Helmet Head- Put A Lid On It

Many of you probably heard about the incident in the news that, more than likely, made ski and snowboarding helmet sales go up. Though hindsight is 20/20, these sort of incidents will naturally bring up the discussion of helmet use. People argue that a helmet could have made the difference in this accident, so here comes the question... should I wear a helmet? A couple of weeks ago Eric, Keeley, Traves and I took a trip up to sugar bowl. There was a girl in our group lesson who wore a helmet due to a prior accident. When she was young her parents took her to the Alps to go skiing. She fell, hit her head, and lost her memory for a few days. So now on the bunny slope, even in a group lesson, she wears a helmet.

Andrew Davila looking cool in his helmet at Sugar Bowl

I 've never put much thought to helmet wearing before now, but recently Eric and I purchased new helmets. In my younger days I thought helmets were stupid looking and I never wanted to wear one. Now I'm beginning to understand that a helmet could save a life. Even beginners fall on the easiest terrain and can become injured. Although having an accident like that is rare, it could happen to anyone. When planning to back country ski I think a helmet is a necessity, but what about on the bunny slope? I'm starting to see how they make sense all the time. I guess it's just because you don't see a lot of people wearing them on the slopes. Most people rely on their health insurance to save them.

Eric skiing with his new helmet

I went on Wikipedia to see if I could find any interesting facts about ski helmets, but there wasn't much there. I did find, however, that some people criticize helmets for having an "increased likeliness that wearers might injure others in an accident because of the hard material."- HA! It goes on to say that a wearer will also have limited visibility, limited ability to hear others, and people will ski faster when wearing one. There is also a quote by a Dr. Shealy from Rochester Institute of Technology. He says " There is no evidence they reduce fatalities, we are up to 40 percent usage, but there has been no change in fatalities in a 10-year period." I used my helmet the last time we went skiing, and let me tell you, it was great. My visibility was fine, I took off the ear muffs so I could hear everything, and I definitely don't go any faster just because I have one on. I'm still a super-slow-safety-skier, and proud of it.

Amber being a super-slow-safety-skier

Reading some other blogs and feeds about helmets helped me understand how important they really are, and wearing one confirmed it even more. Even though some people criticize their ability, most skiers seem to find them helpful. Helmets might not change the mortality rate of skiers, but they probably help the injury rate. Head injuries are the more common injury that can be obtained while skiing, according to some research I've done. Why not wear them? You wear a helmet when riding a bike, a motorcycle, and out door rock climbing. So why wouldn't you wear one skiing?

Day one and two

Hey everyone! We had a lot of fun playing frisbee golf, watching a little kid win the bouldering contest, and eating BBQ in Bear Valley on Saturday. Today we climed some amazing cracks, at Spicer Terraces. On the way to our new destination, we saw a fire in the Sanora pass, so we changed plans, and we're heading to Twin Lakes to dayhike Matterhorn Peak instead, which means we won't be backpacking Tower Peak this time around.

Outdoor Climbing 101

Eric and I have crossed over! We ventured into the wild, and took an outdoor climbing class at the famous Cragmont park in Berkeley, CA. We usually climb indoors, at the Great Western Power Company in Oakland, but we've been bitten by the climbing bug and wanted to try our hands (and feet) on real rock. Our instructor Dave, who works at Iron Works in Berkeley, was also an encyclopedia of climbing skills & history.

Dave met us at Cragmont in Berkeley, which has it's own impressive past. In the 1930s, a few men created the Cragmont Climbing Club there, and practiced new ways of belaying and rappelling. Cragmont is one of the birthplaces of many techniques we still use today. Many of those who trained at Cragmont back then went on to become pioneers of climbing at Yosemite, largely regarded as the birthplace of modern climbing.

Me near the top of Beginners' Crack (5.6)

First, we started on the top of beginners crack, which is a nice 5.6 with only a few challenges. Dave taught us first how to anchor, tie certain knots, and rappel. Along with tying a bunch of figure eights, Dave taught us the water knot, double overhand, and the clove hitch. We learned how to choose an anchoring system, and how to attach runners and 'biners together. Dave had an impressive collection of gear he has found at different routes, or "booty" as he calls it.

Next we learned to rappel using the carabiner brake method, with and without a prusik. I was a little nervous the first time I rappelled, but I found it to be easier than I expected. There were a few physical challenges when climbing up, such as finding the hidden hold, and walking up the face at the top, but it was exciting and rewarding to actually be on rock. We each climbed it twice.

Eric lets a prussik grab the brake rope and halt his rappel

The second Climb we tried was a 5.7 called Cragmont Undercling. Eric made it to the top of this one, but I couldn't last on the under hang. It was challenging to find a good foothold near the top, because there seem to be none. Just a horizontal crack you need to traverse, which is tricky. Finally, the last climb was a 5.9 variation of the undercling. Eric slipped near the top of this route, and I decided to not attempt something way above my limit. Eric at first described it as "clinging, I did lots of clinging", but then stated it felt like he was "clinging to tiny holds and trying like hell to generate some friction with my feet."

Me sticking a challenging move on Cragmont Undercling (5.7)
YouTube: High - Low

Climbing these routes was challenging and fun! Whether or not you decide to take a class, I recommend reading Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills, or Climbing Anchors 2nd Edition, if you are planning to climb outdoors at all. These books helped us immensely, and got us excited about climbing on real rock. We can't wait to go out again to try our next route. Lover's Leap, here we come!