Sundance Buttress Accident Salvage

My friend Lynn took a real nasty fall on Kors' Flake on Sat. 7/30. She's going to be okay-walked out despite a collapsed lung. Her helmet launched off somewhere nearby. She's curious to see if she can get this memento back. If anyone happens to find it, could you PM me?

That's a tough climb for it's rating.
I hope your friend will be okay!!

Did she take a leader fall? Hope she recovers well! I have yet to climb that route.

Joe,

I have it. Found it deep in the chimney on the 1st pitch. I sent you an email.

Hope she is okay and recovers quickly. Conserving the right gear for the right place is tricky on that climb. I botched it the first time IMO.

Was it that run out pitch? That pitch is hard and scary. Yikes. good luck in your recovery Lynn. If you walked out with a collapsed lung that means you are pretty damn tough so hopefull recovery will be short. Get Well.

Thanks everybody-I saw Lynn in the hospital this am, she's doing well. Definitely one tough lady. She is also a way capable and experienced climber; could be any one of us, no matter how old and jaded we seem to get. Let's be careful out there.

Colin-great news! I'll be in touch.

Joe, glad to hear your partner is doing well! Anything the climbing community can learn from the accident?

David Hodges wrote:Joe, glad to hear your partner is doing well! Anything the climbing community can learn from the accident?

equally interested.

David Hodges wrote:Joe, glad to hear your partner is doing well! Anything the climbing community can learn from the accident?

I'm not real sure what the lesson learned here is; I'll have to ask Lynn. But I'll hazard a couple of guesses.

Charlie, Lynn's husband, advised her to shuffle her big cam unit along with her. She must have been absorbed by the climbing and forgot it.

While Lynn has been climbing strong on sport and more protectable trad,wide cracks are not her strength.

The problem,(one of 'em anyway),with getting older is the potential to lose confidence in physical capabilities that once felt solid. I think what hurt Lynn was the voice of doubt that started to nag when she realized she had left the only pro behind. Fear is our friend, up to a point; past that point it becomes panic. Most of us here know that feeling, mastering fear in a bad situation is a skill that takes practice and survival.

Speaking of survival, I highly recommend Laurence Gonzalez' book, Deep Survival, for an excellent look at why some folks get through bad situations where others don't. It's a great read, and has a lot of value for wack jobs like us. Hope this helps.

On Saturday my grandson William and I walked out with Lynn and Charlie. We both can confirm to her physical and mental toughness. We wish her well and a speedy recovery.
On Sunday I climbed Kors' Flake but did not notice the helmet in the 1st pitch chimney.
We are very happy Lynn is recovering.

that pitch is not to me taken lightly i did that climb last 3 weeks ago and took a fall and slid like 50 feet on my back over the whole off width section. do to over confidence i ran it out a little to far and owe my life to a number 3 camelot. despite some scrapes and bruises i was very lucky.. im glad your friend is ok. be safe everyone

Joe, thanks for the info and book recommendation.

I'm very much aware of the fine line between healthy fear and panic and there is nothing worse than being in a bad situation and beginning to panic. My palms get sweaty just typing that! Again, I wish Lynn a quick and speedy recovery.

Thanks everyone for the well wishes. I seem to be recovering very quickly. I was surprised the lung only took a 11 days to heal completely, but I had to wait 4 weeks before going above 8,000. Replacing gear seems to be taking me longer than recovering. Thanks Joe for posting for me. Also, thanks to the couple climbing behind us who helped out checking to make sure I was clipped in properly when Charlie lowered me to your belay stance and helped Charlie get the gear and rope together so we could get off the face cleanly. Chuck and William THANK YOU for walking out with us and making sure I was doing okay and to help just incase (it was 6 staples in my head, so you were only 2 off). Thanks Colin for sending back my helmet, although looking at did give me a headache. Lynn

Glad to hear you're healing, Lynn!!!