Self- rescue scenario

Ok so I have studied self rescue a good amount, I have practiced a little, but I have never taken a course or anything formal.

I know, in theory at least, how to do most rescue scenarios I would encounter, but one seems to be impossible to solve.

Here is the scenario:
You are on a multi pitch route, and the leader knocks loose a rather large block, falling as he does so because he used it as a hold. This block then hits the belayer and knocks him unconscience or breaks both his wrists etc...
Point is the belayer is incapacitated as the leader is falling. Now what?

Would the leader just keep falling until the rope ran out?
Would the friction in the system slow him enough to prevent death?

If you tie a knot in the end of your ropes, at least that would catch at the belay device... However depending on rope length it'd be a heck-a long fall. So I guess that would depend on how far up the route you are and grade of the climb.

Good reply Jake.

I'll take a long fall, over a death plunge any day.

Instead knotting the end, keep the rope tied to a person ;)

This takes me back to a trip to Potreo, to which I did not bring a helmet! My partner and I wanted to do Wolf Will Survive. He led the first pitch. Well a party was rapping down the descent for Estrellita kicking the occasional rock off just next to my belay stance. So I was using a tube device, and felt it necessary to tie on and manage a backup prussik, such that if I was hit and knocked out my partner wouldn't face a scary unprotected down climb or fall. A Gri or Cinch would have put me more at ease. Guess that was my solution working off the deck. Once you pass mid 2nd pitch, the rope shouldn't reach the ground.

It's great that you are giving some thought to this, as many never do till it's too late.

Edit - I really didn't answer your question in my original post - The below assumes you were caught somehow. The only three likely ways for this to happen are you reached the end of the rope (partner or stopper knot), an assisted belay device caught, or the ropes tangled and jammed in the belay device. I wouldn't suspect rope drag would be sufficient to slow you enough for this not to be a situation with fatal consequences.

Original post:

I haven't trained or practiced this situation, but here are my thoughts:

If you, the leader, are lucky enough to have your fall arrested by an assisting belay device and be still be unharmed in this situation, you're going to need to find a way down the rope to your unconscious belayer on your own. You need to get your end of the rope fixed to an anchor point to rappel or down-prussik. How you accomplish that is going to be highly situation dependent.

The best situation is when the rope from your pro to belayer runs right past you and there is pro available. Build an anchor, transfer yourself to it, fix the rope to it, untie yourself, and rappel.

If the route overhangs so you would pass your belayer, if there is concern about moving your belayer around, or if it is difficult to unweight the rope, then attach the rope running from the belayer to the anchor with a prussik (Load releasable if you plan to rappel) to maintain the tension on the lower portion of the line and relieve it on your portion. Then untie and pull the end of the rope to the anchor and backup the prussik, then down-prussik the tensioned line - Or, if at this point you're going to rappel, fix the end of the rope and release the prussik.

If you can't get to the line coming up from the belayer or build an anchor where you are, you'll probably need to ascend / self belay back up to the last piece of pro, then repeat as above.

I would humbly suggest you consider spending a full day rehearsing how to escape the belay. A skill I hope I never use, but is fundamental to performing an unassisted rescue in a multipitch senario.

Thanks. To try to respond all at once

I have practiced escaping the belay once, and I do plan to continually practice these and other techniques.

I am primarily wondering two things

How this can be prevented (other than "just be careful" because that doesn't always work)

Assuming the climber survives the fall, now what?

I have heard of a situation when something like this happened, belayer broke both wrists, climber did not fall, and the belayer used his elbows along with the climber holding the other side of rope to lower him to the belay

Craig Childre wrote:I would humbly suggest you consider spending a full day rehearsing how to escape the belay. A skill I hope I never use, but is fundamental to performing an unassisted rescue in a multipitch senario.

--------------------------
+1 here! A whole day!
practice prussiking up and down

I have pulled a block off before. Fortunately my belayer was not injured and I finished the lead. With a few cautions you'll reduce the risk of your scenario happening.

You likely know this:

Always consider where you are. Your response will be different at a popular crag compared to say somewhere you are the only party.

Consider the hazards of climbing near parties above you or below parties rapping down near you. I have hiked out to a route only to not do it cause gumbies (or after observation I believed they were gumbies) were above.

Try to not belay and anchor in the leader's fall line. Under a slight bulge is ideal but anywhere you can "tuck in" is better than leaning out.

I'd think on a multipitch you should stay tied in unless you have a really good reason to do otherwise.

I admit I almost never tie-in before belaying on the ground pitch and no knot in the end of the rope. For me, letting lead rope relax and untangle outweighs the chance you'll pull a block off thus injuring me, the belayer. But if you do, chances are you will deck unless I'm using a grigri or something like it. So this last ....more of a guideline than a rule.

Tyler Newcomb wrote:Thanks. To try to respond all at once I have practiced escaping the belay once, and I do plan to continually practice these and other techniques. I am primarily wondering two things How this can be prevented (other than "just be careful" because that doesn't always work) Assuming the climber survives the fall, now what? I have heard of a situation when something like this happened, belayer broke both wrists, climber did not fall, and the belayer used his elbows along with the climber holding the other side of rope to lower him to the belay

1 have the belayer use a GriGri.
2 what Larry said.

Thanks Thomas, that is good advice.

In response to using a grigri, I have thought of that but I hate the grigri for trad or multi pitch belaying. Weight is not the magi concern, but I prefer the reverso for its versatility. Also, a grigri is easier to drop while loading or unloading the rope than the reverso IMO.

I guess there really is no solution to it. Yes there are ways you can greatly reduce the risk of the belayer getting injured, but if he does, the most you can do really is pray.

One possible solution if the pitch is less than 100ft, find the middle of the rope, add about 10ft, and then tie a knot. That would cut the fall in half if the belayer lets go.....right?

There is a way to prevent it with a tube device on multi

When the leader brings the second up in the prior pitch

- take a large biner and clip it to the anchor

- as the climber comes up every so many feet tie a slip knot and clip it to the biner, this manages the rope nice and neat ... Stagger the lengths increasing/decreasing depending on who is doing the next lead

- when the new leader takes off simply unclip one of the slip knots and drop the rope

This requires excellent rope management of course .... The advantage is that with a total loss of control scenario you only fall to the last knot

This is something to consider if theres a high chance of ice/rock fall ... Or a fall of the belay is likely

Petzl demonstrated the technique in the 2009 documentation, ill repost it when im back home next week and not climbing

;)

Tyler Newcomb wrote: Would the leader just keep falling until the rope ran out? Would the friction in the system slow him enough to prevent death?

This has happened to me twice.
First time I fell a long way very fast - bolted overhanging route, little friction - in the end and before I hit the deck the rope got tangled in the belay device and I came to a halt.

Second time I slowly descended - trad route that went all over the place and loads of friction.

Shat my pants both times. Best avoided.

I also had a belayer faint on me once. Tied the rope to the nearest bolt and prusiked down to sort her out.

bearbreeder wrote:There is a way to prevent it with a tube device on multi When the leader brings the second up in the prior pitch - take a large biner and clip it to the anchor - as the climber comes up every so many feet tie a slip knot and clip it to the biner, this manages the rope nice and neat ...

If swing leads I find tying slip knots onto a gear loop on the harness also works.

Thomas Beck wrote: I admit I almost never tie-in before belaying on the ground pitch and no knot in the end of the rope. For me, letting lead rope relax and untangle outweighs the chance you'll pull a block off thus injuring me, the belayer.

Tying a simple overhand in the end of the rope will not significantly impact the rope's ability to "relax and untangle". And it will go a long way (like 100%) towards preventing the all too common belayer-let-rope-end-slip-through-device-while-lowering-partner accident.

Please rethink your practice.

Bearbreeder, is there any way to do this if it is not a swing lead? Thanks

Tyler Newcomb wrote:Bearbreeder, is there any way to do this if it is not a swing lead? Thanks

Yes

Itll be much clearer once i post up the petzl diagram over the weekend

Im off to do a few laps at the crag before the rain comes in tonight !

;)

Lucky you

David Coley wrote: This has happened to me twice. First time I fell a long way very fast - bolted overhanging route, little friction - in the end and before I hit the deck the rope got tangled in the belay device and I came to a halt. Second time I slowly descended - trad route that went all over the place and loads of friction. Shat my pants both times. Best avoided. I also had a belayer faint on me once. Tied the rope to the nearest bolt and prusiked down to sort her out.

Wow, worst luck ever? So on 3 separate occasions you've been leading, and then had your belayer become incapacitated (or just let go of the rope)? What happened in the two incidents where you fell the entire length?

TBrumme wrote: Wow, worst luck ever? So on 3 separate occasions you've been leading, and then had your belayer become incapacitated (or just let go of the rope)? What happened in the two incidents where you fell the entire length?

I didn't fall the entire length - just a long way.

1. belayer was German and used to using a Munter not a belay plate, the rope burnt his hands and he let go!
2. the belayer removed the belay plate when I reached the top of a single pitch climb even though I had said when on the ground they were to lower me. I stepped off the top of the crag, and down I went. As I said, it was a slow descent due to friction. Another climber at the base just leapt for the rope and held on until my second got the plate back on.

I'm not known for being lucky, for one of many examples, see: coldmountainkit.com/knowled…

David, that was a really well written article.
That must have been an absolutely terrifying experience. I felt anger when reading that the hospital would not take you, isn't that illegal? I pretty sure it is in the US but I'm not sure about elsewhere...

as promised

i use slip knots though instead of overhand, as i find it easier to tie/untie

now you may say "youve been breeding too may bears, a slip knot only locks on a biner on one direction" (its directional)

absolutely true but if you try it out youll see in the non locking direction that the knot will actually jam in the ATC when pulled

also i use a large screwgate biner (petzl williams) with this method, just keep it unlocked ... and stagger the lengths from long to short when swapping leads, and vice versa when block leading

when block leading ill need to take a second biner facing opposite and transfer over the knots

this requires more practice on short easy multis on part of both climbers as the rope work is more complicated

of course you do it at your own risk

Petzl

if you are seriously worried about rockfall or falls of the belay, use an grigri

but one of these days youll be belaying with an ATC and your climber realizes the crux is down low with no/poor gear ...

always do 2 things in those cases if possible

- lower yourself to minimize the fall factor

- judge roughly the distance to the first bolt/piece, add about 10-15 feet and tie a slip knot to a biner, and tie another one another 10-15 feet after that incase you screwed up judging the distance

;)

Tyler Newcomb wrote:David, that was a really well written article. That must have been an absolutely terrifying experience. I felt anger when reading that the hospital would not take you, isn't that illegal? I pretty sure it is in the US but I'm not sure about elsewhere...

I have always assumed I landed at a private hospital and they classified me as a non-emergency, so I got taken to the public hospital. This might have been because we were travelling without medical insurance - as a UK citizen you get access the whatever healthcare a citizen of the country gets.

I'm also not sure they understood we were living on the beach - which I'm not sure was legal and we were worried our passports etc. might go missing if we didn't return.

My wife is also a bit of a tough nut. I once broke a leg in Wales. Went to the hospital, got fitted with a plaster-thing between my toes and the top of my leg. When we went to book into a bed and breakfast for the night to recover, Helen didn't like the wall paper, so we ended up bivving under some boulders.

She also made we walk across Iceland once pulling a sledge. We nearly died of starvation.