Why can't they make some device for him, say, a thick-ish belt, which will make him hang inside of a sphere full of compressed gas, after a second of free fall? Not unlike how car SRS work?
Probably because the inflation of such a sphere, like an airbag going off, would be an incredibly violent event in itself. Also, decelerating inside the confines of a small sphere wouldn't be much gentler than just hitting the ground at full speed.
Some sort of jet-assist contraption to slow your descent might be a better bet. It would arm itself when it senses that you've fallen, and fire the next time it senses that it's upright.
I have a feeling that a lot of people who die in this sport are either paralyzed or dead before they hit the ground, due to collisions with outcroppings in the rock face. Free climbing isn't something that you would want to do if you have the slightest concern for your own neck, and I don't think any number of Rube Goldberg gadgets will change that.
Probably because the inflation of such a sphere, like an airbag going off, would be an incredibly violent event in itself. Also, decelerating inside the confines of a small sphere wouldn't be much gentler than just hitting the ground at full speed.
Some sort of jet-assist contraption to slow your descent might be a better bet. It would arm itself when it senses that you've fallen, and fire the next time it senses that it's upright.
I have a feeling that a lot of people who die in this sport are either paralyzed or dead before they hit the ground, due to collisions with outcroppings in the rock face. Free climbing isn't something that you would want to do if you have the slightest concern for your own neck, and I don't think any number of Rube Goldberg gadgets will change that.