Cut the rope, I'd hope they would do the same if roles were reversed. They are injured, and were stuck in a mountain. Even if we did both get to the ledge safe, the injured one would just drag the healthy one down, take up resources and slow the travel to some where safe.
You have set some quite ridiculous parameters:
(1) you're tied together when this just drags both of you down (why tie yourselves together then?)
(2) you can't pull him up (unlikely considering the circumstances)
(3) you are going to be pulled over with him (sometime in the near future... somehow)
(4) they are too injured to do anything (and I in this scenario know this how?)
(5) The fall will definitely kill you both (again, how do I know this?)
Assuming all that is true and miraculously I know all of this, I suppose the question is, will holding on and being dragged over the edge really save my friend?
If both of us go over and he dies no one will know where or how he died also likely never recover his body for burial. If I cut him loose however there is a chance he will survive the fall but be merely too injured to get to safety, at least then I can do something, but not if we BOTH go over the edge were neither of us will be able to get help. Also, there's a pretty good chance I'll land on top of him if we both fall. So welfare wise, it does no good for him to drag down me with him.
I'd slack off as much of the rope as possible to lessen the fall, and hope he lands on something soft. Then I'd make my way down double time (maybe use another rope to abseil straight down) and try to stabilise him for extrication.
Well, I'd feel extremely guilty and bad about it afterwards, and I would take whatever punishment God/Satan/Flying-Spaghetti-Monster/Cthulhu will give me. But I would definitely cut the rope. No point in killing us both, and in a life-or-death situation I would have no hesitation in killing someone else to save my own life.
cut the rope seeing as option B results in my death A is the only logical answer, if option B had say a 50/50 chance of us both living or not, then it would be a little more practical
You have set some quite ridiculous parameters:
(1) you're tied together when this just drags both of you down (why tie yourselves together then?)
(2) you can't pull him up (unlikely considering the circumstances)
(3) you are going to be pulled over with him (sometime in the near future... somehow)
(4) they are too injured to do anything (and I in this scenario know this how?)
(5) The fall will definitely kill you both (again, how do I know this?)
No, no, that's all perfectly reasonable. Haven't you ever read Tintin in Tibet, man??
1) Standard practice in mountainclimbing, as when one person falls, the other will hold on and break their fall, allowing them to grab onto something. Because grabbing things while falling is hard.
2) People in full mountaineering gear are heavy. Ice-picks and tents and rations and shit? Heavy.
3) As stated above, this person would represent a heavy load. So holding them up for any length of time would rapidly drain your stamina, and the alternative is getting dragged along with them.
4) Normally they should be able to grab something, but sometimes, such as in this case, they can't reach a handhold. If they're dangling beneath an overhang, for example.
5)
When it suddenly takes a turn for the worst, you both fall, this leaves you on a small ledge, with your friend dangling injured on a rope that connects the two of you, over a ravine.
The weight of your friend is pulling you down, and in a few seconds you might be pulled off and both go tumbling into the abyss.
Would you cut the rope, almost definetly killing your friend, or leave the rope intact and try and pull your friend up, which would almost definetly result in both of you dying.
this question makes the assumption that our little video-game-playing shut-in escapist community actually has friends (or would be stupid enough to climb a mountain). it's sweet of you (or not, depending on which viewpoint one takes), but not highly realistic.
that said, i never leave home without my kim-possible style hairdryer/grappling hook, so this would never be a problem.
This is the only straightforward and honest answer you'll hear.
I would probably cut the rope with tears in my eyes and whisper "I'm sorry," as he silently looks up at me and falls with his hand outstretched. I would then look away, blinking back tears, and pull myself up. I would then cut the friendship bracelet he had made before the trip and flash back to him saying, "Here, I want you to have this. It's a sign that says no matter what, we'll always be friends." It is at this moment when I drop down to my knees and openly sob while facing towards the abyss ahead of me. After I wipe the final tears from my eyes, I will stand up and drop the friendship bracelet, which has since been cut in half, into the hole. I would finish my way up the mountain and when I get to the very top, I will break tree limbs and tie them into the shape of a cross and stick it in the snow at the highest point. The camera zooms in on the cross and the music builds up, becoming louder and louder, and when it is at a certain point, it will cut suddenly to black with a very quiet cymbal chime. The directors name appears as the violin cues back up, playing nearly the same song as the theme, except this time it is in minor and slowed down.
3rd option. Swing him into the wall so he can climb up, lower him down the ravine, use the awesome power of physics to ad weight to my end of the rope so neither person falls, any of these could work.
Last time I saw this scenario was "Vertical Limit", terrible film.
When it suddenly takes a turn for the worst, you both fall, this leaves you on a small ledge, with your friend dangling injured on a rope that connects the two of you, over a ravine.
The weight of your friend is pulling you down, and in a few seconds you might be pulled off and both go tumbling into the abyss.
Would you cut the rope, almost definetly killing your friend, or leave the rope intact and try and pull your friend up, which would almost definetly result in both of you dying.
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