Another rappel accident: Thomas Huber

The internationally prominent climber, Thomas Huber, rappelled off the end of his rope and fell about 60 feet sustaining a serious head injury from which he is expected to fully recover (let’s hope so). There was no information as to whether or not he was wearing a helmet. Here are the reports in German, the second one has more detail.

merkur.de/welt/extremklette…

blogs.dw.com/abenteuersport…

In brief, he was setting up a rappel line for a cameraman to dangle from. The 60-meter rope was borrowed from a friend and unbeknownst to Thomas had been cut short. Thomas rappelled off the end. Knots tied in the ends of the rope would have prevented the accident.

Years ago I was climbing with a friend at Happy Hour Crag in Boulder Canyon. We were using his rope, which he told me was 60 meters (like Huber was told). I rappelled, and when I got to the end saw that it barely reached the ground. When I asked about this, my friend said he had cut some rope off the ends! I was luckier than Thomas. In the words of Ronald Reagan, "Trust but verify".

Be careful,

Rob.calm

Knots are good.

Huber is recovered and heading to try a route on the N Face of Latok. Certainly one of the prizes of high end alpinism.

Huber-Latok

Jeez...glad he's ok. 60' could have been fatal. You didn't have to say "rappelled off the ends of his ropes, no knots" because it was implied by the title "rappelling accident." :(

Ted Pinson wrote:Jeez...glad he's ok. 60' could have been fatal. You didn't have to say "rappelled off the ends of his ropes, no knots" because it was implied by the title "rappelling accident." :(

I though it was pertinent and necessary. There are a number of ways that a person can have a rappel accident (failure to rig properly, anchor failure, struck by rockfall).

I was being sardonic. Yes, all of those things can happen, but 99% of the time, it's silly, easily preventable, often fatal mistakes like rappelling off the ends of a rope.

Looking at what he was doing and where he was going would have also stopped this accident and is the primary issue. (Just saying this because knots a backup for a mistake that has already occurred.)

Like many of these things the primary cause was complacency. Thomas Huber admits as much himself:


"The wall has become for me like a living room, I felt comfortable there totally."

"Just like a carpenter who after 10,000 cuts with the saw cuts off the finger."
(translation)

patto wrote:Looking at what he was doing and where he was going would have also stopped this accident and is the primary issue. (Just saying this because knots a backup for a mistake that has already occurred.) Like many of these things the primary cause was complacency.

+1
This is what so many "always knot your rap lines" adherents seem to forget.

He's lucky and he and his partners will likely never make that mistake again.

I hope the boys got for Latok another time. I was looking forward to hearing about the expedition.

Marc801 wrote: +1 This is what so many "always knot your rap lines" adherents seem to forget.

"Forget" is the operative word, eh? That 10,000th time. :-)

Legs Magillicutty wrote:He's lucky and he and his partners will likely never make that mistake again. I hope the boys got for Latok another time. I was looking forward to hearing about the expedition.

Another time is next week. He recovered and is going. So sayeth J Do.

Amazing recovery.

WOW!!! Cool!

Ted Pinson wrote:I was being sardonic. Yes, all of those things can happen, but 99% of the time, it's silly, easily preventable, often fatal mistakes like rappelling off the ends of a rope.

This is what we need right now. Jingus, made up statistics about rappelling accidents. I'm glad Thomas is expected to recover fully.

Ted Pinson wrote:I was being sardonic.

I don't think that word means what you think it means.

Old lady H wrote: "Forget" is the operative word, eh? That 10,000th time. :-)

I think you're missing the point. The knots are a backup for a mistake that already occurred. Not knotting the ropes wasn't what he forgot.

Marc801 wrote: I think you're missing the point. The knots are a backup for a mistake that already occurred. Not knotting the ropes wasn't what he forgot.

Havent heard it put that way but couldnt agree more!

patto wrote:Looking at what he was doing and where he was going would have also stopped this accident and is the primary issue.

That's like saying being human is the primary issue. Unless one is one & only infallible hard core trad climber patto.

And forgetting to look where you are rappelling is like forgetting to look for cars when you are crossing a busy road. Or forgetting whether a red traffic light means go or means stop.

We are all human, we can all makes mistakes. But if we drill it into ourselves it doesn't become a simple matter of "forgetting".

I don't feel at risk that I won't look for cars when crossing a road. Likewise I don't feel at risk for not looking at where I am rappelling. In both cases it is part of my primary and instinctual thought process.

What "backup" do you have if you are crossing a busy road?

reboot wrote: That's like saying being human is the primary issue. Unless one is one & only infallible hard core trad climber patto.

No it isn't. The number of people rappelling without looking where they are going seems exceedingly high. When people respond that knots are the solution they are missing the point.

Just so I don't come across as a know it all faultless rappeler I'll briefly mention two rapelling incidents I've had.
1. Non vertical tiered rapelling on a remote cliff. My rope dislodged a large rock and only quick reactions saved serious leg injuries. In the future I should be more alert to the risks of rope movements dislodging loose material.
2. A traversing rappel to remove stuck gear. I underestimated the pendulum swing back onto the face. My rappel was appropriately backed up but the impact with an opposite wall could have had worse consequences.

The question that arises from these accidents of "too short" ropes, no knots. How many other times had the victim been rappelling without looking where they are going? Once? Twice? Every rappel?

I say this because I regularly see people rapping without looking down. That there is the mistake which may occur very regularly. It is only on rare occasions that it leads to consequences, even if the mistake is happening all the time.

Morgan Patterson wrote: Havent heard it put that way but couldnt agree more!

Credit really belongs to patto.

patto wrote: What "backup" do you have if you are crossing a busy road?

The vehicles flying-by in front of you. It's actually crossing a normally empty road that you don't have a backup. It's an issue of human complacency (very few people will "forget" to not look around rappelling into unknown territory). You combat that with simple but seemingly overkill habits. Just being careful w/ what you doing all the time will fail you at some point.

Patto is 100% correct. May I add my own story. Years ago I was rapping off of No Mans Land at the Gunks, using a friends bi-colored rope. Unbeknownst to me, he had cut 30ft off one end! I can tell this story because I watch were I'm going.