Fall at Emerald pools 7-8-2023

I heard from a local yesterday (Sunday 7-9-23) that a female climber fell at the Emerald Pools area along Yuba river near lake Spaulding/Bowman lake  rd. I found a video of a helicopter hoist/rescue of a 40 yr old female climber with serious injuries on the local fire rescue twitter feed. I was told she was cleaning an anchor and fell 30-50 ft. Let’s keep her and her family in our prayers. Be sure to keep your friends safe out there.  

I am wanting to begin outdoor sport and trad climbing, but accidents like these are scaring me. What kind of lessons and beginner climbs should I take to build experience to prevent injuries? 

Andrew, it will a best to learn under the guidance of a certified guide. There are many great books on climbing which will help immensely, but when it comes to understanding the systems and processes it is vital to learn from others who are truly qualified. I began climbing outdoors with a meetup group which was formed to help introduce amateurs to outdoor activities from climbing to rafting, backpacking to mountaineering. Post here on app for climbing partners wanted, but be totally honest about your limited experience and desire to learn. If you have belay experience and a Lead certification from your gym that will help a little. Take classes. They are usually well worth the money. Climbing is a life long pursuit, not a race.
Where are you located? Maybe we could get you something nvolved in some of the meetups. Good luck and enjoy the adventure. 

Andrew Langford wrote:

I am wanting to begin outdoor sport and trad climbing, but accidents like these are scaring me. What kind of lessons and beginner climbs should I take to build experience to prevent injuries? 

Andrew, The American Alpine Club is a good start for evidence-based safety practices. It is heartening that you are asking these questions. I don’t know the statistics, but the overwhelming majority of accidents that I have witnessed/known about have involved climbers underestimating risk, not paying attention (because climbing is fun!), or not using adequate PPE (because danger is fun until you experience the consequences). The fact that you are aware of the dangers of climbing and are asking how to reduce risk gives you an advantage over the many people who dive in with a false sense of safety just because they see so many others out there doing it. Climbing is dangerous. If you do it long enough you will get hurt, be it repetitive strain injury, severe trauma, or anything in between. Learning best practices and maintaining mindfulness will help to reduce your risks of serious injury and death, as well as the resulting burden on your loved ones and the rest of the climbing community.

Hello, I appreciate this post. I've been thinking about her continuously since Sunday. It sounds like she will make a good recovery with time. I was at the scene of this event Sunday. She is in her 20s I believe, or perhaps early 30s. She was wearing a helmet, which was great to see and I believe may have saved her life. 

From what was gathered, it seems there was a mistake when cleaning the anchor. In hindsight, I wish we had gone up to inspect the anchors to ensure nothing else could have happened. There were no signs of anchor failure, as no equipment came down with the rope. 

To close the door it would be great to get eyes on the anchor to see if anything could have contributed to this fall. The accident occurred on Kudos Right wall. If anyone is in the area or planning to be and could take a look to confirm there is no defect/issue with the anchor, that would be greatly appreciated. Please message me if you plan to take a look.

Best wishes to her and her family.

Was it an anchor cleaning mistake or a case of miscommunication where belayer thinks they are rapping off and climber thinks they are getting lowered? I know that is a common cause if accidents like this, im not familiar with this routes anchor

Andrew Langford wrote:

I am wanting to begin outdoor sport and trad climbing, but accidents like these are scaring me. What kind of lessons and beginner climbs should I take to build experience to prevent injuries? 

This is clearly a bot

Tristan P wrote:

This is clearly a bot

Ah yes, MP, the focus of heavy AI bot influence. Extremely likely

From everything gathered on the day of the incident, it appeared to be a climber mistake while cleaning the anchor, not miscommunication with the belayer. 

Mnt File wrote:

Noobs like this noob guy, who are nervous about such mistakes, don’t make them. They always have more than enough gear on them and triple check everything. 

Noob here. I can attest. When I am at an anchor, whether setting it up or taking it down, I am triple checking every knot, every piece of gear, and visualizing every step multiple times before actually preforming the step. Not saying it's impossible for me to make a mistake though. The second I believe that is when I will most certainly make a mistake. 

To the person wondering how to not make mistakes, don't just take a class, continue to do your own research. Don't just learn what TO do, also learn what NOT to do. And always practice before using the skill in a real situation.