Mixed climbing fall

Last Sunday, I fell on a mixed route and broke three ribs. I’m sharing this to reflect and learn, hoping it might help me see things I missed.

I was climbing with a new partner I’d met online. It was the first decent day of the season, so I picked an 8 pitch mixed route (M5+) with a short approach. Another party was already ahead of us at the first belay and climbing somewhat slowly (no judgment). Normally, I’d switch to another climb, but there weren’t any good alternatives this early in the season, and I also didn’t want to disappoint my partner, who had driven a long way. Since I had brought pitons, I decided to try reaching the next belay via a harder variation (a bit of a dick move…). The climbing turned out to be more difficult than I’d expected, and after some awkward maneuvering, we still arrived at the belay at the same time as the other party. They decided to bail, so we continued, but by then it was already noon, and I felt pressured to hurry. After some initial tough moves, the climbing got easier but was still unpleasant (wobbly hooks on completely dry, slabby rock). Rushing to reach the belay, my tool suddenly ripped and I fell 5-7 meters. I hit the rocks twice before the rope caught me. I hurt my ribs but was able to rappel. Soon I realized the descent, which included scrambling and bushwhacking, would be very difficult for me and we decided to call for rescue. The other party, who had witnessed the fall, were very kind. One of them stayed with me to make me comfortable, while the other hiked down to call for help where they had cellphone service. The helicopter arrived quickly, long-hauling me off the mountain to the nearest hospital. I was diagnosed with three broken ribs and cleared to drive home the same day.

Lessons leant:

• I was stressed and frustrated before the climb, which affected my decision-making and overall experience. In the past, I’ve managed to separate emotions from climbing, but this time, I couldn’t. I need to be more mindful of my mental state before and during climbs.
• I have a tendency to push climbs even when conditions aren’t ideal. I need to take pride in making safe decisions, like turning back or postponing objectives. There’s no rush. I have time.
• In the future, I want to always have a Plan B or be ready to turn back. Climbing under another party or trying to race them to the start of the climb is just stupid.
• Winter climbing demands a calm, methodical approach. My tool popped, likely because I hooked a frozen pebble that came loose. I didn’t follow my usual rule of ensuring two secure tools before moving when placements aren’t perfect.
• This fall made me reflect because it was unexpected. If the route had been more dangerous, the outcome could have been much worse. I had many close calls on more runout climbing in the past but told myself it was OK, because I never fell. I wasn’t even excited about this climb, which makes the whole thing even more foolish in hindsight. Moving forward, I want to: 1) Only attempt climbs I feel genuinely excited about. 2) Ask myself beforehand how much risk I’m willing to take and stick to that decision.
• My partner that day was great, but I want to focus on finding long-term climbing partners instead of hopping between new ones.
• I’ll be investing in an inReach device for better communication in remote areas.

Many of these lessons are things I already knew, yet I still acted against my better judgment that day. I’d appreciate tips on making good decisions in the heat of the moment. Any comments about me being an idiot are welcome. Also: super bored already. Any tips on what you can do early on with broken ribs? Hiking, running, hangboarding, hanging on my tools? 

It takes a lot of courage to post about an incident like this with such critical self-reflection. Thanks for sharing your experience.

For rib-friendly training, perhaps look into recruitment pulls using an unlevel or Tension block. This will at least allow you to maintain your current level of finger strength, and also work out a lot of nagging injuries.

 Many people have described how to do these "edge curls" against weight or a Tindeq, but I always get a kick out of sourcing the info from Tyl3r Nels0n because he looks like the lead singer of Dashboard Confessional.

I found rededine-your-success technique very helpful in situations like this. Rather than boxing your perception into the goal of climbing all 8 pitches, turn it into the game where you set the rules. Like just focusing on breathing when climbing, or finding all no hand rest positions. Whatever you pick should be fun and easily achievable. In retrospect, you will be the winner anyway since you battle your irritation and impatience and demonstrates mental flexibility. 

On the other hand, fear, exhaustion, irritation, lack of motion, exposure to cold, tight shoes, etc make us more tense and less mentally flexible, less rational. It is important to recognize and eliminate as many as possible if these factors early. 

F r i t zwrote:

It takes a lot of courage to post about an incident like this with such critical self-reflection. Thanks for sharing your experience.

For rib-friendly training, perhaps look into recruitment pulls using an unlevel or Tension block. This will at least allow you to maintain your current level of finger strength, and also work out a lot of nagging injuries.

 Many people have described how to do these "edge curls" against weight or a Tindeq, but I always get a kick out of sourcing the info from Tyl3r Nels0n because he looks like the lead singer of Dashboard Confessional.

Thanks for the feedback! That sounds like a good idea! Up until now, I’ve been approaching hangboard training like a total caveman (I hang much, I get strong). This feels like a good chance to bring some science into my routine. Besides his alleged talents as a singer, Tyler Nelson seems like he knows his stuff, so I’m happy to trust my fingers to his program. ;)

Ivanchenko Vladimirwrote:

I found rededine-your-success technique very helpful in situations like this. Rather than boxing your perception into the goal of climbing all 8 pitches, turn it into the game where you set the rules. Like just focusing on breathing when climbing, or finding all no hand rest positions. Whatever you pick should be fun and easily achievable. In retrospect, you will be the winner anyway since you battle your irritation and impatience and demonstrates mental flexibility. 

On the other hand, fear, exhaustion, irritation, lack of motion, exposure to cold, tight shoes, etc make us more tense and less mentally flexible, less rational. It is important to recognize and eliminate as many as possible if these factors early. 

You’re absolutely right. I think I’ve gotten pretty good at managing fear since it’s such a common part of climbing, but I’ve had less experience dealing with impatience and irritation (again, not blaming anyone for feeling like that!), so I didn’t realize how much they were affecting my decision-making. I also wasn’t giving the route enough respect. Niall Grimes said something like, “The ground under a VDiff is just as hard as the ground under an E7, so treat all routes with respect.” I can indeed confirm that the rock on a bolted M5 is as hard as the rock on any other route.

Meditative breathing exercises will help develop patience as your ribs heal. The mild twinge in your ribs as you return to aggressive climbing is really just continuing education.

Best wishes for a speedy and productive recovery. 

Bb Ccwrote:

Meditative breathing exercises will help develop patience as your ribs heal. The mild twinge in your ribs as you return to aggressive climbing is really just continuing education.

Best wishes for a speedy and productive recovery. 

Thanks, that’s kind of poetic and something I resonate with. 

I’m not going to add any extra advice or criticism to your choices that day. You’ve learned a lot from it already and pain has way of making one self reflective.

I’ve broken my ribs (one at a time though) twice now due to my mountain bike. Last one was early September and it is still a little sore today.

For exercises, the first week or two, are almost a total write off. When sleeping, getting up, sneezing, laughing, and breathing are excruciating, exercise can wait.

Once the pain becomes tolerable, usually right around 2 weeks, you can start up again. The focus should be just moving, not pushing yourself. Hikes, stretching what doesn’t hurt, stationary bikes, extra light weight dumbelll exercises, and static core work (planks, not crunches).

As the pain gets better and better, you’ll naturally keep adding more.

I bumped myself on a volume at a wall, maybe 4 weeks post crash. I almost cried, I went home. That was really painful and I barely touched it.

At 6 weeks, you’ll be feeling pretty good but you are going to feel your ribs for the next 4 months IME.

Thanks for sharing your experience.  I think the lessons you learned are valuable lessons for all of us.  Just a couple questions about the incident.  What route was this on?  How far was the approach?  Getting helicoptered out for rib fractures seems like overkill (or it might not be).  I'm sure the folks on the ground had reasons for making that decision.  Can you give more insight in to that decision, like level of pain, difficulty breathing, unable to move and temp dropping, anyone on the ground have WFR or other training, etc?  Just to be clear, I'm not second guessing, or passing judgement on the decision.  I'm sitting on my fat ass, in a warm office right now ;-)   It's just the lessons you posted in the OP were all valuable climbing related lessons, and I think there are further lessons to learn regarding the post-fall situation, other than get an inReach (though they are a great tool).

Anyway, thanks again for sharing.  I honestly think dissecting these situations is a valuable community resource, and it takes a lot of courage to share the experience and have it scrutinized by people that weren't there. 

Bb Cc wrote:

In the end, SAR decides if you get a helicopter: availability, weather, darkness, severity of injuries.

Right, but you and your partners decide if you are getting SAR involved, or if you're getting yourselves to the car, and driving to the hospital.

Bb Cc wrote:

In the end, SAR decides if you get a helicopter: availability, weather, darkness, severity of injuries.

Along those same lines (heavily paraphrasing), because pilots need a certain number of hours on their equipment per year to maintain certification, sometimes the call is even as simple as "The pilot needs their hours, so they might as well fly a real mission instead of a training flight".

Kevin Rwrote:

...you and your partners decide if you are getting SAR involved, or if you're getting yourselves to the car, and driving to the hospital.

I will always speak out for self rescue. Not many proponents on that team, it would seem. If SAR is on your self-made emergency, theyre not available for others.  

Failure without honest analysis aint no good. Kudos. We learn from our mistakes, not so much from our successes. 

"Do l belong up there?" is a question that would humble us a lot of the time. 

Kevin Rwrote:

Thanks for sharing your experience.  I think the lessons you learned are valuable lessons for all of us.  Just a couple questions about the incident.  What route was this on?  How far was the approach?  Getting helicoptered out for rib fractures seems like overkill (or it might not be).  I'm sure the folks on the ground had reasons for making that decision.  Can you give more insight in to that decision, like level of pain, difficulty breathing, unable to move and temp dropping, anyone on the ground have WFR or other training, etc?  Just to be clear, I'm not second guessing, or passing judgement on the decision.  I'm sitting on my fat ass, in a warm office right now ;-)   It's just the lessons you posted in the OP were all valuable climbing related lessons, and I think there are further lessons to learn regarding the post-fall situation, other than get an inReach (though they are a great tool).

Anyway, thanks again for sharing.  I honestly think dissecting these situations is a valuable community resource, and it takes a lot of courage to share the experience and have it scrutinized by people that weren't there. 

Route was in Austria, 1.5-2 h approach involving some steep terrain and bushwhacking through pine fields. Medium altitude < 2000 m, limestone mountains. No extreme weather (-5 to -10 Celsius, no strong wind). I don’t want to get too specific since this is  a pretty personal account and although I am open about this accident, I don’t want it to be the first thing popping up in a google search.

Main reasons for calling rescue were:

- I didn’t know the exact extend of my injuries. My whole back and thorax was cramping and moving was slow and difficult. I didn’t feel like I had a full blown pneumothorax but it could develop later/ be already in the process of developing.
- The descent was over steep terrain, a fall could be fatal, not only for me but also those trying to help me.
- I had to make a decision quickly before it got dark.
- The other people who were there were strongly in favour of a rescue. I tried not to let my pride get in the way of making a safe decision for everyone.

I think the rescue via helicopter was the easiest and safest option for the rescuers, not my decision. In summary, if I was climbing with a partner I knew well we would have probably tried to self-rescue. It would have been a long and somewhat dangerous process and if my condition deteriorated we would have been in a tough spot (no helicopter rescue at night I think and carrying out a person would be close to impossible). Everybody I talked to so far thinks that calling for rescue was a good decision. And yes it does hurt my pride about being self reliant in the mountains. 

Stileswrote:

I will always speak out for self rescue. Not many proponents on that team, it would seem. If SAR is on your self-made emergency, theyre not available for others.  

Failure without honest analysis aint no good. Kudos. We learn from our mistakes, not so much from our successes. 

"Do l belong up there?" is a question that would humble us a lot of the time. 

I strongly agree! Points to consider:

-  If other people get involved in the accident/rescue you have to think about their safety too.
- Trying to self-rescue, then realising later you can’t can create a situation that takes up much more resources from the SAR team than calling for rescue while the conditions for a rescue are still good.
- Having to do a body recovery because in addition to your initial accident you fucked up your self-rescue is also traumatic for the SAR team.

I thought I would never call the rescue unless I get seriously injured but due to this accident I realised there many considerations at play. In general broken bones are a pretty good reason for calling rescue I think.

Toot too. I broke my foot on the Diamond in the winter in a 40' fall on La Dolce Vita. A piece of the slab l pulled hit my pard in the thigh 80' below me. We rapped off and hobbled out. Albiet, we had to stash the two haulbags and ledge at the base. I have broken my ribs on three ocassions, none of which l got help for and actually hid out of shame. Last summers multiple broken ribs was after hitting a deer on my moto and involved further injury, after which l wrenched on my bike and rode home. I blew my acl skiing and ski'd an hour home. I had 3rd degree frostbite (diagnosed by a burn surgeon) on my big toe on day 9 and summited on day 32 on Denali, during a solo trip. I have been hurt A LOT, and have so far been able tough it out. Fingers crossed, eh!! There are 1000s of stories of people dealing with their own shit, when it was or wasnt life or limb. My experiences are piddlin shit. Reading the climbing tomes from the big mountains teaches much in what we as humans are capable of. 

I am not judging anyone here. Aint nobody knows shit that wasnt there. 

Its a rescue thread in a world of PLBs n such. I will pretty reliably give a +1 for self rescue if its possible, cause, and l aint saying in this case, people in general need to harden up. Especially when you choose risk and danger. Suffering can be okay. Its not an easy decision to make when a significant injury occurs, and as pointed out, can be bad to delay and worse to reverse. 

The important thing is honest assessment of how/why bad things happened to good people. SAR is a blessing. Flood your local team with a comically copious quantity of quality beers.

I got a helicopter ride I barely remember. My wife got a call saying she needed to come fast because of suspected multiple cranial fractures. The extent of anything that was broken was my teeth and a rib. Even if you’re a paramedic, let alone a WEMT or even a lowly WFR, you’re not a doctor with imaging and tests, you’re not definitive medical care, and if you think you might need a ride you call it early. There is virtue in self rescue… but time is precious and much of the time it’s hard to know.

About the OP’e ribs: yeah… go by pain. Everything will be awful for a while, but you can’t really make it worse. 

Stileswrote:

The important thing is honest assessment of how/why bad things happened to good people. SAR is a blessing. Flood your local team with a comically copious quantity of quality beers.

Most SAR teams are volunteers. Monetary donations go far helping for training costs  and team equipment. Most volunteer SARs members purchase their own gear.

Buy them a beer too….

Stileswrote:

Toot too. I broke my foot on the Diamond in the winter in a 40' fall on La Dolce Vita. A piece of the slab l pulled hit my pard in the thigh 80' below me. We rapped off and hobbled out. Albiet, we had to stash the two haulbags and ledge at the base. I have broken my ribs on three ocassions, none of which l got help for and actually hid out of shame. Last summers multiple broken ribs was after hitting a deer on my moto and involved further injury, after which l wrenched on my bike and rode home. I blew my acl skiing and ski'd an hour home. I had 3rd degree frostbite (diagnosed by a burn surgeon) on my big toe on day 9 and summited on day 32 on Denali, during a solo trip. I have been hurt A LOT, and have so far been able tough it out. Fingers crossed, eh!! There are 1000s of stories of people dealing with their own shit, when it was or wasnt life or limb. My experiences are piddlin shit. Reading the climbing tomes from the big mountains teaches much in what we as humans are capable of. 

I am not judging anyone here. Aint nobody knows shit that wasnt there. 

Its a rescue thread in a world of PLBs n such. I will pretty reliably give a +1 for self rescue if its possible, cause, and l aint saying in this case, people in general need to harden up. Especially when you choose risk and danger. Suffering can be okay. Its not an easy decision to make when a significant injury occurs, and as pointed out, can be bad to delay and worse to reverse. 

The important thing is honest assessment of how/why bad things happened to good people. SAR is a blessing. Flood your local team with a comically copious quantity of quality beers.

I agree with this sentiment. Thanks for the comment. I think if I was alone I would have tried to self-rescue because I know myself and I think I would have been too ashamed to call the rescue without some encouragement. How this would have ended, we will never know…

Also thanks for pointing out the importance of supporting SAR. I actually still have to this (just talking about if doesn’t do much). Also, I guess beer is nice but money (which can also be used to buy beer) has a bigger impact. 

While you are definitely putting other folks at risk if you call for a rescue, sometimes that is the best option. 

I have called for a rescue one time in about 40 years of climbing, and it was for a member of another party that was climbing close to me and my partner. The leader had decked from about 30 feet up, landed on her partner and a flat rock, and I did not feel qualified to assess the extent of her injuries. In particular I was concerned about internal injuries that were not apparent. RMR was great and very professional.

I have self-rescued with a partner twice over that time. One was when my partner dislocated his should in Arches N.P.  I made a sling for his arm to immobilize it. We simply walked out and drove to the Moab hospital. The other time was when my partner took a BIG fall on Bridalveil Falls, and was knocked out and flipped upside down. The fact that we were a full pitch above the ground on an ice route , and especially with him being unconscious, this was a much harder self-rescue. I was able to get him upright, conscious and safely down to the ground. We hiked out with me carrying most of his kit, and then I drove us to Ouray. I ultimately contacted their SAR team from our hotel room, and he was transported to Grand Junction with a subdural hematoma, concussion, broken hand and shoulder. That situation was pretty fucked up, and had I not been able to get him to regain consciousness, I'm not sure how that would have turned out. 

One of my mentors in climbing pulled a block off and crushed his toes near the top of the north face of the Grand Teton (many, many years ago). Given this serious injury, they still were able to bail down the entire North Face and Ridge, and then hike out Cascade Canyon to Jenny Lake where they spent the night and caught a boat the next morning. This was a pretty badass self rescue carried out by two friends that would have never called for a rescue. The attitude about self-reliance in the mountains was a lot greater back then than now. The dudes that were my mentors preached that you never, ever call for a rescue. 

It's a tough call, whether to call the rescue team when things go bad. Personally, I do feel like our community needs to get back to a more self-reliant attitude. As was said above, a climbing accident is a situation that you got yourself into, and I believe every effort should be made to self-rescue, when possible, so as not to put others at risk. 

Quick update for anyone wondering about rib injuries. I did some hangboarding in the first week after the accident, it was painful but not extremely. Went to the doctor for a checkup X-ray: they noticed quite a significant amount of pleural effusion, and I was told to take it easy for a few weeks (only walking, not using my arms too much). I used grip trainers (the ones with a spring to squeeze) because I felt it was better than doing nothing and didn’t hurt and went for long hikes. Tried riding my bike or running but it felt horrible, not a good idea. 4 weeks after the injury I started training on the fingerboard again, a fews days later I did some pull-ups too. 6 weeks after the injury I went ice climbing again. It still hurts a bit but feels much better. It sucks in the beginning when you can’t do much at all, but the recovery was really quick for me.