Leavenworth Accident report

[Lambone]

yikes...wear helmets guys! that shit's for real. My best friend and climbing mentor dies last year from a head injury...decked hard...in the WATER while wakeboarding.

 

Just wear it...

[chris_stolz]

The belayer was not wearing a helmet. They were on a route just to the right (I think) of Jello tower. the route was left of Angel (10b) and right of Canary (5.8). They said it was a 5.7 or so.

 

I read somewhere that there is actually about 18 litres (!) of blood in the human body. Whatever-- get a serious cut on your head and you bleed quite quickly.

 

I have now seen two accidents (involving experienced climbers), and both involved serious head injuries. One person decked; the other caught the rope with his foot and got flipped and had his head pounded. I always wear a helmet now. I got a Petzl Meteor. It is so light you don't feel it, and it is well ventilated. I take it off at belays when it's hot. No, I am not a sponsored climber or Petzl rep.

 

As nearly as I can tell, they call them "accidents" cos they happen despite the best planning and precaution. And since, at the BEST of times I have only one brain, I am gonna keep it in a nice safe place.

 

I should also have added in my initial post that the Leavenworth Sheriff's Office and the Fire Dept. were very fast and very professional in their response-- good job, folks.

 

chris

[catbirdseat]

The right to immediate right of Jello Tower is Midway, 5.5 followed by Winter Solstice, 5.7. The latter is a pretty good route. At least I think it deserves more ascents than it gets.

[Greg_W]

It's impossible to be "the route was left of Angel (10b) and right of Canary (5.8)". Jello Tower and Midway are right of Angel and left of Canary.

[Dru]

not impossible - but difficult if you are facing the cliff alright!

[TimL]

Does it really matter which route it happened on?

 

I´m glad nobody died. Hope both guy recover soon.

 

To me the matter is about personal responsibility. Unfortunately, this cat paid the price for his actions. Wearing a helmet is neither wrong or right and judging people on if they wear a helmet or not is just plain stupid.

[Spliffy]

The best way to avoid this type of accident is to not go rock climbing, but if you do, don't fall and hit the ground with your head.

[dberdinka]

As it's a tower (sort of) every route is both left and right of ever other route.

 

Sharing these experiences is a good way to deal with the traumatic stress of being involved. And yes, there really is no good reason not to wear your helmet!

[Redoubt]

I always wear a helmet now...... I take it off at belays when it's hot....... And since, at the BEST of times I have only one brain, I am gonna keep it in a nice safe place.

Chris, I would give some more thought to why you wear a helmet and why you take it off at belays when it's hot. You won't fall and hit your head while belaying (I hope!), but belays are generally no safer from rockfall than the pitch you just climbed.

 

Wearing a helmet is neither wrong or right and judging people on if they wear a helmet or not is just plain stupid.

Tim, I'd agree that there may be no right or wrong here, but there is certainly more safe and less safe. And I make judgements about climbers all the time based on how much avoidable risk they are exposing themselves to. There are times and places when not wearing a helmet is absolutely stupid.

[Dru]

yOu can wear a helmet at Vantage but it isn't gonna help much if the whole column you are bear hugging topples like positive vibrations did.

[SnowByrd]

Wearing a helmet is neither wrong or right and judging people on if they wear a helmet or not is just plain stupid.

 

Tim, I'd agree that there may be no right or wrong here, but there is certainly more safe and less safe. And I make judgements about climbers all the time based on how much avoidable risk they are exposing themselves to. There are times and places when not wearing a helmet is absolutely stupid.

 

One thought...the more risk you, yourself take, is more risk that you are putting your climbing partners in, unless you're climbing solo.

[RuMR]

ok ok...i've been sitting here biting my tongue for a bit...

 

There are cases where a helmet makes the difference, and there are also cases, where, you know what? it aint gonna do a flippin' thing...it also appears that a lot of people think that strapping one on will save their butt(head)...it might, but your best bet is to protect yourself in other ways...

 

keeping your flickin leg out from behind the rope is about as important to not smashing your head as wearing a helmet is if you do land on it...i see so many people doing this it makes me sick...

 

helmets are a personal choice...just as much so as how little or much gear you put in or if you solo...cavester phrased it well and i think that is what Timl is getting at too...

 

for what its NOT worth, i don't wear one unless i'm in an area w/ rockfall...that is my choice...

[griz]

I don't get why people go all ape shit on other people for discussing the accident. I agree Snowbyrd's initial comments were lame but Chris S. himself,in his 1st post, even lists things that the actual climber felt were contributing factors and that we try to learn from it. Nowhere does Chris ask for only a constant stream of sunshine blown up his ass for his actions or only good thoughts for the climbers. However, it seems that some people believe saying anything other than just sunshine up his ass makes you an asshole... WTF? Maybe I'm wrong but it seems like Chris was only interested in sharing a lesson. I don't think being able to discuss it, to learn from it, pick it apart for future knowledge/ safety in the same thread is that out of line in this case.

 

That said...Chris, you deserve some sunshine up your ass today. ,dude.

[SnowByrd]

Can I get out of jail yet? I edited my reply, admitted it was thoughtless, apologized, and blew sunshine up his ass. I will still stand by my questions though....why post an accident report in the first place? Yes, to let people know...but why not use the opportunity to ask a couple of questions and maybe help prevent another one?

[ketch]

Yes SB you can get out of jail. If you look back at accident reports on the board this is a perenial problem. people that have accidents post here while they are processing their event. It's nice to have a little sunshine then.

 

A lot of us that climb read the journal every year to look at accidents and learn from them. Your right that our safety and progession is made at their expense but it is the best time. Egos just get inflamed when one persons learning trips anothers sunshine. Once in a while we are nice and start a new thread. Usually we act like the spraylords that we are.

 

This is the part where we group hug and offer a few for the injured

[sobo]

yOu can wear a helmet at Vantage but it isn't gonna help much if the whole column you are bear hugging topples like positive vibrations did.

 

I can speak from experience on that. So, another one crashed? There's a reason I don't climb at Vantage anymore...

[ivan]

just y-day at beacon i got hit in the head with a golf-ball sized rock from about 30 feet above. that's the second time that's happened to me at beacon, while on easy, sound routes. on both occasions i was wearing a helmet and shrugged it off. on both occasions, if i hadn't been wearing a helmet, i'd have had a large hole in my head. seems like a no-brainer to me. i compensate for looking silly in my helmet by writing witty things on it like "what the fuck are you looking at?"

[Juan]

I'm in dberdinka's camp here. Their really is no good reason not to wear a helmet when rock climbing. I even wear one on slab routes, though I'm pictured in Nelson's Vol. II without one at Darrington and Static Point. I really can't remember why, except on the Darrington day, it was over 100 degrees.

 

I don't wear one on snow walk-ups unless meteor activity is predicted, but do wear one on any snow or alpine ice route with climbing at or over about 40 degrees (where a fall may be hard to arrest).

 

All it takes is one pebble hitting you on the head or top of the shoulder to realize how much it hurts.

 

Another reason I like helmets is because about twice a year -- without fail -- I will stand up on an alpine route and bang my head hard against a feature that I didn't see above me. This is klutzy stuff that comes with being old and ungraceful. I'm always glad for the helmet in those instances! Last Oct. on Chiwawa my partner took off his helmet on the summit ridge, and walked about 15 ft. before banging his forehead into a protruding rock. It bled a little and I flipped him shit as his helmet would have prevented the cut.

 

Glad these Leavenworth fellows were well taken care up.

 

John Sharp

[Jens]

I'm glad to hear they are gonna make it. Nice work helping with the resuce.

_____

 

I'm guessing they were on winter solstice? (a nice route).

 

Down very very low there is one low angle face move that is all balance and in the heat and sun it is conceiveable that the leader's shoe rubber or finger pads blew? I often do winter solstice a couple of times on a castle outing and the low face move that I am speaking about seems really out character. I'll bet this is where the guy came off? The belayer earns a purple heart if he gave him a "spot" from there. I wish them a speedy recovery.

[Gary_Yngve]

Glad to know I'm not the only dimwitted nincompoop who bangs his helmetted head into things on a climb.

 

On an unrelated note, the head injury I've had from a climb was when I had just gotten back from a climb and was using the bathroom in my apt. I decided to do a pullup off of the door frame, expecting high ceilings. But no, about 8 inches above the doorframe was a box of drywall encasing some pipes. My forehead smacked hard into the edge, and I instantly fell, somehow avoiding further injury as my body crumpled between the sink and the toilet. It was a bloody mess and I had a good solid lump there for a few weeks.

[snoboy]

Glad to know I'm not the only dimwitted nincompoop who bangs his helmetted head into things on a climb.

 

Short-range sonar.

[Rad]

Good on you for coming to the aid of a fellow climber. It sounds like you literally saved his life. Even though you weren't physically hurt, this event has left its mark on you, done damage in some unseen way. If talking about it here is part of the healing so be it. Just understand that this is an audience with a wide range of viewpoints (thankfully).

 

 

I think it's important to learn from each even what we can from events like this. We all take risks as climbers, but we need to keep the consequences in mind in order to make good decisions for ourselvers and for others.

 

So here's my 2 cents:

 

I always wear my skullbucket on lead and on multipitch climbs or when there are people above me. Period. It looks pretty dorky sometimes, and the rest of my wardrobe does little to offset that, but there you have it. I've taken leader falls over the years but never hit my head. Still, my helmet has saved my noggin more than once...so here's Letterman's top ten reasons to wear your helmet (notice that most of them are completely beyond our control):

 

10 - Your mother might be watching and she still loves you.

9 - Someone important to you needs you back safely at the end of the climbing adventure.

8 - Your boss might have to fire you if your brain went missing.

7 - In focusing on your footwork, you failed to notice the roof until it ran into your head.

6 - Hey, it's non-greasy sunblock for those thinning up top.

5 - You might flip over and hit your head in a leader fall.

4 - Newbies might be watching you and taking notes.

3 - Your partner or some other idiot above you just dropped your favorite cam and it's heading your way...

2 - The party two pitches above you decided to 'clean' the belay ledge of that annoying tippy block.

1 - The karmic powers of nature have decided you're the target for the rock or ice fragment that's finally ready to cut loose.

 

 

Food for thought: Open Climbing mag and you'll see that no one wears their helmet on rock. In those sexy photos only alpine and ice climbers wear them. Where are the role models?

 

.................

 

A close friend of mine was first on the scene of an accident in the Traprock of CT. A fledgling leader sans helment had lead up over a bulge and run it out in the process. He got freaked, couldn't get the right gear in, tried to downclimb, and peeled. On the way down he flipped over and hit his head on a ledge and continued on to the ground. My friend said his head was cracked open like a broken egg. He was transported to the hospital but died on route. There was nothing his poor partner could do. A helmet might have saved his life. He might have been paralyzed anyway, but without a helmet he had no chance at all.

..........

When you take newbies out do you put them in helmets? If not why not?

 

Thanks for posting the report. A lively discussion is what this site is all about IMHO.

[MPaul_Hansen]

A first-aid item FYI for others -

Ski patrollers and EMT's use this method to aid in estimating blood loss.

During first-aid refresher courses, Use red food coloring to dye a quart or more of liquid, and spill it. It can give one a rough sense and approximately judge of the amount of blood loss resulting from an accident.

[blue_morph]

There is NO reason to not wear a helmet. It won't save you in every case for sure but it limits your risk significantly.

 

The reasons climbers give for not wearing the helmet are similar to the weak arguments bicyclists used to make (almost every cyclist wears a helmet now).

[RuMR]

i guess god has spoken...

 

how 'bout this? except that i don't want to...