Serious Fall on Rewritten/Great Zot

5/19/07 ~13:00
A climber was either hit or dodging rock fall and took a ~30 foot fall and ended up about half-way down from the Red Ledge. He had some serious head wounds. Part of his helmet was crushed, and it likely saved his life. It was unclear if this was caused from rockfall or from the ensuing fall. Another pair of climbers climbed up to help lower the victim to the base where the rescue team took over.

I did not witness any of this as we were on the upper pitches of Green Spur/Rewritten. We arrived back at the base about the same time as they lowered the victim. There were 4 parties on the upper wall, so there is no way to tell where the rocks fell from. There is a significant amount of loose rocks, typical of the wet winter & spring we are having.

1) Take extreme care not to pull of any loose rocks. If you do, scream "ROCK!".
2) If there are several parties on the route, chose another one and come back another day with an earlier start.
3) Wear a helmet.

Best wishes for recovery for the victim.

Also, if anyone from the rescue group dropped a belay device it should be with the ranger in the lost-n-found.

I got the official release from Boulder County Sheriff. The victim is a 50-year-old male and they state he fell 100 feet. They also say the route he was climbing was Red Garden Wall, so take their fall estimates with a grain of salt. The climber was taken to St Anthony's North and had sustained a head injury and multiple lacerations.

The fallen climber is someone who has given countless hours back into the climbing community.

Thus far, he is beat up bad, but he is OK. He flipped off the bird in the hospital :) They will keep him for observation. He took a big fall. He was wearing a helmet. His belayer & helmet saved his life.

To say the least, we should all wish him well.
Also, thank you to all the climbers in Eldo, RMRG, & Flight.

(this message is an update given during the evening of the incident to let climbers know he is OK; further info will come from other sources).

That's great news Mark. I hope he recovers soon enough to get back on the sharp end before the year is out.

Thanks for the reports. I'm glad to hear he's going to be OK, that's a bad place to take a big fall.

That whole area is a bowling alley, particularly below the rappels. I'm surprised how many people hang out at the base. One time I was up there some people were picnicing with small children and climbing. Not such a good idea unless they're trying to get rid of their offspring and make it look like an accident.

I agree 100% with Casey that the harsh winter has produced more than normal loose rock. Climb safe and live large.

Best wishes for a speedy recovery!!

Thanks Mark. That is great news. The rescue person I chatted with after hiking down said he was "stable", though I became a bit more concerned when I saw the helicopter come to take him for a ride. It makes me quite happy to hear that he gave the one-finger salute at the hospital!

I witnessed the fall from the trail just about ten feet from the start of the Green Spur. I was walking up the trail when I heard someone yell, "Rock!" I turned around to see the rocks coming down, followed, seconds later, by a climber yelling, "falling!" Then, the climber came into view, plunging headfirst....terrifying! It looked to me like at least one of his pieces of pro blew. In retrospect, one of two things most likely happened: he got hit by those rocks or something that was holding his weight came off. Anyway, I have to reiterate what some the other folks said....that helmet likely saved his life.

I also want to send kudos out to all the climbers in the area that helped out on the scene. They got him down safely and had him stabilized before the rescue team arrived.

Also note: the guy wasn't 50...I'd say late 30's and he probably fell 40-50 feet, not 100.

Here are a few news links about Jerome's fall Saturday. It looks like he's going to be okay.

rockymountainnews.com/drmn/…

denverpost.com/headlines/ci…

9news.com/news/article.aspx…

Best quote is from the CW2 story: "I can't wait to go climbing again."

cw2.trb.com/news/kwgn-climb…

Here's to a speedy recovery. And to helmets.

Thanks Brendan.

To say the least, it has been a long weekend for a lot of great people. Jerome has indicated that when he is able, he will make a statement to the climbing community.

Not enough can be said about Brian, he should be welcomed any hour of the day to any climber's home crag.

Let's all send some good healing energy Jerome's way. He is a great guy who has contributed a lot of time to working with Alpine Rescue and is a passionate long time climber. I know he posts here on a fairly regular basis so finding a bunch of positive messages (and some good natured ribbing from his friends) is sure to help with the healing process.

I have know Jerome for a number of years, first as the step uncle of my now ex-wife and more recently as local Golden climber. We ran into each other at a party held by one of my former Bent Gate Mountaineering co-workers a few years ago and have been talking about getting together to climb ever since. We never managed to get out climbing before I moved down to New Mexico, but he was always a source of positive energy and enthusiasm about climbing whenever we would run into each other.

To Jerome:

That is a crazy fall you took. It sucks that you will miss out on climbing this summer, but hey.... at least climber chicks dig scars!

Best wishes for a quick recovery and I am sure we will hear a more thorough analysis of the accident as you and your partner piece things together. I can just picture it now....."No shit, there I was....."

George Marsden

... if I would have known who it was at the time ...

Jerome - I have met you a few times, climbing and one of dee-ron's parties. I am so glad to know that you are doing OK. It always seems much worse at the scene, which is why I didn't recognize you, though your tat looked familiar. Heal up!

Good luck on a fast recovery. I bought a helmet yesterday, thanks.

Jerome --

Didn't think the next time I saw you would be on TV!! Glad you're okay and hope you have a speedy recovery. . . . Here's to wearing our helmets!

Sharon (Pearson -- it's been a long time!!)

Just a great guy to be at the crag with. Never afraid to give me a load of it. Never afraid to hold to rope & help anyone out, especially me. Whenever we needed an instructor for a mountain club safety lecture, he always said: "No Problem!"

Here's to the man with a Tigger!! Be Well!

Hi all,

I'm not gonna post too many details, mainly because I'm still in the hospital and also because I don't remember a damn thing from the time I met my partner Brian at the Mesa Trail parking lot until I was out of ICU and in the Neural unit at St. Anthony's. On Thursday I was moved from the neural ward to the psych ward, oops, I mean the rehab ward. I'll spend another 5-7 days here (possible time off for good behavior) and then go home around Thursday. My spirits are mostly quite good (doped up on chocolate) and I am in very little pain any more.

Tears fill my eyes and I can't write much more when I think about the avalanche of love and support I have received; words truly cannot express my appreciation and gratitude to all of you; and especially to Brian who saved my life and the other climbers at the scene who began my rescue.

With an overflowing heart,
Jerome

It's always such a relief to see a post from the injured climber himself and know that means you're recovering. Best wishes and get well soon!

JL

Hey Jerome,

Great to hear you are doing okay and all the best for a quick recovery.

Cheers

John

Jerome,

Saw the article in the paper on your fall - so sorry to hear about that. Hope your recovery is a quick one and to see you out on the rocks again soon.

Sorry to hear about that fall Jerome. Glad you're going to recover. Don't let those whacko's in the psych ward talk you into anything you wouldn't normally do. ;-)

That whole upper area of the Zot is waaaaay dangerous. There are HUGE loose flakes and tons of bad rock up there. ECSP rangers, are you listening? It needs a trundle party in a bad way because everything that comes down just shotguns the staging area at the base of 4-5 very popular routes.

Mal