Accident at Roseland on Fathers Day

Just wanted to extend my sincere THANK YOU to all of the amazing and friggin STRONG folks who helped me out to the road after falling from a poorly set up rappel ( by yours truely)from Roseland at the Nears. I remember Ian and Tom but from there my mind is a blank. And of course my great partner Chris Adams who went above and beyond in all aspects even though I had only hooked up with him that morning via MP. Your physical and emotional support were a real Godsend and I hope I can thank you all again in person someday. I ended up with two broken ankles but am grateful it wasn't worse.

No matter how long your rope is and/or how short the rappel looks....... never assume both ends are down! (I would swear on my life I watched both ends hit)My bad. I'll never make that mistake again!!

OUCH.....

Lesson learned, good to not be posting a "Sincere Condolences to the loved ones of Tom"

Good to know your OK.

mean it

Thanks for the kind words Guy! Creepy thinking how serious or fatal it could have been. Yeah!

What happened exactly?

I threaded the rappel and dropped both ends but there was a wierd "how the hell did that happen" knot between the two strands. I pulled up an end and let it slip through the knot in my hand and then dropped the rope again. I was watching as it dropped and thought for sure I saw the end land in the middle of the large pile of rope on the ground....( I guess that should have been a hint...)I had a prussik set up but it was with a shoulder runner and it wasnt really catching. Anyway, about 15 feet or so of the deck I hit the end of the rope and I was free falling.

The truth is I was not thinking about what I was doing. It was our last route of the day, my partner and I were kinda arguing and I just wasnt focused. I got in a hurry and made a big mistake. 2 weeks on I'm up and around with a boot on my right foot and doing great. Ready to get going again with a new respect for the details!

Oh man sorry to hear that. At the end of the day I find myself having to focus a little harder on stuff for sure. Long day and it is really easy to miss something. Well I hope you have a speedy recovery and glad to hear you're ok.

Thanks Tom. Something to watch out for.

Glad you are ok. Class move thanking your rescuers. Mabye tie knots on end of rap ropes next time? I forget to do that sometimes myself. It's amazing how fast that rope zips thru you device once it slides thru your hand!
Tom

Very glad to hear you are ok.

Sounds like you have learned from your mistake, hopefully this will be the biggest mistake of your climbing career and you can enjoy many more days on the rock.