The Prescription - November 2021

The Prescription - November 2021

PETE TAKEDA TO EDIT ACCIDENTS BOOK

The American Alpine Club (AAC) is excited to announce Pete Takeda as the new editor of Accidents in North American Climbing. Pete is a longtime climber and expert in all forms of the sport, from single-pitch routes to big walls to mountain climbs around the world. Based in Colorado, Pete has worked as a writer and filmmaker (with a focus on climbing) for much of his life. He also has been a volunteer and Board Director for the AAC, the American Mountain Guides Association, and other organizations. After seven years at the helm of Accidents, AAC executive editor Dougald MacDonald is stepping aside to put more time into the American Alpine Journal and the AAC’s publications website.

Pete already has begun the transition into his role, starting work on the 2022 edition of Accidents. We asked him to share a few thoughts about the publication and his new job.

Q. When did you first start reading Accidents in North American Climbing?

Pete: I started reading Accidents in the mid-1980s. I had just started with serious climbing and found the accident accounts cautionary, insightful, and morbidly fascinating.

Q. What attracted you to the possibility of editing the publication? 

Pete: In 2019, I interviewed Jed Williamson as part of a video project for the AAC. Jed was editor of Accidents in North American Mountaineering (changed in 2016 to its current and more accurate title) for 40 years. He spoke about the publication’s history and provided insights into how accidents have followed trends within our sport. He also had a fascinating analysis of the commonalities of most climbing accidents.    

When the job posting came up, I got excited. Not only was it a chance to become more connected with the AAC, but also it dovetailed with my current book project, and the Accidents editor position is essentially a part-time job, one that gives me time to write—and climb.

Q. One of the things that came across in your interviews—and in your writing—is that you seem like an eager student of climbing, even after so many years in the sport. Do you still feel like you have a lot to learn? 

Pete: I love climbing. I’ve given my life to it. Its disciplines are myriad, and one can never master them all. Each style informs the other. To thrive—and in some cases merely survive—one needs to continually learn. While climbing is unified by an elemental struggle against gravity, each game within climbing has its own physical and mental demands, and a distinct set of rewards. In an age of specialization, climbing offers the practitioner many chances to be a beginner again. When one takes on a different game within the sport, one is reminded of why they fell in love with it in the first place. To me, being a student of climbing for almost 40 years is the greatest gift I can imagine.

Q. We searched the archives, and you haven’t ever appeared in Accidents. But have you ever had a climbing accident yourself—or witnessed one—and how do you think this experience might affect your work as editor?

Pete: I’ve had my share of hospital visits, participated in rescues, self-rescued, and witnessed a dozen serious accidents—some with tragic results. I myself have almost been killed a half dozen times—avalanche, rockfall, exposure, and a few really bad falls. I’ve broken bones, lost teeth, starved, been parched, had AMS, gone snow blind, cut finger tendons, suffered superficial frostbite, and have had three major surgeries. Through all this, I’ve managed to self-rescue, or at least drive myself to the hospital.  

“Big Wall Pete” on the cover of a 1993 issue of Climbing.

I’ve also trained as an EMT, so I have a basic understanding of first-line medicine. My body has fortunately survived my youthful (and middle aged) ego. I’ve gained a healthy respect for climbing hazards, and I do not hesitate to ask partners and professionals for advice and training on best practices. My experiences will hopefully provide a sound understanding of accident mechanisms across all the disciplines of climbing. Having suffered loss and injury, those same experiences should also provide a sense of compassion. 

Q. As a longtime reader, you’ve seen some changes in the book. Do you have thoughts on how it might continue to evolve under your leadership?  

Pete: I have a few ideas, but I’ll need to get up to speed and learn the job. One thing to note is that Accidents in North American Climbing represents more than 60 years of accident data and anecdotal descriptions. These are invaluable and should be put to more use. I feel that trends within climbing can be tracked and analyses made. Perhaps stronger partnerships with educational and commercial entities can create and inform existing curricula. We’re reaching the point where, with the explosion of popularity in climbing, organizations could really begin to use this information.  

Q. People start climbing in such different ways than they did when you started a few decades ago. How can Accidents reach more modern climbers and help to educate them?

Pete: More than any other development, the indoor gym has revolutionized climbing. Most climbers today start climbing in gyms. Some can climb incredibly hard yet lack the very basics we once took as a given. Before 1995 or so, most climbers cut their teeth outside. We learned to use hardware and how to stay safe—or suffered the consequences. My hope is that Accidents might emphasize not only the bad things that happen, but also provide ongoing analyses, inform curricula, and work in partnership with groups like the American Mountain Guides Association, the Climbing Wall Association, outdoor companies, and so on to help educate new climbers.

Pete can be reached at [email protected].

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SHARP END PODCAST: HAZARDS OF INFORMAL INSTRUCTION

Nick Tollison had been climbing for about three years before he headed to Clark Canyon, outside of Mammoth, California, with a friend and a more experienced acquaintance who had offered to mentor them in multi-pitch climbing. After warming up on some single-pitch climbs, the trio decided to break a long 5.8 pitch into two leads, with a midway hanging belay. During the descent, confusion at the midway anchor led to a potentially fatal fall. Learn more about this accident and the aftermath in Episode 70 of the Sharp End podcast.

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ROCKY TALKIE SEARCH & RESCUE AWARD

REMINDER: Applications are being taken for the Rocky Talkie Search & Rescue Award, which will distribute a total of $25,000 to four nonprofit teams from the U.S. or Canada that were involved in a 2021 incident demonstrating their skill, passion, and dedication. Finalists will be chosen by a committee of Rocky Talkie, AAC, and SAR professionals, and the climbing community will vote on the ranking of the final stories. If you’re involved with a deserving Search and Rescue team—or if you were rescued in 2021—please consider sharing your story. Learn more and apply for the Rocky Talkie Search & Rescue Award here!

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The monthly Prescription newsletter is supported by adidas Outdoor and the members of the American Alpine Club. Questions? Suggestions? Write to us at [email protected].

The Prescription - October 2021

Cleaning The Fury, the route highlighted in this incident. In order to prevent her swing from pulling the belayer of her feet, this climber has clipped in direct to her lowest draw and then unclipped the belayer’s side of the rope. Once the belayer takes up slack, the climber can clean the draw without causing the belayer to swing. Photo by Johnny Nowell

The Prescription - October 2021

Kentucky, Red River Gorge

Cleaning Error – Belayer Dragged By Climber

My partner (49) and I (33) are very experienced climbers. I had climbed at the Red River Gorge several times, and though it was my partner’s first time here, he has climbed and belayed plenty of steep routes. My background is multi-pitch trad, and his is all sport. We are about the same weight.

On September 8, my partner led The Fury (5.11c sport) at Bibliothek in the Muir Valley. I was tired and didn’t feel like climbing the route, so we decided he would clean it while lowering off. He was clipped into the belayer’s side of the rope with a quickdraw (a.k.a. tramming), as is standard practice when cleaning overhanging routes. At the last quickdraw he said, “You’re going to swing,” so I weighted the rope as much as I could before he cleaned the lowest draw.

I was prepared to swing a few feet, but when he removed the last draw from the route, he was still clipped into my side of the rope. This caused both of us to swing about 20 feet backward. I slammed into a small boulder lying on the ground and then hit a tree. I made contact with one leg just above the ankle, and I think I hit my foot, too. It all hurt right away. I was able to stand and walk slowly, so we hiked out.

I could barely walk for two weeks, and it took months before I was back to climbing. It was not fractured, but likely a severe bone bruise and tendonitis. (Source: Amanda Friedman.)

ANALYSIS

Cleaning the last draw while lowering from an overhanging route is always potentially hazardous, as the climber generally will swing out from the wall. To avoid pulling the belayer into a swing as well, the cleaning climber should completely disconnect from the belayer’s side of the rope before letting go from the wall. The belayer can then brace for the swing before the climber unclips the lowest bolt.

Another option is to leave the first draw on the route while cleaning and then remove it from the ground with a stick clip. (There are video tutorials online for how to do this with most types of stick clips. Here’s a demonstration of quickdraw removal with the popular Betastick Evo.) Muir Valley even has a few stick clips available for climbers to borrow, located underneath the awning by the parking lot. (Source: The Editors.)

This report appears in the 2021 edition of ANAC, where you’ll also find a Know the Ropes feature article describing the ins and outs of cleaning steep routes. ANAC 2019 described a similar cleaning incident in Big Cottonwood Canyon, Utah. Read it here.

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THE ROCKY TALKIE SEARCH AND RESCUE AWARD

Photo of YOSAR in action by Drew Smith

The AAC has partnered with Rocky Talkie, makers of climber-friendly two-way radios, to highlight search and rescue teams engaged in outstanding missions during 2021. The Rocky Talkie Search and Rescue Award will distribute a total of $25,000 to four nonprofit teams from the U.S. or Canada whose stories from 2021 demonstrate their skill, passion, and dedication. Either SAR teams or rescued individuals can apply; applications are due by January 31, 2022.

The four finalists will be chosen by a committee of Rocky Talkie, AAC, and SAR professionals, and the climbing community will then vote on the ranking of the final stories. The top vote-getting team will earn $10,000 to support their operations! The finalist’s rescue stories will be described in the 2022 edition of Accidents in North American Climbing.

Nonprofit search and rescue organizations perform many of the rescues covered each year in ANAC, and we are happy to help highlight their stories and raise some money to support their vital missions.

Learn more and apply for the Rocky Talkie Search and Rescue Award here!

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BACKCOUNTRY SKI REPAIR: A QUICK REVIEW

Ski touring and winter mountaineering season is right around the corner, so now is a good time to review your repair kit for extended backcountry outings. The sub-three-minute video shown here, featuring IFMGA guide Joey Thompson, offers a quick review of the repair gear he carries and some basic ways to use it. For a deeper dive into the topic, check out this online video and article from ski guide and avalanche forecaster Matt Schonwald. Matt wrote the featured Know the Ropes article about spring and summer avalanches in ANAC 2020. If you missed it, you can read it here.

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TWO ROPES CUT YET THE LEADER SURVIVES

The brand-new Sharp End podcast features a terrifying fall on a long route in El Potrero Chico, Mexico. Rockfall on the ninth pitch of a 5.11 bolted route cut both of the leader’s ropes, leading to a very long fall that fortunately ended on a ledge. The climber, Foster Denney, wrote about this incident in ANAC 2019, and now he has spoken about the fall and his rescue with Sharp End hostess Ashley Saupe.

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The monthly Prescription newsletter is supported by adidas Outdoor and the members of the American Alpine Club. Questions? Suggestions? Write to us at [email protected].

The Prescription - September 2021

Photo of Leaning Tower by Meros Felsenmaus

The Prescription - September 2021

Yosemite Valley, Leaning Tower

Two climbers attempting the West Face of Leaning Tower in June decided to descend after arriving at Ahwahnee Ledge (the top of the fourth pitch), due to excessive heat and sun. While rappelling the very overhanging first pitch with the haulbag, Climber A rappelled over a small roof and got too far away from the wall to reach the ledge at the bottom of the pitch, despite clipping some directionals during his descent. (The West Face route is approached by a ramp that traverses onto the face, so the first anchor is far above the ground.) Since the climber could not reach the ramp, he continued rappelling to a lower ledge. This ledge had no permanent anchor, and Climber A was not carrying the right pieces to construct a solid anchor. With no way to anchor the haul bag, he could not detach it from the ropes nor reascend the ropes to reach the ramp.

During their descent, the two climbers had called Yosemite Search and Rescue to request some advice. Climbing rangers were able to assist them over the phone with their first rappels, but soon decided to send SAR members to Leaning Tower in case further assistance was needed. When SAR members arrived, they fixed a rope and lowered it to Climber A, and he was able to leave his haul bag and jumar out. They then secured the team’s rappel ropes to the ledge so the second climber could rappel directly to the approach ramp. The ropes and haulbag were retrieved later that day.

ANALYSIS

The Leaning Tower is one of the steepest big walls in North America, the lower half of which overhangs at an average angle of 110 degrees. The West Face has been the site of numerous rappelling difficulties, and while Climber A did utilize some directionals, he extended one piece with a long runner and soon found himself too far from the cliff to place more directional pieces. (Source: Yosemite National Park Climbing Rangers.)

The report above and the how-to sidebar that follows will appear in the 2021 edition of ANAC, which is being mailed to AAC members this month.

THE ART OF THE BAIL

Rappelling with a Haulbag: Advice from a Yosemite Ranger

Bailing off a steep route is a nearly inevitable outcome if you climb enough walls, so it’s best to know how to get down safely before you find yourself dangling in space, wishing you knew what to do. Yosemite climbing rangers advise the following techniques for rappelling overhanging routes with a haulbag.

(1) The first person descending should rappel on a fixed single strand of the rappel ropes with a Grigri or a similar locking device, clipping both strands of the ropes to directional pieces to keep them close to the wall. They should also carry equipment to reascend the fixed rope in case of getting too far from the wall or rappelling past the anchor.

(2) When the first person arrives at the lower anchor, they should feed out five to ten feet of slack rope, tie a knot with both ropes, and clip the knot to the anchor. This will close the system for the second rappeller and allow the second person to pull themself into the wall to unclip directionals on their way down and to pull into the anchor at the end of the rappel.

(3) The second rappeller should untie the fixed strand from the upper anchor or undo any knot-blocks, and then rappel both strands as normal, using a tube-style device (such as an ATC) and a third-hand backup. They can unclip and clean the directional pieces as they descend. The second person down should carry the team’s heaviest gear (haulbag, etc.), because the tube-style device produces a smoother rappel than a Grigri. They should not have any reason to reascend the ropes because they will be fixed to the lower anchor. —Christian Black, Yosemite National Park Climbing Ranger

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ANAC 2021 IS COMING SOON!

Production delays at the printer pushed back the delivery schedule for the new edition of Accidents in North American Climbing, but the books have finally arrived at our mailing house in Denver. Boxes are now being filled and books will start going into the mail and onto retailers’ shelves over the next couple of weeks. Thanks for your patience!

The 2021 Accidents includes a new 15-page section documenting and explaining avalanche incidents involving backcountry skiers and snowboarders. We hope you’ll find it to be a useful addition—let us know what you think at [email protected].

Not yet a member of the American Alpine Club? You can order a print or digital (PDF) copy of the 2021 book at the AAC online store.

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ALTITUDE AND VISION SURGERY

Researchers at the University of Washington, University of New Mexico, and the University of Tübingen (Germany) are conducting a research survey to estimate how commonly vision changes occur while traveling to high altitude after vision correction surgery. The goal is to gather information that can help other climbers and trekkers choose the right surgery for them. If you’ve had vision correction surgery and have since traveled to high altitude, you can help by completing an anonymous online survey. Further information about the project and the survey itself can be found by clicking on this link.  

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DANGEROUS HAILSTORM IN THE BLACK HILLS

A sudden July storm caught Ed and three other climbers near the top of Waves, a two-pitch route near Mt. Rushmore in the Black Hills of South Dakota. In the face of 50 mph gusts, plunging temperatures, and golf-ball-size hail, getting off the climb was a test of experience, concentration, and teamwork, as you’ll hear in Episode 68 of the Sharp End podcast.

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The monthly Prescription newsletter is supported by adidas Outdoor and the members of the American Alpine Club. Questions? Suggestions? Write to us at [email protected].

The Prescription - August 2021

Belayer is carried to a helicopter landing zone by Hellgate Cliffs in Utah, using a rope bag as an improvised litter. She had borrowed the leader’s helmet for belaying the pitch, which likely saved her from a much more serious injury. Photo courtesy of Salt Lake County Search and Rescue

The Prescription - August 2021

HEADS UP!

Below are two reports from the upcoming edition of Accidents in North American Climbing that share many similarities. Both involved climber-caused rockfall that hit belayers standing on the ground. Both were at sport climbing areas, where many belayers decide not to wear helmets—though, very fortunately, one of these belayers had borrowed the leader’s helmet because of concern about loose rock. In both cases, the belayer was using an assisted-braking belay device (ABD), and, in one case, this very likely saved the leader from a ground fall and significant injuries. Though rare, these incidents should make climbers think about the value of ABDs—and helmets—for belaying single-pitch climbs.

Belayer Hit by Rockfall

Utah, Wasatch Range, Little Cottonwood Canyon

On August 7, Avery Guest (female, 20) was climbing with her partner for the day, Jake Bowles (21), at Hellgate Cliffs, a limestone area high in Little Cottonwood. It was Avery’s second time climbing/belaying outdoors. Jake is an experienced climber.

They chose Monkey Paw (5.9), a single-pitch sport climb, for their first route of the day. Jake was leading, and he got about four bolts up the route (approximately 50 feet off the ground) when he reached for what looked like a good hold. When he weighted the hold, a torso-size rock detached from the wall. It split into three pieces, and one of them landed on Avery, knocking her unconscious. Jake fell approximately 10 feet, pulling Avery about a foot off the ground. She was using a Grigri, which caught Jake’s fall.

Avery regained consciousness quickly and noticed she had an open fracture on her right arm. She managed to lower her partner with her left hand, and he untied her from the belay system. She had post-traumatic amnesia, repeating questions multiple times. They called 911 at about 10:20 a.m. United Fire Authority paramedics and Salt Lake County Search and Rescue responded to the scene within 30 minutes. They gave her pain medication and improvised a litter with Jake’s rope bag in order to carry her about 100 feet down and away from the base of the rock, where Lifeflight could hoist Avery and transport her to the hospital for treatment.

She had two broken bones in her right arm that needed surgery, plus lacerations on her forehead and leg. She also had bleeding in her brain, but managed to avoid brain surgery. Jake suffered only minor scrapes and bruises during the fall.

ANALYSIS

Avery did not have a helmet, so Jake let her use his, knowing there might be rockfall in the area. If Avery had not been wearing Jake’s helmet, her head injuries could have been much worse and possibly fatal. The belay stance for this route was small and surrounded by steep, rocky slopes. Otherwise, she may have been able to move out of the way of the falling rock. (Source: Avery Guest.)

Rockfall Onto Belayer

Colorado, Rifle Mountain Park, Ruckman Cave

At approximately 4 p.m. on September 26, a climber started up The Promise, a 5.12c sport route on the left side of the Ruckman Cave. Just before a ledge at the start of the steep climbing on the route, the climber pulled onto a chalked-up jug that ripped out of the wall. The broken jug, along with more rocks and debris, rained down on the belayer. The climber’s fall was held at the first bolt of the route, and he slammed into the wall sideways, from which he sustained soreness and bruising. The belayer narrowly avoided being hit in the head or upper body by the debris and took all of the damage to his right leg. Fortunately, a visit to the emergency department confirmed no broken bones. (Source: Climber’s report at MountainProject.com.)

ANALYSIS

This incident highlights a paradox often seen at sport climbing areas: The climbers who choose to wear helmets while sport climbing more often are the ones leading or top-roping the climb, not necessarily the belayers and bystanders below the route. Yet, arguably, the belayer is much more likely to be hit by rockfall, which is fairly common in Rifle Mountain Park. More common than helmets at Rifle’s crags are assisted-braking belay devices, which can be a lifesaver in accidents like this one, when the belayer may be severely distracted or even incapacitated by rockfall. (Source: The Editors.)

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Granite Peak from the south, showing A) Location of climber after fall from the Snowbridge, the saddle directly above; B) site of rappel anchor failure; and C) Position of fallen climber. Photo by Gallatin County Search and Rescue

MONTANA’S DANGEROUS HIGH POINT

In the two most recent editions of ANAC, we’ve published reports about numerous incidents on Granite Peak in Montana. One of the more difficult state high points, Granite Peak has semi-technical and technical climbs on several of its faces and ridges. Summer is peak season for the mountain, and it’s worth reading our reports before heading up there.

Rockfall, Anchor Failure (2021 ANAC): Natural rockfall during an attempt on the Notch Couloir and north ridge destroyed a belay anchor, with nearly disastrous results. 

Fall on Snow and Anchor Failure (2021 ANAC): Two falls occurred on September 5 on the east ridge, the standard route up Granite Peak, one of them resulting in a fatality.  

Unroped Falls in Class III/IV Terrain (2020 ANAC): Two falls occurred within the same week in August on the Southwest Ramp route of Granite Peak.

Fall on Ice | Inadequate Gear, Failure to Self-Arrest (2020 ANAC): Two climbers became disoriented after summiting by the east ridge, bivouacked below the summit, and then rappelled the north face to the Granite Glacier, for which they were ill-equipped.

DON’T BLAME THE ROCK

In the June Prescription, we posted a short list of tips for optimizing cam placements, originally published in ANAC 2019. Several climbers from Devil’s Lake in Wisconsin took exception to our generalization about cam placements in the Lake’s “clean but slippery” cracks. AAC member Matthew Clausen elaborated in the following letter to the editor, making some great points about the dangers of blaming the rock for cams that don’t hold.

Devil’s Lake, Wisconsin. Photo by Matthew Clausen

Like many climbers, I pay attention to the AAC’s Accidents in North American Climbing. I value the continued learning required to climb safely. While reading June’s “Prescription,” I felt concerned about this warning: "Numerous reports document that well-placed cams can pull out of wet or dirty rock or even perfectly clean but slippery stone like Yosemite granite or Devil’s Lake quartzite."

In more than a decade of climbing at Devil's Lake, I have never seen a cam slip out of a good placement. All reports of this happening, that I am aware of, were better explained by bad placement upon review. Most often, the failed cams were in an outward flaring crack or without the lobes properly engaged.

I agree with the AAC recommendations that climbers continue to learn more about what makes for a good placement, seek qualified instruction and mentoring, and remember to back up crucial placements. The learning process and experience help us tell fact from myth.

Myths about climbing skills are potentially dangerous. If climbers wrongly believe cams are unsafe in the Baraboo Range’s hard, smooth quartzite, they may feel compelled to:

1) Use less efficient gear for protection, or 
2) Commit to unnecessary runouts, or 
3) Become lax about the subjective hazard of poorly placed cams because they don’t believe a good placement is even possible.

Rather than blaming the geology, we need to combat the complacency of cam placements: These are not magical devices that will hold a fall in any crack. We will bear responsibility for the quality of our decisions.

Sincerely,

Matthew Clausen, Madison, Wisconsin

THE SHARP END VISITS COLORADO

Listen to Episode 67 of the Sharp End Podcast for the story of a helicopter rescue on the long Ellingwood Ridge of La Plata Peak, a Colorado 14er.

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WANTED: CLIMBERS WITH INJURED KNEES

Researchers at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School are seeking climbers to participate in a research survey looking at climbing-related knee injuries. You are eligible to participate in this study if you are 18 to 89 years old, climb at least four times per year, and have sustained a knee injury in a climbing-related incident. The anonymous online survey asks injured people about how much they climb and where they climb, how the knee injury happened, and how they recovered. The survey takes about 10 minutes to complete.

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The monthly Accidents Bulletin is supported by adidas Outdoor and the members of the American Alpine Club.

The Prescription - July 2021

The Prescription - July 2021

ACCIDENTS BOOK PUBLISHED IN SPANISH

¡Bienvenido a Accidentes de escalada en Norteamérica!

With the generous support of adidas Outdoor, the AAC has translated the 2020 edition of Accidents in North American Climbing into Spanish. Since 1949, our goal has been to help readers become safer climbers by sharing stories and lessons from accidents throughout North America. Now, with this first-ever translation of the Accidents book, we will share these lessons with Spanish-speaking climbers throughout the world.

Accidentes de escalada en Norteamérica was translated by a team of volunteers. Bernardo Beteta, a Mexican-born climbing guide now in Boulder, Colorado, explained his interest in helping with the translation: “Climbing is a growing sport in Latin American countries, and there's a fast-growing Spanish-speaking population in the United States. It’s important to make climbing literature available to them.” Molly Herber from Lander, Wyoming, an ANAC regional volunteer and translator, said, “We're all safer and better climbers when we pool our knowledge and experience to learn from others, and making Accidents available in Spanish is one part of that important effort.”

Since Mexico is part of North America and has long been included in our reports, the translators chose the climbing terms and phrases commonly used by Mexican climbers. These terms may be different in other Spanish-speaking countries and regions, and in the future we plan to develop an international glossary of climbing terminology. We hope this publication will be useful to climbers all over the Spanish-speaking world and perhaps will inspire similar educational efforts in other countries.

The 114-page PDF of Accidentes de escalada en Norteamérica is available now and can be downloaded for free. Please share this book with your friends, climbing partners, and climbing organizations.

We welcome corrections and suggestions. Contact us at [email protected].

¡Descarga el libro aquí!

Este PDF se puede descargar de manera gratuita. Favor de compartirlo con amigos y cordadas.

Download the book here!

The PDF is free to download. Please share it with your friends and climbing partners.

El Jefe

The Spanish edition of Accidents in North American Climbing was translated by a hard-working team of volunteers in three countries: Symon Ardila, Austen Bernier, Bernardo Beteta, Omar Gaytán, Néstor Y. Durán Nungaray, Alma Esteban, Molly Herber, and Jasna Hodzic. Climber and activist Tiffany Hensley played a crucial role in getting this project started.

Early in the project, Omar Gaytán emerged as a leader : He is a talented climber and candidate for a master’s degree in translation and interpretation, and was incredibly dedicated to the Accidents translation. He’s also co-creator of a cool Mexican climbing podcast, La Mera Beta. We asked Omar, el jefe of this project, to tell us a little about himself:

I’m Omar Gaytán from Juárez, Chihuahua, México. Thanks to my dad, basketball was all I wanted to do throughout my childhood, because my dad loves to play it and he’s also a huge fan of the sport. When I was 15, I discovered climbing—I’m 30 now, and I don’t think I will ever stop climbing. I just love it so much.  

I studied in Juárez until I went to college in El Paso, Texas. I majored in communications with a double minor in translation and French, then moved to Guadalajara to study for a master’s degree in translation and interpretation. The reason I chose this career comes from my very first trip to Hueco Tanks back in 2006. I was 15 and I remember looking at some smiley dirtbags working on their computers before spending the day climbing. Their smiles made me realize that I wanted to dedicate my time to something I love and at the same time make a good living—yes, that’s my personal interpretation of the American Dream.

I’ve been lucky to climb at many different areas in the United Sates, and in México I know pretty much all the major climbing destinations. The climbing I like the most is near my hometown, Juárez. The sport climbing here is amazing and still blooming. I feel like I still have a lot to learn about climbing, and that’s exactly the aspect of both my climbing and my career that I love the most: You never stop learning and growing. I’m becoming a better translator every time I translate documents, the same way I get better at climbing every time I send a project.   

I feel happy to have been able to collaborate with the American Alpine Club on this project. There is nothing better than working on something you love so much, and, on top of that, spread the word about safety in climbing. I am forever thankful for this opportunity, and I hope we only get better at this in the years to come.

STORIES FROM MÉXICO

Mexico is part of North America, of course, but it hasn’t always been a big part of Accidents in North American Climbing. One side benefit of this translation project, we hope, will be increased access to information about climbing in Mexico and other Spanish-speaking areas of North America, including Puerto Rico. In this way, we hope the AAC can help climbers learn more about both the opportunities and hazards in these beautiful areas.

The upcoming ANAC 2021 includes a single report from Mexico, a tragic story involving two U.S. climbers and an unusual accident on a big wall in Chihuahua. Here’s a preview.

Ledge Collapse | Severed Rope

Chihuahua, Basaseachic Falls National Park, El Gigante

On March 6, my best friend Nolan Smythe, 26, and I were on the second day of a free ascent of Logical Progression, a 28-pitch 5.13 big-wall sport climb on El Gigante. Nolan was leading pitch 14. The sun had just gone down, and we had two moderate 5.11 pitches to go before our next bivy. He made it about 80 feet into the pitch and then, after manteling onto a large ledge, the refrigerator-size block of volcanic rock dislodged from under his feet. As he was falling, the rope was cut by the huge block and he fell all the way to the ground.

I was left alone on the wall with a shortened lead line and a limited number of draws. A three-day storm was forecast to start the next afternoon. Below me was a sizable traverse that I wasn’t confident I’d be able to descend safely while keeping my bivy kit. On top of that, we had rappelled in to start the climb, and I didn’t know the walk-out exit for the canyon; this exit route also passes very near several poppy fields run by the local cartel.

Instead, I started roped soloing up to our planned bivy. I primarily used a stick clip, but on occasion free climbing was necessary. I alerted a good friend, Sergio “Tiny” Almada, about the situation via my inReach, and he started toward the wall with another Mexican climber, José David “Bicho” Martinez, planning to rappel in so I could jumar the last 1,200 feet to the top. They arrived as the rain started, and we left my kit behind to jug out quickly. We returned a week later, after the body recovery, and cleaned all of my gear off the wall.

ANALYSIS

All told, this seemed like a freak accident more than anything else. I recall rappelling past the same ledge earlier with a large haul bag. It looked concerning, but after giving it a thorough test, I deemed it solid. Nolan must have had the same thoughts during his lead. It had been snowing for three days before we rappelled in, and this accident happened three days after the snow stopped. It is possible that a freeze-thaw cycle contributed to the rockfall,  but there is no way of definitively knowing. Sometimes a rock that many people have pulled on has a day that it is going to release. Unfortunately, it released on Nolan.

Don’t underestimate Logical Progression because it’s a “sport route.” This wall is remote, large, and committing. The weather can be really bad. Be prepared. You are on your own out there—help in case of an accident isn’t as close as you think it is in Chihuahua.

We were prepared with bivy gear, a stick clip, extra draws, an inReach, and the knowledge to go up or down the wall safely on our own. Nolan and I were both well within our comfort level. We both had quickly dispatched the first 5.13 pitch on the route on the morning of the accident. Some accidents are simply a matter of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. (Source: Aaron Livingston.)

The Optimist

Nolan Smythe’s journal from a 2019 trip to the Wind River Range. Photo by Drew Smith

Aaron Livingston, the author of this report, and Nolan Smythe free climbed a hard route up Mt. Hooker in Wyoming in 2019 and planned to return for their own new route in the summer of 2020. After Nolan’s death, Aaron returned to the Wind River Range with Jackson Marvell and Drew Smith and put up The Optimist, a.k.a. The Nolan Smythe Memorial Route (12 pitches, 5.12). Aaron’s story about this climb will be in the 2021 American Alpine Journal.

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The monthly Accidents Bulletin is supported by adidas Outdoor and the members of the American Alpine Club.

The Prescription - June 2021

Rescuers in Banff National Park heli-sling a patient to a staging area below Mt. Louis after a failed protection placement led to a very long fall. Photo: Parks Canada

The Prescription - June 2021

Leader Fall – Inadequate Protection (Banff National Park, Alberta)

This report will appear in the 2021 edition of ANAC. It highlights a problem that climbers occasionally experience: seemingly well-placed cams that unexpectedly pull out of cracks.  

On August 28, 2020, an experienced party set out to climb Homage to the Spider (5.10a) on Mt. Louis, near Banff. The route is an alpine rock climb with a three-hour approach. It starts with a few hundred meters of third- and fourth-class scrambling to reach a bolted anchor. From this anchor, there is a short descent into a gully, where the technical rock climbing starts.

The first pitch is 5.9 and includes a corner that is often dirty or wet. The leader started up this first pitch and made an extra effort to place some smaller pieces in the lower part of the pitch. The upper part consists of a wide crack that can be protected with number 4 cams. In an effort to keep packs light, the climbers had brought only a single number 4, intending to bump that cam up the wide section. The leader had climbed the route several times before and felt comfortable with this tactic.

High on the pitch, the leader set the big cam and committed to the final moves up to the anchor. During a layback move, one foot slipped and the climber started falling. The number 4 cam pulled out of the rock, and the climber kept falling before being stopped by a smaller cam lower down. The climber’s body contacted some ledgy terrain, and at least one ankle was broken. The belayer lowered the injured leader to the bottom of the climb, and the party called for help using their Satellite Emergency Notification Device (SEND).

Banff Visitor Safety personnel responded via helicopter and assessed the scene. The gully where the patient was located was too tight for helicopter access, but rescuers were able to move the injured climber and partner to the anchor above the pitch, from which the climbers and rescuers could be slung out to a staging area in the valley below.

ANALYSIS

RESCUER REQUEST: Another party was on Homage to the Spider on August 28, ahead of the injured party. Rescuers worried that rockfall from the party above might threaten the climbers and rescuers below. As a general rule, if you are above an accident scene, stop moving while the rescue is in process. This will greatly reduce the chance of knocking rocks, ice, or other objects onto the scene below. — Ian Jackson, Visitor Safety Technician

The leader was very experienced and had climbed Homage to the Spider six times. The route and gear requirements were known in detail. The leader also had a lot of experience placing trad gear and described the number 4 cam that pulled as “90 percent good.” In hindsight, the leader thought the cam pulled because the sides of the crack were coated with fine dirt and limestone dust. Meltwater from snow high up on the route funnels down the corner on pitch one, and this pitch is always covered in varying degrees of dirt. The leader felt that dirt on the sides of the crack decreased the friction between the cam lobes and the rock and made the placement, which otherwise appeared to be good, inadequate.

This is a common problem on alpine routes and even more so in winter with ice and water ever present. Cams are highly suspect if the friction of the cam lobes on the rock is inadequate. Passive protection that has a tighter fit—such as nuts, hexes, or pitons hammered into cracks—might inspire more confidence when the friction of the side walls is an issue.

On previous ascents of this route, the leader often had not placed the smaller cam that actually caught the fall. The leader made an effort to place more pieces this time and was very glad to have done so. That small cam had been deemed a much worse placement than the larger cam that pulled—but you never know what can happen. If you are relying solely on one piece and it pulls, the outcome could be very bad. (Source: Ian Jackson, Visitor Safety Technician, Banff, Yoho and Kootenay National Parks.)

CAMS IN SLIPPERY ROCK

A cam placed in a constriction often will have greater holding power in wet or dirty rock.

Numerous reports document that well-placed cams can pull out of wet or dirty rock or even perfectly clean but slippery stone like Yosemite granite or Devil’s Lake quartzite. What can be done to minimize this hazard?

• Lubricate cams and fix or replace units with sticky lobes or bent trigger wires to maximize their holding power. This report from the New River Gorge shows what can happen when cams are sticky.
• Choose the right cam for a placement—it should fit in the unit’s optimum range.
• Orient the placement in the direction of anticipated load, and extend it with a quickdraw or sling to maintain the correct orientation.
• Look for constrictions in the crack that will increase a cam’s holding power.
• Use more passive pro: A well-placed nut may be more resistant to pulling out of slick rock than a cam.
• Never say “good enough.” If a placement doesn’t look great, fix it or find another. Consider doubling up on protection before cruxes. (Source: ANAC 2019, p. 102.)

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THE RED ROCK POOPACALYPSE

By Stefani Dawn

In January 2021, Erik Kloeker and his climbing partner were minding their own business when someone dropped theirs.

Erik was belaying in one of the middle chimney pitches of the super-classic 1,500-foot route Epinephrine at Red Rock Canyon, Nevada, when he heard something fly past him and crash into the rock about a pitch down, just below his climbing partner and just above their friends in the following party. There was an explosion and then multiple ricocheting hits of what appeared to be a Nalgene bottle and its contents flying everywhere. But it wasn’t Gatorade spraying the walls of Black Velvet Canyon. It was human feces.

The climber that "dropped the deuce" explained that after pulling the bulge on the route’s final 5.9 pitch, he realized he couldn't resist the call of nature one minute longer. He attempted to go into a plastic Diamond almond bag, with the intentions of carrying it out, but the opening wasn't wide enough. The poopetrator got out a Nalgene water bottle to wash the resulting mess off his hands and the ledge, and to place the offending material inside, again with the intent of carrying out the waste. But as he was maneuvering on the ledge, his foot accidentally kicked off the feces-filled bottle—a moment that will live in infamy in the annals of Red Rock climbing.

Funny, yes…sort of. But such accidents create genuine hazards, not just from falling “objects” but also from the unsanitary conditions that will be encountered by dozens of climbers a week on a popular route like this. An excellent solution is to carry an appropriate poop bag, such as Restop 2 or Cleanwaste Go Anywhere (formerly Wag Bag), which have convenient large openings and contain odor-absorbing material, TP, and a handy wet-wipe. They weigh about three ounces and slip easily into a pack or coat pocket, so there’s no excuse not to have one at the ready.

If you'd like to support the "poopacolypse prevention" cause, the Southern Nevada Climbers Coalition, which helps stock poop-bag dispensers at Red Rock, is currently conducting a waste-bag fundraising campaign. Find the donation link at the bottom of this page.

— Stefani Dawn is a Las Vegas–based regional volunteer for ANAC and editor in chief of the online magazine Common Climber, which celebrates the fun in climbing and all climbers wherever they are in their climbing journey. 

THE SHARP END

Matt and Trevor had plenty of experience hiking 14ers in Colorado, so when Matt's dad was in Colorado for a visit, they decided to take him up Mt. Bierstadt so he could check off his first 14er to celebrate turning 70. On May 8, 2021, the group was nearing the top when the weather changed dramatically. They and another group of hikers suddenly found themselves in a lightning storm with extremely low visibility and rapidly dropping temperatures.

In this episode of the Sharp End, find out what Trevor and Matt learned about making decisions on the fly and how that extra gear we keep with us "just in case” might actually come into play. The Sharp End podcast is sponsored by the American Alpine Club.

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The monthly Accidents Bulletin is supported by adidas Outdoor and the members of the American Alpine Club.

The Prescription - May 2021

A huge avalanche in July stripped the north face of Mt. Belanger in Jasper National Park, Canada, down to bare glacial ice. Photo by Grant Statham

The Prescription - May 2021

KNOW THE ROPES: SUMMER AVALANCHES

Spring and Summer Hazards for Mountaineers

It’s springtime and that means snow slopes have stabilized and avalanche danger is a thing of the past, right? Not so fast. For mountaineers and skiers, avalanche season continues well into summer. And in the warmer months, mountaineers account for the large majority of fatal avalanche incidents.

For the 2020 edition of Accidents in North American Climbing, Seattle-based ski mountaineering guide and avalanche forecaster Matt Schonwald wrote an in-depth “Know the Ropes” article about mountaineering avalanches. At the top of his article, Matt described the problems with these avalanches and the reasons many climbers are less than fully prepared:

Spring avalanche on the Ptarmigan Glacier in Rocky Mountain National Park. Note the track on the left. A party of climbers/skiers climbed this slope about one hour before the slide. Photo by Dougald MacDonald

“Although a large majority of avalanche fatalities occur in the winter months, avalanches are not uncommon in the long days of late spring and early summer. According to the national database compiled by the Colorado Avalanche Information Center (CAIC), since 1951 in the United States, 39 out of 44 avalanche fatalities in June and 31 out of 43 in May have involved climbers.

“Most backcountry skiers and winter mountaineers in avalanche-prone areas have some knowledge of the hazards and carry basic avalanche safety equipment, such as transceivers, probes, and shovels…. But preparation for avalanche hazards in the spring and summer mountaineering season is not as widespread or systematic. Most avalanche training is skewed toward winter travelers, and many avalanches that affect mountaineers occur in terrain not covered by avalanche forecasts or after avalanche centers have shut down for the season.

“At the same time, the consequences of an avalanche are at least as great for mountaineers in spring and summer as they are during the winter months. As the winter snowpack melts back, additional hazards are exposed. Cliffs, narrow couloirs, exposed crevasses or boulder fields, and other terrain traps make an encounter with even a small avalanche potentially fatal.

“Mountains big and small possess the potential to bury or injure you with the right combination of unstable snow, terrain, and a trigger—often someone in your party. It’s not only important to recognize these hazards but also to have the discipline to respect the problem and choose another route or wait till the risk decreases. In preparing to enter avalanche terrain, the mountaineer must be focused more on avoiding avalanches than on surviving one, and that is the focus of this article.”

Matt’s story goes on to describe how to recognize avalanche hazards in mountaineering settings and how to plan climbs to minimize the hazards. If you’re contemplating a climbing or skiing trip in snowy mountains this season, this article is essential reading. If you prefer a PDF copy, log in to your profile at the AAC website and look under Publications in the member benefits area—you can download the complete 2020 ANAC there.

FROM THE ARCHIVE: A Real-World Example From Mt. Hood

Mt. Hood’s south side, about 24 hours after the avalanche on May 31, 1998. (A) The 300-foot crown fracture extended across the whole slope above Crater Rock, varying from one to five feet high. (B) The Hogsback bergschrund, below the Pearly Gates. Screen shot from KGW-Television cam at Timberline Lodge

In the 1999 edition of ANAC, we described a tragic incident on Mt. Hood on May 31, 1998. An avalanche struck a team attempting the West Crater Rim route at 10:05 a.m. and swept down about 1,250 feet. One climber was killed in the slide and two others seriously injured; the leader of the group, on a separate rope team, also was injured. The party had headed up the mountain despite one to two feet of new snow in the past week, a “high avalanche hazard” warning posted by the U.S. Forest Service, and signs of recent avalanche activity along their route.

According to the Mt. Hood climbing ranger, most of the people on the mountain that day in late May did not carry avalanche transceivers. “Some of these climbers later remarked that they hadn’t considered avalanches to be a problem, as it was late in the season and it was such a beautiful day,” the report says. “But in fact, a secondary maximum in monthly Northwest avalanche fatalities occurs in May, similar to the mid-winter Northwest maximums.”

Read the full ANAC report here.  

Rockfall took out this anchor at the Narrows, near Redstone, Colorado, last summer. Photo by Chris Kalous (@enormocast)

IT’S SPRINGTIME! HEADS UP!

Avalanches aren’t the only hazards that trend upward in springtime: Rockfall and loose holds become more frequent at many cliffs in the spring, as the freeze-thaw cycle and heavy precipitation prepares missiles for launching.

Last May, a climber experienced this the hard way during the fifth-class approach to Break on Through at Moore’s Wall, North Carolina. Two weeks of heavy rain had loosened some big holds, and this climber found one of them. His report will be published in ANAC 2021, but you can read it now at the AAC’s publications website.

If you choose not to wear a helmet for shorter climbs, such as sport routes, consider changing this habit for spring and early summer climbs. In addition to the hazards mentioned above, thunderstorms frequently send volleys of rock over cliffs, threatening climbers and belayers alike. Rockfall also may impact fixed gear and anchors: Check before you trust.

THE SHARP END PODCAST

Last summer, Jes Scott and Erica Ellefsen set out on an 80-kilometer high-mountain traverse from Mt. Washington to Flower Ridge in Strathcona Provincial Park, British Columbia. Listen to the latest Sharp End podcast to hear what went wrong during their planned eight-day traverse and how they decided to call for a rescue. The Sharp End podcast is sponsored by the American Alpine Club.

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The monthly Accidents Bulletin is supported by adidas Outdoor and the members of the American Alpine Club.

The Prescription - April 2021

Just tie the darned knot! Photo by Ron Funderburke.

The Prescription - April 2021

LOWERING ERROR – NO STOPPER KNOT

A PERSONAL STORY FROM THE EDITOR IN CHIEF

One of the most common incidents reported in Accidents in North American Climbing is lowering a climber off the end of the rope (specifically, allowing the end of the rope to pass through a belay device, causing the climber to fall to the ground). As the editor of Accidents for the last seven years, I am all too familiar with this accident type. Yet late last year, I allowed it to happen to me.

In sharing this story, the last thing I want to do is blame my belayer. I firmly believe that climbers are largely responsible for our own safety, and, as I’ll explain, I had enough information and know-how to make much better decisions before starting up this route.

The climb was our warm-up on a sunny October day at Staunton State Park in Colorado. The Mountain Project description of this 5.9+ sport route said it was 95 feet high and that you could lower with a 60-meter rope with care. We had brought a fairly new 60-meter rope to the crag. The pitch was obviously long: I couldn’t see the anchor over a bulge up high, and the description said there were 14 protection bolts. But all these clues didn’t prompt me to tie a stopper knot in the belayer’s end of the rope before heading up.

During the long pitch, I made a mental note to tell my belayer to keep an eye on the end of the rope as I lowered off, and I thought the same thing as I rigged the anchor for top-roping. But I couldn’t see the belayer on the ground until I had lowered for 35 or 40 feet, and by then I’d forgotten my plan to warn the belayer to watch the ends.

Photo of the author by Mark Hammond

Three or four feet off the ground, as I was backing down ledges at the base of the climb, the rope end shot through the belayer’s device and I tumbled to the ground, knocking over the belayer and rolling across a stony belay platform. Fortunately, neither of us were injured, but we were both badly shaken.

Did I feel stupid? You bet I did. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve written some form of this sentence in the pages of Accidents: “A stopper knot in the end of the rope would have prevented this accident.” I even urged readers to make a pledge to tie stopper knots in an editorial a couple of years ago. How could I have neglected this basic step? It was complacency, plain and simple.

No one is immune to mistakes. The only way to ensure you’ll have a stopper knot when you need it is to tie one every time. (Or you can tie the belayer’s end to a rope bag, or the belayer can tie in to close the system.) Every time. It feels silly for short pitches, but it forms a routine, so you’ll be prepared when it really counts. Tying the knot also subtly influences your climbing partners and other climbers at the crag; hopefully, they’ll develop their own good habits.

The Mountain Project description for that climb at Staunton has been revised, and now it should be clear that a 70-meter rope (or some easy downclimbing with a 60m) is needed. But ropes shrink, ropes get cut, your partner might have forgotten which rope he brought. A stopper knot is the ultimate shield against bad beta. It’s also a wonderful antidote to complacency.

I got off easy last October, and I’ve finally learned my lesson. Closing the belay system takes only seconds, and there is no downside. So, please, don’t repeat my mistake. Just tie the darned knot.

— Dougald MacDonald, Editor

THE SHARP END PODCAST

Back in 1982, Jean Muenchrath and her partner summited Mt. Whitney as the culmination of a winter ski traverse of the John Muir Trail. On the summit they were caught in a severe snow and lightning storm. During their attempt to escape the mountain, her partner took a long sliding fall, and then Jean, trying to get down herself, also fell and bounced down through rocks for more than 150 feet, enduring massive trauma. Listen to this episode to hear a true story of tenacity and survival. The Sharp End podcast is sponsored by the American Alpine Club.

MEET THE RESCUERS

Dr. Christopher Van Tilburg, medical director for Mt. Hood rescue teams, gives us an update on climbing and COVID-19.

Home town: Hood River, Oregon

Christopher Van Tilburg near Everest Base Camp, Nepal.

Volunteer and professional life: I’m a rescuer and medical director for Hood River Crag Rats and medical director for Portland Mountain Rescue, Pacific Northwest SAR, and Clackamas County SAR. Basically all the areas around Mt. Hood. My day job is working for Providence Hood River Memorial Hospital in clinic and the emergency room, but also at the Mount Hood Meadows ski resort (21 years!). Finally, I’m the Hood River County medical examiner and public health officer, which is a good complement for public safety and SAR work. 

How did you first become interested in search and rescue?

I grew up with parents who spent lots of time volunteering in the local community and abroad. They were involved in the Friendship Force, a person-to-person exchange program, and Christian Medical Society. Initially I became interested in wilderness medicine through doing medical relief programs. Then, in medical school, I realized it was a way of merging my passion with the outdoors, medicine, and my interest in volunteering. 

Any personal climbing accidents or close calls?

I almost died on Mt. Hood in an inbounds ski accident. One weekend we had six inches of rain followed by freezing temps, so the snowpack froze solid. Then we had a foot of snow. I fell and ended up having emergency surgery. It put things in perspective: Things can go bad at any time, in an instant. 

What sort of work are you doing with SAR teams in relation to COVID-19?

I put together or assisted with most COVID-19 protocols for the teams where I am medical director. It was particularly challenging because recommendations changed as the pandemic evolved. 

Given that most of our readers are climbing outdoors, how worried do they need to be about catching or transmitting the virus?

Outdoor activity is very low risk. Probably the biggest risk is driving in a closed vehicle to the mountain or crag or sharing a tent. I’ve been vaccinated since very early, but I—and my ski buddies—still wear a mask on the commute up the mountain. Vaccination limits risk, wearing a mask limits risk, washing hands and trying to keep your distance limits risk. Employ these three things and you’ll be much safer. 

What other precautions can climbers and mountaineers take?

Forming a pod of people with whom you climb regularly will help. Then, do a quick safety check before leaving the house to pick up your buddy: Are you sick? Have you been exposed to someone sick? 

With vaccination increasing and so many states opening up, even as COVID variants are spreading, how should climbers adjust their risk assessment during the spring and summer months?

Right now, keep wearing a mask. We don’t know yet about variants, how effective the vaccine will be. We also have many cases of people vaccinated but still getting COVID-19. So, I’d say, don’t be too eager to stop wearing the mask. 

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Share Your Story: The deadline for the 2021 edition of Accidents in North American Climbing is April 30. If you were involved in a climbing accident or rescue in 2020, consider sharing the lessons with other climbers. Let’s work together to reduce the number of accidents. Reach us at [email protected].

The monthly Accidents Bulletin is supported by adidas Outdoor and the members of the American Alpine Club.

The Prescription—March 2021

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GROUND FALL – INADEQUATE PROTECTION

COOPER’S ROCK STATE FOREST, WEST VIRGINIA

Mike had set up a video camera to record what he hoped would be an onsight send of a 5.12 route at Cooper’s Rock. The first gear placement is marked. The route is usually top-roped. Video capture courtesy of Mike Paugh

On October 4, Sarah Smith and I (Mike Paugh, 38) were searching for areas to bring clients with my new guide service, Ascension Climbing Guides. While exploring, we were also climbing routes in the area. At the Roof Rocks, about 2 p.m., I racked up to attempt Upchouca (5.12a/b), which begins with an unprotected V5 start. I knew the route was in my wheelhouse of climbing fitness but also at the peak of my climbing limits. I felt confident about the send. I rehearsed the opening moves 10 to 12 times, trying to find my sequence to the hero jug about 15 feet up.

I set off one last time, committing to the boulder problem and fully aware there was a point of no return where I could not jump off without getting injured. I felt gassed and pumped immediately after making it through the crux, probably from the numerous attempts to figure out my sequence. Unfortunately, the placement I had spotted from the ground for my first piece of protection turned out to be complete garbage.

Realizing that I was in trouble, I continued upward and found an excellent horizontal seam. I placed a yellow Metolius TCU up to the trigger, with all three lobes fully engaged, and clipped it using an alpine draw. Breathing a sigh of relief, I asked my belayer, Sarah, to take me. The cam held and I proceeded to shake out my arms. The climbing above looked to ease up significantly, and I identified a couple solid gear placements.

As soon as I shifted my weight to the left to continue up the route, the TCU blew from the rock with the sound of a 12-gauge shotgun. When it popped, a piece of rock hit me in the face as I began to fall. Everything sped up, and the next thing I remember is hitting the ground and screaming in pain. I suffered an open fracture of my left tibia and fibula. Thankfully, there was a party of four climbers nearby who responded to Sarah’s call for help until EMS arrived.

ANALYSIS

I had three surgeries to repair the damage and later remove the external fixation device attached to my leg. I’ve been doing great with my recovery, and I’ve started climbing again in the gym. 

Looking back, I’ve thought about the risk assessment I should have made before attempting the route. Given the hard, bouldery crux in the first 15 to 18 feet of this route and the rocky landing below it, I should have placed bouldering pads at the base of the climb, treating it like a highball boulder problem. Protecting the landing zone should have been priority number one, especially for a ground-up, onsight attempt. Once I reached the jug hold past the crux, I was in a no-return, no-fall zone, especially without any pad protection.  

I’ve also realized I should have considered setting up a top-rope to rehearse the route, due to its PG-13 rating and not being able to assess gear placements adequately from the ground. Had I done so, I could have climbed the route with little to no consequences, assessing the rock quality (which was a little chossy in the crack) and gear placements before leading the climb. I also could have backed up the single TCU with another placement before asking Sarah to take my weight.

I am extremely grateful to the group of young climbers who kept me calm and called 911, to Jan Dzierzak, the Cooper’s Rock superintendent, to Adam Polinski, who showed the rescue group the easiest way out during the extraction, to the local rescue volunteers and professionals who responded to the call, and to the highly skilled orthopedic surgery and physical therapy staff at WVU–Ruby Memorial Hospital. I have received amazing support from my climbing community, family, and friends, not just locally but also nationally. (Source: Mike Paugh.)

Mike’s family and friends set up a Go Fund Me page to offset expenses that weren’t covered by his health insurance.

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PIEPS BEACONS TO BE RECALLED

Black Diamond Equipment announced March 3 that it is working under the guidance of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and Health Canada to initiate a Fast Track voluntary product recall for PIEPS DSP avalanche transceivers. Black Diamond Equipment is the North American distributor for PIEPS. The announcement pertains to the PIEPS DSP Pro, DSP Pro Ice, and DSP Sport avalanche transceivers.

The recall is in response to users’ reports the beacons can accidentally switch out of transmit mode during use. The recall is already underway in Europe and elsewhere, but Black Diamond must work with government agencies to begin the formal recall in North America. Details will be announced soon. In the meantime, alternative beacons should be used.

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EUROPEAN ACCIDENT STUDIES

Two recent papers on the nature and causes of rock climbing and mountaineering accidents in Europe are available to download:

• Mountaineering incidents in France: analysis of search and rescue interventions on a 10-year period, published in the Journal of Mountain Science. The download link (a fee or institutional access required) is here.

• Rock Climbing Emergencies in the Austrian Alps: Injury Patterns, Risk Analysis and
Preventive Measures, published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. The full article can be downloaded (no charge) from the U.S. National Institutes of Health.

Incidentally, two of the lead authors on these studies, Maud Vanpoulle (France) and Laura Tiefenthaler (Austria), are very accomplished alpine climbers. Tiefenthaler climbed both Cerro Torre and Fitz Roy last season, and Vanpoulle’s climbs in Chile’s Cordillera Darwin with the French national women’s mountaineering team appeared in the 2019 American Alpine Journal.

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The Sharp End · Ep 62 - Institutional Near Misses - Steve Smith

THE SHARP END

Near misses are greatly under-reported in climbing and backcountry skiing, yet they are plentiful. What leads them to be under-reported and how can they help climbers avoid future accidents? In Episode 62 of the Sharp End, Joel Reid, the Washington Program Director at the Northwest Outward Bound School, and Steve Smith, from Experiential Consulting, chat with Ashley about the importance of reporting and studying near misses. The Sharp End podcast is sponsored by the American Alpine Club.

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THE ROAD TO RECOVERY

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Molly Mitchell (@molly.mitchell)

Colorado-based pro climber Molly Mitchell suffered a serious accident on October 1 last year, falling to the ground after ripping four pieces of gear from her project: a traditional ascent (skipping the bolts) on the 5.13c/d route Crank It in Boulder Canyon. She fractured two vertebrae in her lower back. Understandably, both the physical and psychological recovery have been tough. And so, we were happy to see her post on March 4 celebrating a return to hard trad climbing. Though few can climb as hard as Molly, many will identify with her feelings following a damaging fall. Highlights from her post are reproduced below; click on the photo to read the whole post.

🙏 Yesterday was big for me. So happy to have sent “Bone Collector” (aka Bone Crusher), a 5.12 trad line at The Quarry in Golden, CO…. It’s been 5 months since I broke my back taking a ground fall in Boulder Canyon. 3 months since I got out of the back brace.

I have to say that the last couple months have been incredibly hard for me. Maybe even harder than the 2 months I spent in the back brace. Not only did I not realize the physical limitations the soft tissue in my back would still have, but my mental game has been all over the place. Earlier in February, I was crying almost every time I led a trad route and having intense anxiety attacks. I didn’t realize the long term effect the trauma of the accident would have on me. I have said to my friends: I feel like a different person and it’s made me feel like I’ve lost my identity.

I started working on this route at the end of January. The route takes good gear, but I still had such a hard time trusting the gear on anything, and even more importantly, trusting myself…. For a while, and still sometimes, even weighting a piece at all was so hard because my body would just still recall the feeling of the gear ripping from my accident…. It’s been a battle.

Yesterday was the first time I felt in the zone again while climbing since the accident. I was still very nervous and scared, but I was able to push through…. I’m so proud of myself. I don’t feel confident saying that often because my anxiety doesn’t want me to come across like I have an ego. But this one meant a lot 🥺. Thank you to everyone who has been incredibly supportive & helpful the last couple months.

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Share Your Story: The deadline for the 2021 edition of Accidents in North American Climbing is not far off. If you were involved in a climbing accident or rescue in 2020, consider sharing the lessons with other climbers. Let’s work together to reduce the number of accidents. Reach us at [email protected].

The monthly Accidents Bulletin is supported by adidas Outdoor and the members of the American Alpine Club.

The Prescription - March 2021

Mike had set up a video camera to record what he hoped would be an onsight send of a 5.12 route at Cooper’s Rock. The first gear placement is marked. The route is usually top-roped. Video capture courtesy of Mike Paugh

The Prescription - March 2021

GROUND FALL – INADEQUATE PROTECTION

COOPER’S ROCK STATE FOREST, WEST VIRGINIA

On October 4, Sarah Smith and I (Mike Paugh, 38) were searching for areas to bring clients with my new guide service, Ascension Climbing Guides. While exploring, we were also climbing routes in the area. At the Roof Rocks, about 2 p.m., I racked up to attempt Upchouca (5.12a/b), which begins with an unprotected V5 start. I knew the route was in my wheelhouse of climbing fitness but also at the peak of my climbing limits. I felt confident about the send. I rehearsed the opening moves 10 to 12 times, trying to find my sequence to the hero jug about 15 feet up.

I set off one last time, committing to the boulder problem and fully aware there was a point of no return where I could not jump off without getting injured. I felt gassed and pumped immediately after making it through the crux, probably from the numerous attempts to figure out my sequence. Unfortunately, the placement I had spotted from the ground for my first piece of protection turned out to be complete garbage.

Realizing that I was in trouble, I continued upward and found an excellent horizontal seam. I placed a yellow Metolius TCU up to the trigger, with all three lobes fully engaged, and clipped it using an alpine draw. Breathing a sigh of relief, I asked my belayer, Sarah, to take me. The cam held and I proceeded to shake out my arms. The climbing above looked to ease up significantly, and I identified a couple solid gear placements.

As soon as I shifted my weight to the left to continue up the route, the TCU blew from the rock with the sound of a 12-gauge shotgun. When it popped, a piece of rock hit me in the face as I began to fall. Everything sped up, and the next thing I remember is hitting the ground and screaming in pain. I suffered an open fracture of my left tibia and fibula. Thankfully, there was a party of four climbers nearby who responded to Sarah’s call for help until EMS arrived.

ANALYSIS

I had three surgeries to repair the damage and later remove the external fixation device attached to my leg. I’ve been doing great with my recovery, and I’ve started climbing again in the gym. 

Looking back, I’ve thought about the risk assessment I should have made before attempting the route. Given the hard, bouldery crux in the first 15 to 18 feet of this route and the rocky landing below it, I should have placed bouldering pads at the base of the climb, treating it like a highball boulder problem. Protecting the landing zone should have been priority number one, especially for a ground-up, onsight attempt. Once I reached the jug hold past the crux, I was in a no-return, no-fall zone, especially without any pad protection.  

I’ve also realized I should have considered setting up a top-rope to rehearse the route, due to its PG-13 rating and not being able to assess gear placements adequately from the ground. Had I done so, I could have climbed the route with little to no consequences, assessing the rock quality (which was a little chossy in the crack) and gear placements before leading the climb. I also could have backed up the single TCU with another placement before asking Sarah to take my weight.

I am extremely grateful to the group of young climbers who kept me calm and called 911, to Jan Dzierzak, the Cooper’s Rock superintendent, to Adam Polinski, who showed the rescue group the easiest way out during the extraction, to the local rescue volunteers and professionals who responded to the call, and to the highly skilled orthopedic surgery and physical therapy staff at WVU–Ruby Memorial Hospital. I have received amazing support from my climbing community, family, and friends, not just locally but also nationally. (Source: Mike Paugh.)

Mike’s family and friends set up a Go Fund Me page to offset expenses that weren’t covered by his health insurance.

EUROPEAN ACCIDENT STUDIES

Two recent papers on the nature and causes of rock climbing and mountaineering accidents in Europe are available to download:

• Mountaineering incidents in France: analysis of search and rescue interventions on a 10-year period, published in the Journal of Mountain Science. The download link (a fee or institutional access required) is here.

• Rock Climbing Emergencies in the Austrian Alps: Injury Patterns, Risk Analysis and
Preventive Measures, published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. The full article can be downloaded (no charge) from the U.S. National Institutes of Health.

Incidentally, two of the lead authors on these studies, Maud Vanpoulle (France) and Laura Tiefenthaler (Austria), are very accomplished alpine climbers. Tiefenthaler climbed both Cerro Torre and Fitz Roy last season, and Vanpoulle’s climbs in Chile’s Cordillera Darwin with the French national women’s mountaineering team appeared in the 2019 American Alpine Journal.

THE SHARP END

Near misses are greatly under-reported in climbing and backcountry skiing, yet they are plentiful. What leads them to be under-reported and how can they help climbers avoid future accidents? In Episode 62 of the Sharp End, Joel Reid, the Washington Program Director at the Northwest Outward Bound School, and Steve Smith, from Experiential Consulting, chat with Ashley about the importance of reporting and studying near misses. The Sharp End podcast is sponsored by the American Alpine Club.

THE ROAD TO RECOVERY

Colorado-based pro climber Molly Mitchell suffered a serious accident on October 1 last year, falling to the ground after ripping four pieces of gear from her project: a traditional ascent (skipping the bolts) on the 5.13c/d route Crank It in Boulder Canyon. She fractured two vertebrae in her lower back. Understandably, both the physical and psychological recovery have been tough. And so, we were happy to see her post on March 4 celebrating a return to hard trad climbing. Though few can climb as hard as Molly, many will identify with her feelings following a damaging fall. Highlights from her post are reproduced below; click on the photo to read the whole post.

🙏 Yesterday was big for me. So happy to have sent “Bone Collector” (aka Bone Crusher), a 5.12 trad line at The Quarry in Golden, CO…. It’s been 5 months since I broke my back taking a ground fall in Boulder Canyon. 3 months since I got out of the back brace.

I have to say that the last couple months have been incredibly hard for me. Maybe even harder than the 2 months I spent in the back brace. Not only did I not realize the physical limitations the soft tissue in my back would still have, but my mental game has been all over the place. Earlier in February, I was crying almost every time I led a trad route and having intense anxiety attacks. I didn’t realize the long term effect the trauma of the accident would have on me. I have said to my friends: I feel like a different person and it’s made me feel like I’ve lost my identity.

I started working on this route at the end of January. The route takes good gear, but I still had such a hard time trusting the gear on anything, and even more importantly, trusting myself…. For a while, and still sometimes, even weighting a piece at all was so hard because my body would just still recall the feeling of the gear ripping from my accident…. It’s been a battle.

Yesterday was the first time I felt in the zone again while climbing since the accident. I was still very nervous and scared, but I was able to push through…. I’m so proud of myself. I don’t feel confident saying that often because my anxiety doesn’t want me to come across like I have an ego. But this one meant a lot 🥺. Thank you to everyone who has been incredibly supportive & helpful the last couple months.

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Share Your Story: The deadline for the 2021 edition of Accidents in North American Climbing is not far off. If you were involved in a climbing accident or rescue in 2020, consider sharing the lessons with other climbers. Let’s work together to reduce the number of accidents. Reach us at [email protected].

The monthly Accidents Bulletin is supported by adidas Outdoor and the members of the American Alpine Club.

The Prescription—February 2021

STRANDED – STUCK RAPPEL ROPES

CASTLETON TOWER, UTAH

Highline anchor bolts atop the northwest corner of Castleton Tower, Utah.

Just after sunset on December 4, two male climbers (ages 32 and 36) called 911 to report they were stranded halfway down 400-foot Castleton Tower because their rappel ropes had become stuck. Starting near sunrise, the pair had climbed the classic Kor-Ingalls Route (5.9) on the tower’s south side. They topped out later than expected, with about an hour and a half of daylight left.

Armed with guidebook photos and online beta, they planned to descend via the standard North Face rappels. The two saw a beefy new anchor on top of the northwest corner of the tower and decided this must be the first rappel anchor. Tying two 70-meter ropes together, the first rappeller descended about 200 feet and spotted a bolted anchor 25 feet to his right, with no other suitable anchor before the ends of the ropes. No longer in voice contact with his partner, he ascended a short distance and moved right to reach the bolted anchor. It appeared that one more double-rope rappel would get them to the ground. Once both climbers reached the mid-face anchor, they attempted to pull the ropes. Despite applying full body weight to the pull line, they could not get the ropes to budge.

Contemplating ascending the stuck rope, the climbers realized the other strand had swung out of reach across a blank face. The climbers agreed that recovering the other strand was not safe or practical, nor was climbing the unknown chimney above them in the dark. The climbers were aware the temperature was expected to drop to 15°F overnight, so they made the call for a rescue. They were prepared with a headlamp, warm jackets, hand warmers, and an emergency bivy sack.

A team of three rescuers from Grand County Search and Rescue was transported to the summit via helicopter. One rescuer rappelled to the subjects around 9 p.m. and assisted them in rappelling to the base of the tower. 

ANALYSIS

The rescuers discovered the climbers had mistakenly rappelled from an anchor used to rig a 500-meter highline (slackline) over to the neighboring Rectory formation. Instead of rappelling the North Face, as planned, the climbers had ended up on the less-traveled West Face Route (5.11). Because the highline anchors were not intended for rappelling, friction made it impossible for the climbers to pull their ropes.

Upon reflection, the climbing party identified a number of decisions that could have prevented this misadventure. Had they abandoned the climb and rappelled the Kor-Ingalls Route earlier, they probably would have been down before sunset. Even after finishing the route, heading back down the Kor-Ingalls would have had the advantage of familiarity with the anchor stations rather than rappelling into unknown territory. Lastly, while the highline anchor is quite visible atop the tower, its configuration, set back from the cliff edge with very short chain links, indicates it is not appropriate for a rappel. The climbers may have felt rushed with the setting sun and dropping temperatures, but if they had looked more thoroughly, they likely would have found the North Face rappel station, about 15 feet away . This anchor’s bolts have three or four feet of chain that extend over the edge and attach to large rappel rings, making for an easy pull. (Sources: The climbers, Grand County Search and Rescue, and the Editors.) 

The highline from Misery Ridge to Monkey Face at Smith Rock. Climbers were stranded in 2018 when they attempted to rappel from the anchors on the left and could not pull their ropes. Photo courtesy of Smithrock.com.

The Hazards of Highline Anchors

As highlines, BASE jumps, and space nets grow in popularity, the number of nonclimbing bolted anchors is on the rise at certain climbing areas, and rescues like this are becoming more prevalent. In fact, this is the second stranding in five years resulting from an attempted rappel using the same highline anchor on Castleton Tower. Two very similar incidents were reported in ANAC 2019: one at Smith Rock, Oregon, and one in Clear Creek Canyon, Colorado.

To avoid mistakenly using an anchor that’s not intended for rappelling, study published descriptions of anchor locations carefully. If an anchor does not appear to be set up properly for rappelling—especially when it’s on a very popular formation like Castleton Tower—look around and consider the options before committing to the rappel. 

After word got out about these stranded climbers on Castleton Tower, a local guide removed the chain links from the highline anchor to discourage future incidents. (The links can easily be reinstalled to rig the highline to the Rectory.) Plans are in the works to attach plaques identifying the bolts as a highline anchor.

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THE SHARP END: A SKIER’S SCARY SLIDE ON MT. HOOD

The Sharp End · Ep 61 - Falling In A Fumarole - Scott

Last June, a 25-year-old skier had just begun his descent from Mt. Hood’s summit when he missed a turn and started sliding. Waiting at the bottom was a fumarole: an opening in the volcano’s icy surface that emits steam and noxious gases. In episode 61 of the Sharp End, this skier tells host Ashley Saupe about his accident and ensuing rescue. The Sharp End podcast is sponsored by the American Alpine Club.

Climbers and Fumaroles

Fumarole incidents on Oregon’s Mt. Hood are not uncommon. These dangerous volcanic vents form in the run-out zone below several of Hood’s most popular summit routes. In December 2020, another skier fell through a thin bridge over a fumarole on Mt. Hood. Like the skier in this month’s Sharp End, she was traveling alone, and she was fortunate that bystanders quickly came to her aid. Although traditional crevasse hazard is seldom an issue on Hood’s normal routes, solo climbers and skiers should be acutely aware of fumarole dangers, how to identify them, and their likely locations. For more on Mt. Hood’s common accident types, see “Danger Zones” in ANAC 2018.

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OMG! THIS BOLT IS LOOSE!

According to the New River Alliance of Climbers (NRAC) in West Virginia, 75 percent of the “bad bolt” reports it receives are simple cases of loose nuts that could be tightened easily. This fun, one-minute video from the NRAC offers a quick breakdown of what to do when you encounter a loose bolt—which can be tightened and which should be reported to your local climbing organization or BadBolts.com.

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MEET THE VOLUNTEERS

Stacia Glenn, Regional Editor for Washington

Years volunteering with Accidents: 5

Real job: Breaking-news reporter at The News Tribune in Tacoma

Home climbing areas: North Cascades, Exit 38, Vantage/Frenchman Coulee

Favorite type of climbing?

I love single-pitch sport—there's just something about the mental and physical challenge of finding my way up the rock, and that's where I push my ability the furthest. But the overall experience of alpine climbing—the isolation, the mountain views, the promise of adventure—is hard to beat.

How did you first become interested in Accidents?

When I was first learning how to climb, I had no real sense of what could go wrong. As a way to educate and caution me, a friend pointed me to the Accidents publication, and it became a wonderful learning tool. Reading about climbing mishaps and poring over the analysis of why these things happened drove home the seriousness of the sport and instilled a deep appreciation for safety. Editing Accidents and diving into the details of each incident constantly reminds me of these things and has deepened my understanding of techniques.

Personal scariest incident?

I was warming up on a sport route in the Tieton River area, west of Yakima, on a sweltering summer day, and the climb had an extremely high first bolt. As I went to move my left hand, a rock fell from the cliff above and startled me. I lost my grip and fell 22 feet, landing upright and shattering the tibia and fibula in my left leg. I was only falling for seconds, but it felt like the world slowed down as my mind frantically tried to process what was happening and how I could protect myself. So terrifying! 

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Share Your Story: The deadline for the 2021 edition of Accidents in North American Climbing is not far off. If you were involved in a climbing accident or rescue in 2020, consider sharing the lessons with other climbers. Let’s work together to reduce the number of accidents. Reach us at [email protected].

The monthly Accidents Bulletin is supported by adidas Outdoor and the members of the American Alpine Club.

The Prescription - February 2021

Highline anchor bolts atop the northwest corner of Castleton Tower, Utah.

The Prescription - February 2021

STRANDED – STUCK RAPPEL ROPES

CASTLETON TOWER, UTAH

Just after sunset on December 4, two male climbers (ages 32 and 36) called 911 to report they were stranded halfway down 400-foot Castleton Tower because their rappel ropes had become stuck. Starting near sunrise, the pair had climbed the classic Kor-Ingalls Route (5.9) on the tower’s south side. They topped out later than expected, with about an hour and a half of daylight left.

Armed with guidebook photos and online beta, they planned to descend via the standard North Face rappels. The two saw a beefy new anchor on top of the northwest corner of the tower and decided this must be the first rappel anchor. Tying two 70-meter ropes together, the first rappeller descended about 200 feet and spotted a bolted anchor 25 feet to his right, with no other suitable anchor before the ends of the ropes. No longer in voice contact with his partner, he ascended a short distance and moved right to reach the bolted anchor. It appeared that one more double-rope rappel would get them to the ground. Once both climbers reached the mid-face anchor, they attempted to pull the ropes. Despite applying full body weight to the pull line, they could not get the ropes to budge.

Contemplating ascending the stuck rope, the climbers realized the other strand had swung out of reach across a blank face. The climbers agreed that recovering the other strand was not safe or practical, nor was climbing the unknown chimney above them in the dark. The climbers were aware the temperature was expected to drop to 15°F overnight, so they made the call for a rescue. They were prepared with a headlamp, warm jackets, hand warmers, and an emergency bivy sack.

A team of three rescuers from Grand County Search and Rescue was transported to the summit via helicopter. One rescuer rappelled to the subjects around 9 p.m. and assisted them in rappelling to the base of the tower. 

ANALYSIS

The rescuers discovered the climbers had mistakenly rappelled from an anchor used to rig a 500-meter highline (slackline) over to the neighboring Rectory formation. Instead of rappelling the North Face, as planned, the climbers had ended up on the less-traveled West Face Route (5.11). Because the highline anchors were not intended for rappelling, friction made it impossible for the climbers to pull their ropes.

Upon reflection, the climbing party identified a number of decisions that could have prevented this misadventure. Had they abandoned the climb and rappelled the Kor-Ingalls Route earlier, they probably would have been down before sunset. Even after finishing the route, heading back down the Kor-Ingalls would have had the advantage of familiarity with the anchor stations rather than rappelling into unknown territory. Lastly, while the highline anchor is quite visible atop the tower, its configuration, set back from the cliff edge with very short chain links, indicates it is not appropriate for a rappel. The climbers may have felt rushed with the setting sun and dropping temperatures, but if they had looked more thoroughly, they likely would have found the North Face rappel station, about 15 feet away . This anchor’s bolts have three or four feet of chain that extend over the edge and attach to large rappel rings, making for an easy pull. (Sources: The climbers, Grand County Search and Rescue, and the Editors.) 

The Hazards of Highline Anchors

As highlines, BASE jumps, and space nets grow in popularity, the number of nonclimbing bolted anchors is on the rise at certain climbing areas, and rescues like this are becoming more prevalent. In fact, this is the second stranding in five years resulting from an attempted rappel using the same highline anchor on Castleton Tower. Two very similar incidents were reported in ANAC 2019: one at Smith Rock, Oregon, and one in Clear Creek Canyon, Colorado.

The highline from Misery Ridge to Monkey Face at Smith Rock. Climbers were stranded in 2018 when they attempted to rappel from the anchors on the left and could not pull their ropes. Photo courtesy of Smithrock.com.

To avoid mistakenly using an anchor that’s not intended for rappelling, study published descriptions of anchor locations carefully. If an anchor does not appear to be set up properly for rappelling—especially when it’s on a very popular formation like Castleton Tower—look around and consider the options before committing to the rappel. 

After word got out about these stranded climbers on Castleton Tower, a local guide removed the chain links from the highline anchor to discourage future incidents. (The links can easily be reinstalled to rig the highline to the Rectory.) Plans are in the works to attach plaques identifying the bolts as a highline anchor.

THE SHARP END: A SKIER’S SCARY SLIDE ON MT. HOOD

Last June, a 25-year-old skier had just begun his descent from Mt. Hood’s summit when he missed a turn and started sliding. Waiting at the bottom was a fumarole: an opening in the volcano’s icy surface that emits steam and noxious gases. In episode 61 of the Sharp End, this skier tells host Ashley Saupe about his accident and ensuing rescue. The Sharp End podcast is sponsored by the American Alpine Club.

Climbers and Fumaroles

Fumarole incidents on Oregon’s Mt. Hood are not uncommon. These dangerous volcanic vents form in the run-out zone below several of Hood’s most popular summit routes. In December 2020, another skier fell through a thin bridge over a fumarole on Mt. Hood. Like the skier in this month’s Sharp End, she was traveling alone, and she was fortunate that bystanders quickly came to her aid. Although traditional crevasse hazard is seldom an issue on Hood’s normal routes, solo climbers and skiers should be acutely aware of fumarole dangers, how to identify them, and their likely locations. For more on Mt. Hood’s common accident types, see “Danger Zones” in ANAC 2018.

OMG! THIS BOLT IS LOOSE!

According to the New River Alliance of Climbers (NRAC) in West Virginia, 75 percent of the “bad bolt” reports it receives are simple cases of loose nuts that could be tightened easily. This fun, one-minute video from the NRAC offers a quick breakdown of what to do when you encounter a loose bolt—which can be tightened and which should be reported to your local climbing organization or BadBolts.com.

MEET THE VOLUNTEERS

Stacia Glenn, Regional Editor for Washington

Years volunteering with Accidents: 5

Stacia Glenn near Washington Pass. Photo by Jon Abbott

Real job: Breaking-news reporter at The News Tribune in Tacoma

Home climbing areas: North Cascades, Exit 38, Vantage/Frenchman Coulee

Favorite type of climbing?

I love single-pitch sport—there's just something about the mental and physical challenge of finding my way up the rock, and that's where I push my ability the furthest. But the overall experience of alpine climbing—the isolation, the mountain views, the promise of adventure—is hard to beat.

How did you first become interested in Accidents?

When I was first learning how to climb, I had no real sense of what could go wrong. As a way to educate and caution me, a friend pointed me to the Accidents publication, and it became a wonderful learning tool. Reading about climbing mishaps and poring over the analysis of why these things happened drove home the seriousness of the sport and instilled a deep appreciation for safety. Editing Accidents and diving into the details of each incident constantly reminds me of these things and has deepened my understanding of techniques.

Personal scariest incident?

I was warming up on a sport route in the Tieton River area, west of Yakima, on a sweltering summer day, and the climb had an extremely high first bolt. As I went to move my left hand, a rock fell from the cliff above and startled me. I lost my grip and fell 22 feet, landing upright and shattering the tibia and fibula in my left leg. I was only falling for seconds, but it felt like the world slowed down as my mind frantically tried to process what was happening and how I could protect myself. So terrifying! 

Share Your Story: The deadline for the 2021 edition of Accidents in North American Climbing is not far off. If you were involved in a climbing accident or rescue in 2020, consider sharing the lessons with other climbers. Let’s work together to reduce the number of accidents. Reach us at [email protected].

The monthly Accidents Bulletin is supported by adidas Outdoor and the members of the American Alpine Club.

The Prescription—January 2021

National Park Service rangers rescuing the fallen climber from Mt. Shuksan. NPS Photo

Anchor Failures in the Mountains

North Cascades National Park, Mt. Shuksan, Sulphide Glacier Route

On July 19, 2020, a party of three climbers was descending Mt. Shuksan after summiting via the Sulphide Glacier route. The party was rappelling the standard descent route on Shuksan’s summit pyramid. They reached a flat ledge and found an existing anchor consisting of a single loop of red webbing around a rock horn. After pulling the rope from the previous rappel, one of the climbers, a 28-year-old female, began to rig the second-to-last rappel of their descent. She threaded the rope through the anchor, rigged her rappel device, and began to weight the anchor. At this time, the rock horn failed, and the climber fell about 100 feet. The other climbers were not attached to the anchor when the failure occurred. The climber came to rest in 3rd- and 4th-class terrain, suffering an unspecified lower leg injury.

The party activated an inReach device to request a rescue, and the remaining two climbers were able to downclimb to the fallen climber’s position and provide basic medical care. At 5:30 p.m., National Park Service rangers arrived on scene via helicopter, and a short-haul operation was performed to extract the injured climber. The rest of the party was able to safely exit the mountain on their own.

ANALYSIS

In an interview with the party, the climber stated they were in a hurry due to the lateness of the day and they were tired from attempting a car-to-car climb of this long route (6,400 feet of elevation gain). The climber stated that at this rappel station they did not assess the integrity of the anchor, as they had been doing previously. This decision was influenced by time, fatigue, and the assumption the anchor would be strong, like the other anchors they had just used for rappelling.

When rappelling, it is imperative to assess the integrity of every anchor before weighting it. Inspect the entire anchor material, especially the less visible back side of the anchor, to be sure it is not chewed, weathered, or otherwise damaged. It is not uncommon to encounter structurally unsound rock in the North Cascades; if possible, test all anchors with a belay or backup before rappelling, and back up the anchor until the last person in the party descends.

It is possible the horn that failed was not one of the standard descent anchors on Shuksan’s summit pyramid. During multi-rappel descents, it is not uncommon to rappel past the standard anchor or to spot an anchor from above and head toward it, thereby missing the optimum anchor. When the descent route is the same as your climbing route, try to note and remember the position of the standard rappel anchors as you climb. (Source: North Cascades National Park Mountaineering Rangers.)

A very similar rappelling accident on Mt. Shuksan’s summit period was reported in the 1992 edition of ANAC.

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RAPPEL ANCHOR FAILURES: A COMMON THEME IN ANAC 2020

The 2020 edition of Accidents in North American Climbing reported an unusually high number of rappel anchor failures: six in all! Half of these resulted in fatalities.

Just after this climber began a short rappel on Nishelheim’s northwest ridge, the sling came undone and she fell, fortunately without serious injury.

Two of the six rappel anchor failures in ANAC 2020 involved inadequate anchors built by the climbers; the pieces pulled out of the rock when weighted. In a third case, the climbers built their own anchor and then the rock pillar in which their cams were placed shifted, causing the cams to pull out. Three of the incidents were very similar to the one reported above. Climbers found an in situ cord or sling, which broke or came untied when a rappeller weighted it:

• Mendenhall Towers, Alaska: A worn cord connecting two fixed pieces broke under load.

• Evolution Traverse, California: A weathered cordelette snapped, even though one climber in the party had already used it.

• Niselheim, British Columbia: An in situ sling wrapped around a rock horn came loose when a rappeller failed to inspect it before weighting the ropes—the “knot” joining the two ends of the sling was completely inadequate.

Online forums are filled with photos and discussions of the best way to rig rappels from bolted anchors. But failures of such anchors are extremely rare. The types of incidents described here—especially the failure of rappel anchors built with rock horns, boulders, or weathered slings on mountain routes—are far more common. The lesson is crystal clear: No matter how tired you are, how dark it is, or how quickly the weather is deteriorating, every rappel anchor found in place while descending must be carefully inspected and/or tested before it can be trusted.

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THE SHARP END: TURNING THE TABLES

The Sharp End · Ep 60 - Turning The Tables - Steve Smith

After five years of hosting the Sharp End Podcast, it’s Ashley Saupe’s turn to be interviewed. Listen as Steve Smith at Experiential Consulting turns the tables on the podcast creator and interviews her about some incidents she's had in the backcountry, how she's managed them, and why she is inspired to continue producing this podcast for her listeners.

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MEET THE RESCUERS

Neil Van Dyke, Search and Rescue Coordinator, Vermont Department of Public Safety, and member of Stowe Mountain Rescue

Years volunteering with your team: 40

Home areas: Smugglers Notch and Lower West Bolton. But I spend more time skiing (backcountry, alpine, or Nordic), hiking, and canoeing than I do recreational climbing.

How did you first become interested in search and rescue?

It was an opportunity to combine my interests in first aid and emergency response (I was a volunteer firefighter and EMT) and recreating in the outdoors. It was a natural fit. There were no local SAR teams at that time, so I helped start one!

Personal safety tip?

It’s hard to pick just one, but for me the most important is having really good situational awareness, knowing your limits, and understanding when to turn around and come back another day. Most people get in trouble because they push limits, which can be either a conscious decision or one made unwittingly due to a lack of situational awareness.

How about your scariest “close call”?

September 11, 1993. Our team was responding to Hidden Gulley in Smugglers Notch to assist a father and son who had gotten cliffed out. I climbed up to a ledge about 100 feet below them and was belaying my partner up to my position. The rock was really nasty and rotten, but I put a sling around a large bulge that I thought would be okay as an anchor. Unfortunately, that whole piece separated from the face and took me with it. I fell about 60 feet and was sure it was “all over,” but survived with a bunch of broken bones and a punctured lung. I still receive the occasionally ribbing from colleagues for trying to direct my own rescue.

What are your biggest concerns for this winter season?

Like many areas of the country, we are concerned in Vermont about what looks to be a large influx of new backcountry skiers. While we saw this to some degree with people flocking to the outdoors last summer during COVID, the consequences of something going wrong in the winter are clearly much higher. We shouldn’t be afraid to welcome new users to the sport, but there are definitely concerns that some will not be properly equipped and prepared. We’ve had some good discussions among the local ski community about watching out for each other and doing what we can to gently mentor newcomers to the backcountry when we encounter them.

What would you say to people interested in learning more about search and rescue?

Reach out to your closest SAR team to find out more about how they operate and what they are looking for in members. You can also check with the government agency that has jurisdiction for SAR in your area. For most teams, having really solid all-around outdoor skills is critical—we always tell prospective members that we can teach the technical rescue skills needed, but we can’t teach them how to be comfortable and effective while working long hours outdoors in adverse conditions.

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Share Your Story: The deadline for the 2021 edition of Accidents in North American Climbing is not far off. If you were involved in a climbing accident or rescue in 2020, consider sharing the lessons with other climbers. Let’s work together to reduce the number of accidents. Reach us at [email protected].

The monthly Accidents Bulletin is supported by adidas Outdoor and the members of the American Alpine Club.

The Prescription - January 2021

National Park Service rangers rescuing the fallen climber from Mt. Shuksan. NPS Photo

The Prescription - January 2021

ANCHOR FAILURES IN THE MOUNTAINS

North Cascades National Park, Mt. Shuksan, Sulphide Glacier Route

On July 19, 2020, a party of three climbers was descending Mt. Shuksan after summiting via the Sulphide Glacier route. The party was rappelling the standard descent route on Shuksan’s summit pyramid. They reached a flat ledge and found an existing anchor consisting of a single loop of red webbing around a rock horn. After pulling the rope from the previous rappel, one of the climbers, a 28-year-old female, began to rig the second-to-last rappel of their descent. She threaded the rope through the anchor, rigged her rappel device, and began to weight the anchor. At this time, the rock horn failed, and the climber fell about 100 feet. The other climbers were not attached to the anchor when the failure occurred. The climber came to rest in 3rd- and 4th-class terrain, suffering an unspecified lower leg injury.

The party activated an inReach device to request a rescue, and the remaining two climbers were able to downclimb to the fallen climber’s position and provide basic medical care. At 5:30 p.m., National Park Service rangers arrived on scene via helicopter, and a short-haul operation was performed to extract the injured climber. The rest of the party was able to safely exit the mountain on their own.

ANALYSIS

In an interview with the party, the climber stated they were in a hurry due to the lateness of the day and they were tired from attempting a car-to-car climb of this long route (6,400 feet of elevation gain). The climber stated that at this rappel station they did not assess the integrity of the anchor, as they had been doing previously. This decision was influenced by time, fatigue, and the assumption the anchor would be strong, like the other anchors they had just used for rappelling.

When rappelling, it is imperative to assess the integrity of every anchor before weighting it. Inspect the entire anchor material, especially the less visible back side of the anchor, to be sure it is not chewed, weathered, or otherwise damaged. It is not uncommon to encounter structurally unsound rock in the North Cascades; if possible, test all anchors with a belay or backup before rappelling, and back up the anchor until the last person in the party descends.

It is possible the horn that failed was not one of the standard descent anchors on Shuksan’s summit pyramid. During multi-rappel descents, it is not uncommon to rappel past the standard anchor or to spot an anchor from above and head toward it, thereby missing the optimum anchor. When the descent route is the same as your climbing route, try to note and remember the position of the standard rappel anchors as you climb. (Source: North Cascades National Park Mountaineering Rangers.)

A very similar rappelling accident on Mt. Shuksan’s summit period was reported in the 1992 edition of ANAC.

RAPPEL ANCHOR FAILURES: A COMMON THEME IN ANAC 2020

The 2020 edition of Accidents in North American Climbing reported an unusually high number of rappel anchor failures: six in all! Half of these resulted in fatalities.

Just after this climber began a short rappel on Nishelheim’s northwest ridge, the sling came undone and she fell, fortunately without serious injury.

Two of the six rappel anchor failures in ANAC 2020 involved inadequate anchors built by the climbers; the pieces pulled out of the rock when weighted. In a third case, the climbers built their own anchor and then the rock pillar in which their cams were placed shifted, causing the cams to pull out. Three of the incidents were very similar to the one reported above. Climbers found an in situ cord or sling, which broke or came untied when a rappeller weighted it:

• Mendenhall Towers, Alaska: A worn cord connecting two fixed pieces broke under load.

• Evolution Traverse, California: A weathered cordelette snapped, even though one climber in the party had already used it.

• Niselheim, British Columbia: An in situ sling wrapped around a rock horn came loose when a rappeller failed to inspect it before weighting the ropes—the “knot” joining the two ends of the sling was completely inadequate.

Online forums are filled with photos and discussions of the best way to rig rappels from bolted anchors. But failures of such anchors are extremely rare. The types of incidents described here—especially the failure of rappel anchors built with rock horns, boulders, or weathered slings on mountain routes—are far more common. The lesson is crystal clear: No matter how tired you are, how dark it is, or how quickly the weather is deteriorating, every rappel anchor found in place while descending must be carefully inspected and/or tested before it can be trusted.

THE SHARP END: TURNING THE TABLES

After five years of hosting the Sharp End Podcast, it’s Ashley Saupe’s turn to be interviewed. Listen as Steve Smith at Experiential Consulting turns the tables on the podcast creator and interviews her about some incidents she's had in the backcountry, how she's managed them, and why she is inspired to continue producing this podcast for her listeners.

MEET THE RESCUERS

Neil Van Dyke, Search and Rescue Coordinator, Vermont Department of Public Safety, and member of Stowe Mountain Rescue

Years volunteering with your team: 40

Home areas: Smugglers Notch and Lower West Bolton. But I spend more time skiing (backcountry, alpine, or Nordic), hiking, and canoeing than I do recreational climbing.

How did you first become interested in search and rescue?

It was an opportunity to combine my interests in first aid and emergency response (I was a volunteer firefighter and EMT) and recreating in the outdoors. It was a natural fit. There were no local SAR teams at that time, so I helped start one!

Personal safety tip?

It’s hard to pick just one, but for me the most important is having really good situational awareness, knowing your limits, and understanding when to turn around and come back another day. Most people get in trouble because they push limits, which can be either a conscious decision or one made unwittingly due to a lack of situational awareness.

How about your scariest “close call”?

September 11, 1993. Our team was responding to Hidden Gulley in Smugglers Notch to assist a father and son who had gotten cliffed out. I climbed up to a ledge about 100 feet below them and was belaying my partner up to my position. The rock was really nasty and rotten, but I put a sling around a large bulge that I thought would be okay as an anchor. Unfortunately, that whole piece separated from the face and took me with it. I fell about 60 feet and was sure it was “all over,” but survived with a bunch of broken bones and a punctured lung. I still receive the occasionally ribbing from colleagues for trying to direct my own rescue.

What are your biggest concerns for this winter season?

Like many areas of the country, we are concerned in Vermont about what looks to be a large influx of new backcountry skiers. While we saw this to some degree with people flocking to the outdoors last summer during COVID, the consequences of something going wrong in the winter are clearly much higher. We shouldn’t be afraid to welcome new users to the sport, but there are definitely concerns that some will not be properly equipped and prepared. We’ve had some good discussions among the local ski community about watching out for each other and doing what we can to gently mentor newcomers to the backcountry when we encounter them.

What would you say to people interested in learning more about search and rescue?

Reach out to your closest SAR team to find out more about how they operate and what they are looking for in members. You can also check with the government agency that has jurisdiction for SAR in your area. For most teams, having really solid all-around outdoor skills is critical—we always tell prospective members that we can teach the technical rescue skills needed, but we can’t teach them how to be comfortable and effective while working long hours outdoors in adverse conditions.

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Share Your Story: The deadline for the 2021 edition of Accidents in North American Climbing is not far off. If you were involved in a climbing accident or rescue in 2020, consider sharing the lessons with other climbers. Let’s work together to reduce the number of accidents. Reach us at [email protected].

The monthly Accidents Bulletin is supported by adidas Outdoor and the members of the American Alpine Club.

The Prescription - December 2020

Medical helicopter departing from the ridge below Sister Superior, above Castle Valley, Utah. Behind are the Priest, the Rectory, and Castleton Tower. Photo courtesy of Grand County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue

The Prescription - December 2020

GROUND FALL ON SISTER SUPERIOR

An accident last November on the first pitch of Jah Man (5 pitches, 5.10+), a desert tower route near Moab, Utah, was documented in the new Accidents in North American Climbing. One day later, a second helicopter rescue occurred, after a fall on the same pitch. These climbers’ online-only report is reproduced here.

On November 15, 2019, Paige (female, 20) and I (male, 24) set out to climb the ultra-classic Jah Man on Sister Superior. We made it to the base of the tower about 11 a.m. and found another party making their way to the top of the first pitch. We figured we’d eat a small lunch to allow for ample space between us.

We agreed that Paige would lead first and combine the first two guidebook pitches, concluding with a long, moderate squeeze chimney. Paige started up the opening moves, making it about 15 feet off the ground before stopping on a little ledge, preparing to make a rightward traverse to the base of the chimney. She placed a number 0.75 Camalot horizontally in some questionable rock, intending to back-clean it after making the next moves, in order to minimize rope drag. This was the only piece of gear between her and the ground.

Paige moved to the right, then returned to the ledge to re-evaluate. After repeating this a couple of times, I suggested she downclimb and have me take this pitch, as I had climbed the route a few years prior. She wanted to give it one more try before backing off. Having weighted the piece, she felt confident enough to go for it. She made some moves and then fell and swung back to the left. The cam ripped out of the wall, sending her about 20 feet to the ground.

The Sister Superior formation showing the approximate area that collapsed in January 2020. The Jah Man route began near the left edge of the yellow box. Photo courtesy of Greg Child

She was unconscious and not breathing at first. After what seemed to be forever but in reality was probably only 20 seconds, she started taking short breaths. A few minutes later, she regained consciousness. Another party at the base had cell phone service and called for a rescue. Paige was concussed and complaining of pain in her neck but was moving her hands and feet.

After an hour, a helicopter arrived, dropping off a couple EMTs. (They informed us that they had worked on an accident at the very same spot the day before—see report here.) They evaluated Paige, and she ended up feeling well enough to walk about 60 yards to the helicopter. She was flown to the hospital in Moab, where she was diagnosed with three fractures in her upper back and lower neck.

Analysis

We were planning to link the first two pitches and were more conscious of rope drag than fully protecting the first part of the pitch. We have both spent plenty of time cragging in the desert (Indian Creek, Zion, etc.), but tower climbing is different, often with more loose rock. The traverse to the squeeze chimney was known to have subpar rock and tricky protection. We should have focused more on protecting the climb properly than linking pitches. (Source: Greyson Gyllenskog.)

And as if two accidents in two days wasn’t enough….

In early January 2020, less than two months after these incidents, the start of this famous climb and the huge flake forming the squeeze chimney collapsed. The original route is no longer climbable.

THE SHARP END: A 200-FOOT TUMBLE DOWN THE NORTH CHIMNEY OF LONGS PEAK

On the morning of September 5, Annie Weinmann and her climbing partner started up the North Chimney, a broad 500-foot slot that leads climbers to the Diamond, Colorado's premier alpine wall. Annie had done the North Chimney before and was comfortable climbing the easy terrain unroped and in approach shoes. But when she got slightly off-route, a foot slip led to a terrible tumble.

In Episode 39 of The Sharp End podcast, Annie tells Ashley Saupe what caused her to slip and how she survived her 200-foot fall, plus some fascinating insights into the circumstances that brought her to this point. Listen here!

AIRBAG SAFETY CHECK

Mammut is asking owners of the Generation 3.0 avalanche airbag with Removable Airbag System (RAS) to inspect the inflation cartridge and ensure it can be screwed into place completely. This notice affects only airbags purchased during the 20/21 season. For complete information and instructions, click here.

MEET THE VOLUNTEERS

Gary O’Brien, Regional Editor for Idaho

Years volunteering with ANAC: 2

Home crags: Logan and Blacksmith Fork canyons in northern Utah; City of Rocks and Castle Rocks in Idaho.

Favorite type of climbing

I am most drawn to the alpine environment and love to climb alpine rock and snow. We also spend plenty of time trad and sport climbing. I enjoy belaying my climbing-addicted 14-year-old, who is on the verge of sending his first 5.13.

How did you first become interested in Accidents?

I have been reading them for years—as a kid, I used to pore over my father’s stash of ANAC from the 1940s, 50s, and 60s. For a decade or so, I worked as a professional ski patroller, and that experience brought into sharp relief the fine line between safe practice and serious accidents. For me, the margin between accident and prevention has always seemed a compelling part of this amazing sport.

Why do you think accident reporting is important?

Statistics don’t lie—trends are incredibly revealing of human behavior, and are underpinned by real lives lost, real lives affected. I think about this with every accident I analyze. The main thing I think we can learn and reinforce is how common and preventable so many of them are, if we take a moment to review precautions and strategy of what we’re about to do.

Personal scariest “close call”?

I’m happy to report that I’ve had very few close calls over the years, but one stands out. Years ago, I was climbing Mont Blanc by the standard route. The route crosses the Couloir du Goûter, a steep, wide gully notorious for rockfall. After reaching easier terrain on the other side, my partner and I unroped. Without warning, a barrage of huge boulders swept down and struck my partner, who disappeared over the edge and fell some 500 meters down the couloir to the Glacier de Bionnassay.

The rescue is a long story, but, in short, I was able to locate and stabilize him. A nearby guided party notified the PGHM (High Mountain Military Police). We carried my partner down the glacier in a litter, which took most of the night. He was hospitalized for weeks with multiple injuries, but eventually enjoyed a complete recovery.

Gary O’Brien’s scary experience in the Couloir du Goûter is far from an isolated incident. This broad gully, which must be crossed to reach the high hut on Mont Blanc’s most popular summit route, is one of the most dangerous passages in the Alps, with numerous injuries and a few fatalities every season. (The alternative “normal route” up Mont Blanc, starting at the Refuge des Cosmiques, also has serious objective hazards.) The Petzl Foundation sponsored research on the causes and timing of rockfall in the Couloir du Goûter during the summers of 2018 and 2019, and their informative study, published this past summer, can be downloaded here.

The research team used seismic sensors to determine the timing of rockfall events and correlate them with snow levels, temperature, and rainfall. As might be expected, rockfall was most frequent after precipitation and during the afternoons and evenings. Perhaps more surprising: Snow in the couloir did not reduce the incidence of rockfall early in the season, as melting snow appeared to destabilize the slopes. Later-season rockfall events, though less frequent, often were bigger and longer lasting.

Petzl has produced a short video that vividly highlights the dangers of the Couloir du Goûter and the research work there. Warning: This video contains very disturbing images and audio of rockfall and other incidents.  

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Share Your Story: If you’ve been involved in a climbing accident or rescue, consider sharing the lessons with other climbers. Let’s work together to reduce the number of accidents. Contact us at [email protected].

The monthly Accidents Bulletin is supported by adidas Outdoor and the members of the American Alpine Club.

The Prescription - November 2020

The adjacent article is part of the extensive avalanche coverage featured in the 2020 Accidents in North American Climbing. AAC members will receive the new book this month. The cover photo shows an avalanche on Polar Circus in Canada by Alex Ratson.

Ice Climbers & Avalanches

It’s Time to Take this risk more seriously

By Grant Statham

Every winter, ice climbers are caught—and sometimes killed—by avalanches. Even small avalanches can be deadly when they get funneled into the narrow gullies where ice climbs form. So understanding the avalanche conditions and carrying rescue gear when climbing is essential for many climbs.

Yet despite this reality, climbers have been slow to embrace basic avalanche safety practices, even when they always use avalanche gear when backcountry skiing. This contradiction makes no sense, and it’s high time for a paradigm shift.

Once you’ve determined if your ice route is formed, your next move should be to figure out whether it’s threatened by avalanches. Any steep snow slopes on the approach, the route, above the route, or on the descent have the potential to release an avalanche.

If your route is threatened by avalanches, then you need to know more. Is the climb located in a gully with avalanche start zones overhead? Will you be climbing through snow slopes above cliffs? How about the approach—will you be walking under avalanche paths or kicking steps up a 40° slope to reach the base? How hard is the route—can you climb fast or will you be exposed to avalanches for hours? What does the local avalanche forecast say? You need to answer all of these questions before going climbing.

AVALANCHE RISK

Avalanche risk in ice climbing has three main ingredients: 1) enough snow to produce an avalanche, 2) avalanche-prone terrain, and 3) climbers exposed to this hazard. Remove any one of these elements and you’ve eliminated the avalanche risk.

But while eliminating avalanche risk ensures safety, it won’t get you up the routes on your hit list that are subject to avalanche hazard. For this, you’ll need to manage the risk by assessing its individual elements and understanding how they affect you and your partner.

SNOW

The best indicator of unstable snow is avalanche activity. Both slab avalanches and sluffs are threats to ice climbers, because it doesn’t take much to knock you off your front points. If avalanches are occurring near your route, then it’s safe to assume the snow on your route is also unstable. Here are the big three factors:

(1) Precipitation: new snow and especially rain can overload the snowpack

(2) Wind can move snow at 10 times the snowfall rate and create locally deep slabs

(3) Temperature: warming trends, inversions, and temps over 0°C (32°F) produce avalanches

TERRAIN

Minimize your exposure by positioning belays out of avalanche terrain or in protected locations, moving together when you can, moving one at a time when necessary, belaying across exposed slopes, and spending no unnecessary time exposed to avalanches. These are the strategies that keep experienced climbers alive. Here are the terrain basics to keep front of mind:

(1) Slope angle: the prime angle for slab avalanches is 30° to 45°

(2) Aspect: there are big differences between routes in the shade and in the sun

(3) Elevation: snow depth increases with elevation, so be aware of conditions overhead

(4) Terrain traps: ice climbs are often in or above terrain features that increase consequences (cliffs, gullies, creeks, etc.)

PEOPLE

Debris from several slides that trapped two climbers on a route in Santaquin Canyon, Utah, in February 2019. The avalanche hazard was rated low at the elevation of the climb but more dangerous high up the mountain, where these slides originated. Read the report here.

For risk to exist, something must be “at risk,” and in climbing this is people, deliberately exposing themselves to avalanche hazard. All people are fallible, and human factors are well-recognized as a major contributor to avalanche accidents. Here are some considerations:

(1) Partners: climb with people you trust and who share your values around risk

(2) Decision-making: trust your instincts and bail if it doesn’t feel right

(3) Trophy hunting: don’t obsess over one climb; have options and let the conditions determine your route

(4) Group size and speed: keep your team small and move efficiently

PUBLIC AVALANCHE FORECASTS

An excellent source of information on local conditions is the public avalanche forecast, found at avalanche.ca in Canada and avalanche.org in the USA. Locals watch the forecast regularly to stay abreast of conditions; start checking it early to get a sense of the snowpack.

Don’t climb in avalanche terrain unless the danger rating is Low or Moderate. When it’s Considerable, avalanches are likely, so now you need to know specific details about the route and what might trigger an avalanche there. If you don’t understand this, then don’t climb there. High and Extreme are obvious—stay out of avalanche terrain.

NATURAL RELEASES AND CLIMBER TRIGGERED AVALANCHES

Many ice climbs form directly beneath large avalanche slopes. To climb these routes, you need to determine whether a natural avalanche will release while you’re there. This is difficult, but the avalanche forecast, weather forecast, and ridge-top weather stations (accessible online) will provide some of the information you need. Always remember that snow depth, wind effect, and air temperature will be much different high above your climb, so don’t be lulled into complacency by snow conditions near your route.

Climbing steep snow is usually part of ice climbing, and this can lead to triggering a slope yourself. Whenever possible, go around snow slopes or cross them as high as you can to reduce the amount of snow above you. If you have to climb directly up the middle of a big slope, the best tactic is to evaluate smaller, safer slopes of similar character to get sense of conditions. Then consider spacing out, going one at a time, or belaying, even if the slope is small but the consequences are catastrophic.

CARRY AVALANCHE RESCUE GEAR

If you’re climbing and exposed to avalanche risk, then you should use avalanche rescue gear. If someone gets buried, you have about ten minutes to find them, dig them out, and clear their airway before they asphyxiate. Each member of the team should carry an avalanche transceiver, probe, and shovel. Nobody likes extra weight, so be thoughtful about when and where you carry the gear—plan it out like you plan your rack. Do you only need it for the approach or for the whole route? Maybe take one shovel up the route instead of two. What about the descent?

Even if you’re climbing a route where you think an avalanche would be unsurvivable, somebody will still want you back, which means SAR teams will be searching for you. Wearing a transceiver and using clothing equipped with the Recco system does everyone a favor by making you searchable.

RISK AND REWARD

Good avalanche skills are part of being a solid alpinist and waterfall ice climber. While climbing a great route feels awesome, climbing it in good style and doing everything you can to reduce your risk feels even better. Adding risk without additional benefit is pointless, so learn about avalanches, carry the gear, and respond to the ever-changing conditions.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Grant Statham is an IFMGA mountain guide and avalanche forecaster based in Canmore, Alberta. He works with Parks Canada’s search and rescue and avalanche safety programs in Banff, Yoho, and Kootenay national parks.

GO DEEPER: The following webinar expands on the topics discussed above. This session was hosted by Avalanche Canada and Grant Statham and presented by Canadian guide Sarah Hueniken on November 4, 2020.

THE SHARP END: A CREVASSE FALL IN THE TETONS!

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Tyler Willis and a friend were descending from a successful ascent of Mt. Owen in Grand Teton National Park. It was late in the day when they reached the Teton Glacier, which they had crossed without a problem early that morning. Just a few steps later, Tyler plunged into a hidden crevasse, an extremely rare accident for the Tetons. By the time climbers pulled him to the surface, he was hypothermic, and it wasn't until the next day that rangers could helicopter him to safety. Hear all about it in Episode 58 of the Sharp End (link below).

An accident like this illustrates the importance of recognizing and treating the symptoms of hypothermia, which may develop even on a sunny day in August. A useful reference for climbers and clinicians alike is the Wilderness Medical Society’s updated guidelines assessment and treatment of hypothermia patients. The article and several downloadable field guides (like the one shown above) are available at this link.

AVOID INJURIES DURING WINTER TRAINING

Photo: Alton Richardson

Dr. Volker Schöffl is one of the world’s foremost authorities on climbing injuries. The German professor and physician is co-author of One Move Too Many: How to Understand the Injuries and Overuse Syndromes of Rock Climbing (Sharp End Publishing, 2016). This year, he and co-authors Dicki Korb and Patrick Matros released a new work describing complementary training to avoid injuries. The 94-page book is packed with tips and specific exercises, and it’s available as a free download! We decided to ask Schöffl for some training advice for Prescription readers.

We’re headed into winter and lots more indoor climbing. What are the most important things climbers can do to prevent injuries during the months of indoor training?

Do not overdo it early on, and build up strength gradually through the winter. Motivation is high, as everyone wants to be better next season. Don’t forget, you have to endure a couple months of training, and you should pace yourself. Increase the load gradually and this will help you to avoid overuse injuries in November.

What are the most common areas of injury for climbers heading indoors? 

This really depends on the type of training you are doing. In pure strength training, simple overload leads to finger stress and tenosynovitis (inflammation of the tendon sheath). In indoor bouldering, especially with dynamic problems, injuries from falls onto the lower extremity are most common. Overuse and over training in indoor climbing also affects the shoulders and elbows.

Any recommendations for avoiding these common injuries?

A proper warm-up will help to reduce both injury incidence and severity. Stretching itself is not ideal as a warm-up, as it reduces muscle tension (stretching is more appropriate for cool-down after a session). Warm-up should consist of some general exercise and include finger specific exercises (e.g., therapy putty, softball squeezes, or plain finger movements). You can find some examples in One Move Too Many. Climbers should also focus on adjunct compensatory training (ACT)—exercises that counteract the specific stressors of climbing. We just released our ACT program, which is a free pdf booklet, accessible through www.act.clinic. After this general warm-up phase continue into some easy climbing and gradually increase stress/difficulty to a peak approximately 30 minutes into the climbing session.

Can you tell us more about ACT and its importance for overall climbing performance?

Climbing, as with many other sports, stresses the body in uniform patterns, leading to strength in certain muscle groups and to neglect in others. These imbalances lead to posture deficiencies and poor movement patterns. ACT focuses on training the neglected muscle slings (muscle, fascia, and ligaments) and innervation patterns within their specific range of motion, building up posture and core strength as well as balancing the athletic build of the body. In order to withstand climbing specific training over time and to prevent associated injuries, the antagonists and neglected muscle groups must be addressed. This is where ACT comes into play.

MEET THE RESCUERS

Doug McCall, President of Mountain Rescue Association (MRA) and member of Seattle Mountain Rescue

Years volunteering with your team: 12

Home Crag:  Exit 38, Deception Crags/Far Side Wall

Favorite type of climbing: Single-pitch sport. The crags near me offer a wide range of grades that allow me to climb with a wide variety of people. I love bringing new people to the crag and letting them try outdoor climbing for the first time. I also love challenging myself with friends who climb above my abilities.

How did you first become interested in search and rescue?

I was a volunteer firefighter at our local department when one of the other volunteers began talking about climbing and then later about Seattle Mountain Rescue (SMR). He had been a member of SMR for about 15 to 20 years and recommended that I apply. I was excited about the opportunity to combine my passion for the outdoors with the medical skills I had learned through the fire department. I was accepted into SMR in February 2008.

Why do you think accident reporting is important?

Learning from others’ mistakes is a powerful way that humans learn from one another. While it is easy to “armchair quarterback” some scenarios, you never really know what you might do when presented with a sudden experience. Knowing what others did or didn’t do helps to frame a thought process that may help you or your climbing partner down the road.

Personal scariest “close call”?

Early in my alpine career, my climbing partner, mentor, and cousin, Doug Walker, and I were caught in a slab avalanche that swept me down a 600-foot slope and then off a 30-foot cliff. I somehow survived. The worst injury was a severe fracture around my left eye that I likely sustained from a glancing blow to a rock. While we were able to self-rescue, I have since felt compelled to try to help others during their bad day in the mountains.

Personal safety tip?

I wear a helmet when climbing. While my doctors say that I have a very thick skull, I’d rather never have to test that again. Helmets are easy and offer good protection from an unexpected slip or rock fall. Also, I always tie knots at the ends of my rope when on rappel. I’ve been on numerous recoveries where a knot would have been the difference between life and death.

What would you say to people interested in learning more about search and rescue?

I’d encourage people to find a local MRA team or a SAR team and learn more about how to become a member. MRA teams train constantly and test each other to ensure that every team can safely effect rescues in all sorts of terrain and conditions. We also operate with a safety mindset that carries over into our personal climbing.

What is your favorite thing to do when you are not climbing?

Spend time with my family. My family has been very supportive and patient with all my time spent climbing and responding to rescues. While we tend to do a lot of outdoor activities together, they have also taught me to enjoy a number of other activities. Being with family and sharing experiences with them have been the greatest joys of my life.

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Share Your Story: If you’ve been involved in a climbing accident or rescue, consider sharing the lessons learned with other climbers. Let’s work together to reduce the number of accidents. Contact us at [email protected].

The monthly Accidents Bulletin is supported by adidas Outdoor and the members of the American Alpine Club.

The Prescription - October 2020

A severe storm on the first full day of summer caught two climbers high on 14,197-foot Crestone Needle in southern Colorado. After descending the Ellingwood Ledges route for about 1,000 feet, the two spent a cold night on a tiny ledge (circled). Photo: Patrick Fiore.

The Prescription - October 2020

EPIC ON ELLINGWOOD LEDGES

STRANDED | Storm, Darkness, Inexperience

On Friday, June 21, 2019, two climbers from Kansas (ages 23 and 30) drove up to the east side of the Sangre de Cristo Range. Their goal was the Ellingwood Ledges (a.k.a. Ellingwood Arête) on the east side of Crestone Needle, one of the “Fifty Classic Climbs of North America.” The 2,000-foot route ends at the summit of the 14,197-foot peak.

The next morning, under sunny skies, they started climbing at 9 a.m. via the route’s direct start. Their iPhone weather app showed a forecast of “partly cloudy with a 20% chance of showers.” Enjoying warm weather and dry rock, the duo made good time cruising the easy 5th-class pitches at the bottom and the 3rd- and 4th-class ledges in the middle of the route. However, at the route’s crux, just a few hundred feet below the summit, the 5.7 to 5.9 cracks (depending on exact route) were filled with ice. Clad in rock shoes and with no ice axes, they couldn’t climb past the thin ribbons of ice. Meanwhile, the sky turned gray as, unbeknownst to the pair, a strong winter-like storm was barreling in from the west.

Around 4 p.m. the storm hit, with intense snow showers along with thunder and lightning. The pair put on their light fleece jackets and waterproof jackets. With visibility dropping to 30 feet, they kept trying to climb, thinking safety would be gained by going over the top and descending the standard route. (In fact, the 3rd-class normal route up and down Crestone Needle is exposed and tricky to follow, and has stranded climbers even in the best weather.) Eventually, realizing they could not go up, the pair called the Custer County Sheriff’s Office to request assistance. It was about 5:30 p.m.

Custer County Search and Rescue (CCSAR) began planning for a technical rescue. The climbers started down, building rappel anchors and occasionally downclimbing, a descent they described as “terrifying.” They made steady progress and continued to give updates to CCSAR. (Cell service is very good high on the Crestones.) At approximately 9:30 p.m. and at 13,030 feet, soaked and shivering hard, and nearly out of gear to build anchors, the pair grew concerned their fatigue could affect their safety if they continued. In a call with CCSAR, a senior member told them not to continue down if they were not completely confident in their anchors. They decided to stop and wait for morning on a snow-covered ledge about as wide as a lawn chair. 

Rescuers staging below Crestone Needle in the Sangre de Cristo Range in southern Colorado. Photo courtesy of Dale Atkins.

Given the complexity of the situation, CCSAR began planning a parallel rescue effort: one ground-based and another by helicopter hoist. Members of various other rescue teams started toward the area to help, and a line of communication was opened with the Colorado Army National Guard (COANG). 

High on the mountain, light snow continued to fall until about 1 a.m., and then, as the skies cleared, the temperature dropped into the lower 20s (F). Their sodden clothing froze hard and their joints turned stiff. They had found no gear placements, so they had no anchor. Afraid to even stand up for fear they might fall, they stayed put. The two were so miserable and scared that they each called parents and siblings to say good-bye, thinking they might die before sunrise. 

By 3 a.m., rescue teams started to arrive at CCSAR’s base in Westcliffe. An hour later, over 20 mountain rescuers from four counties were hiking toward the base of Ellingwood Ledges. All the while, CCSAR liaised with the National Guard to coordinate a helicopter extraction utilizing two Alpine Rescue Team hoist rescue technicians. Weather conditions were questionable, and it was not until well after sunrise that the helicopter mission became a “go.” After a 130-mile flight, Black Hawk 529 out of Buckley Air Force Base arrived overhead at about 9:45 a.m. and determined a hoist insert and extraction was possible.

Two rescue techs were lowered to the stranded climbers. Other than being very cold, stiff, hungry, and thirsty, the climbers were in remarkably good condition. The morning sun had thawed and dried their clothes, and warmed their spirits. The two were helped into rescue harnesses, and when the Black Hawk returned, the climbers and rescuers were hoisted two at a time and flown to CCSAR’s base in Westcliffe. By 2:45 p.m., all the ground teams had returned safely to Westcliffe, ending a 22-hour mission. 

ANALYSIS 

The two climbers were capable multi-pitch crag climbers who aspired to do their first alpine or big-mountain route. They had the skill to climb this route in summer conditions; however, the preceding winter had been one of Colorado’s snowiest in many years. Though the calendar said early summer, snow and ice on the high mountains was similar to mid-May. The arrival of the storm only worsened the situation. 

The storm had been well forecasted for the mountains, but the pair did not get the right forecast. Many phone apps present weather for nearby towns, so the climbers got the forecast for Westcliffe, located in the valley to the northeast of the mountain. Then they typed in “Crestone” and another benign forecast popped up—however, this forecast was for the hamlet of Crestone, low in a valley on the west side of the peak. Seeing two good forecasts, the climbers were confident. But there was a very different forecast for the peaks 6,000 feet higher. [Editor’s Note: 14ers.com links to NOAA spot forecasts for each of the Colorado 14ers.] 

The climbers had a good alpine rack but left nearly all of it as they rappelled and downclimbed nearly 1,000 feet of snow-covered rock and grass. In their packs they carried shell jackets, beanies, gloves, and good socks—barely enough protection. They climbed in rock shoes and carried light trail shoes for the descent. In a typical summer, these shoes would have been fine, but had they reached the summit, their descent off a very snowy and icy Broken Hand Pass would have been difficult. 

To their credit, these climbers kept their wits and survived a miserable night in a very exposed spot. They tried very hard to self-rescue and did a phenomenal job to descend as far as they did. 

The role of luck—good and bad—plays a much larger role than we often acknowledge in such situations. In the Sangre de Cristo Range, the weather cleared soon after midnight, leaving the climbers with drying conditions. Further north, in Colorado’s central and northern mountains, the storm continued all night, and upwards of two feet of snow fell. These two put themselves in a place to be lucky when they wisely decided to stop. Surviving a miserable night is always easier than surviving a fall. (Sources: Dale Atkins, Alpine Rescue Team and Colorado Hoist Rescue Team, and Jonathan Wiley and Patrick Fiore of Custer County SAR.)  

THE SHARP END: EPISODE 57

Brian Vines was a high school senior and a budding climber in the 1990s when he and some friends went to Sand Rock, Alabama, for a day of top-roping. On their last climb, a simple mistake led to a damaging ground fall. More than two decades later, Brian and hostess Ashley Saupe look back at that day for the Sharp End podcast. Brian has returned to climbing, and his 14-year-old son, J.T., now leads many of their climbs. But the lessons from that day at Sand Rock still guide their every move.

30 YEARS OF ACCIDENT DATA

The September issue of Rock and Ice features an article by AAC member Eliot Caroom presenting a unique analysis of reports in the last 30 years of ANAC (more than 2,700 accident narratives in all). Eliot created a database of keywords to examine the characteristics of accidents in ways not possible with our annual data tables. The results are very enlightening. For example, it’s well-known that many accidents happen during descents (about 32 percent in Eliot’s sample), but his method also reveals that rappel errors were a factor in 29 percent of descent accidents, and another 14 percent involved strandings. Moreover, nearly one-third of all accidents involving a rappel error led to a fatality. Eliot has offered to share his one-of-a-kind database so other researchers can mine this information. Read the story and learn more here.

TECHNIQUE TO TRY: PRE-RIGGED RAPPELS

Two rappellers ready to go. Photo courtesy of Alpine Savvy.

Pre-rigging or “stacking” rappels is a technique that is used most often by guides but it also offers multiple safety and speed benefits to any experienced climber. Pre-rigging is when each member of the climbing team attaches an extended device to the ropes at the rappel anchor before anyone begins to rappel. The technique allows everyone to check each other’s rappel setup, and it provides other safety and efficiency benefits, including the fact that only one stopper knot is needed at the end of the rappel ropes. The pros and cons of this technique are well explained in this article at Alpine Savvy.

Pre-rigging is not appropriate for every rappel, and expert instruction is recommended. Once you learn the technique, however, you may be surprised how much you like it for long series of rappels.

ROPE RECALL

Petzl is recalling a number of low-stretch kernmantle rope after a report that a defective rope was discovered earlier this year. No accidents or injuries have been reported. The recall is a follow-up to a July request for inspection issued by Petzl. The voluntary recall notice, issued by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, is dated September 30 and covers more than 15,000 ropes sold in the United States and Canada, mostly for professional access work and rigging, as well as some caving and climbing applications. The owners of ropes with certain serial numbers are asked to inspect their ropes and contact Petzl if specific problems are discovered.

MEET THE VOLUNTEERS

Lindsay Auble, Regional Editor for Kentucky, Arkansas, and Tennessee

Years volunteering with ANAC: 6 

Home crag: Red River Gorge, Kentucky

Lindsay at home in the Red. Photo: Johnny Nowell.

Favorite type of climbing: Single-pitch sport. Each season I choose a few routes to project at the very edge of my ability. I love the process of breaking down a climb and training each move. It can be frustrating at first; I can’t count the number of times I’ve said, “I can’t do that move.” But after weeks of problem-solving, training, and engraining muscle memory, the moment it comes together is that much sweeter because of every failed attempt.

How did you first become interested in Accidents? 

I started climbing outside in the Red River Gorge and was very lucky to have a strong community of climbing mentors . When I was relocated for work, I asked one of them for suggestions on how I could continue my climbing education, and he pointed me to the AAC and the Accidents publication. Now, every incident I edit is a research project. After I gather the details of the accident, I consult with experienced climbers, guides, and first responders to fully understand why it occurred. We have even set up several situations on practice anchors in the house. In the process of unpacking the “why?”, I have greatly expanded my knowledge of climbing gear and techniques.

Why do you think accident reporting is important?

For a decade, I worked as a chemical engineer, mostly with the construction industry, which is constantly working to improve safety metrics. They found that companies that continuously discuss safety incidents and near misses have significantly fewer accidents. It reminds people of the potential consequences and pulls them out of autopilot, especially when the activity is repetitive. Almost all of the climbing accidents I have analyzed have been at least partially attributable to human error.

Personal scariest “close call”?

While I’ve had an off-route moment with potential consequences that scared every molecule in my being and a low fall that resulted in an injured tailbone, I feel the scariest moments have been a bit more innocuous. Once I hung near the top of a route and then noticed that my knot had threaded only the waist loop tie-in point. I thought, “Huh, this somehow made it through all our safety checks.” Or lowering from a route and realizing that I didn’t remember cleaning it. Kind of like arriving somewhere and not remembering the drive, because you’ve done it hundreds of times. So scary!!

Personal safety tip?

After an accident that devastated our community, we are getting in the habit of weight-testing the system before leaving the ground. After our regular safety checks and stick-clipping the first bolt (a must in the Red), both climber and belayer lean back and weight the system, loading the knot and engaging the belay device. In addition to serving as a demonstrative check of the system, this method has the added bonus of tightening the knot and removing a little stretch in the rope to better protect a low fall.

What is your favorite thing to do when you are not climbing?

I’m a huge fan of puzzles and games. If there is such a thing, I might have a clinical sudoku addiction. When my boyfriend and I traveled to Las Vegas, I think we were close to splitting our time equally between climbing and the Pinball Hall of Fame—my boyfriend wins free games and then I use them up when he moves on to a different machine. In fact, we even created a game ourselves: Crag Crushers.

Share Your Story: If you’ve been involved in a climbing accident or rescue, consider sharing the lessons learned with other climbers. Let’s work together to reduce the number of accidents. Contact us at [email protected].

The monthly Accidents Bulletin is supported by adidas Outdoor and the members of the American Alpine Club.

Phil Powers: Farewell to A Visionary Leader

“I believed that with real work the AAC could not only provide membership benefits and community, but also be a positive force in the larger world. So I embarked on what has been a most fulfilling journey.”

Dive into this exhibit to learn about one of the AAC’s most influential CEOs, his legacy, and what inspired him to shape the Club the way he did.

$10,000 Awarded in Grants to Replace Aging Bolts

Photo: Craig Hoffman

The Access Fund and American Alpine Club are pleased to announce the 2019 Anchor Replacement Fund grant award recipients. This grant program addresses the growing concerns of anchor failure and the access issues that could result from these incidents. This year, we are thrilled to announce funding for ten worthy anchor replacement projects across the country.

• Wasatch and Uinta Mountains, UT - Salt Lake Climbers Alliance

• Red River Gorge, KY - Red River Gorge Fixed Gear Initiative

• Rumney, NH - Rumney Climbers Association

• Sauratown Mountain and Cooks Wall, NC - Caroline Climbers Coalition

• Obed, TN - East Tennessee Climbers’ Coalition

• New River Gorge, WV - New River Alliance of Climbers

• Boulder Canyon and Shelf Road, CO - Boulder Climbing Community

• Wet Mountains, CO - Southern Colorado Climber’s Resource and Action Group

• Tahoe Basin, CA - Tahoe Climbers Coalition

• Queen Creek Canyon, AZ - Central Arizona Bolt Replacement Program

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October 14, 2019, Golden, CO—The Access Fund and American Alpine Club are pleased to announce the 2019 Anchor Replacement Fund grant awards. Now in its fifth year, the grant program launched to address the growing concerns of anchor failure and the access issues that could result from these incidents. This year, we are thrilled to announce funding for ten worthy anchor replacement projects across the country.

Wasatch and Uinta Mountains, UT - Salt Lake Climbers Alliance

Salt Lake Climbers Alliance (SLCA) was awarded funding to replace aging hardware at crags across the region, including Maple Canyon, Little Cottonwood Canyon, American Fork Canyon, and the Uinta Mountains. Old hardware will be replaced with 1/2” stainless steel anchors using sustainable replacement techniques (hole re-use) to preserve the character of the routes and the rock. SLCA’s Wasatch Anchor Replacement Initiative is one of the leading local climbing organization-led fixed anchor replacement programs in the country.

Red River Gorge, KY - Red River Gorge Fixed Gear Initiative

Red River Gorge Fixed Gear Initiative (RRGFGI) was awarded funding to replace rusting and aging hardware on the steep sandstone cliffs throughout the region with 1/2” stainless glue-in anchors. RRGFGI is planning to replace over 300 bad bolts in 2020 and is striving to keep bad bolt reports in the region to fewer than 50 at any given time. RRGFGI works to replace aging bolts throughout the Red River Gorge region.

Rumney, NH - Rumney Climbers Association

Rumney Climbers Association was awarded funding to replace aging expansion bolts at several crags located at the popular Rumney climbing area. RCA’s efforts are widespread and ongoing, but emphasis in the coming year will be placed on updating hardware at Orange Crush, New Wave, and Bonsai with 1/2” stainless steel glue-in bolts. 

Sauratown Mountain and Cooks Wall, NC - Caroline Climbers Coalition

Carolina Climbers Coalition (CCC) was awarded funding to replace aging hardware at Cooks Wall in Hanging Mountain State Park and Sauratown Mountain. CCC’s efforts will focus on replacing old 3/8” non-stainless wedge, sleeve, and drop-in anchors with new 1/2” stainless steel hardware.

Obed, TN - East Tennessee Climbers’ Coalition

East Tennessee Climbers’ Coalition (ETCC) was awarded funding to support their goal of rebolting the entire Obed in the next five years. ETCC has replaced 1,000 aging bolts in the past 17 months with new 1/2“ stainless anchors. This grant will help facilitate their ongoing effort to replace 4,000 aging bolts in the region.

New River Gorge, WV - New River Alliance of Climbers

New River Alliance of Climbers (NRAC) was awarded funding to rebolt the popular Tattoo and Beer Walls. These areas provide the highest concentration of beginner sport routes in the New River Gorge.

Boulder Canyon and Shelf Road, CO - Boulder Climbing Community

Boulder Climbing Community (BCC) was awarded funding to rebolt Black Widow Slab in Boulder Canyon and the Darkside at Shelf Road. The BCC will purchase 200 1/2” stainless steel sleeve bolts, 160 Wave Bolts, and 40 lower-off anchor set-ups to address aging hardware at these two popular crags.

Wet Mountains, CO - Southern Colorado Climber’s Resource and Action Group

Southern Colorado Climber’s Resource and Action Group (SoCo CRAG) was awarded funding to address aging hardware at crags in the Newlin Creek area of the Wet Mountains in southern Colorado. Efforts will focus on installing new 1/2“ stainless hardware and modern hangers on routes currently equipped with homemade hangers and aging bolts.

Tahoe Basin, CA - Tahoe Climbers Coalition

Tahoe Climbers Coalition (TCC) was awarded funding to replace aging hardware around the Tahoe Basin. As a newly formed local climbing organization, TCC’s efforts will bolster ongoing replacement efforts in the region, helping to ensure climbing in the Tahoe Basin remains accessible and bad bolts are replaced in a timely manner.

Queen Creek Canyon, AZ - Central Arizona Bolt Replacement Program

Central Arizona Bolt Replacement Program (CABRP) was awarded funding to address aging hardware at The Pond in Queen Creek Canyon. CABRP will replace 720 aging, rusty bolts with new stainless steel glue-in bolts. CABRP will also replace top anchor hardware on all routes with new quick links and top anchor hooks, addressing concerns around rusty, loose, and inferior hardware at the crag.