Mount Temple Accident Incident

[Smoker]

Page Top!!!

 

So what have we learned?

 

Back up our rap anchors

 

and

 

Dont use your climbing rope for a hand line.

[freeclimb9]

quote:

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Originally posted by Smoker:

So what have we learned?

 

Back up our rap anchors

 

and

 

Dont use your climbing rope for a hand line.

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Except, from the description given by the victim, he might very well have impacted on his back rather than landing on his feet.

[Stefan]

quote:

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Originally posted by SEF:

Stefan,

 

I commend you for returning again to clarify. The result is a clearer, if still incomplete understanding. I fully understand that you will find revisiting the subject sensitive, but assure you that clarity, not criticism, is my goal. You have some rather daunting injuries, not all of which are physical. I hope you find some comfort that your efforts in posting here will help others. I know I will certainly think of you when I inspect my next rap anchor.

 

Still unanswered is the question of whether the sling that failed is missing. If, as you seem to suggest, its original location was outside the frame in the posted picture, then we cannot know from that. Obviously, finding that sling would be key to determining the failure mechanism.

 

Your description of the sling inspection that you made before the downclimb omits any mention of the knot that was used or the length of its tails, which rather stands out to me. I do know that the water knot is prone to creep, especially over repeated weight and un-weight cycles, especially in very supple tubular webbing. Once the tail enters the knot itself, the knot can suddenly fail without warning when weighted. Other rappelling accidents have resulted from such failure. I can't say that is what occured here, but it is a strong possiblity.

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The sling had the traditional waterknot on it from what I remember, with about 1" tails. Did I touch the waterknot to see its tightness/looseness? No. I just saw the waterknot and it appeared right to me. In my opinion, the sling broke somehow.

 

Why didn't the people see the sling when they went back? Vegetablebelay has a good answer. The helicopter created A LOT of downdraft and there was little scree bits flying around a lot--I really mean A LOT. The helicopter came and went over the location 4 times. 1)to drop the paramedic 2)to drop the litter 3)to pick me up in the litter 4) to pick the paramedic up.

 

Right now I am not in the frame of mind to ever rappel again.

[Stefan]

quote:

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Originally posted by freeclimb9:

quote:

---

Originally posted by Smoker:

So what have we learned?

 

Back up our rap anchors

 

and

 

Dont use your climbing rope for a hand line.

---

Except, from the description given by the victim, he might very well have impacted on his back rather than landing on his feet.

---

If I was using the rope as a traditional rappel, I would have fell on my back and been paralyzed, or dead. I am thankful I was using the rappel as a handline from the way I fell......

 

Yes, I guess I should have backed up the rappel anchor. Hindsight is always 20/20. However, it is not always feasible to back up every rappel when you are in the alpine setting. It is ideal, but not always done.....

[DavidW]

as I've mentioned before I had a rappel sling failure put me in the hospital for several months....... still i've been trying to understand what happened here...... Stefan in your opening post you stated:

 

" I set up another rappel around a previous anchor sling at the subsidiary station."

 

Does that mean mean that there was one more sling in the anchor photographed and that that sling is now missing? And you didnt add any slings? You merely selected the best from the group and used it? you didnt add one and tie your own knot or anything?

 

For what its worth my accident happened in 1973..... I've been climbing ever since but still get some twinges of fear at less than optimal stations..... its manageable and will lessen with time. Best wishes for a speedy recovery however and thanks for your patience with this thread!

[Stefan]

quote:

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Originally posted by DavidW:

as I've mentioned before I had a rappel sling failure put me in the hospital for several months....... still i've been trying to understand what happened here...... Stefan in your opening post you stated:

 

" I set up another rappel around a previous anchor sling at the subsidiary station."

 

Does that mean mean that there was one more sling in the anchor photographed and that that sling is now missing? And you didnt add any slings? You merely selected the best from the group and used it? you didnt add one and tie your own knot or anything?

 

For what its worth my accident happened in 1973..... I've been climbing ever since but still get some twinges of fear at less than optimal stations..... its manageable and will lessen with time. Best wishes for a speedy recovery however and thanks for your patience with this thread!

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The answer is "YES" to all your questions. I didn't trust any of the slings in that group photographed becuase of their wearing. They didn't look reliable. The sling I used was not in that group--it was away from that group of slings.

[chriss]

Am I getting this right?

 

You placed a "relatively new" sling, tied a good knot, on solid rock and it "failed" with partial body weight.

 

Sorry, I can't beleive the sling broke. Maybe cut, maybe slipped off, but not broke.

 

chris

[vegetablebelay]

quote:

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Originally posted by chriss:

Am I getting this right?

 

You placed a "relatively new" sling, tied a good knot, on solid rock and it "failed" with partial body weight.

 

Sorry, I can't beleive the sling broke. Maybe cut, maybe slipped off, but not broke.

 

chris

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No, you're not getting it right. He used the best sling he saw that was already there.