Accident At Farley?

So my friends and I were walking back to the Farley parking lot from a nice day of climbing and a concerned gentleman walked up to us and asked if we know anything about an accident at Farley. We were way out in the back crags so we heard the sirens but I didn't think anything of it. Then the gentleman revealed that he is the owner of the tract of land that Wall of Early Morning Light is on. He wants to know what happened and is very concerned with the accident. He is considering closing down the crag due to liability concerns. As he was explaining his concerns a member of WMCC arrived also hoping to find out what happened. He explained to the land owner that under Massachusetts law, he is not liable for these types of accidents. Does anyone know about the accident so the WMCC can be aware of what happened and the landowners concerns can be fully alleviated?

I know the details - not too serious in the overall scheme of things. I think Soon will post the whole story direct from the climber shortly.

I would be surprised if the land is actually privately owned - I thought the utility company owned the rock of interst. Need WMCC input...

That's right; Eric and I know the climber involved. He broke a handhold, took a swinging fall, caught the back of his leg/thigh on something sharp which gave him a gash that required about 10 stitches at the ER. He was sent home after being patched up. He is recovering at home now and a little bummed having to skip running the Marathon today! He will recover fully and quickly and be back climbing soon and sends his thanks to everyone who assisted.

I know the details and the climber since it was me. I was climbing Krytomatic (11A) immediately to the right of The Beach. I was climbing with Ed Pavelchek. For me, it was my last climb on the day. It was about 3pm and several people were still climbing. I pulled the crux right after the dish and moved to the right. I was near the next bolt when I reached out with my right hand to a flake/edge that broke off the wall. It was not expected but I still got out a yell "falling". Unfortunately I took a 20 footer and because I fell when I was to the right of the last bolt, I must have pitched into some rock that put a gash into my right thigh on the backside. When I looked down the rock just below me, it was covered with blood. I could not figure out where the blood was coming from. I knew I hit some rock on the fall but it did not feel that bad (at least at that moment). Then someone below yelled that it was my thigh that was bleeding profusely. I remember looking down and seeing blood squirt with each heart beat from my leg. Ed immediately lowered me down. As I touched down, I immediately went to the ground. I was lucky enough to have a climber who was a nurse do some triage. I had my thigh wrapped with a teeshirt to control the bleeding and she held my foot elevated until EMT`s arrived. Someone else in the background was calling 911. I heard the call for an ambulance. About 5-10 minutes later I could hear the ambulance sirens. One of the other climbers went down to the parking lot to direct the EMT`s. I was later littered out & sent to Greenfield Hospital. I had x-rays taken that were negative. After some morphine, the nurse at the hospital cleaned up the wound and stitched me up. I had 4 inner stiches & 11 on the surface. The landowner should not be concerned.....my fall, my injury, my responsibility. I also want to thank everyone who got me through the incident. This is one time I was happy to have the crag busy.

We hope that he has a speedy recovery and that access isn't changed.

Good luck all...

Brian Balukonis wrote:The landowner should not be concerned.....my fall, my injury, my responsibility. I also want to thank everyone who got me through the incident. This is one time I was happy to have the crag busy.

I wish this attitude were more prevalent. Good luck and speedy recovery!

Glad to hear this was a relatively minor accident. All the best with the recovery.

The "Wall of Early Morning Light" or Main Face is on utility company property. As one moves further east property lines/cliff faces are more complex.

Jon H wrote: I wish this attitude were more prevalent. Good luck and speedy recovery!

+1 !!!

Thanks for the post Brian! I'm glad you are doing well despite the accident. Hopefully the story will filter back to the landowner.

Brian is a real stand-up guy and a great guy to be on trips with. Heal up buddy. This year is the year for us to send that pesky route. Yeah, you know the one.

Hi Brian,

I wish you a speedy recovery and glad you do not have any broken bones! How long before you can climb again?

I just wanted to also confirm that our group also spoke to the property owner (in addition to Ming) and heard from Ralph from WMCC that he was threating to close access. I'm not too sure how serious the owner was being, but I had sent a detailed e-mail to Ed with Ralphs contact info Monday. I think Ralph had tried to explain to the owner that he would not be laible under the follwowing regulatory citation:

malegislature.gov/Laws/Gene…

I'm not sure if WMCC wanted to do some sort of a post accident investigation, talk to the owner, etc. but feel free to message me if you have any questions I can help answer,

- Steve

I know as a land owner it is a tough call. One idiot and a greedy lawyer can mess things up and that fact makes it rather scary if one doesn't have a lot of resources to defend yourself. Even if found nonliable, hiring a lawyer etc. to defend drains funds quickly, so don't automatically assume that land owners are assholes for being wary. Hopefully this guy will be re-assured and access will be fine.

Maybe Brian Balukonis could reach out the landowner directly and alleviate any concerns.

Brian Balukonis wrote:I know the details and the climber since it was me. I was climbing Krytomatic (11A) immediately to the right of The Beach. I was climbing with Ed Pavelchek. For me, it was my last climb on the day. It was about 3pm and several people were still climbing. I pulled the crux right after the dish and moved to the right. I was near the next bolt when I reached out with my right hand to a flake/edge that broke off the wall. It was not expected but I still got out a yell "falling". Unfortunately I took a 20 footer and because I fell when I was to the right of the last bolt, I must have pitched into some rock that put a gash into my right thigh on the backside. When I looked down the rock just below me, it was covered with blood. I could not figure out where the blood was coming from. I knew I hit some rock on the fall but it did not feel that bad (at least at that moment). Then someone below yelled that it was my thigh that was bleeding profusely. I remember looking down and seeing blood squirt with each heart beat from my leg. Ed immediately lowered me down. As I touched down, I immediately went to the ground. I was lucky enough to have a climber who was a nurse do some triage. I had my thigh wrapped with a teeshirt to control the bleeding and she held my foot elevated until EMT`s arrived. Someone else in the background was calling 911. I heard the call for an ambulance. About 5-10 minutes later I could hear the ambulance sirens. One of the other climbers went down to the parking lot to direct the EMT`s. I was later littered out & sent to Greenfield Hospital. I had x-rays taken that were negative. After some morphine, the nurse at the hospital cleaned up the wound and stitched me up. I had 4 inner stiches & 11 on the surface. The landowner should not be concerned.....my fall, my injury, my responsibility. I also want to thank everyone who got me through the incident. This is one time I was happy to have the crag busy.

Brian,
I am also a RN and former EMT, and I am glad to hear that you are OK and recovering. I think that is very commendable of you not to take advantage of this situation as some may and attempt to sue the landowner.

God Bless and hope you feel better soon! take it easy for awhile and let that wound heal and watch for signs and symptoms of infection - of course (can't help it! I am a RN!) LOL.

Seriously - feel better and best wishes.

Should we, as visiting climbers to farley, voluntarily abstain from going there until the owner's concerns can be satisfactorily addressed? Speaking for myself (and a number of like minded people), I have no problem skipping Farley for a while if that helps secure long-term access to the place.

I would be more than happy to talk to the landowner if WMCC thinks it would help the situation. I would be extremely disappointed if access becomes an issue due to this incident as it is no ...zero...zippo..fault of the landowner. Please feel free to convey this message to the owner ..assuming this would help. I hope to be climbing again in about two weeks.

Brian Balukonis wrote:I know the details and the climber since it was me. I was climbing Krytomatic (11A) immediately to the right of The Beach. I was climbing with Ed Pavelchek. For me, it was my last climb on the day. It was about 3pm and several people were still climbing. I pulled the crux right after the dish and moved to the right. I was near the next bolt when I reached out with my right hand to a flake/edge that broke off the wall. It was not expected but I still got out a yell "falling". Unfortunately I took a 20 footer and because I fell when I was to the right of the last bolt, I must have pitched into some rock that put a gash into my right thigh on the backside. When I looked down the rock just below me, it was covered with blood. I could not figure out where the blood was coming from. I knew I hit some rock on the fall but it did not feel that bad (at least at that moment). Then someone below yelled that it was my thigh that was bleeding profusely. I remember looking down and seeing blood squirt with each heart beat from my leg. Ed immediately lowered me down. As I touched down, I immediately went to the ground. I was lucky enough to have a climber who was a nurse do some triage. I had my thigh wrapped with a teeshirt to control the bleeding and she held my foot elevated until EMT`s arrived. Someone else in the background was calling 911. I heard the call for an ambulance. About 5-10 minutes later I could hear the ambulance sirens. One of the other climbers went down to the parking lot to direct the EMT`s. I was later littered out & sent to Greenfield Hospital. I had x-rays taken that were negative. After some morphine, the nurse at the hospital cleaned up the wound and stitched me up. I had 4 inner stiches & 11 on the surface. The landowner should not be concerned.....my fall, my injury, my responsibility. I also want to thank everyone who got me through the incident. This is one time I was happy to have the crag busy.

Glad to hear you are doing ok! My friends informed me about the accident saying they saw you getting carried down...and the blood unfortunately.

Good thing there was a nurse on site, which makes an excellent point that rock climbers should try to get some basic training in first aid, not always a nurse or other medical professionals around!

Hey all - yes you were fortunate in some ways that a nurse was there to help.

As I said in my prior post I am a former EMT and now a RN.

I always say that everyone should at least know CPR and it never hurts to have some first aid training as well - esp being in a sport such as ours! Even if you just learn some First Aid techniques yourself from a Bow Scout book, Survival Book, etc. it will go a long way in any emergency!

What you describe w/o being too graphic sounds like a arterial puncture. If so, ANY arterial bleed CAN be fatal if one doesn't know what to do. That goes for spinal injuries, heart attacks, allergic reactions from bee stings, or snake bites.

My point just IS - lots of things can 'Give you the chop' (as in the words of the infamous Royal Robbins : ) so plse get some training for yourself and your buddies as well!

In safe climbing

S. Neoh wrote:Should we, as visiting climbers to farley, voluntarily abstain from going there until the owner's concerns can be satisfactorily addressed? Speaking for myself (and a number of like minded people), I have no problem skipping Farley for a while if that helps secure long-term access to the place.

Unless I misunderstood what Peter G. said upthread the "land owner" of the "Wall of the Morning Light" is the utility company. And I'm confident that the WMCC owns the access corridor. So I don't think there is anything the guy can "close" that will have an impact.

S. Neoh wrote:He is recovering at home now and a little bummed having to skip running the Marathon today!.

That may have been his best climb ever.

I do not see any reason not to visit Farley.

The WMCC has been in touch with the property owner and it appears their concerns have been addressed.

The parking lot and access trail leading up to the climbing is owned by WMCC. All the climbing areas are on private land.

Incidents like this are a reminder that we are fortunate to have permission to climb at Farley. All climbers should be mindful of this when visiting the area - keep a low profile, climb safe, pack it in and pack it out even if it not yours, respect non-climbers ... etc.

Brian - Thanks for the offer. Hope you are back on the rock soon.

Peter Gill
WMCC Board Member