After 17 years of rock climbing, bad judgment finally caught up with me....don't let it happen to you. Climbing near Durango, I was on a route well within my ability and moved about 8 feet above a piece of protection which I knew was probably less than ideal. Thinking "there's no way I'll fall on this" I continued up. No sooner had I moved up and my left hand greased, followed by my left foot. I slid down the rock (it was just slightly less than vertical), the piece popped and I fell approx 25 feet. I hit a ledge, snapping my left foot. Luckily, I stopped on this ledge and I didn't continue to fall further. I did have my helmet on and lucked out that I didn't fall over backwards, causing worse injury. I suffered a (compound) fractured medial malleolus (bottom of the tibia), severed the a posterior vein and artery and a section of nerves on the medial side of my left foot as well as all of my tendons, ligaments and cartilage on the medial aspect of my foot. My foot was basically hanging off by some skin and tendons on the lateral side. I was able to hike out to the trailhead w/ the assistance of 3 friends and my wife after an excellent splinting job and with the aid of 2 chugged beers once I was off the rock (hey, it hurt like hell).

I thank my lucky stars I was not injured worse.
My mistakes? (all amount to BAD judgment):
Overconfidence.
Inadequate/poor protection.
Feeling of "it won't happen to me".

I am damn glad I had my helmet on, even though I didn't hit my head, I feel it could easily have happened.

Once I am back on the rock, I will be much more cognizant of my mistakes.

BE CAREFUL OUT THERE!!!

Best of luck with a speedy recovery Joel!

Hey Joel,

Thanks for admitting your bad judgment so we can all try to learn from it. It's tough to admit we are wrong. I wish you a fast and complete mending! With good reading material!

Joel,

Thanks for sharing and all the best for a quick recovery.

Cheers

John

Me too bro, heal up and way to be straight and help us out with some sound,(hard earned)advice.

Jeez, that sounds painful, I can't believe you had to hike in that condition. Glad you weren't hurt any worse.

Thanks for the honest analysis of the accident. I've known climbers who chalk it up to "shit just happens sometimes" and don't take any personal responsibility, so they don't learn anything from their mistakes. In your case, it sounds like you're using the accident as a (painful) learning experience, and since you were willing to share it, we can learn from it too.

Get better soon!

JL

Ouch!!! So very sorry about your accident. I snapped my left fibula three years ago in a freak slip in an icy parking lot. Here's a good site:

http://www.mybrokenleg.com/

My best advice is, once you are out of the cast, be aggressive with the physical therapy. Although mine was a relatively simple, non-displaced fracture, it was incredibly stiff at first. It took a lot of work to get my flexibilty back.

Good luck to you. It WILL heal!

This is the 3rd or 4th accident I've heard about in the last couple of months involving experienced climbers above dicey or no gear on the "easy" final moves of a pitch. A good reminder to us all to be careful out there and to remember the "rules."

Sorry to hear about your fall and best wishes for a speedy recovery.

Thank you all for the comments....no e-mail @ home, so I have to come to the library to post....will put up a gruesome pic next time as a further reminder to all!
Climb safe....Joel

One thing that sticks out in my mind that Kevin & some others have relayed to me - always protect the exit from difficult to easier terrain. Not that this is totally applicable here, but it's just been good advice to me to get gear in even if something looks like a cakewalk.

& best wishes Joel, thank you for relaying your experience.

Joel,

I'm sorry to hear about your accident, but I'm glad you're in one piece on the top half. Best wishes for a not too painful healing process and a speedy rehabilitation.

-Craig