Major rock fall at happy hour crag, poudre canyon

Last Sunday I went up to happy hour crag with a few friends. We set a few ropes up on the upper section including Liquor Jugs (10a). As I was belaying someone on top rope, a rock about the size of a fridge came off the middle upper section of Wall. as it came down it hit another wall section and exploded into several large pieces. I tried to get out of the way as best as I could while still being attached to my climber who had fallen I was hit by a significant size rock. The rock shattered my pelvis and I had to be hauled down the mountain by SARS, 2 fire departments and several other teams including a helicopter once we got to the rode. It will likely be months before I can walk again. That said, I know that I got incredibly lucky and I could’ve easily been much more injured and possibly would have died if I was hit in a different way.
Even just during the time of my rescue, there was another rock fall below us. This didn’t pass any climbing areas and nobody was hurt, but I would like to let people know that this crag can be very dangerous in the winter. Please be careful if you are planning on climbing at this crag during the freeze thaw season.

P.S. I apologize about all the typos and grammar issues, I’m on some pretty heavy pain killers haha.

If you don't mind, can you elaborate on what happened between when you were hit with the rock and your climber made it safely to the ground please?

Glad you're still with us; fingers crossed for a smooth recovery!

Wow thats hardcore - some accidents are just being in the wrong place at the wrong time. I wish you a speedy recovery. 

Speedy recovery to you. Thank you for posting. 

I'm local to FOCO, I'm so sorry this happened to ya, lmk if you wanna hang out some time or need me to pick up groceries or something. 

It was such good news to hear you are recovering. That was a terrible accident. 

Sheesh glad you are recovering, so sorry to hear what happened. Thanks for the update. My partner and I had climbed Liquor Jugs just 24 hours before your accident on Saturday. I recall finding some loose rock up there on both liquor jugs as well as other routes around Happy Hour, particularly If Not For Pigeons. I bet the intense freeze that happened just a few weeks ago followed by the very warm temps this past weekend really loosened up the wall. On top of the fact that Happy Hour is a relatively new crag and known to have some choss. I would agree to be extra careful going up there, especially in these next few weeks.

As Grug said wrong place at the wrong time. I wish you the best in recovery!

Sorry to hear about the pelvic fracture, but glad LCSAR was able to help evac you! Best wishes for healing to you!!

Best wishes for a quick and complete recovery. I am so glad you lived to tell the story. 

That sucks. Glad it wasn't any worse. 

Jake Tarrenwrote:

If you don't mind, can you elaborate on what happened between when you were hit with the rock and your climber made it safely to the ground please?

Glad you're still with us; fingers crossed for a smooth recovery!

When it hit me I had jumped into the air to try and get further away. After the initial shock, I was still hanging in the air and I was able to lower myself to the ground. From there we tried to lower him from my belay device on my but since I had shattered my pelvis it was way too painful to lower my climber the rest of the way. A different climber came over and put a grigri on the rope above where mine was. He was then able to lower the climber and take the load off of me.

Everyone that I was at the crag with was incredibly helpful and calm when dealing with this freak accident.

Thanks everyone for the well wishes. I’m determined to get back to climbing as soon as possible. I usually read up on crags before visiting for the first time and as a person who frequents the poudre, I am well aware that certain crags are notoriously chossy.  I let my guard down and now I’m paying for it.

Just thought I’d post to urge an abundance of caution when climbing at certain crags. Especially during the winter with the freeze thaw cycle and especially at newer, less established / cleaned up crags.

Update: I’d like to note that I was using a grigri to belay my partner. I was able to maintain control of the brake strand of the rope during the collision but I’m not confident that I would have been able to do this with an atc because of the weight of the climber. I know everyone has their own personal preference of belay device to use but there is a good chance that using a grigri in this scenario saved my climbers life. 

Thanks everyone for the supportive, well wishes!

I am well aware that I am lucky to be alive. The rescue teams did a phenomenal job and I have been trying to thank them in anyway possible.

The helicopter pilot came to visit me a few days ago and she shared with me that they are working toward getting a hoist for their helicopter to make rescues like this much safer and much more efficient!

happy climbing :) 

Be safe and climb hard y’all!

Maggie Dringwrote:

When it hit me I had jumped into the air to try and get further away. After the initial shock, I was still hanging in the air and I was able to lower myself to the ground. From there we tried to lower him from my belay device on my but since I had shattered my pelvis it was way too painful to lower my climber the rest of the way. A different climber came over and put a grigri on the rope above where mine was. He was then able to lower the climber and take the load off of me.

Everyone that I was at the crag with was incredibly helpful and calm when dealing with this freak accident.

Thanks everyone for the well wishes. I’m determined to get back to climbing as soon as possible. I usually read up on crags before visiting for the first time and as a person who frequents the poudre, I am well away that certain crags are notoriously choosing.  I let my guard down and now I’m paying for it.

Just thought I’d post to urge an abundance of caution when climbing at certain crags. Especially during the winter with the freeze thaw cycle and especially at newer, less established / cleaned up crags. 

You maintained the belay and kept your climber off the ground despite a shattered pelvis. Heroic!

Hi Maggie!

I am so sorry to hear what happened to you. I live in Fort Collins and go up the Poudre often to climb with my boyfriend. I just want to offer my support for if you need anything we'd both be happy to help out. I'm also a physical therapist so as you work through healing and recovery I'd be happy to offer help in that aspect if you need it as well. Even if it's just to have some people cheering you on when you take your first steps into the gym or your favorite crag we are happy to support another member of our community! 

I wish you the best in healing and recovery!

I just heard about this the other day and wanted to chime in with all the other folks here who are here in FoCo and say that I'm happy to help run errands, provide support, etc. Please don't hesitate to DM if you need anything. On another note, I just moved back to town after many years away and there's clearly been a LOT of development up the Poudre, most of which is very new to me, so your advice to tread lightly and stay sharp in more newly established crags is well received! Wishing you the best for a full recovery.

So sorry to hear about your injuries!  Thanks for sharing the details- it helps the rest of us make safe and informed decisions.  Sounds like a very scary incident that could have been tragic.  All the best for a full recovery!