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Ronadon
Sep 13, 2010, 3:53 PM
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My climbing partner and I tried to go to Hidden Rocks near Harrisonburg on Saturday afternoon but the road was blocked and we were told we couldn't go in. The person working the road block said that someone had fallen or something on the rocks and they were trying to do a rescue. Anyone know what happened?
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notapplicable
Sep 14, 2010, 2:07 PM
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I made a phone call and checked the local news and didn't come up with anything.
That is a narrow road so there's a fair chance that the place being on lockdown wasn't a reflection of the severity of the accident, but just an overreaction on the part of the FS in an attempt to control traffic. At least I hope that was the case...
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zimage
Sep 14, 2010, 4:43 PM
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From a facebook conversation:
Status: Yesterday’s rock climbing adventure at Hidden Rocks ended with <someone> being carried 25 minutes down the steep, rocky trail in a stretcher with a concussion, head laceration, broken collar bone and multiple abrasions. Desperately hoping that tonight’s concert yields no injuries.
Me: So glad to hear she's ok. Things can go bad really quickly on the wall. As a former avid rock climber, I'm really interested in knowing how this accident occurred. Human error? Equipment failure? Were you top-roping, sport climbing, or trad climbing?
Friend: Top roping. It was a simple mistake of putting her feet together, which turned her feet into a pivot point and she spun out of control.
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zimage
Sep 14, 2010, 4:45 PM
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I believe they were rappelling and not top-rope climbing, though.
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gojiclimber
Sep 14, 2010, 10:59 PM
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I was at Hidden Rocks working with the party when the incident occurred on 9.11. At the top of the route snowblower
two rappel ropes were being managed by guides. Both ropes were set up with releasable rappels on a static line and belayed with a dynamic rope down.
The climber became nervous stepping over the edge, slipped left of observers and spun several times, striking their head on the rocks.
Certified guides responded by activating a beacon, calling 911, and repelling down to the unconscious climber and confirmed her condition. A collar was improvised and 3:1 pulley system constructed after determining raising was most suitable.
The climber became pain responsive in 5 min and verbally responsive in 10 min. After being stabilized at the top of the cliff, EMS arrived shortly after to carry the patient out. The patient had no TBI, a laceration to the back of the head and shoulder injury.
We wish the climber a speedy recovery and are thankfully the incident was not worse than it was.
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notapplicable
Sep 15, 2010, 4:11 AM
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gojiclimber wrote: I was at Hidden Rocks working with the party when the incident occurred on 9.11. At the top of the route snowblower two rappel ropes were being managed by guides. Both ropes were set up with releasable rappels on a static line and belayed with a dynamic rope down. The climber became nervous stepping over the edge, slipped left of observers and spun several times, striking their head on the rocks. Certified guides responded by activating a beacon, calling 911, and repelling down to the unconscious climber and confirmed her condition. A collar was improvised and 3:1 pulley system constructed after determining raising was most suitable. The climber became pain responsive in 5 min and verbally responsive in 10 min. After being stabilized at the top of the cliff, EMS arrived shortly after to carry the patient out. The patient had no TBI, a laceration to the back of the head and shoulder injury. We wish the climber a speedy recovery and are thankfully the incident was not worse than it was.
Yikes. At least it sounds like she is going to be ok.
Two questions. Was she wearing a helmet? Was this the JMU club?
(This post was edited by notapplicable on Sep 15, 2010, 4:12 AM)
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cragmasterp
Sep 15, 2010, 4:55 AM
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geesh. i sure hope she was wearing a helmet. can't imagine she wouldn't be if she was being instructed by "certified guides".
Sounds like my old haunt Hidden ain't so hidden any more.
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Pyro_mvmc_va
Sep 17, 2010, 1:53 PM
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Cragmansterp you are right about Hidden not being Hidden anymore. It is really strange to be up their and have tons of people. It is also really starting to show the wear on the environment now also.
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