I was on an Italian rock climb, in Arco, rated about 5.10, with my college buddy Mikey. We were about two thirds up the route in spite of having been passed by about two dozen parties of little Italian kids on their holiday. We were getting tired and starting to get "summit fever" as there was a long walk down to the village awaiting us at the top. The next pitch, the crux, went up and traversed right for a ways, with very small handholds and delicate moves. I was leading the whole climb so I racked up and moved up away from Mikey. The crux moves were hard but I got through them and got up and over a difficult bulge, to the exit moves of the pitch. I was very tired from leading the whole climb (Mikey being a less experienced climber) and so upon getting to the ledge, I barely had strength to clip the anchors. After a brief recovery, I called to Mikey that he could take me off belay, only to find that we could not communicate because of the intervening bulge and traverse. I did manage through a series of pulls to make him understand that I was off belay, so he prepared to follow the pitch and I put him on belay.

"After a brief recovery, I called to Mikey that he could take me off belay, only to find that we could not communicate because of the intervening bulge and traverse..."

After taking in some rope, Mikey must have been starting the traverse, so I was watching the rope carefully. Sure enough, he fell repeatedly. Each time after falling he would try to get back on the rock and try again. I would feel the rope yank taut and then go slack again several times. Eventually I just felt tension for a long time. Figuring that he was just resting, I yelled down but we still could not hear each other. I waited for quite a while and started to get worried since there was no change in the tension on the rope.

Just as I was starting to try to figure out how to call for a rescue, I saw Mikey's head pop up over the bulge. Now I just stared at him in complete bewilderment.

"He had to stop to take out protection, and in order to do this, and to rest his aching arms, he had decided to free his arms by simply clamping the rope between his teeth and muscular jaws..."

He was laboriously inching his way upward by a very strange and unorthodox climbing method. He was also becoming much more "pumped" than I had been leading the pitch. After he got to the ledge and clipped to the anchors I started to figure out just how much danger he had created for himself. He had decided (probably out of sheer panic) to try and climb the rope hand over hand. He had been "batmanning" up the rope to follow the pitch. However, he had to stop to take out protection, and in order to do this, and to rest his aching arms, he had decided to free his arms by simply clamping the rope between his teeth and muscular jaws. He was creating no backup for himself so if he had fallen he would have gone all the way to end of the rope (which had a lot of slack by time he approached the top!) Luckily he had not fallen and we were both safe. We decided to rappel the entire climb instead of continuing to the top. The climb had been a learning experience for both of us. We are still friends to this day. Unfortunately Mikey was hit by a drunk driver on his motorcycle last year, but he is recovering very nicely.

For any beginning climber reading this, you have just read how NOT to climb up a rope! To learn the correct method read an instruction book or hire a guide.

-- By Chris Moratz, Mountain Zone Pubster