Shortoff accident

You guys here anything about the repelling accident at Shortoff today? I'm assuming from the rap tree. But have know idea. I was just there yesterday.

Here is the story from the Morganton News-Herald morganton.com/news/article_…

Not much detail. Apparently the 23 year old climber fell about 25 feet and was air lifted to Mission Hospital in Asheville. His injuries are described as "non-life threatening" and he remained conscious throughout the rescue. Major Jason Black of Burke County EMS described "this is a common incident in the area." “It’s a hazard of the sport (rock climbing),” Black said. “I’ve not heard about how he fell, but it’s not uncommon to have climbing injuries at the gorge.”

Hope the injured party has a speedy recovery. Thanks to those who helped with his rescue.

Scott

TomCaldwell wrote:http://m.wsoctv.com/news/news/state-regional/climber-caught-rescue-issued-citation/nd9rc/ The good samaritan was fined for remaining at the scene. Watch the video and listen to the recording of the person assisting. I am bringing this to light, because this ticket should be dropped. It sets a terrible precedence.

wtf? no kidding Tom.

There must be more to that.

This is totally bogus. The EMS person claims they didn't use his gear. Obviously what happened was the assisting climber used his own gear to reduce the likelihood of the injured climber falling further. EMS didn't need the assisting climber's gear once they got there, but the assisting climber needed to retrieve his gear in order to leave once EMS had him secured. The assisting climber needed to be there before and after the rescue. He got out of their way.

If I had fallen on bad anchors, I would be shaken up and want to be well-anchored to the wall after my perhaps sketch setup had failed.

Pontoon wrote:This is totally bogus. The EMS person claims they didn't use his gear. Obviously what happened was the assisting climber used his own gear to reduce the likelihood of the injured climber falling further. EMS didn't need the assisting climber's gear once they got there, but the assisting climber needed to retrieve his gear in order to leave once EMS had him secured. The assisting climber needed to be there before and after the rescue. He got out of their way. If I had fallen on bad anchors, I would be shaken up and want to be well-anchored to the wall after my perhaps sketch setup had failed.

Very interesting. From the article, "An EMS spokesperson said it was not likely they used the civilian’s equipment because they are trained to use their own gear." I feel really bad for the assisting climber.

The accident was caused by a hold breaking on Maginot Line. Just a reminder for everyone to be cautious after a cold winter. Freeze thaw cycles loosen rock.

Tom,

I was following the thread on the Western Carolina Climbers Association Facebook page and was wondering where you got that information. Did you talk to Jackson direct?

Thanks Tom. Good article, glad he's in good spirits and should make a full recovery.

I did maginot line on sunday. Also did first pitch if Julia. I could see how you could easily deck on maginot in a few spots. Not as well protected as they try and make it sound. Probably not a line I would recommend for a 5.7-5.8 leader. Couple no fall zones that could be bad for a beginners health.

Sure looked like from the video that they were well to the climbers right of Manginot. Looked like Big Arete or Mr. Wizzard. If the fall was on Manginot how did they get all the way over to that ledge. Maybe I saw it wrong.

Tyler - We were on Manginot Sunday too. Early, in the wind. Dopey Duck after that. Not sure how we missed you.

NCTRAD wrote:Sure looked like from the video that they were well to the climbers right of Manginot. Looked like Big Arete or Mr. Wizzard. If the fall was on Manginot how did they get all the way over to that ledge. Maybe I saw it wrong. Tyler - We were on Manginot Sunday too. Early, in the wind. Dopey Duck after that. Not sure how we missed you.

To be honest we were thinking probably a couple rookies on maginot and we didn't want to wait. If I had known it was you we would have followed you guys up it. Oh well it worked out getting on Julia.

WHAT A TROOPER!!