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Climbing Information:
Accident and Incident Analysis:
Re: [billl7] Analysis of fatal accident in Joshua Tree 3/15/09:
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billl7
Apr 7, 2009, 1:06 PM
Views: 14242
Registered: Oct 13, 2005
Posts: 1890
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An attempt to sketch out some context of the part of the lowering that was controlled:
a) "Woodys liturgy was old school, based on the stance, he didnt make Al sit down. He was also rushing things and never checked the anchor. "
ST.com source
b) "After Kwok had lowered Stark about 35', Kwok probably shifted his weight forward"
OP, based on ST.com info.
c) "Woody Stark led a 100' climb "
OP, based on ST.com info. (edit: before 'a')
d) "Kwok fell 65' (approx.) and was held by the second rope at this point .... During the 65' fall, Kwok did not lose control of the lowering device. Stark fell 100' total to the ground"
OP, based on ST.com info.
e) "Out, out brief candle! 10 a/b X 2005; This is one of Woodys routes only a few feet from where he died. "
ST.com source
f) picture of the formation
Thoughts: The measurements of 'b' through 'd' may not be truly independent observations. That said, it seems likely that the picture painted is Kwok at the edge of the cliff managing to lower Al's full body weight a significant distance based on stance alone; that is, at the start of the lowering, direction of pull was probably down through Kwok's feet where the difference in weight between the two was not so critical. Also, 'e' suggests the climb was at the right side of the formation (edit: somewhere on the right half) although this would be good to confirm since the source statement may not have been intended as factually accurate.
This is not an effort to bolster my earlier suggestion of "differing expectations" (i.e., stance versus anchored). It is just to lend some context to the final moments that triggered the accident.
Bill
(This post was edited by billl7 on Apr 7, 2009, 2:21 PM)
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Edit Log:
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Post edited by billl7
() on Apr 7, 2009, 2:21 PM
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