Weekend Whipper: Skippin’ Clips and Takin’ Whips

Plastic pushes back on this Weekend Whipper.

This week we head indoors. At his gym in London, Houman skipped two clips (Really? In the gym?) on a short 7a (5.11d). “I was past the crux and had never fallen on the last part of the climb and thought I would save some energy,” he explained to Rock and Ice in an email.

But there’s a first time for everything: This time his foot slipped off and got caught behind the rope. Houman paid the price, going full Spider-Man, Tobey Maguire style (sans upside-down kiss, though). The belayer’s face at the end of the video says it all. Houman walked away with a tweaked shoulder—a bummer, for sure, since he can’t climb for a while, but still good that it wasn’t something more serious.

We wish him a smooth road to recovery, and hope he’s learned his lesson that skipping clips in the gym is just silly. There’s no glory to be had there, Houman. Save it for the real rock.

Happy Friday and climb safe this weekend!

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