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biff
Sep 8, 2003, 2:10 PM
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Registered: Nov 5, 2001
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I heard about it on the radio this morning .. a 34 year old climber (who was with 2 others) fell 40 m to his death at The Devils Gap Crag in the Ghost Wilderness area, when his protection failed.
Any more details? What Route, What type of protection? Cause of Failure?
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fivetendude
Sep 8, 2003, 3:29 PM
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Registered: Jun 23, 2003
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Here's some more info:
BANFF -- A 34-year-old climber from Calgary is dead following a fall in a popular climbing area in Banff.
The man is the second Calgarian in a week to die in a climbing mishap -- a 17-year-old was killed last Monday while scrambling on Cascade Mountain.
The victim of yesterday's fatal fall, who was equipped with safety gear, was climbing with two others at Devil's Gap near Lake Minnewanka.
They were 80 metres away from the top of a 217 metre moderate route called Bonanza when the victim, the lead climber, fell about 40 metres.
At least one of his protective equipment pieces pulled out from the wall, said Gord Irwin, a public safety specialist for Parks Canada.
VICTIM STRUCK ROCK
Before his belay partner caught his fall, the victim struck rock, suffering a serious head injury.
Two guides who saw the fall rushed to the rock face to assist his partners, while other climbers drove out to find cellular phone coverage where they could call for help.
Meanwhile, the climber's partners and the bystanders lowered him to a small ledge where they performed artificial respiration.
"He came in and out of consciousness after the fall and eventually became unconscious," Irwin said.
Because of the nature of the terrain, a technical climbing team was required to perform the rescue.
A helicopter airlifted six public safety wardens and paramedics to the top of the climb where they lowered themselves to the victim.
PARTNERS UNINJURED
The victim was airlifted to Mineral Springs Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival about 7:50 p.m.
The climber's level of experience or the reason why he fell is unknown. His name was not released, pending notification of next of kin, who live in Romania.
The victim's climbing partners were not injured.
Pretty Grim,
Glad our plans to go to the ghost didn't come together this weekend, I wouldn't want to have seen that.
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bigfoot
Sep 8, 2003, 7:01 PM
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Registered: Sep 3, 2003
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My condolences to the family and friends, its horrible when taking the proper precautions you get f#*%^ anyways. is there any information about what type of protection failed?
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biff
Sep 10, 2003, 2:22 PM
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He was an experianced rock climber, well known and had many good friends in the area, his presence will be missed.
aparently a nut failed while he was leading one of the upper pitches of Bonanza; the next pice held, but he still fell 20m (not 40m as initial reports stated). His head was badly injured in the fall. It is highly recommended to wear a helmet in the Ghost, I would be suprized if he wasn't wearing one.
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dirtineye
Sep 10, 2003, 4:57 PM
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Registered: Mar 29, 2003
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The article on the ACC page linked above says the guy was wearing a helmet and that he was known for running it out a bit.
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hammer_
Sep 10, 2003, 9:11 PM
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Registered: Mar 3, 2003
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John was a good man with a great heart. Although I only climbed with him a couple of times in the past year I will miss him dearly. My heart goes out to his family and friends especially Sandy.
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