Boise climber death 10/8/19

 wondering what happened at the black cliffs today. And with the death at castle rock recently, the two spots I climb the most have me thinking alot. Can anyone shed light on what happened?

There is a really informative post about what happened at Castle in July. I linked it below: https://www.mountainproject.com/forum/topic/117400634/death-at-castle-rocks-idaho

I also would hope that someone can say exactly what happened today at the cliffs. It’s scary to see tragedy like this at the home crag.
The news reports said “equipment issue” but that doesn’t make much sense. Gear rarely fails, it’s usually some sort of distraction/complacency and bottom line user error.

40’ in the mid cliffs (where I believe this happened from a photo I saw) would be about anchor height.
I don’t want to hypothesize without more info. I just pray for the climber and peace for his partners.

From the pictures in the news articles, it looks like it was the Mid Cliffs near More Than I Can Chew (5.9).

I read about the castle rock accident. Getting dropped off the end of the rope is digestible, but "equipment failure" freaks me out.  Makes my head spin. Maybe he was cleaning and something happened when he unclipped to rap? 

Colonel Forbin wrote: I read about the castle rock accident. Getting dropped off the end of the rope is digestible, but "equipment failure" freaks me out.

Grant's news quote was "equipment issue" which could be anything equipment related and not necessarily a "failure".

Colonel quoted "equipment failure" which I took as a misquote of Grant which does seem scarier, but as Marc said, it makes no sense to get worked up over a news article's summary.

Equipment issue is very different from failure, however it can be interpreted in many different ways. It's a tragic accident and scary to see this happen at the home crag. I too want know what happened. Did some gear pull? Anchor cleaning accident?
I will add that I once watched a climber deck from the top of Urban Ascent as result of not tying into his harness correctly. It's a strong reminder to always check your systems and not become complacent. Gravity doesn't offer second chances.

Condolences to friends, family and all of those involved. May they find comfort in this difficult time.

I 100% agree that equipment failure and issue can be very different things, and I also know that local news media really does not understand climbing.
At this time this KTVB article uses both the words “failure” and “issue” in the article: https://www.ktvb.com/mobile/article/news/local/blacks-cliff-boise-man-fall-dies/277-467e9f28-4bf7-4606-9f19-a8c295b06c2a 
my takeaway- the news has no idea what happened and we can’t really know either until we have more info. 

I looked at 5 different articles. They all used that same phrase “equipment issue”.  It seems more like they are just repeating something they were told by someone on the scene. So they are not getting it wrong, at least this time.

 Regardless of the cause, it is very unfortunate. Be safe out there people.

Greg D wrote: I looked at 5 different articles. They all used that same phrase.  It seems more like they are just repeating something they were told by someone on the scene. So they are not getting it wrong, at least this time

Who very possibly (likely, even?) that they know as much about climbing as the reporters. For a lot of Sheriffs and LEO's, any separation of a climber from his/her gear/rope/anchor/et al is "equipment failure".

Marc801 C wrote:

Who very possibly (likely, even?) that they know as much about climbing as the reporters. For a lot of Sheriffs and LEO's, any separation of a climber from his/her gear/rope/anchor/et al is "equipment failure".

Huh?  I didn’t read the word “failure” anywhere. 

Sorry maybe I miss read the articles. Either way its scary this happens. There certainly isn't any second chances. The 3 people that watched it happen must be deeply torn forever. I couldn't imagine. Let's all just stay safe and humble. I thank every time out when it goes smoothly. It's too easy to make a catastrophic mistake 

Greg D wrote:

Huh?  I didn’t read the word “failure” anywhere. 

It's generic. Substitute "issue" or any other word that satisfies literalism.

Greg D wrote:

Huh?  I didn’t read the word “failure” anywhere. 

The top summary underneath the photo in the link provided says failure.

Thanks for sharing, Von. I'm so sorry for your loss.

This is so sad. My deepest condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of this gentleman, and to the multiple communities involved. Thank you for your service, sir. RIP

https://www.dvidshub.net/image/5825488/special-tactics-airman-killed-training-incident?fbclid=IwAR0QVFN5dLR2f-l8WpEzPaz3vpmflSXmE2hOGo0OtHlqfUI8tVqCHvdd2Ac

Best, Helen

Old lady H wrote: This is so sad. My deepest condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of this gentleman, and to the multiple communities involved. Thank you for your service, sir. RIP

https://www.dvidshub.net/image/5825488/special-tactics-airman-killed-training-incident?fbclid=IwAR0QVFN5dLR2f-l8WpEzPaz3vpmflSXmE2hOGo0OtHlqfUI8tVqCHvdd2Ac

Best, Helen

Oh no.  So sad.

Just posted locally.

https://www.facebook.com/totallyboise/posts/1357078914477636?src=email_notif

Here is the full accident report.
https://www.afjag.af.mil/Portals/77/AIB-Reports/2019/Mountaineering%20Mishap,%208%20October%202019,%20Boise,%20ID%20(AFSOC).pdf

Link doesn't work. I'll try to fix it. But, it's out.

I can't go after a link now, but short version. The whole team climbed and topped out. To rappel down, an anchor was built up top, with a quad, nut, and a cam. One guy rappeled down. A second guy rappelled down, but one piece pulled when he was 15 feet from the deck, the whole anchor then immediately failed and he fell the last little bit. The fatality was attached to the anchor and went off the top with it.

Stay safe, guys! Helen

EDIT to add, thanks Alicia! Link in next post

Old lady H wrote: Here is the full accident report.
https://www.afjag.af.mil/Portals/77/AIB-Reports/2019/Mountaineering%20Mishap,%208%20October%202019,%20Boise,%20ID%20(AFSOC).pdf

Link doesn't work. I'll try to fix it. But, it's out.

I can't go after a link now, but short version. The whole team climbed and topped out. To rappel down, an anchor was built up top, with a quad, nut, and a cam. One guy rappeled down. A second guy rappelled down, but one piece pulled when he was 15 feet from the deck, the whole anchor then immediately failed and he fell the last little bit. The fatality was attached to the anchor and went off the top with it.

Stay safe, guys! Helen

EDIT to add, thanks Alicia! Link in next post

Sounds like catastrophic failure due to shock loading.  This happening on a rappel is very odd...if they were topped out, were there not fixed rappel anchors or a walkoff?  Why were they rappelling off of two apparently marginal pieces?