The climber who fell is a friend of mine; in fact, I was belaying him when this unfortunate accident happened. Sunday morning we met up to practice setting trad gear. He was leading a route called z crack (I think) on the main face of the mini climbing area. The route is a super easy 5.8ish slab/crack climb perfect for practicing trad protection placement. He was about 15' from the top when he decided to "test" his pro by taking a lead fall on it. I reluctantly agreed to catch him. He let go and his cam popped. He fell about 25' and decked on a nasty rock horn ledge about 30' from the toe of the cliff. All I could see was his arm and leg hanging over the edge and he wasn't moving or responding. I anchored the belay, grabbed my extra rope and ran to the top of the cliff to rappel and assist him in any way I could. When I got down to him he was moving and somewhat coherent but had no idea what had just happened. He had a nasty gouge on the back of his head below his helmet that was pouring blood so I put a shirt over it and held pressure on it until it coagulated. I had called 911 and communicated to them that we would need high angle rescue to get him off the ledge safely. It took them about an hour from the time I dialed 911 for the FD special operations to show up and build a system to lower him off the rock. I was extremely impressed with how quickly they were able to evacuate him considering the circumstances. When all was said and done he sustained some skull fractures, a broken nose, a broken clavicle, ruptured spleen (forgot to mention he was vomiting blood), and a broken vertebrae. Fortunately none of his injuries will require surgery, just a few days in the neuro-trauma center and a few months to recover. Not bad considering the extent of his injuries. I am still perplexed as to how he could have possibly survived even with the helmet. Without it he would have died right there on the rock. I spoke with him today and he may be home as soon as tomorrow. He's expected to make a full recovery and be back climbing by the end of the summer. I learned a lot from the experience: 1-always wear a helmet when lead climbing trad or sport 2- anchor lead belays you may need to quickly anchor and escape them to help an injured climber 3- Not a bad idea to have an extra rope 4- Don't intentionally fall on your protection

I know how to escape and anchor a belay and did so.
There is an easy scramble route to the top of the cliff.
I carry enough purlin to strangle every member of the Chinese army
I didn't think it was wise to lower him because I was unaware of the extent of his injuries
I had an extra rope. I used it to rappel down to him
I had my pack full of protection, webbing, anchor rope etc.
I carry my headlamp that can be seen from outer space
I carry a burly first aid kit
Had extra clothing, used it to cover him
I have had extensive training in first aid. I plugged the hole in his head to keep him from bleeding to death.
Ex-military so I can give CPR to someone without a face.

I was well prepared FOR an accident, not so much to prevent one.

While I agree that this scenario raises some real red flags, and while I agree that constructive criticism can be a handy tool in helping climbers sort out their mistakes and not make them in the future, I don't agree that this guy deserves the "shit storm" that has befallen him. He was the first person to respond to the thread. He was the first person to respond to the scene. He was far more competent in his response to his partner's injuries than I think a lot of people would have been, and he really deserves credit for that.

So because I'm admittedly not qualified to give the kind of constructive criticism I mentioned above, I'm just going to say that I think the belayer should be commended for his post-accident actions, and that perhaps people should think about how effective it is to berate someone as an idiot and a moron, versus actually providing some good advice to that person in order to reduce the number of times accidents like this happen...

While I agree that this scenario raises some real red flags, and while I agree that constructive criticism can be a handy tool in helping climbers sort out their mistakes and not make them in the future, I don't agree that this guy deserves the "shit storm" that has befallen him. He was the first person to respond to the thread. He was the first person to respond to the scene. He was far more competent in his response to his partner's injuries than I think a lot of people would have been, and he really deserves credit for that.

So because I'm admittedly not qualified to give the kind of constructive criticism I mentioned above, I'm just going to say that I think the belayer should be commended for his post-accident actions, and that perhaps people should think about how effective it is to berate someone as an idiot and a moron, versus actually providing some good advice to that person in order to reduce the number of times accidents like this happen...

it is also interesting that our analyses of these accidents are often shaded by a climber's reputation. the tragic recent deadly accident in joshua tree, for instance, speaks of much more serious and avoidable mistakes than simply fall-testing your gear placements when backed-up by a bolt (but horribly miscalculating fall distance).

...JeffZ please ignore the others like Majid and Roadstead...

our analyses of these accidents

... you guys fully deserve the shit storm that has come your way--because this accident was completely avoidable and occurred solely due to your collective stupidity. You guys may want to seriously consider a different hobby.

Curt

The big difference in this case, I think, is that it was not an accident, it was an on purpose that went bad.

The big difference in this case, I think, is that it was not an accident, it was an on purpose that went bad.

Most climbing accidents are on purposes that go bad. Woody wanted his mate to lower him--on purpose--and didn't stop to think that he hadn't tied his mate in. Or if he did think about it, he accidentally miscalculated. Not tying in to an anchor is a pretty huge mistake. Todd Skinner was hanging by his belay loop--on purpose--and didn't stop to think that he had just ordered a new harness because his belay loop was just about worn through. Or if he did think about it, he accidentally miscalculated. Not backing up his belay loop when he knew it was heavily frayed is a pretty huge mistake.

This guy in Spokane fell on his gear--on purpose--with a bolt/draw below it, but he didn't stop to think about how much rope he had out and how far he would fall. Or if he did think about it, he accidentally miscalculated. He's lucky he had a friend there to save his life. This was, indeed, an accident in just the same sense as Woody and Todd.

For the climber, yes
For the belayer, no

It was not Jeff's choice for his partner to jump. In fact he states that he "reluctantly agreed to catch him." Yikes!! So how is it Jeff's fault that his partner decided to jump?

Most climbing accidents are on purposes that go bad. Woody wanted his mate to lower him--on purpose--and didn't stop to think that he hadn't tied his mate in. Or if he did think about it, he accidentally miscalculated. Not tying in to an anchor is a pretty huge mistake. Todd Skinner was hanging by his belay loop--on purpose--and didn't stop to think that he had just ordered a new harness because his belay loop was just about worn through. Or if he did think about it, he accidentally miscalculated. Not backing up his belay loop when he knew it was heavily frayed is a pretty huge mistake.

This guy in Spokane fell on his gear--on purpose--with a bolt/draw below it, but he didn't stop to think about how much rope he had out and how far he would fall. Or if he did think about it, he accidentally miscalculated. He's lucky he had a friend there to save his life. This was, indeed, an accident in just the same sense as Woody and Todd.

Perhaps he should not have agreed. Duh.

Curt

What's the alternative? I'm interested in your perspective. Once I assume the responsibility to belay, I'm on the job until I'm released. I would strongly discourage someone from taking test falls in that situation, but telling my partner I won't catch the fall violates the pact between climber and belayer.

If being an ass or making the wrong call while climbing were grounds for belayers to quit mid-route, we all might as well free-solo.

Don't fucking agree. Not even reluctantly. He knew it was a bad idea.

Part of the climber/belayer pact is for the leader not to do things that endanger the team.

Not agreeing means the climber is off belay. You're cool with that?

I really strongly agree with these sentiments. I don't take intentional falls but every time i lead something at my limit I accept that there is a good chance I will fall and i see no difference.