Leader Fall @ Echo Crag in NH 8/24/2019

A new leader fell on Saturday, August 24th at Echo Crag and suffered significant, life altering injuries. A reminder that climbing can be extremely dangerous and how tentative things can be when learning to lead and teaching someone to lead.

I wanted to give a shout out to all those who helped out that day and thank them.  The community of climbers at the crag came together and quickly got Lizzy stabilized and called rescue.  The litter carry out was one of the smoothest I have been part of.  The Rescue team was great and Lizzy was evac'ed and on a helicopter to Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in short time.

We were lucky to have several people with Wilderness First Aid and Wilderness First Responder training at the crag. If you spend time outdoors - get trained.  It can save lives.  

I just learned that the family has set up a Go Fund Me Page to help with Lizzy's recovery and with the expenses of adapting to her new lifestyle.  It will be a long road.
https://www.gofundme.com/f/lizzy-ragan-medical-recovery-fund

Be careful out there.

Edit:  The doctor said that if Lizzy had not been wearing a helmet the fall would have been fatal.  Something to think about.

"This is my next adventure. I am ready for it. It's not going to be easy but it's all about staying positive"

unbelievable outlook on this. no way I would be this strong so soon after this injury. inspirational is an understatement.  

This is very sad but I'm happy Lizzy survived and has a positive attitude! Very impressive!

Is it appropriate to ask the cause of the fall in case there is anything the rest of us should be more mindful of? Stuff like this scares me tbh.

Hello here - I was Lizzy's climbing partner that day and can offer more details on the fall itself. I want to also recognize and thank EVERYONE that was there that day and everyone in the climbing community afterwards that have been supportive of Lizzy.

I have a write up of the fall below for reference:

We were climbing at Echo, doing some mellow leads near the beginning of the wall. Lizzy wanted to do some easy leads that day. She had already done a couple leads at Cathedral earlier this season and just did really well on a 5.6 lead next to us (Maiming of the Shrew). It was intended to be a nice and easy mellow cragging day, and we were just starting our warm up climbs.

I led a 5.7 called Avalanche, she seconded, came down and wanted to try leading it too. She's a strong and confident climber (comfortable leading 5.10 sport, so a 5.6/5.7 trad lead was well within her wheelhouse), so I only cautioned her to careful, but you got this. She put in a small cam as her first piece, and knew that she needed to put in something larger. Her foot slipped while trying to swap out that smaller cam for a larger cam. I caught her, but then the piece popped, which threw her off balance and sideways away from me. She landed on a small set of talus stairs, which caused massive damage to her spine.

She fell about 10-15 feet total. It's devastating that a short fall resulted in such a traumatic injury. We talked about keeping it easy, minimizing risks, earlier that day. We both wore helmets (which saved her life,), and I kept a watchful belay. Impressively - Lizzy stayed calm and strong the entire time - she was calm during her lead, calm during the rescue, calm in the ER. She's incredible.

THANK YOU again everyone and if you can share her medical fundraiser link we would greatly appreciate your support. She's still very young and will need our help to get back into a new life:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/lizzy-ragan-medical-recovery-fund

Please DM me if you have more questions.

Wow that's crazy. Glad the climber is alive and thanks for the report. Best wishes to a speedy recovery.

Thank you for the report. This truly could have been any one of us - and I'm sure not many climbers anticipate such a short fall could have such serious consequences. Thank you for sharing and I wish Lizzie all the best! 

Alice Chiang wrote: Hello here - I was Lizzy's climbing partner that day and can offer more details on the fall itself. I want to also recognize and thank EVERYONE that was there that day and everyone in the climbing community afterwards that have been supportive of Lizzy.

I have a write up of the fall below for reference:

We were climbing at Echo, doing some mellow leads near the beginning of the wall. Lizzy wanted to do some easy leads that day. She had already done a couple leads at Cathedral earlier this season and just did really well on a 5.6 lead next to us (Maiming of the Shrew). It was intended to be a nice and easy mellow cragging day, and we were just starting our warm up climbs.

I led a 5.7 called Avalanche, she seconded, came down and wanted to try leading it too. She's a strong and confident climber (comfortable leading 5.10 sport, so a 5.6/5.7 trad lead was well within her wheelhouse), so I only cautioned her to careful, but you got this. She put in a small cam as her first piece, and knew that she needed to put in something larger. Her foot slipped while trying to swap out that smaller cam for a larger cam. I caught her, but then the piece popped, which threw her off balance and sideways away from me. She landed on a small set of talus stairs, which caused massive damage to her spine.

She fell about 10-15 feet total. It's devastating that a short fall resulted in such a traumatic injury. We talked about keeping it easy, minimizing risks, earlier that day. We both wore helmets (which saved her life,), and I kept a watchful belay. Impressively - Lizzy stayed calm and strong the entire time - she was calm during her lead, calm during the rescue, calm in the ER. She's incredible.

THANK YOU again everyone and if you can share her medical fundraiser link we would greatly appreciate your support. She's still very young and will need our help to get back into a new life:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/lizzy-ragan-medical-recovery-fund

Please DM me if you have more questions.

Thank you so much for the write up! Now we can all learn from this experience especially when training new leaders. Best wishes

May I ask the size of the cams involved?

Brandon White wrote: May I ask the size of the cams involved?

Sorry for the delay here! She placed a purple metlious 0 cam. Again - she was aware it was not an ideal placement and was trying to swap it out/back it up with a larger piece. 

It's been 4 months since Lizzy's accident.  If you are around Boston come join us and help support Lizzy at a Fundraiser for her at Arc'teryx in Boston at 7pm tonight, January 23rd..  Lizzy's climbing accident at Echo Crag in August resulted in life altering injuries and we're raising funds to help with her recovery. Some great items up for auction - backpacks, ropes, gym memberships, a WFR course, a day of guiding, ski passes, Bose headphones and more.  Swag, beer & pizza too.

Eventbrite Registration

Description
Come celebrate the unity of the outdoor community on Thursday, January 23, 2020 at Arctery’x. There will be a silent and live auction of nearly $4000 in contributions from top brands and services from the outdoor and New England community. All proceeds will go to support the rehabilitation of Lizzy Ragan, our friend and local climber who sustained a spinal cord injury when climbing in Echo, NH this past August.

Sarah Everhart Skeels will be presenting a talk on her experiences as an adaptive athlete, a member of the US ParaSailing Team, and as an outdoorswoman who paved her path after her own life-changing accident.

Drinks will be provided to those with a valid ID and pizza from Flatbread will be served. A suggested minimum donation of $10 to Lizzy’s recovery at the door will enter each attendee into a raffle.
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Schedule
7:00pm - Doors open, Silent Auction goes Live
7:40pm - Sarah Skeels Talk
8:40 pm - Live Auction and Door Prize Raffle, Final Bids on Live Auction 9:10pm - Bidders pay and collect prizes 9:30pm - Event Ends
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The Christopher Reeve Foundation estimates that living with a spinal cord injury costs $518K in the first year. This event will continue to help Lizzy get the best long term care possible and eventually help her get access to healing and resources that will ensure she maintains a mobile and independent life.
To learn more about Lizzy Ragan and her inspiring health progress:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/lizzy-ragan-medical-recovery-fund

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More about Sarah Everhart Skeels:
Sarah Everhart Skeels was an avid triathlete and former Division 1 collegiate athlete who experienced a spinal cord injury as a result of a bicycle/car collision in June of 1990. After her SCI, she received a Master’s Degree in Public Health from George Washington University. She currently holds lecturing positions at Brown and Tufts University, where she teaches courses in Disability Studies, Community-Based programming and Health Promotion.
In addition to her role as an educator, Sarah is also involved with a number of interdisciplinary research teams at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital that focus on promoting health and wellness for persons with neurological impairments. She is an article reviewer for two international SCI-focused journals. Sarah also serves as Vice President of the Board of Directors for several organizations in New England focused on adaptive sports.
Sarah has been volunteering as an adaptive snowsports instructor with New England Disabled Sports for twenty years, is a former member of the U.S. ParaSailing Team, is an avid outdoorswoman, and a mom.

Our growing list of generous sponsors and donors:
Arc'teryx
Central Rock
RockSpot
Metrorock
Boston AMC Climbing
Bose
Bone Up Brewery
SOLO Wilderness Medical School
Sugarbush Ski Resorts
Killington Ski Resort
The Notch Hostel
Flatbread Pizza
Remnant Brewery
Nightshift Brewery
Bodyscapes Fitness
Alexandra Roberts Photography
Sterling
Black Diamond
Osprey
International Mountain Climbing School
Rhino Guides
Rockstar Volumes

Just a link for anyone reading this thread and wondering about Lizzy.

Lizzy's art