[TowerTalk] Tower Falls, After the fall/save

[Jim Lux]

Mike Fatchett W0MU wrote:
> You will not be feeling very good after a fall either.  You will experience
> a nasty shock when the arrest lines reach their full stretch.  You could
> easily hit your head in the fall etc.  You will probably be in better shape
> than if you hit the ground though.  Chances are pretty good the shock will
> put you out but I could be wrong.  I have never talked to anyone that has
> ever had the opportunity to test their rigging.

I have taken some pretty gnarly falls rock climbing.  Yep, hitting the 
end of the rope isn't comfortable, but, if it hadn't been there, I 
wouldn't be typing this now.  No question that safety gear has saved my 
life more than once, rock climbing, doing rigging on sets, and riding 
horses. No question that better gear makes the whole process less 
painful, so I'm a believer, in general.  Whether I've taken a fall using 
full harnesses and walked away when something less would have resulted 
in a poorer outcome, I can't say.  And a statistic based on one trial 
isn't particularly significant anyway.  I might have been lucky.

Sort of like being in car accidents with seatbelts.  Been there, done 
that, seatbelt was worth it.  I have friends whose lives were saved by 
wearing seatbelts (after I had given them grief about their not wearing 
them), even though they were severely injured (better to break both legs 
submarining into the footwell than flying through the windshield, etc.)

So, in general, I'm a believer.  But... I'm also a believer that there's 
no such thing as absolute safety, and your best bet is to be well 
informed, and make the decision for yourself.

{FWIW, when kids are involved, it's a whole 'nother story as far as my 
thoughts on risk acceptance... but that's not really a common scenario 
in the tower climbing area}


Jim, W6RMK



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