Leavenworth Accident report

[mattp]

I have a hard time believing that the use of a helmet would ever increase injury, but if some brilliant doctor and the great Mr. Pritchard say so, it must be true. Have they seen those newfangled rock climbing helmets that are not very hard, and have a plastic coating over foam? For rock climbing that is what I use, though for mountaineering I still use a hardshell and I think I'll continue using it notwithstanding this great danger. Its kind of like wearing a seatbelt when you ride in a car: seatbelts DO cause injuries, but everybody knows they make you safer.

 

Personally, I don't understand why anyone would not wear a helmet when rock climbing. Mine have always been so comfortable that I have often walked back to the car still wearing them, forgetting I was wearing one; once I made it all the way to the 7-11 until the clerk looked at me funny and my "partner" broke out in laughter.

 

I don't agree with some of the judgmental statments about how those who don't wear helmets are idiots. As pointed out, climbing is obviously a dangerous activity and the same kind of judgemental statements can be made about the choice to go climbing in the first place, or to ride a bicycle in city traffic, or ... Does everybody do like I do and climb on double ropes instead of singles? It is much safer, lunkheads. And I've heard plenty of people say a cell phone is a crucial piece of equipment on every outing, but I don't even own one. Does that make ME the lunkhead? I wear a helmet, and I DO question anyone who doesn't, but I try to stop short of pronouncing them "irresponsible."

[Szyjakowski]

well said matt!

 

This world is based upon free will. People who help said "idiots" who fail to wear helmets or climb "safely"

do so because they choose to be helpful. Nobody forced them to become an ER doc or EMT or SAR personnel...that is their chosen job.

[texplorer]

I would be able to buy a new rack with all the "two cents" from this post.

[glacier]

Two quick points regarding helmets -

 

While protective, they are relatively limited in their ability to physically protect the head - the helmet, by necessity of design, protects the skull against impact, but not the brain - e.g. a significant blow to the head (especially off-center) can cause the brain to slosh around, which is where the dain bramage comes from - even if the helmet protected the skull from fracture. No helmet in the world protects your brain.

 

Secondly, the standard helmet impact test (UIAA/EN) is to drop a 5kg weight 2m on a helmet on a mannekin head. If the impact force is less than 10 KN, the helmet passes (discussion here). This test represents a common real-world condition - a brick- sized rock kicked off by your partner from a few feet up, a dropped piece of gear from higher. Pritchard (& his Dr.) is correct - a helmet won't protect your noggin as effectively from a larger blow, and may transmit force - I know - Several years ago, I pulled a rock the size of a city phone book onto my partner from 30 feet up and knocked him into a coma - the helmet didn't do much good.

 

I wear mine, tho' - for the bumps and dings - it's very effective, and for someting more severe, it may well make the difference between a minor head injury and a serious one.

[Dru]

Petzl Meteor type foam and thin plastichelmet is great for absorbing blunt impacts (round type rock or dropped biner); not so great for absorbing sharp type impacts (spinning Frisbee style chopper flake in alpine or sharp icicle detatched by leader on WI-sketch curtain). But really I wear a Edelrid ultralight cause its the only thing that fits my XXL head not cause of its improved stopping power.