Big Fall on The Column!

[TheBootfitter]

I was out Friday afternoon with a few friends setting up a top-rope on The Column (a route at a Minnesota crag) when a couple showed up below. I asked if they planned to top-rope or lead and where they wanted to set up. We decided that I would set the anchors up top and one of them would lead the route and set their rope in my anchors.

 

The guy starts climbing just left of The Column and gets a little over halfway up (maybe 40 ft up) when he shouts up at me that he isn't feeling very good about his last two placements. He asks me to throw down a rope. I ask if he wants me to lower the rope so he can clip in and I can belay him down or if he wants me to rappell to him. He says, no, just throw the ropes down. I figured he wanted to grab the ropes with one hand and tie in or rappel down himself.

 

This is the crazy part... It was hot. This guy was tired. Evidently he was not feeling very confident about his position... because he literally jumped from where he was in an attempt to grab my rope and catch himself.

 

His top placement popped out. He slid down my rope, suffering severe rope burns on his hands. As he picked up speed from the fall, his second placement popped loose and he continued to fall. (I believe by this time he had let go completely of my rope to avoid more rope burns.)

 

Watching the entire thing in disbelief from above, I saw the guy smash into the column with a loud thud and bounce off, hitting the ledge that juts out near the base of the column with an intense crack.

 

I'm thinking... Holy Sh!t!!! This guy might be dead! I yelled down to him asking if he was okay. He shouted back that he's been better... but that he's taken worse falls. He was coherent and concsious, and everyone was relieved.

 

His belayer and some of my friends below immediately went to help him and administer first aid. They were able to carefully move him to a secure position. His left leg was obviously broken, but didn't seem to have suffered any other significant injuries. Well, a few other bumps, scrapes, and of course, the rope burn... but he was extremely lucky for the fall he took. He remained alert and kept his sense of humor throughout the ordeal, though it was obvious he was in pain.

 

He was muttering afterward... "Dumb, dumb, dumb!" Yeah, perhaps there are a few lessons to be learned or reinforced through this experience... Here's a few thoughts (certainly not an exhaustive list) that we discussed while we were waiting for the paramedics to arrive at the scene.

 

--> If you are not familiar with a route... top-rope it first!

 

--> If your placements are suspect and your position is poor and someone is above... either have them lower a secured coil or rappell down to tie you into a secure system.

 

--> Wear a helmet!

 

Feel free to offer your own safety reminders below.

 

And best wishes to Tony for a speedy recovery!

[TheBootfitter]

--> Oh... and be sure to communicate clearly with others -- the situation, your position, your intent, etc...

[Fairweather]

For a minute I thought you were going to tell us that you lowered a rappel-ready double rope to him and he grabbed only one strand!

[Dechristo]

--> If you are not familiar with a route... top-rope it first!

 

--> If your placements are suspect and your position is poor and someone is above... either have them lower a secured coil or rappell down to tie you into a secure system.

 

--> Wear a helmet!

 

I'll go along with the "wear a helmet", though, I'm starting to wonder if a helmet has anything to protect for a Minnesota climber.

[catbirdseat]

He shouted back that he's been better... but that he's taken worse falls.

He broke his leg for godsakes! This guy had better get himself a copy of FOTH and apprentice himself to a competent climber before he gets himself killed.

[Blake]

 

It's Merely a Flesh Wound!

[thelawgoddess]

wow; i really hope this guy learned something from this. he's lucky he only broke his leg!

[fenderfour]

"He shouted back that he's been better... but that he's taken worse falls"

 

WTF? Worse falls? are you shitting me? Somebody is in the wrong sport. FYI - you get a parachute for base jumping.

[selkirk]

 

dude probably shouldn't be allowed to walk unsupervised.

 

did anyone read the latest alpinist? Had a great description of guys like that (and we probably all know one or two)...

 

"Been climbing for 20 years, but only has 1 year of experience 20 times."

[minx]

this is a joke right?

[sean_beanntan]

--> If you are not familiar with a route... top-rope it first!

 

what??? ........i am glad most climbers dont feel this way or there would be no first accents.

 

--> If your placements are suspect and your position is poor and someone is above... either have them lower a secured coil or rappell down to tie you into a secure system.

......once you give control to someone you lose focus and self control. half way is bullshit and gets you hurt. the lesson is try not to go off bad gear if possible. if a fall force will pull out the gear...willit take a simple climber load and lower off???

 

--> Wear a helmet!

 

Feel free to offer your own safety reminders below.

[TheBootfitter]

--> If you are not familiar with a route... top-rope it first!

 

what??? ........i am glad most climbers dont feel this way or there would be no first accents.

If you're going for first ascents... great! If you're planning to spend a day of recreational climbing at a local crag, there's no need to be stupid and lead a route that has already been climbed thousands of times that you know nothing about.

 

As it turns out... there are very few suitable places in the middle of that particular route for adequate protection. I talked to a few climbers afterward, and they indicated that they previously had to downclimb on that route once they realized they couldn't make solid placements. The guy that fell didn't make the judgement soon enough to downclimb.

 

--> If your placements are suspect and your position is poor and someone is above... either have them lower a secured coil or rappell down to tie you into a secure system.

......once you give control to someone you lose focus and self control. half way is bullshit and gets you hurt. the lesson is try not to go off bad gear if possible. if a fall force will pull out the gear...willit take a simple climber load and lower off???

I see your point here. And when you don't have the option of getting help, I wholeheartedly agree. I suspect this guy pushed his limit because he knew there was help above. By the time he realized he was in over his head, he had already lost his self-control -- which, I think, is evident by his choice to jump. If you recognize you're in over your head (regardless of how you got there) and help is readily available -- I'm of the opinion that accepting the help and not jumping would be a pretty good option. :-)

[syudla]

He shouted back that he's been better... but that he's taken worse falls.

 

Like I said, quit climbing and take up brain surgery.

[TheBootfitter]

He shouted back that he's been better... but that he's taken worse falls.

 

Like I said, quit climbing and take up brain surgery.

Oh, hey... you must be dug from SP. I assume you are directing this at the jumper -- not at me. Correct?

 

I suspect that the jumper was exaggerating his previous falls before realizing the extent of his injuries -- possibly in an attempt to maintain humor. I'm not defending or justifying this guy's actions, but it is interesting to consider what must go through the mind of an individual before making such a decision. He recognized afterward that what he did was stupid, yet in that moment, it obviously seemed to be his best option. I know virtually nothing about his climbing history except that he indicated he had "twenty years of climbing experience." He said that in the context of "twenty years... and yet I still do something dumb like that!"

 

Though he made a decision that certainly was far less than ideal, I'm not sure it would be fair to characterize the individual based on one dumb action. Afterall, who hasn't made some dumb error in judgment that they didn't recognize until afterward? Hopefully, most of us DO recognize the stupidity and correct it before any accidents actually happen.* (At the same time... I wouldn't volunteer to go climbing with the guy.)

 

*I once took out a friend for his first rappel. He was backed up with a prussik or kleimheist. As an afterthought, I offered to belay him on a separate line from above to help him feel more secure. Though I was in a pretty secure position myself and probably could have caught any unlikely falls, I didn't recognize until afterward that I had forgotten to secure myself to an anchor above. You better believe I'll never do that again!

[Dru]

The best faller is the one breaking the most limbs.

[Dechristo]

I'm not sure it would be fair to characterize the individual based on one dumb action.

At the same time... I wouldn't volunteer to go climbing with the guy.

 

Sounds like it is fair to characterize.

 

If the guy has been climbing for "twenty years" and reacts that way, I wouldn't want ANYONE to climb with him.

 

Well... maybe Chaps.

[Bug]

Holy Shithead batman!

How could he possibly have lived that long?!

Sorry bootfitter, your advice seems Minersotaish.

Here is some advice, don't post advice on CC.COM that MAY only be appropriate for those unaccustomed to mountainous terrain.

But on a brighter note, bio-deisel is sure gonna make you guys rich!

[TheBootfitter]

Here is some advice, don't post advice on CC.COM that MAY only be appropriate for those unaccustomed to mountainous terrain.

Point well taken... except that I didn't post with the intent of advising anyone. (I'm still too new to the sport to offer much advice to anyone other than climbing virgins.) The items I offered above are things that we discussed on the scene that applied to our situation. If anyone else can learn anything from the incident -- great! If the items that we discussed apply to a situation you find yourself in -- great! Consider them as a few possible alternative actions to those that were actually taken that day -- not an exhaustive list of alternatives... and certainly not what should be done in all situations. Every situation is unique, afterall. And different climbers have different styles and different priorities.

 

My intent is not to preach... but rather to encourage people to think so that accidents like this one can be prevented in the future.

 

What might you have done if you were in my position that day?

[Bug]

When you are in control, make it clear that you are in control. A person who is panicked should not be in control.

 

I always explain what I am going to do and then lower a pre-tied loop that they can clip into.

In your case, he jumped. Even a loop would have been of questionable use. He might have hung on better but chances are he would have just batted the end out of reach and plummeted even faster.

He was lucky this time. Watch out for him in the future. DO NOT WALK BELOW HIM!