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majid_sabet
Jun 15, 2009, 7:40 PM
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Akhlomand-Iran Climbing area info; Type; Sport climbing, start at the bottom of Akhlomand Canyon Total vertical distance from bottom of canyon to top; 110 meter Useful climbing distance: 75 meter Approach: unprotected class IV to base Climbing difficulty: 5.9-5.11 YDS Total number of climbing pitches: 3 Total number of rappelling station: 3 (first from top, 20 m, second 20 m, third, 35 m) Total rappelling distance: 75 meter Time of accident; 5:00 PM Daylight info: The majority portions of the climbing wall was in the shadow Climbing Team: Party of two, both experienced rock climber Rope; Beal 10.2 mm dynamic rope Rappelling device: standard 8 Rappelling backup; Prussic above the rappelling device On Saturday June 6-2009, an experienced rock climber fell 70 meter while rappelling and died on scene. Based on primary report given by his partner, Mr. Bahram N. had finished climbing the three pitches of sport climbing wall at the Akhlomand Canyon and set his rope for rappelling at the top anchor while his partner was approaching him. Bahram first secures himself with a short sling (webbing) to the anchor and then uses the dynamic rope and attached a short section of the rope (@ 4 meter) to the anchor with a clove hitch and drops the longer end of the rope (@ 46 meter) to anchor below with a fig 8 safety knot at the bottom of the rope and then drops the other short end (4 meter) which had no safety knot. His partner wasn’t sure what had happened but somehow, Braham mistakenly clips his 8 belay device and the safety prussic to the shorter rope and falls from the bottom of the shorter end in to the base of Akhlomad Canyon. Bahram was not wearing helmet at the time of accident however, he did brought one up but then gave it to his partner at top. Analysis; This accident happened in the late afternoon and based on partner’s report, both climbers especially Braham was fatigue and tired from climbing in the Canyon and both climbers wanted to get of the wall before dark. Still, it is not clear why Bahram fixed his rope with a clove hitch at top anchor if he was only planning to rappel 20 meter however, One possibility suggest that may be Bahram first wanted to rappel two pitches (total of @40 meter) to save some time and then his partner would had removed the clove hitch and rappel via double rope system to next rappel station while Bahram was resting at top of pitch 1 . Either way, this accident was easily avoidable if both partners had discussed their rappelling strategy prior to Bahram setting up his rappelling system and also, if his partner had double checked Bahram’s setup, I am sure, he was able to detect that Bahram was about to rappel on the unprotected shorter end. Note: The original report was published in the local climbing website which did not include any useful information other than reporting that a climber fell 70 meter while rappelling. This incident was the second such accident in the same area since May of 2009 so I personally contacted one of the local responder and asked series of questions to narrow down the causes of this incident and to understand what had happened in the Akhlomand Canyon. Source; http://www.hamtanab.com http://hamtanab.com/...x?cat=21&id=1713 Information provided by Sara Edalatian (local climbing group) Translation and analysis by MS
(This post was edited by majid_sabet on Jun 15, 2009, 7:45 PM)
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kingbiscuit
Jun 15, 2009, 7:48 PM
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How common are single rope rappels? How was he planning on undoing the clove hitch once he got to the anchor below? Guess I am confused on how this works because I am use to going to well established locations which never require a single rope rap.
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billl7
Jun 15, 2009, 8:22 PM
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I'd say single rope raps may not be the normal mode but are warranted on occasion. It really doesn't matter whether the climbing location is well established or not. In this case it was a possible time saver as darkness approached. From Majid's interpretation, it sounded like the first one down would combine the 1st and 2nd raps on a long-set single strand and anchor in below. The second person would re-rig for the first rap undoing the clove hitch in the process, do the first rap, pull the rope, rig again for the second rap and after that join his partner just before rigging for the last rap. Bill L
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majid_sabet
Jun 15, 2009, 10:48 PM
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kingbiscuit wrote: How common are single rope rappels? How was he planning on undoing the clove hitch once he got to the anchor below? Guess I am confused on how this works because I am use to going to well established locations which never require a single rope rap. His partner was suppose to be the last person rappelling therefore, you can always rap a single if the last person is going to rap on double by removing the clove hitch and running the rope in to rap ring. Again, the first two rap distance were 20 meter each which gives a 40 meter of distance on a single rap. Also, there is a chance that may be his partner had an extra rope and if that true then he could have attached the second rope to the short end of the first rope then undue the clove hitch and rap 40 meter(double rope) to where he was.
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clc
Jun 16, 2009, 2:51 AM
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holy shit guys it doesn't really matter what he was planning on doing. We do know he wasn't intending to rap off the end of the rope. So clove hitches and lengths of ropes, or number of rappel or what his friend had for lunch doesn't matter. The guy made a mistake. There are many time each day while climbing that a mistake will be fatal. That's part of the game. I don't see how analyzing this will help. We can only speculate why?
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rtwilli4
Jun 16, 2009, 4:34 PM
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majid_sabet wrote: Akhlomand-Iran Climbing area info; Type; Sport climbing, start at the bottom of Akhlomand Canyon Total vertical distance from bottom of canyon to top; 110 meter Useful climbing distance: 75 meter Approach: unprotected class IV to base Climbing difficulty: 5.9-5.11 YDS Total number of climbing pitches: 3 Total number of rappelling station: 3 (first from top, 20 m, second 20 m, third, 35 m) Total rappelling distance: 75 meter Time of accident; 5:00 PM Daylight info: The majority portions of the climbing wall was in the shadow Climbing Team: Party of two, both experienced rock climber Rope; Beal 10.2 mm dynamic rope Rappelling device: standard 8 Rappelling backup; Prussic above the rappelling device On Saturday June 6-2009, an experienced rock climber fell 70 meter while rappelling and died on scene. Based on primary report given by his partner, Mr. Bahram N. had finished climbing the three pitches of sport climbing wall at the Akhlomand Canyon and set his rope for rappelling at the top anchor while his partner was approaching him. Bahram first secures himself with a short sling (webbing) to the anchor and then uses the dynamic rope and attached a short section of the rope (@ 4 meter) to the anchor with a clove hitch and drops the longer end of the rope (@ 46 meter) to anchor below with a fig 8 safety knot at the bottom of the rope and then drops the other short end (4 meter) which had no safety knot. His partner wasn’t sure what had happened but somehow, Braham mistakenly clips his 8 belay device and the safety prussic to the shorter rope and falls from the bottom of the shorter end in to the base of Akhlomad Canyon. Bahram was not wearing helmet at the time of accident however, he did brought one up but then gave it to his partner at top. Analysis; This accident happened in the late afternoon and based on partner’s report, both climbers especially Braham was fatigue and tired from climbing in the Canyon and both climbers wanted to get of the wall before dark. Still, it is not clear why Bahram fixed his rope with a clove hitch at top anchor if he was only planning to rappel 20 meter however, One possibility suggest that may be Bahram first wanted to rappel two pitches (total of @40 meter) to save some time and then his partner would had removed the clove hitch and rappel via double rope system to next rappel station while Bahram was resting at top of pitch 1 . Either way, this accident was easily avoidable if both partners had discussed their rappelling strategy prior to Bahram setting up his rappelling system and also, if his partner had double checked Bahram’s setup, I am sure, he was able to detect that Bahram was about to rappel on the unprotected shorter end. Note: The original report was published in the local climbing website which did not include any useful information other than reporting that a climber fell 70 meter while rappelling. This incident was the second such accident in the same area since May of 2009 so I personally contacted one of the local responder and asked series of questions to narrow down the causes of this incident and to understand what had happened in the Akhlomand Canyon. Source; http://www.hamtanab.com http://hamtanab.com/...x?cat=21&id=1713 Information provided by Sara Edalatian (local climbing group) Translation and analysis by MS Sounds to me like the guy knew what he was doing. Whether his partner had a second rope or not, I think it's acceptable to rap in that fashion. I've done it. I probably would have used a fig. 8 at the anchor instead of a clove, but I've used a clove before. He just made a mistake and rapped on the wrong end. Obviously wasn't paying close enough attention.
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dan2see
Jun 16, 2009, 5:04 PM
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This single-rope rappel should be a good idea on our crags. I think I'll try it next time. Not sure about the prussik, though!
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limeydave
Jun 18, 2009, 6:52 PM
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rtwilli4 wrote: He just made a mistake and rapped on the wrong end... That's really all there is to it. Very Sad. Please be careful everyone - we've had too many leave our small community lately.
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clintcummins
Jun 18, 2009, 8:23 PM
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Good work on the description and analysis, Majid. I have used the single strand rappel technique with my partners fairly often. Usually we do it when the single strand reaches the ground, even if we have 2 ropes. This allows one person to get back to the ground without waiting for both ropes to be set up. It can speed things up a little bit, because with only one person at the anchor, it is easier to unweight the rings/chains and set up the ropes. In this accident situation, I am not sure I would do a single strand rappel for one partner. If the other partner has to do 2 single strand rappels to join up with Bahram, if a rappel hangs up the partners cannot easily assist each other to clear it. I don't know the rock type here and if there was a risk of rappel hangup. I think a key factor in this accident was the 4m end of the rope - it was too long, so it resembled the other end too closely. Plus there is no redundancy if it is clove hitched to a single point. Usually I like to have the rope clipped in twice, to prevent losing the rope if it is dropped when threading the anchors. So having the end of the short section clipped to the anchor would have stopped him from going off that end. Question - why didn't his rappel backup save him? It makes me wonder if the backup was a distraction which contributed to the accident. Did it make him check the main rope less? I don't use a rappel backup, or knots in the ends. I prefer a simpler system, with fewer steps so you can focus on fewer things (like whether the rope reaches the next anchor).
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tradmania
Jun 18, 2009, 9:25 PM
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clintcummins wrote: Question - why didn't his rappel backup save him? It makes me wonder if the backup was a distraction which contributed to the accident. Did it make him check the main rope less? If I understand what has happened correctly, his rappel backup didn't save him because there was no stopper knot (figure of eight or something else) at the end of the 4m section of rock to stop the rope from going through both the prussik and the rappel device. In addition to this, the prussik would only work if weighted, and I can't see how the prussik would be weighted in this type of accident. Taken from the OP:
In reply to: Bahram first secures himself with a short sling (webbing) to the anchor and then uses the dynamic rope and attached a short section of the rope (@ 4 meter) to the anchor with a clove hitch and drops the longer end of the rope (@ 46 meter) to anchor below with a fig 8 safety knot at the bottom of the rope and then drops the other short end (4 meter) which had no safety knot.
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majid_sabet
Jun 19, 2009, 5:31 AM
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clintcummins wrote: Good work on the description and analysis, Majid. I have used the single strand rappel technique with my partners fairly often. Usually we do it when the single strand reaches the ground, even if we have 2 ropes. This allows one person to get back to the ground without waiting for both ropes to be set up. It can speed things up a little bit, because with only one person at the anchor, it is easier to unweighted the rings/chains and set up the ropes. In this accident situation, I am not sure I would do a single strand rappel for one partner. If the other partner has to do 2 single strand rappels to join up with Bahram, if a rappel hangs up the partners can not easily assist each other to clear it. I don't know the rock type here and if there was a risk of rappel hangup. I think a key factor in this accident was the 4m end of the rope - it was too long, so it resembled the other end too closely. Plus there is no redundancy if it is clove hitched to a single point. Usually I like to have the rope clipped in twice, to prevent losing the rope if it is dropped when threading the anchors. So having the end of the short section clipped to the anchor would have stopped him from going off that end. Question - why didn't his rappel backup save him? It makes me wonder if the backup was a distraction which contributed to the accident. Did it make him check the main rope less? I don't use a rappel backup, or knots in the ends. I prefer a simpler system, with fewer steps so you can focus on fewer things (like whether the rope reaches the next anchor). The extra 4 meter did contributed to his confusion so I also agree with you. The prussic is generally have to be manually activate it otherwise, it may not work. this means, you must press the loops together in downward motion for the prussic to lock up. if they prussic loops are too loose, the rope with fall through with prussic loop not catching the rope.now, if the prussic is above the rap device, and let's say that your control hand is some 18 inches away from the rap device and you loose the rope, you must lock that prussic before it reaches the rap device. prussic generally slip between 3-8 inches before they lock up so if the end of the rope is too close to the prussic, it may be too short for it to catch the rope. Here is an image of a drop test on how far prussic generally slip before they catch. Based on what I have seen, they slip few inches before they lock.
(This post was edited by majid_sabet on Jun 23, 2009, 12:54 AM)
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