Rappel accident in the Gunks on 7/25
|
A climber rappelling on Horseman (from the intermediate fixed anchor) rapped off the end of her line on saturday. She and her partner believed that both ends of the rope were on the ground when they started the rappel, but no knot was tied. There were a number of first responders on scene (including a doctor) and she was stabilized before being evacuated by the rangers. She was responsive but clearly in pain. It was a typical crowded uberfall but no one saw exactly where she fell from. guesses seem to be between 10-25 ft. |
|
All the best. Reminder of why we should all do those stupid things that we put off. |
|
I heard the sirens, I was hoping that it was not a climber. |
|
better yet clip the ends to you, that way you don't throw a knotted rope and get it stuck, nor is it possible to rap off the end |
|
Rob D. wrote: I hear people say it all the time "I tie knots all the time, unless I'm just cleaning a single pitch" and this is a perfect example of why knots can save lives and prevent injuries.I hear what you're saying and I agree that it is often a good idea to tie knots in the end of your ropes, but it's all situational. There are definitely situations where tying a knot in the end of the rope is a horrible idea. Red Rocks is one area that comes to mind. Also I witnessed an incident just the other day where tying a knot in the end of the ropes caused a rather serious problem: Top of the First Flatiron, terrible thunderstorm rolls in. Thunder and lightning all around us, raining heavily, very windy and hailing. Group ahead of us threw their ropes with knots in the end. First guy (less experienced) raps down. He gets to the free-hanging part and a gust of wind lifts the rope way up over his head and it lands on a ledge and the knot snags under a boulder. No knot and he could have just pulled it, but because of the knot, it jammed and he was stuck. (could have prusicked but hadn't really practiced that and was concerned about the friction on a wet rope.) So in the end I rapped down next to him on my rope and simply lifted the rope from under the boulder and all was well, although he did hang there for a long time - long enough to worry about hypothermia. And you better bet that when I rapped I did not tie knots in the end of the rope. The middle was marked, the rap was less than 100 feet and the wind was blowing like crazy. Especially with their rope already stuck, tying knots would have been a horrible idea. In that situation I'm not sure what the right answer is. Obviously when things are going crazy and you are in a little bit of a panic, adding an extra margin of safety (ie. the knots in the end of the rope) is good, but when the wind is blowing, it definitely causes problems. Perhaps saddle bags would have been the best way to go. I just kind of snaked my rope down along the rocks and that kept the wind from blowing it anywhere. Saddle bags would have been good, but would have meant spending more time on top of the lightning rod. I just hate when people make blanket statements like "Always tie knots in the end of the rope". No mantra should ever replace thinking and situational awareness. If you don't want to think - go sport climbing, or better yet bouldering. |
|
That was a sweet and thoughtful essay, that smoothly also stokes internet flames. |
|
Jesus Christ I would rather a slightly flawed mantra be told to everyone than continue to see people fall to their death. Did anyone get struck by lightning climbing this year? And how many have died so far because of rappel lines without knots? If you're a good climber you know to evaluate your surroundings and decide whether untied knots are worth the risk, but even good climbers make mistakes and id rather their mistakes be that they get a rope stuck than fall off their rope. |
|
"If you don't want to think...go sport climbing or bouldering".....Stagg54 |
|
Stagg54 wrote: In that situation I'm not sure what the right answer is...Saddle bags would have been good, but would have meant spending more time on top of the lightning rod...No mantra should ever replace thinking and situational awareness.Agreed---knotted ends are often but not always a good idea, and high winds are a time when you have to think carefully about what could go wrong. A hypothermic person stuck on the rope in a lightning storm puts the entire party in a very bad way. If you hadn't been there, either the hanging climber would have had to prussik up or someone from the top would have had to prussik down, assuming the stuck rope was reachable from the rappel. I've seen ropes blow sideways and catch, which can create a really dangerous situation, much worse than them blowing straight up. In the situation you described, it sounds as if it would have been a good idea to lower the first person down, using either a Munter hitch on the anchor a belay plate on the anchor with the brake strand redirected through a higher carabiner, or just a harness belay redirected through the anchor. See for example climbing.com/skill/lower-away/. I think lowering the first person down is a better option than saddle-bagging, as saddle-bagged ropes sometime get all tangled up and then once again you've got a rappeller hung up in a storm with the rest of the party stranded at the anchor above. That said, saddle-bagging shouldn't take any longer than coiling the ropes to throw them. Each climber coils one of the rappel strands. When the weather is good and you're just cragging, making a habit of knotting the ropes sure seems like a good idea. |
|
rgold wrote:In the situation you described, it sounds as if it would have been a good idea to lower the first person down, using either a Munter hitch on the anchor a belay plate on the anchor with the brake strand redirected through a higher carabiner, or just a harness belay redirected through the anchor. See for example climbing.com/skill/lower-away/. I think lowering the first person down is a better option than saddle-bagging, as saddle-bagged ropes sometime get all tangled up and then once again you've got a rappeller hung up in a storm with the rest of the party stranded at the anchor above.Just quoting this as it is such good advice and the world would be a better place if more people followed it. |
|
Stagg54 wrote: If you don't want to think - go sport climbing, or better yet bouldering.Yeah...because bouldering is totally safe. |
|
I always tie knots. Even if the rap is 30ft. This is so I will automatically tie a knot the day it is needed on that 500ft rap. |
|
Someone once told me that when he raps he places his back-up prusik above the rappel device, about half an arm length, girth hitched from the belay loop. Its short enough that it doesnt get away from him, and in the even that he loses the ends of the rope through the device, hed have a prusik above him to prevent a fall. |
|
JoeLars41 wrote:Someone once told me that when he raps he places his back-up prusik above the rappel device, about half an arm length, girth hitched from the belay loop. Its short enough that it doesnt get away from him, and in the even that he loses the ends of the rope through the device, hed have a prusik above him to prevent a fall. Thoughts on this? My feeling is that I would seriously hate to be dangling there on just a friction knot.I can think of a few things I would rather do than be in the situation where that back up is used. The thought of that makes me think of the opening scene to Cliffhanger. I guess it is better than dying...immediately. |
|
JoeLars, I'd take dangling on a friction knot over laying in a twisted heap of helplessness anyday. I doubt the prussik would catch everytime, but I always rap with the prussik above my ATC. I certainly tie knots as well (but we all make mistakes). You could test this theory just above the ground with a crashpad under you. I'd be curious to experiment with different distances between the prussik and ATC.. Don't forget the beer though. |
|
If you tie EDKs at the end of your rope they are less likely to get caught. |
|
JoeLars41 wrote:Someone once told me that when he raps he places his back-up prusik above the rappel device, about half an arm length, girth hitched from the belay loop. Its short enough that it doesnt get away from him, and in the even that he loses the ends of the rope through the device, hed have a prusik above him to prevent a fall. Thoughts on this? My feeling is that I would seriously hate to be dangling there on just a friction knot.I remember reading an article where a climber set up various rappel backups and rapped off the end of his rope (no knots at the end). If I recall correctly, none of the backups could cinch fast enough to keep him from rapping off the end of his rope. |
|
Knot your ropes people. |
|
Clearly it's more common for people to fail to tie knots and then get in trouble than it is for people to have tied knots and then get in trouble (as in the windy storm scenario). |
|
I know the area is full of gumbies but what I'm wondering is that no-one noticed what was happening before the climber reached the end of the ropes. |
|
JoeLars41 wrote:Someone once told me that when he raps he places his back-up prusik above the rappel device, about half an arm length, girth hitched from the belay loop. Its short enough that it doesnt get away from him, and in the even that he loses the ends of the rope through the device, hed have a prusik above him to prevent a fall. Thoughts on this? My feeling is that I would seriously hate to be dangling there on just a friction knot.As was mentioned, it probably wouldn't be able to cinch up fast enough to catch, but even if it could, your immediate reaction to rapping off the end of a rope would be to grab the rope to keep you from falling, but the hand you'd be grabbing the rope with would be the hand that's tending the friction hitch which would just further prevent it from cinching on the rope. |