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Accident in Boulder Canyon 8/22/13

Original Post
Justin Compton · · Erie, CO · Joined Jul 2009 · Points: 785
timescall.com/top-stories/c…

Anybody have info on what happened?
Rogerlarock Mix · · Nedsterdam, Colorado · Joined Sep 2008 · Points: 5

Pretty vague write-up in the paper. Belay anchor failure?

Abram Herman · · Grand Junction, CO · Joined May 2009 · Points: 20

Yeah, it seems weird for both climbers to fall after a single piece of equipment failed. Curious to hear what happened... Best wishes for their recovery!

Ryan Kempf · · Boulder, CO · Joined Jul 2011 · Points: 371

A lot of shit has been going down in the front range recently. Be safe out there people. Here's to a speedy recovery to all of our fallen climbers this season and past. Mine, and many of our thoughts are with you.

ErikaNW · · Golden, CO · Joined Sep 2010 · Points: 410

There was a death at Lumpy yesterday also. No details given.

denverpost.com/news/ci_2392…

Best wishes to all involved in both accidents. Climb safe.

Robert D. · · Boulder, CO · Joined Oct 2006 · Points: 15

I believe they were at Bell Buttress, where many climbs start from a substantial ledge. The leader fell, some gear pulled, the leader went off the ledge and the belayer was pulled off. I'm sure they know the extent of any mistakes they made, so no need to assess what they may have done wrong. I wish them both a speedy recovery.

Abram Herman · · Grand Junction, CO · Joined May 2009 · Points: 20
Robert D. wrote:I believe they were at Bell Buttress, where many climbs start from a substantial ledge. The leader fell, some gear pulled, the leader went off the ledge and the belayer was pulled off. I'm sure they know the extent of any mistakes they made, so no need to assess what they may have done wrong. I wish them both a speedy recovery.
Makes sense; that sucks. Best wishes.
Guy Keesee · · Moorpark, CA · Joined Mar 2008 · Points: 349
I'm sure they know the extent of any mistakes they made, so no need to assess what they may have done wrong.

I bet they don't know what went wrong.... gear pulled out, several pieces and the anchor!!!!??????

I would be very interested to learn how these fellows "lost the whole party"???
chuck claude · · Flagstaff, Az · Joined Jul 2006 · Points: 225
Guy Keesee wrote:I'm sure they know the extent of any mistakes they made, so no need to assess what they may have done wrong. I bet they don't know what went wrong.... gear pulled out, several pieces and the anchor!!!!?????? I would be very interested to learn how these fellows "lost the whole party"???
I am sorry for the injured party. It sucks having a severe injury. But .... I agree, if you aren't willing to accept a critical analysis what yiou have done wrong, you will do it again. Hat is a critical analysis of what facts there are, and not the guesses that will be found on the web.

I am not being insensitive (maybe a little) but I myself am recovering from an injury that should have killed me (mountain biking accident).

Myself I had a momentary lapse of concentration while mountain biking and caught a handle bar on a tree branch spinning my handle bars. the end result.

had a large cervical displacement of C3/C4 (should have killed me by shutting down my breathing), fractures at C5 (caused partial paralysis in my arms but in reality should have caused me to be quadrapalegic), C6 (a minor fracture) and C7 (multiple fracture lines) along with a severe C7/T1 displacement

my mistakes:

1) Failure to concentrate (whole cause of the accident)
2) was wearing a pack (prevented me from rolling)

Costs of my mistakes

1) Significant hardship to my parents, daughters (who are dealing with anxiety from my injury), girlfriend (who took care of me), friends, climbing partners......
2) permanent residual injuries (loss of feelings in my fingers, possibly permanent activation of some nerves that have other affects (feeling pukey 24/7) and fused bones in my neck limiting mobility).

I accept my mistakes, and the outcome and hardships it has caused (even though I was damn lucky since my greatest worry right now is will I be able to attempt 5.12/.13 cracks by fall when I am cleared to lead, whereas I should have had to worry about do I turn right or left in the wheelchair using the blow tube, or who will be changing my diaper since I have no muscle control from my arms down.

This may sound harsh but momentary lapses in judgement can have HUGE affects ion those around us.

But in the mean time for those involved, best wishes...

If you still don't know what I am saying... its that you have to own up to your mistake, understand what you did, and accept the hardship it has caused to those around you. If you don't allow someone to critique what you did and the mistakes, it is a huge disservice to yourself and the those around you.
LawHous · · Colorado Springs, CO · Joined Jul 2012 · Points: 481

I'm going to guess the belayer was not anchored and the ledge he is referring to is one you can scramble/climb up to unroped. I imagine the belayer was treating belaying from the ledge as he would if belaying from the ground. I do not know the circumstances but I would guess the leader only had one or two placements in and fell, pulling out the piece(s) and pulling his belayer off with him. It is still strange that multiple placements would come out at Boulder Canyon (good rock, not sandstone that shears).

crankenstein · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Dec 2005 · Points: 0

Sounds like it could have been the start of Cosmosis??? Best wishes to the fallen.

bap87 Pelz · · Boulder, CO · Joined Aug 2013 · Points: 0

I know a friend of the fallen climbers. LawHous is pretty much how you described it. The climber was resting on the first piece, and the belayer wasn't anchored. Climber fell and pulled both of them off the ledge.

Guy Keesee · · Moorpark, CA · Joined Mar 2008 · Points: 349

bap87.... thank you for that.

broke some "rules" for sure.

claytown · · Boulder, CO · Joined Sep 2006 · Points: 1,205

From what I heard via second-hand account, they were climbing the Spoils. The leader rested on a piece before the first bolt, then he tried the move and came off (or went back to rest on the piece again, not sure which) it ripped. Leader pulled the second off the ledge. I think they didn't have an anchor but I don't know that for sure.

I always try to learn from mistakes, both my own and those by others. From this, I realize that I need to be more vigilant about still using belay anchors when I'm on a ledge, or at the very least keep one bomber piece in.

My thoughts go out to these guys. Hoping for a full recovery for both of them... and that some of us can avoid a similar future incident by learning something here.

slim · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Dec 2004 · Points: 1,103

damn, if correct, that would be pretty crazy to not have an anchor for the belayer for that route. it is pretty in your face from the start and the gear is strenuous to place well. the belay is pretty uncomfortable also. man, i hope they are ok.

Kevin Murphy · · Longmont, CO · Joined Feb 2005 · Points: 397
claramie wrote:From what I heard via second-hand account, they were climbing the Spoils. The leader rested on a piece before the first bolt, then he tried the move and came off (or went back to rest on the piece again, not sure which) it ripped. Leader pulled the second off the ledge. I think they didn't have an anchor but I don't know that for sure. I always try to learn from mistakes, both my own and those by others. From this, I realize that I need to be more vigilant about still using belay anchors when I'm on a ledge, or at the very least keep one bomber piece in. My thoughts go out to these guys. Hoping for a full recovery for both of them... and that some of us can avoid a similar future incident by learning something here.
Not that it means anything, but there are no bolts on the Spoils, right?
claytown · · Boulder, CO · Joined Sep 2006 · Points: 1,205

you're probably right Kev. I don't remember the route that well as I only TR'd it once 3 or 4 years ago. Maybe the directional I remember was a piece of gear. Either way, re-weighting or falling on the first piece caused it to fail from what I heard.

Kevin Murphy · · Longmont, CO · Joined Feb 2005 · Points: 397

Yeah, just was under it the other day. Either way, anyone could make that hasty mistake, hope for a fast recovery.

Will Butler · · Lyons, CO · Joined Sep 2005 · Points: 56

The leader took on the first piece on The Spoils at Bell Buttress. The piece ripped, he decked and then fell off the 30 foot ledge where the route starts from. He pulled his belayer off with him and they tumbled all the way into Boulder Creek. While both parties got super f'd up, the belayer got the worst of it.

reboot · · . · Joined Jul 2006 · Points: 125

Man that route scares me. I've led it once, red pointed it & swear to never lead it again.

There is a bomber 0.5 camalot pretty low off the ledge on the route. It doesn't seem like it'll prevent a ground fall (but in reality, you'll just shoot past the ledge if you fall a good distance). I shudder to think I actually skipped that placement on my lead...all the other gear you can place before the crux are a bit suspect, as the crack is shallow & a little friable.

I was belaying a friend when he decided to down aid from the crux. I warned him more than once to check whether the (green alien size) gear was any good. Sure enough, when he fully weighed the piece, it popped & he shot past the ledge, with only the 0.5 camalot keeping both of us from tumbling toward the creek. Makes my stomach turn a bit that this did happen. Hoping for a speedy recovery to the pair.

Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

Injuries and Accidents
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