Rock canyon, UT belay accident

Ryan Lynchwrote:

I was up climbing with my family and a girl fell 40 ft from the top of the left corner of the kitchen. We called 911 and she was taken to the hospital. Just wondered if anyone here knew her or this situation. Wanted to know how she is doing. This happened Saturday morning.  

Hey guys. Just found this thread. I was in that group with Kyra that day and witnessed the accident. She is doing well and recovering. 

Her injuries included 2 broken vertebrae (no surgery required), broken Talus (surgery required) among lacerations on the foot and other cuts/bruises. 

She’s very lucky and we all appreciate your concerns and feel blessed nothing more serious happened. Thanks for helping out that day, Ryan!

Jeffrey Woodburywrote:

Hey guys. Just found this thread. I was in that group with Kyra that day and witnessed the accident. She is doing well and recovering. 

Her injuries included 2 broken vertebrae (no surgery required), broken Talus (surgery required) among lacerations on the foot and other cuts/bruises. 

She’s very lucky and we all appreciate your concerns and feel blessed nothing more serious happened. Thanks for helping out that day, Ryan!

Hey Jeffery, 

thank you for letting me know. I have been worried about her and kept her in our prayers. Hope for a speedy recovery. 

Guy Keeseewrote:

#2 - Always get lowered from the anchor- always, always. If you’re the last person on the climb and your done with it you go through the fixxed anchors and get lowered. You don’t rap on your own quick draws. If #1 is followed no accident happens.

Gotta be careful about using the word always, there are lots of situations where this is not true. One example being that the anchors are back from the edge and after disassembling the top rope anchor, the rope would run the over a sharp edge. In this case it's much better to rappel and then pull the rope once it's unweighted. If you are diligent with point #1, weighting and then checking your rappel system, there's no reason to insist on point #2. 

We have tons of these situations locally due to columnar rock formations with anchors set back from the lip of the climb

Guy Keeseewrote:

#2 - Always get lowered from the anchor- always, always. If you’re the last person on the climb and your done with it you go through the fixxed anchors and get lowered. You don’t rap on your own quick draws. If #1 is followed no accident happens.

Guy, I have to agree, this is incorrect.  Besides the "anchor located back" situation cited above, other circumstances where you should not be lowered are when the top anchor is bolts and runners with no rap ring (still in existence out there).  You know the literature to remember that there have been accidents when people tried to lower through slings!  You of course know this but are assuming new climbers won't run into this type of anchor.  Another thing they may run into with more frequency is worn anchors - worn mussys, worn wrap rings - with possibly sharp edges.  

The real issue is that people need to have enough knowledge to understand their anchor, inspect and assess the anchor for safety, and decide the safest way to get down.  Whether being lowered or rapping, if nothing is clipped below you, stay clipped into the anchor until it is weighted and you ascertain you are safe.

Hi! I am the one who fell so I can answer any questions. I did check my repel before taking off my safety and was able to rapel a little before the accident. The rope fell down as well we're still not sure how it came out of the quickdraws. I am looking into getting some locking Quickdraws or using locking carabiners in the future. I am doing okay and on my way to recovery with my ankle surgery!

Thanks for posting about your experience. I hope your recovery goes well. 

Kyra Harameswrote:

Hi! I am the one who fell so I can answer any questions. I did check my repel before taking off my safety and was able to rapel a little before the accident. The rope fell down as well we're still not sure how it came out of the quickdraws. I am looking into getting some locking Quickdraws or using locking carabiners in the future. I am doing okay and on my way to recovery with my ankle surgery!

Sorry to read about your fall. Best of luck in your recovery and don't take any criticism personally, I've seen more experienced climbers get away with worse mistakes.

It's my great displeasure to welcome you to the groundfall club. Many of us do return to climbing, some as soon as possible, others take longer. I would gently warn you that our brains can internalize the trauma of an accident as a really nasty fear, when you find yourself facing the same situation again. Not the normal thrilling climbing fear, real lizard brain terror that can freeze you up. Be aware of this next time you try to clean an anchor. Try to climb with supportive and patient partners who know your history. Just like your physical injuries, you have to slowly rehabilitate yourself mentally as well as physically.

(For a long time after my fall I really had trouble weighting any kind of rope. I could only boulder, or do easy trad climbing that I treated as a solo. Even lowering on toperope at the gym was scary. It took a few years to go away and get my head to where it was before.)

Kyra Harameswrote:

Hi! I am the one who fell so I can answer any questions. I did check my repel before taking off my safety and was able to rapel a little before the accident. The rope fell down as well we're still not sure how it came out of the quickdraws. I am looking into getting some locking Quickdraws or using locking carabiners in the future. I am doing okay and on my way to recovery with my ankle surgery!

Glad to hear you're ok. Do you recall how you checked the anchor? If you had weighted the device and checked the anchor before removing a safety, it seems highly improbable that the rope could have unclipped. Is it possible you unweighted the rope again as you unclipped your personal anchor? That may have allowed a loop to form and hop over the gate.

csproulwrote:

Two standard QuickDraws, no lockers, is a very common practice for lowering off the top of two-bolt sport routes or for setting TR’s on two bolt anchors. Unless there is a compelling reason not to, they should be opposed, and if they couldn’t be opposed (say if one gate was pressed open on a feature) I’d most likely make sure one/both was a locker

I'm a little surprised edelrid doesn't offer this as a pre-made kit. 

Is it overkill? :shrug:

Would it have prevented this accident, I don't know. 

Glad to hear it wasn't fatal. 

I am reflecting that I should use quickdraws with locking carabiners more often. There's a lot of climbs with critical first bolts. If I'm stick clipping, why not use a locker as well?

At the anchor though, the reason people just use 2 draws is because they have a whole harness full of them (and to be clear, i do use two opposed quickdraws on a sport anchor). If you are bringing specific gear for several people to toprope a sport climb, I think there's better options than locking quickdraws, personally I would bring a 120cm nylon sling (yeah I still use those for anchors and safety tethers, don't like knotting dyneema and refuse to spend money on a PAS) and tie an overhand for a master point, using at least one locker and one non-locker for the rope. You get "a bit" of equalisation if the bolts are offset. If it was beginners or kids in a guiding situation, I'd use a quad tied cordelette and lockers everywhere, total overkill but I'd be terrified of cutting corners in that situation.

Kyra Harameswrote:

Hi! I am the one who fell so I can answer any questions. I did check my repel before taking off my safety and was able to rapel a little before the accident. The rope fell down as well we're still not sure how it came out of the quickdraws. I am looking into getting some locking Quickdraws or using locking carabiners in the future. I am doing okay and on my way to recovery with my ankle surgery!

Hey Kyra, so glad to hear you’re doing well! I was right next to you that day, witnessed the accident, and was with you until EMS came. I was able to retrieve your draws as well, so I hope you got those back. Seeing you come back after CPR inspired me to get my CPR certification. I’m sure you may have some questions about the experience as well! I may be able to answer some. Again, so happy you’re doing well. Did you by chance experience a concussion from the fall?

Holy shit. Very thankful the CPR was successful. That's a big deal. I'm happy you're ok, Kyra. Hope all involved are working through this ok.

Kyra Harameswrote:

Hi! I am the one who fell so I can answer any questions. I did check my repel before taking off my safety and was able to rapel a little before the accident. The rope fell down as well we're still not sure how it came out of the quickdraws. I am looking into getting some locking Quickdraws or using locking carabiners in the future. I am doing okay and on my way to recovery with my ankle surgery!

Glad you are alive and we are not writing condolences. But one thing I must know so I can square this away in my head. Why were you rapping in the first place? If it was to get down after doing a Lead or Top Rope what were you going to do with your gear? Leave it?

Again so happy you are alive. 

Kyra Harameswrote:

Hi! I am the one who fell so I can answer any questions. I did check my repel before taking off my safety and was able to rapel a little before the accident. The rope fell down as well we're still not sure how it came out of the quickdraws. I am looking into getting some locking Quickdraws or using locking carabiners in the future. I am doing okay and on my way to recovery with my ankle surgery!

Like others said, soooo glad you are still with us, and hope you heal quickly and well!!

Edulrid bulletproof carabiners for the rope side will keep your rope cleaner, and also give you lockers, if you choose. My partner and I both have top rope draws with these on them and a regular locker on the anchor side. A regular edelrid bulletproof draw for the first clip, again, for a cleaner rope.

And sorry you don't know exactly what happened. That's tough, for sure!

Best, Helen

P Bwrote:

Prefacing by saying I know nothing about this accident's specifics, but wanted to add photos to demonstrate that the failure method Ryan describes is completely possible. The situation described would be two draws on bolted anchors, orientated in parallel rather than gates opposite and opposed. In this circumstance, complete detachment of the rope is certainly possible, especially if the climber was gripping the draws in preparation to weight the rappel.

To prevent such situations, rappels should be weighted with a backup to test the system before committing to it. Other mitigating tactics would be to have opposite and opposed rope-end carabiners, or to incorporate lockers into the anchor.

Yes, these images are eye-opening. What it tells me is that if there is another person hanging out at the anchor and he she grabs the quick draws firmly in place, puts the rope in the worst position possible, there is a small chance the rope can escape. In reality this is so remote, so unlikely to happen, especially if you weight your repel  and test it first.

Really glad the injured is still around. Hope you heal up fast. 

Greg Dwrote:

Yes, these images are eye-opening. What it tells me is that if there is another person hanging out at the anchor and he she grabs the quick draws firmly in place, puts the rope in the worst position possible, there is a small chance the rope can escape. In reality this is so remote, so unlikely to happen, especially if you weight your repel  and test it first.

Really glad the injured is still around. Hope you heal up fast. 

I think you almost entirely missed the point. He's holding the draws so that there is some tension the system, because its obviously freehanging in his house and not under load as a rappel would be. Ropes can have all kinds of memory, and it is not highly unlikely that momentarily unweighting the rope inadvertently could allow it to run over the gates and unclip if they were not opposed.

Ian Lauerwrote:

I think you almost entirely missed the point. He's holding the draws so that tension the system, because its obviously freehanging in his house and not under load as a rappel would be. Ropes can have all kinds of memory, and it is not highly unlikely that momentarily unweighting the rope inadvertently could allow it to run over the gates and unclip if they were not opposed.

No. You are missing the physics. If there is tension in the rope on FLEXIBLE free hanging draws, as a result of the climber hanging on the draws, downward force, different from a human hand holding the draws down resisting an upward force, there is next to no way the rope could do what he proposes, without some external force holding the draws fixed while the rope magically moves up the draws and turns about 90 degrees, putting exactly one side of the rope on top of the gates. Try it 500 times and video it. If you can make it happen without external forces, I’ll give you a hundred bucks. 

Sam Mwrote:

I would gently warn you that our brains can internalize the trauma of an accident as a really nasty fear, when you find yourself facing the same situation again. Not the normal thrilling climbing fear, real lizard brain terror that can freeze you up. 

https://hubermanlab.com/

Has some interesting insight into this and potential treatments. 

Greg Dwrote:

No. You are missing the point. If there is tension in the rope on FLEXIBLE free hanging draws, there is next to no way the rope could do what he proposes, without some external force holding the draws fixed while the rope magically moves up the draws and turns about 90 degrees, putting exactly one side of the rope on top of the gates. Try it 500 times and video it. If you can make it happen without external forces, I’ll give you a hundred bucks. 

Lol, man you're approaching that with a conviction that only naivety provides. Go review the tens if not hundreds of incident reports and videos of accidental unclipping, they aren't hard find

Ian Lauerwrote:

Lol, man you're approaching that with a conviction that only naivety provides. Go review the tens if not hundreds of incident reports and videos of accidental unclipping yourself

I’m assuming you can’t prove it… that the rope can unclip from two biners in a scenario like the injured in this thread. The lol defense tells me you have nothing concrete to contribute. I’ll give the hundred bucks to ASPCA. Much more worthy.