Climber falls in Eldorado Canyon

I had the privilege to visit a bit with Wayne yesterday. That dude is a strong MoFo, for sure. Both Phil and I could feel the force of his will, constantly straining to get out and communicate. Lots of smiles, hand-squeezes and hug are currently the best way to "talk" to him, but I'm guessing it won't be long.

He'd love to see you.

Mal

Mal that was a really good visit. Glad we got him outside in the fresh air and sunshine. Loved that he smiled when you said he was as hard to kill as you are.

Saw Wayne yesterday and he was his usual smiley self and moving limbs on request. I hear he is swallowing soft foods but can attest he is still non-verbal (but trying to speak.) Nods his head in answer to questions and continues to make progress. Pull hard, Bueno Wayne-o!!

FYI - Dr. Thrill changes hospitals today and moves to a rehab facility where they are going to work him hard. Visitation will be limited. Contact Tess for further deets.

KG

Thanks for the occasional updates on Wayne. I continue to pray for Wayne, his family and friends. I love the "positive-ness" of this thread.

Updates can be found here:
A Day In The Life

So nice of you to pop this up! Looks like quite a character, with lots of friends. Hope folks in Seattle will take good care of him.

Going the other direction, this week a Boise police officer just got a huge welcome home, from Denver. He was shot multiple times, and was there for rehab. The community at large took great care of him, so thanks, Denver, from Boise!

Best to all involved with this thread!

Helen

Thank you for the update.

Hope and prayers continue.

Thanks for posting - I never knew this guy but strangely always think of Wayne and his accident when I climb in Eldo. I'll read the link to catch up. Be careful out there!

A stirring thread.

Per the accident report, TWO carabiners became unclipped from the rope. This can't really be what happened? One is improbable, but two, at the exact same time??

Russ Keane wrote: A stirring thread. Per the accident report, TWO carabiners became unclipped from the rope. This can't really be what happened? One is improbable, but two, at the exact same time??

This is exactly what happened. 

Thanks for posting the link to the blog. I've thought about Wayne pretty often since his accident and have wondered how he is doing. His accident was heartbreaking. I have been dealing with a severe TBI in my own family this year, and it was really informative and helpful to read about Wayne and his family's experiences. Life will never be the same again - for the person it happened to and for the family - difficult stuff. 

Alton R. wrote:

This is exactly what happened. 

Play in this sandbox long enough and you'll see and hear about some pretty weird, highly improbable shit.

Marc801 wrote:

This is very true. The lesson to be learned from this incident is: if there is only one runner between you and a bad result, a locking carabiner (or reversed/opposed non-lockers)  on the rope end of the runner is a prudent approach.

Russ Keane wrote: A stirring thread. Per the accident report, TWO carabiners became unclipped from the rope. This can't really be what happened? One is improbable, but two, at the exact same time??

Wayne was my best man at my wedding 9yrs ago. I've known, climbed and BASE jumped all over the world with him. Immediately after the accident I went to Eldo at 1st light an rapped 3 times down the route as it was traversing a bunch.

No way that happened, a one in a million chance happening two times in a row in nanosecond??

I don't believe that's what happened either.. changes nothing in the end

I took that infamous video "Don't show this to your mom" which appears to show 3 pieces zippering on Disco Machine Gun at the creek. Turns out that the the middle of the three pieces had actually unclipped from the rope, and I plucked it from the rock as I rapped down to Kurt after, though that isn't mentioned in what became the final cut. With the vibrations and strange motions that occur in a fall/zipper/unclip it is really easy to get bizarre accidents/incidents.

The take-away is that shit happens. Do what you can to minimize it, but you can't safeguard against everything.

Understood Phil, that response was excellent and easily understood by me. Thank you sir.

In the '90s in Tuolumne a friend of mine whipped on an old fixed nut only 15 feet above the belay ledge on a multipitch. He'd placed two cams below the nut. The nut broke, and the biner on each cam broke. Knocked his belayer off the ledge, and she caught them both off the anchor (with an ATC I think)!

Those were the old blue-gate REI biners that were similar to the Chouinard & BD "Light D" carabiners.

We always figured that the stretch in the rope was taken out when the nut snapped and the rope was more like a static for the next two biners.

I'm with you Hank, I've never been able to swallow that two consecutive pieces unclipped. I did a lot of climbing with Wayne the years and weeks leading up to the accident and if my memory serves me correctly some, if not a lot, of his gear was old. The only conceivable variant of the report I can swallow is that one piece unclipped and the gate on an older biner was sticky and didn't close. Two pieces in a row? I can't get there. 

I've experienced, seen and heard a lot of strange things over the years relative to biners coming unclipped. Once had a piece blow and not only did the biner come off the rope, but the tricam came off the biner and launched sideways into space about fifty feet. So the story of this accident doesn't surprise me, particularly on skinny slings which give the biner more play. Unusual? Sure. Impossible? I'm doubtful.

Ben Walburn wrote:I did a lot of climbing with Wayne the years and weeks leading up to the accident and if my memory serves me correctly some, if not a lot, of his gear was old. The only conceivable variant of the report I can swallow is that one piece unclipped and the gate on an older biner was sticky and didn't close.

Good article around the time of the accident. Both biners that unclipped were newer wire gates. He also used a Screamer to reduce impact in case of any falls. 

http://www.rockandice.com/climbing-accidents/gear-rips-leading-climber-critical