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Accident and Incident Analysis:
Re: [camhead] Injured climber rescued in Prentice Cooper State Park:
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neekwan
Feb 12, 2012, 11:04 PM
Views: 9734
Registered: Dec 24, 2004
Posts: 19
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I did not witness the accident and cannot give a complete account of the accident or rescue.
I was climbing at Suck Creek (just down the road) on Friday - the day of the accident. I came to T-Wall on Saturday. I heard Saturday morning of the accident the day before. There was a note on the trail sign explaining that there had been an accident and requesting someone to collect the gear left behind on Prerequisite to Excellence.
We hiked up and saw blood on several of the rocks at the base of the route. The block which had been dislodged was lying on the trail. I knew it was a "new" block because it had fresh "scars" on it and plenty of chalk. I wouldn't estimate it's weight to be as much as 200 lbs, but sizable nonetheless - certainly capable of generating much more than 200 lbs of force. It was about the size of a 35 liter backpack.
Looking at Prerequisite to Excellence from the ground, we couldn't tell where the block had come from. There was gear about halfway up the route. I led up to the first small roof and did see the scars on the rock where the block had been. I also saw what appeared to be cam scars on the wall under the roof. I presumed that a cam had been placed here, loaded, and had dislodged the block. (Note: The remaining rock directly above the fresh scar shows a thin seam about twelve inches up. It's still subject in my opinion. I believe it may be fully attached on only its smallest side. I question its quality and would recommend against placing a cam behind it.)
Later in the day we eventually met a lady who had been active in the rescue the day before. She was a physician. She confirmed that the cam had in fact dislodged the block and that it was not the climber who was injured, but the belayer. She said that the belayer was wearing a helmet. She explained that when he caught the fall on the GriGri, he was actually pulled up and into the plummeting boulder. She said the belayer suffered a broken arm, ruptured spleen, and a "destroyed" knee. In spite of these injuries, he still managed to safely lower his climber after the fall. She said the climber and belayer were both in their 40s and both experienced. The lady indicated that she may go back into town that evening to check in on the victim. So we gave her the gear we collected from P to E.
It was only a matter of time before that block came down. Few would have guessed it was even subject. It had been climbed thousands of times - a classic route. The block had much chalk on it. This is an accident that could have happened to anyone and would have been very hard to avoid - beyond just not putting a cam there or not falling.
(This post was edited by neekwan on Feb 12, 2012, 11:09 PM)
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Post edited by neekwan
() on Feb 12, 2012, 11:09 PM
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