From mbrenner@cruzio.com Tue Aug 1 12:55:29 EST 1995 Article: 6950 of rec.climbing Xref: news.nsw.CSIRO.AU rec.climbing:6950 Newsgroups: rec.climbing Path: news.nsw.CSIRO.AU!mel.dit.csiro.au!merlin!harbinger.cc.monash.edu.au!simtel!lll-winken.llnl.gov!uwm.edu!news.moneng.mei.com!bloom-beacon.mit.edu!newsfeed.internetmci.com!miwok!news.scruz.net!cruzio!pine33 From: mbrenner@cruzio.com (Martin Brenner) Subject: Bad Fall in Bow Valley Organization: Bugaboo Mountain Sports Date: Sun, 30 Jul 1995 02:15:37 GMT Message-ID: X-Newsreader: News Xpress Version 1.0 Beta #2 X-Nntp-Posting-Host: pine33.cruzio.com Keywords: Fall, Helmet, Self-Rescue Sender: news@cruzio.com (The News UID) Lines: 79 Last week my girlfriend Laura and I went to the Canadaian Rockies for a climbing trip. The following is an account of what happened the third day of our trip. Monday we went to Kid Goat rock. Our plan was to warm up to Rockies limestone there, then do Red Shirt on Yamnuska on Tuesday and the Northeast Face route on Chinaman's Peak on Wednesday. So at Kid Goat we started with Twilight Zone (5.6, 4 pitches). It seemed very easy to me, being a solid 5.10 climber, but surprisingly un-protectable. The difficulty was just right for Laura and she enjoyed it also. Twilight Zone was a great route on nice, rough and clean rock. Since I learned to climb at the Pinnacles National Monument, widely known for its loose rock, I felt comfortable dealing with the limestone. (But I sure didn't want to jump onto a runout 5.10!!!) It is widely suggested to start a few levels below your ability level up there, and I heartily agree. Anyway, we found the walkoff down the gully to the north and decided to do Keelhaul Wall (5.6, 5 pitches). The first and second pitches combined just perfectly with a 60 meter rope and were more protectable than Twilight Zone. I lead the third pitch past the trees 'cause it seemed like it would be better to belay up a little higher. Bad idea. Finding a good belay spot up higher was tough. I finally found a spot where I could get in a mid-size TCU and a 1.5 friend about 8 feet to its right. I also placed a 1/2" angle halfway inbetween them and a little higher, then connected it all together with the rope using clove hitches, and a butterfly knot clipped into my harness to make a complete circle of rope going around the anchor. This formed a bombproof anchor, but was complicated and tough to change belayers on. So when Laura came up, she decided to lead the last pitch. She had been climbing very well, the pitch was rateed 5.5 (and she was solid on 5.7's) and I was confident she could do it safely. She lead out and placed a #1 Rock about 5 meters up. She didn't think it was any good, but it was the only nut she could get to stay in the slot. About thirty feet higher she had gotten through the 5.5 crux (without finding another place for pro) and was feeling solid again when a totally solid looking hold broke off in her hand. (I've read other accounts like this on climbs in this area, like one at Yamnuska mentioned in the last Rock & Ice.) She tumbled, slid and bounced down about 50 feet or more before the rope pulled tight, with the nut she placed holding the fall. I was able to reel in a little slack as she fell. When she stopped she was screaming in pain. She had fallen past me about 15 feet or so, but was able to get back up to me. We determined that at a minimum she had two sprained ankles, a sprained thumb, two cut-up hands and scrapes on her butt. Luckily she WAS wearing a helmet and kletterpack, which certainly saved her back and head. I put a jacket on her and gave her water, then made the decesion that we were going down. She could have followed me up over the top, but the walkoff through the gully was way too dangerous. It took about two hours to safely lower her, leaving behind a few pins, several slings and a lot of blood. I was amazed at the pain she was able to endure, since she had no use of her hands and needed to keep weight on her ankles all the way down. On the ground I taped her worse ankle, loaded all the heavy stuff in my pack and helped her to walk out. (LONG approach/descent.)There was NOBODY else in the aera and self-rescue was our only option. It was about 10:00 at night when we got to the car, and just getting to be almost dark. (Yeah, it stays light pretty late up there.) I drove her to the hospital in Canmore, where they cleaned her up a bit and had her come back in the morning for X-rays. And that was the end of our climbing trip.The result: two sprained ankles, one sprained thumb, two badly strained finger tendons, two bruised and scraped-up buttocks and a LOT of pain. It could have been worse if she had not worn a helmet or had bad karma thatday. Here's what we can all learn from this: (You've heard it before...) (1) wear a helmet; (2) know self-rescue techniques; (3) take two ropes on any climb which you might have to retreat from; (4) be prepared for the worst at all times, and have the knowledge and state of mind to deal with it! -marty