Fall on Rainbow Wall?

I saw posted on FB that there was an accident on the Rainbow Wall yesterday. Does anyone have any information? Much appreciated..

Yes there was a climbing accident on Rainbow Wall - The Original Route. The climber fell from the second pitch (140 feet) to the base of the climb. It's much more detailed than this, but basically 3 climbers were on the route. Two were climbing together and the victim of the fall was alone climbing by himself. One person was climbing from the 2nd to the 4th pitch. Two were on separate anchors at the 2nd pitch. One of the two climbers at the 2nd pitch was belaying the climber en route to the the 4th pitch. The other climber (the guy climbing by himself) was at the second pitch also and was in the process of setting up a z-rig, or come kind of mechanical advantage system to haul his big-wall bag from the base of the climb when he dropped six carabiners. He decided to rappel a fixed line in order to retrieve the carabiners. He had a pulley attached at the anchors that was attached to his haul bag and to him. At this point nobody is sure how it happened, or what he was doing, but he dettached from the anchor and somehow fell. As he fell, the haul bag somewhat counter-balanced him and without a doubt saved his life. However, he suffered substantial injuries. LVMPD Search & Rescue responded and the victim was taken to UMC.

Ugg, that's an especially bad location to get injured. Did SAR have to carry him down the slabs? Is a helicopter haul possible up there?

- K

Oh no, that's terrible! Best wishes for a speedy recovery!

Wow. That sucks.
My best thoughts are headed towards the injured party.

I've seen helicopters get in very low up there on multiple occcasions...hopefully this means they were able to get him out nice and easy.

josh

The helicopter was able to perform a one skid landing near the base. Basically, they place one of the two skids on the rock, balance the helicopter and can load/unload on the side where the skid is down. In this instance, Search & Rescue were able to backboard him at the base and load him in the helicopter and fly him out.

Travis from the shop thought that he may have been a local or at least climbed here a lot. I'd like to visit him if there's any more info out there about him. Travis also thought that his name might have been Josh. Thanks for the great information..

I know of a Josh H., who used to live in Vegas, and climbs hard locally, and elsewhere. If anyone out there knows who the injured climber is, and support is needed from the local climbing community, then please let us know.

Hello everyone. I would first like to thank everyone for their support. I am Josh's brother and this thread was pointed out to me by one of his friends. Josh is doing considerably well given the cicumstances. The previous info is quite accurate so I will just fill you in on his progress. The fall pulverized his sacrum into "dust" as the doctors described it, and his thoracic 5-8 and cervical vertebre were shatterd. He was in surgery for bout 9hrs and the surgeon fused his t5-8 supporting them with rods, and made another rod device to reattach his spine to his pelvis. They did not remove any of his sacrum and it will eventully re-calcify. Those were the extent of his major injuries. He has two deep lacerations, one on his left elbow and another on his right knee, and he has a concussion, but no broken arms, legs, ribs, no heart or lung damage and no major brain damage. He is incredibly lucky, which should go without saying. He is already breathing on his own and is expected to be moved out of ICU in the next few days. Again, my family and I would like to thank everyone for showing their concern and support in this trying time, it is greatly appreciated.
Jeff C

Jeff,

Our prayers are with your brother and family.

It turns out my previous post was a bit inaccurate. Josh's cervical vertebre were actually uninjured, and it was only his thoracic 5-6 that were shattered, not 5-8. No other vertebre were injured, all though his sacrum (part of the lumbar area of the back) is shattered.
Josh is in considerable pain today, which is to be expected, and they have him on some pretty heavy medication. Some of his friends came by last night and visited, and one of them was kind enough to stay with him throughout the night. It is nice to know you all have such a close knit community that looks out for each other.

Hello all:

This is Josh (the guy that fell off rainbow wall). I am recovering steadily. The doctors' prognosis is quite good for my eventual full mobility recovery, and all are impressed at my current progress. I have 2 months of bedrest ahead, and several months of physical therapy following.

I do not remember any of the accident and the events of that morning are fuzzy too, so i can't provide a good technical do/don't analysis of it. I suspect that, like most accidents, it was due to carelessness on my part. I've been climbing for over 10 years, so inexperience likely did not play a role. I thought, like most of us, that it "could not happen to me"

Lessons from my fall:

We hear it again and again: Double/triple check your rappel system.
Most accidents happen while descending.

Wear a helmet. Rock fall did not play a role in this accident, yet, based on the current condition of my old Hugh Banner Kevlar Carbon "EL CAP" It saved my life several times over during this accident, and also accounts for the fact that I received only a minor concussion.

Solo climbing is more dangerous than climbing with a partner...not necassarily for the belay aspect. Modern solo belay devices work great. Having a second set of eyes to cross check my rigging, etc may have stopped my accident from happening. Had there not been a party above me, I may not have been rescued at all.

Have fun, stay safe.

-Josh

Great to hear you're going to recover. I too have suffered a couple of nasty accidents. Follow your PT recommendations to the fullest and you'll do much better than the average person off the street. Most of all, if you've been climbing for 10 years, it's in your blood. Get right back at it as soon as is prudent. You won't miss a beat!

Stu

Josh, you have a strong body, and mind! Keep healing well!

Best of luck on the recovery, sounds like you've got a tough road ahead. A positive attitude goes a long way, and sounds like you've got a bunch of caring people around too.

Get well soon,
Scott

Stay motivated Josh! Good luck with your recovery and let us all know how you are progressing.

Jeff