaxe · Joined: 07 Mar 2005 Posts: 7930 Location: Local Bordello

m cabourne wrote: I have a number of stitches from one such incident. So......leave your helmet off if you want Shane, but you may change your mind if you visit some of our mountains.

I'm not saying helmets are not a good idea... I was just curious how many folks have first hand experiance.....

Personally, I never used to wear a helmet. Then I had two close calls and started wearing a helmet depending on the canyon.

First Close Call: A partner kicked a baseball size rock off the top of a rappel and it just missed my head. I started thinking that a helmet might be a good idea and started wearing one most of the time.

Second Close Call: Walking through a slot and two bowling ball rocks fell from high up and bracketed us. I doubt a helmet would have save anyone if a direct hit, but it got me to thinking again that a helmet might not be a bad idea.

:cool2:

ratagonia · Posted: Fri Mar 21, 2008 7:13 pm Post subject:

tanya wrote:
I think it's important who your partner is too... and if you have more than 2 people in your group. It's hard to watch things from all different directions. While it has to be safter to always wear a helmet I think wearing one for every canyon is a going too far. The canyons I did with Shane last weekend --- I saw no reason to wear a helmet, in fact I would have to say that most of the hikes I have done in the boonies have more danger of loose rocks falling on my head than these types of canyons.

What canyons did you do last weekend? Oh yeah, Leprechaun, the canyon in that story where the guy hit his head and got rescued the next day, should have died, should have been a vegetable, but God was nice, that time.

Your skull provides protection from falling rocks and hitting your head in a slip. A helmet provides considerably more protection.

Are there canyons where you cannot imagine hitting your head? I would present this as evidence of a lack of imagination on your part, rather than anything to do with the nature of the canyons.

Tom