Washington Pass – 3 Fatalities Rappelling on NEWS

newhalem is a long ways from the pass. if they went looking for a phone, i would think they would head downhill to mazama. still a ways though.

slim wrote:

newhalem is a long ways from the pass. if they went looking for a phone, i would think they would head downhill to mazama. still a ways though.

I had the same thought

Ben Flowers wrote:

I had the same thought

As did I.

I'm guessing that due to a severe TBI the surviving member of the party was not thinking clearly or maybe they knew everyone else was dead and moving west was the fastest way to get to Harborview.

Condolences to all connected to the climbers.  What a terrible tragedy.  

My first and only takeaway from reading reports, until more information may come to light regarding the anchor situation, is cementing the importance of every person in an alpine climbing party carrying some form of satellite connected device for worst case scenarios.  Twelve hours is an eternity in a rescue situation.  The surviving climber is extremely lucky to have that description. 

In a desperate situation, it's understandable that groups may defer decisions and safety checks to a "leader", especially when in situations outside the norm. Bailing in impending bad weather would be one of those situations. I believe I read that either in Freedom of the Hills or in an AMGA publication.

My condolences on the fallen climbers...

Allen Sanderson wrote:

We backed it up and  my partner being heavier rappelled first. When I rappelled I removed the backup gear. In the mean time my partner had created a stance and tied the ropes into that gear. If the pin pulled I was going to take a huge fall but hopefully the gear below would hold the fall (and I would have a chance at surviving the fall).

I wonder if the lower anchor connection to the rope shouldn't involve a "fuse" (e.g. a piece of accessory cord) expected to break around 5-8kN.  In theory (before considering terrain angle) we're talking FF2 onto 2 strands of not-necessarily-twin-rated rope.  And who knows how strong the bail anchors are.  Could also be a case for a 1-strand (caraibner block) rappel.

Condolences to all affected and speedy recovery to the survivor.

At this stage speculation is pointless.

Condolences to the families and friends. 

I'd like to remind folks of the resources including funding for therapy by the Climbing Grief Fund.

Additionally, for those under 30, Mark Smiley (IFMGA guide/Mtn Sense) will replace the nut you leave behind as a backup for a sketchy anchor. Send him a pic via Instagram. 

J L wrote:

In a desperate situation, it's understandable that groups may defer decisions and safety checks to a "leader", especially when in situations outside the norm. Bailing in impending bad weather would be one of those situations. I believe I read that either in Freedom of the Hills or in an AMGA publication.

What I recall in Freedom of the Hills is mention that some groups may defer significant  decisions to a leader. Others may decide as a group. Quite variable there … and in practice.

slim wrote:

newhalem is a long ways from the pass. if they went looking for a phone, i would think they would head downhill to mazama. still a ways though.

As someone who has suffered a severe concussion after going over the handlebars of my bike and despite being quite ringy-dingy, had to self extract I was not surprised. They went in the direction which they came. Had they gone the other way, I would not have been surprised either. The point being in the big scheme of things it is moot. The survivor, despite their injuries and the totality of the situation managed to self extract, have keys to a vehicle and drive themself to alert EMS. Which based on my one experience, which was much less severe was an extraordinary amount of effort. That should be the real take-a-way. 

Latest update from Seattle Times says

The survivor told Woodworth he and his companions attached themselves to a previously used anchor point — also called a piton — that they found already embedded in the rock face. He told Woodworth another previously used piton earlier in their route had successfully held.

The climbers successfully completed three rappels using the same piton. The first climber started a fourth rappel down the steep gully, while the other three stayed above, the survivor told authorities. The piton then dislodged from the rock face, causing all four men to fall.

I think the exact sequence of events is getting lost in translation here 

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Aye.  Difficult to retain accuracy when the details are given over the phone to one person who conveys them to another unlikely to have much technical understanding of this style of climbing. Probably no chance for the survivor to proof read the description before it was published.

It does sound like it wasn’t the first time that day that the party relied on pitons, either going up or down - perhaps both.  And returning down to a piton used going up as lead protection could have had a role in placing confidence in the one that failed.

Best wishes to those close to the climbers, and to the survivor.

It sounds like three of the party had descended using the fixed piton. I wonder whether they had protection at the next ledge.

This is absolutely horrific - and a wake up call for me. I am the kind of person who would do just about anything to not leave gear behind, and have myself rapped off old pins many times. I'm thinking it is best to just leave a nut behind in these situations moving forward.  

Just a suggestion, but pitoncraft is kind of a dying (nearly dead?)art. And not surprisingly so. I have sometimes carried a hammer, throughout the clean climbing era, in places where I thought it just MIGHT be useful.  And the most common useful scenario by far has been fixed pins at an anchor. Especially since almost nobody carries a hammer. 3 caveats:

Knowledge. I started out at the very beginning of the clean climbing era, and aid climbing was conducted primarily with pitons. From rurps, up through 1-1/2" angles. So I nailed on practice aid routes through my first half dozen or so walls. So  I gained experience, that for decades now, people don't get. All those wall routes now are routinely done clean. So the question, how to get experience?, would have to be answered. 

A useful hammer. The one I have, and will still sometimes carry, is a Forrest Mjollnir. It weighs 1-1/4 pounds, with the weight nicely concentrated in the head. It drives pitons damn near as well as a heavier full bore wall hammer. Don't know,  but I think current Petzl and Edelrid models might work fine. But the less skilled the user is, the less useful some ultralight thingy is going to be. 

Getting some instruction. It would be nice if a younger big waller chimed in here, because I really don't have a feel for how much relevant experience even a very experienced newer person might have. For someone who wants to learn basic pitoncraft applicable to fixed anchors, a crusty old dude who nailed the shit out of at least a few walls back in the DARK AGES might be a good choice. 

And yes, my condolences, as well,  to all affected by this tragedy. 

A very stark tragedy.  3 climbers lost in one fell swoop.  I admire the self-extraction execution.  Toughness personified.  Best wishes to the survivor and to friends and loved ones of the deceased.  

In situ pins are a boon to come upon when desperate.  However, 4 lives to one pin is harsh math (if in fact true).  

Fern Gully wrote:

This is absolutely horrific - and a wake up call for me. I am the kind of person who would do just about anything to not leave gear behind, and have myself rapped off old pins many times. I'm thinking it is best to just leave a nut behind in these situations moving forward.  

I was like you, and thankfully also had a wake up call after seeing someone on mountain project offer to replace the gear I bailed on with sketchy anchors. I realized that spending what has mostly been <$100 to not die seemed completely reasonable, since continuing my existence feels worth more than that to me. I am thrilled reading that you have realized how completely worth it you are, too!

Thanks for sharing that tidbit, here, @Garret Genereux: Mark Smiley (IFMGA guide/Mtn Sense) will replace the nut you leave behind as a backup for a sketchy anchor. Send him a pic via Instagram. 

My other wake up call was reading about the pair of climbers that died in Tahitz, CA. The rain-soaked webbing they rapped off of hid how old it was since webbing does that when it's wet. This prompted me to change my chalk bag to one with a pocket big enough for a decent sized tubular webbing roll and multiple rap rings (edit: my knife was already a part of my chalk bag, and I skipped mentioning it, initially, figuring all of us here on Mountain Project know the importance of climbing with a knife): Riverside Mountain Rescue Tahquitz Fatalities September 28, 2022

Big shout out to @Paul L, also in this thread, endorsing a satellite-enabled device per person. Read Wikipedia's Mt Hood Climbing Accidents entry... the majority of people that survive climbing accidents on it have satellite capabilities.

Another big shout out to @Allen Sanderson, since like my knife, my nut tool is always with me... always. Someone I climbed with once made fun of me for having it on a sport route (FYI, I did not climb with this person, again; their brake hand etiquette left much to be desired). It felt pretty nice being gifted such an organic '... as I said earlier' moment, witnessing their panic about a loose bolt I came to while on lead, which I used my nut tool to tighten, since the screw did not have damage to the threading, but had just come loose.

RIP to all of those we have lost doing what they loved doing, and love to those they left behind.

For the one climber that survived this harrowing experience, I hope there's a path out from the trauma of this, and that they recover, fully.

Mark Smiley has updated (no longer an age limit) and reposted his second piece buy back offer. 

This 2nd piece replacement offer has been going for about 6 years. Reposting this to newcomers that might not know about it.
*no age restriction now, need to submit a photo of the anchor, need to submit a receipt for the new gear.