Dumbest climb

[Dan Cobb]

Wasn't in a tree, but...

In college, my roommate came up with the idea it would be "neat" to climb the tallest local TV tower. Being young and dumb, I bought in. So one night, we sneak in, scale the fence and start climbing the 1070 ft tower. No safety gear whatsoever, just jeans, t-shirt and tennis shoes. At around 400 ft, roommate decides that's all he wants to climb and heads down. I decide that since I'm already there and feeling good, I might as well keep going. I climbed to the top of the tower structure. About 50 ft from the top, the ladder on the inside of the tower structure ends and I had to transition to the ladder on the outside corner. Being on the outside of the structure sure made me feel more exposed. At the top of the ladder is a doormat sized piece of grating to stand on. I decided climbing the antenna itself was not a good idea (as if climbing the tower was!), as it has alternating pegs set at 90 degrees plus the interference of a spiral wire on spacers nearly as long as the pegs. Anyhow, we got away undetected. I'm often thankful that I survived my youth. Kind of ironic that I went on to a career that included OSHA compliance, instructing technical rescue and developing fall protection programs and training.

 

[GregManning]

Wasn't in a tree, but...

In college, my roommate came up with the idea it would be "neat" to climb the tallest local TV tower. Being young and dumb, I bought in. So one night, we sneak in, scale the fence and start climbing the 1070 ft tower. No safety gear whatsoever, just jeans, t-shirt and tennis shoes. At around 400 ft, roommate decides that's all he wants to climb and heads down. I decide that since I'm already there and feeling good, I might as well keep going. I climbed to the top of the tower structure. About 50 ft from the top, the ladder on the inside of the tower structure ends and I had to transition to the ladder on the outside corner. Being on the outside of the structure sure made me feel more exposed. At the top of the ladder is a doormat sized piece of grating to stand on. I decided climbing the antenna itself was not a good idea (as if climbing the tower was!), as it has alternating pegs set at 90 degrees plus the interference of a spiral wire on spacers nearly as long as the pegs. Anyhow, we got away undetected. I'm often thankful that I survived my youth. Kind of ironic that I went on to a career that included OSHA compliance, instructing technical rescue and developing fall protection programs and training.

I like change to the career part !

 

[Cambium_Climber]

this is one of those things that makes you shiver. climbing 1000 feet unprotected. glad to see your still alive

 

[HigherGroundArborist]

Did you get a picture from the top?

 

[Dan Cobb]

Did you get a picture from the top?

No. It was before cell phones and digital cameras. Didn't have a film camera, or a pocket for it. Only thing I carried was a pen light for signaling our position to the buddy who dropped us off and waited in a nearby parking lot.

 

[Cereal_Killer]

Climbed the outside of this parking garage (Google Street view pic). Climbed up the colored parts but then, since you can get to that top by simply driving and thus being there wasn't very impressive I climbed up on top of the far right part. This was middle of the day with traffic whizzing by on the freeway just a couple years ago.


I'd love to climb a 1000ft tower but I'd want to be tied in so I could take rests on rope and enjoy the views!

 

[Ob2]

It always cracks me up that my girlfriend who was afraid of heights joined us for a similar 400-ft tower climb in high school. Then she became a paratrooper (still afraid of heights)

 

[Reach]

I have never climbed anything that crazy, but the fiancée of a friend of mine climbed the spire on the new One World Trade Center, and then jumped off, after he wrote their initials at the top inside a heart...




He fell about six feet before his harness caught him. It was a publicity stunt done to promote the fall arrest gear company he owns

 

[27RMT0N]

Ah, to be in my 20s again... I even got my sister to film this one

Was it dumb? Eh, maybe. I didn't know the exact depth (hence the staying wide instead of getting into a tight feet-first 'pencil dive') but I did one depth test beforehand and the climbing itself was very simple.

Although I was raised in a city, I grew up spending a huge amount of time outdoors in the mountains, doing a fair bit of rock climbing, mountain climbing, boating, mountain biking, skiing and all manor of other things. I suppose you could say I come from a family of accomplished adventurers and athletes and I've always pushed the limits myself; been more places and done more things than I could count where a single mistake would have meant injury or death. But I've never considered myself an adrenaline junkie, I'm not trying to act like a badass and impress people on the internet (anymore, ha) and probably most relevant to the tree work industry, I don't take unknown risks in the job I do. It's about knowing your body, staying cool in potentially hazardous situations, understanding the physics involved and the growth and progression in both body and mind that comes from not staying static.

While I don't do this kind of thing anymore, everything I did growing up was the foundation for what I do today. Never been hurt, but always very aware of the possibility.

 

[chipper1]

I have never climbed anything that crazy, but the fiancée of a friend of mine climbed the spire on the new One World Trade Center, and then jumped off, after he wrote their initials at the top inside a heart...




He fell about six feet before his harness caught him. It was a publicity stunt done to promote the fall arrest gear company he owns

I remember seeing the other video on their channel yrs ago, never seen the jump, if this is the right company.

 

[Reach]

I remember seeing the other video on their channel yrs ago, never seen the jump, if this is the right company.

Yes, that’s it! I couldn’t find the video when I looked the other day, thank you!

 

[chipper1]

Yes, that’s it! I couldn’t find the video when I looked the other day, thank you!

Funny, even though I'm comfortable being off the ground, that makes me uncomfortable.
Maybe it's seeing the views from the camera instead of through my own eyes, but some of the videos make me feel sick to my stomach, others don't phase me at all?
You guys have a great weekend, don't do anything I wouldn't lol.

 

[Lupin_IV]

Funny how things change. I got involved in urban exploring pretty heavily via a forum very similar to this one. Climbed quite a few construction cranes, tall churches with structurally questionable access routes, all kinds of dumb stuff. Much better to have a controlled outlet with a community who cares deeply about the safety of the sport. On top of that, an easily monetizable skill. The early 20s version of me would be blown away that this is even a possibility.

 

[CjM]

Just to balance this thread out

 

[evo]

Dumbest climb was down climbing a crumbly basalt face to the ocean. It was only about 60-70’ and I loved this spot. During high tides and more so durning storms the waves would crash directly on the rocks shooting saltwater easily 100’. There was no beach access just cliff face for about a half mile in either direction. Walked the beach for a bit and found a cove with an amazing waterfall that you can walk behind. I hung out at that spot exploring the inside of the cove for over a hour. Then it dawned on me the tide was coming in and by the time I got back to the place I climbed down my feet were getting wet.
The about half way up my handholds started giving out and the sea spray made the rock slick as snot. If I fell and survived the fall I would have been bashed repeatedly against the rock face on a incoming tied.
Then there was the water tower, about 80’ maybe a little more, the ladder was enclosed but had a latch padlocked bear the 20’ mark. We would then transition from inside and free climb the ladder cage.
We figured out that jumping on the top in unison would send a thunder like rumble down the valley and into town. It was a common hangout for us, until the cops caught on that the thunder sound was kids climbing the tower.
I miss those days, being chased by the po for super petty trife stuff, like lemmings we would out run them to the beach sand bluffs and fly off the cliff into the eroded sand tallus

 

[climbingmonkey24]

this is one of those things that makes you shiver. climbing 1000 feet unprotected. glad to see your still alive

Look up El Capitan Free Solo on YouTube if you haven’t seen it already.

 

[Njdelaney]

Look up El Capitan Free Solo on YouTube if you haven’t seen it already.

Yeah Free Solo is a movie from National Geographic I think. Makes everything else look tame. It's a human achievement of mental and physical focus that is unmatched in my opinion.

 

[climbingmonkey24]

Yeah Free Solo is a movie from National Geographic I think. Makes everything else look tame. It's a human achievement of mental and physical focus that is unmatched in my opinion.

I actually believe there were studies done on that person that showed how they process certain fight or flight instincts (fear, etc) in comparison to the average person. It’s pretty interesting.

 

[Reach]

Look up El Capitan Free Solo on YouTube if you haven’t seen it already.

Alex is crazy. Incredible, but crazy. Like all the greats he will make a mistake one day though, one slip, and he will join all the other former Greatest Climbers in the history books.

 

[Chaplain242]

Alex is crazy. Incredible, but crazy. Like all the greats he will make a mistake one day though, one slip, and he will join all the other former Greatest Climbers in the history books.

Isn’t he already gone? Rappelled off a rope tandem climbing a mountain?