Accidents in North American Climbing 2018 Accidents in North American Climbing
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ACCIDENTS IN NORTH AMERICAN CLIMBING 2018 ACCIDENTS IN NORTH AMERICAN CLIMBING KNOW THE ROPES: SAFER 4TH CLASS ACCIDENTS In North American Climbing 2018 Volume 11 | Number 3 | Issue 71 AMERICAN ALPINE CLUB GOLDEN, COLORADO ALPINE CLUB OF CANADA CANMORE, ALBERTA CONTENTS 6 Preface FEATURE ARTICLES 8 Know the Ropes: Safer 4th Class 16 Danger Zones: Mt. Hood ACCIDENTS & ANALYSIS 22 United States 110 Canada ESSENTIALS 33 Lower Leg Injuries 83 Evacuate an Injured Patient 113 Avalanche Response TABLES 120 Annual Data Summary Front Cover: Ridge climbing in the High Sierra. Photo by Ken Etzel | kenetzelphoto.com. Back Cover: zColorado Flight for Life in action. © 2018 The American Alpine Club All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any infor- mation and retrieval systems, without permission from the publisher. ISBN: 978-0-9998556-1-4; (e-book) 978-0-9998556-3-8. Manufactured in the United States. Published by the American Alpine Club, 710 Tenth Street, Suite 100, Golden, CO, 80401, www. americanalpineclub.org. WARNING! The activities described within Accidents in North American Climbing (ANAC)—including but not limited to: rock climbing, ice climbing, mountaineering, backcountry skiing, or any other outdoor activity—carry a significant risk of personal injury or death. The owners, staff, contributors, and volunteers that create this publication recommend that you DO NOT participate in these activities unless you are an expert, have sought or obtained qualified professional instruction or guidance, are knowledgeable about the risks involved, and are willing to assume personal responsibility for all the risks associated with these activities. ANAC and its publisher, the American Alpine Club, MAKE NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, OF ANY KIND REGARDING THE CONTENTS OF THIS PUBLICATION, AND EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM ANY WARRANTY REGARDING THE ACCURACY OR RE- LIABILITY OF INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN. The American Alpine Club further disclaims any responsibility for injuries or death incurred by any person engaging in these activities. Use the information contained in this publication at your own risk, and do not depend on the information contained herein for personal safety or for determining whether to attempt any climb, route, or ac- tivity described herein. The examples/stories contained herein are anecdotal and/or informational only and are not intended to represent advice, recommendations, or commentary on appropriate conduct, standards or choices that you, the reader, may make regarding your own activities. © Jon Glassberg of Louder Than Eleven (www.lt11.com) The UIAA/CE standard for climbing helmets only addresses top-impact protection from falling objects. Yet, many times the impact forces to the head TOP and SIDE protection helps guard vary depending upon how you fall or the position against impacts from numerous angles. of your head when hit from falling objects above. Here, Jorg Verhoeven catches his leg behind the Learn more at www.petzl.com. rope during his whip on China Doll (5.14a R) in Dream Canyon, Boulder, Colorado. ACCIDENTS IN NORTH AMERICAN CLIMBING American Alpine Club EDITOR EMERITUS John E. (Jed) Williamson EDITOR Dougald MacDonald SENIOR EDITOR R. Bryan Simon CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Aram Attarian, Joel Peach, Dave Weber REGIONAL EDITORS Aram Attarian (Southeast); Lindsay Auble & Lee Smith (CO); Stacia Glenn (WA); Sarah Koniewicz (Midwest); Dara Miles (NY & PA); R. Bryan Simon (WV); Eric Ratkowski (Shawangunks, NY); Nikki Smith (UT); Michael Wejchert (NH) DESIGN David Boersma ADDITIONAL THANKS Ken Etzel, Ron Funderburke, Ian Jackson, Liberty Mountain, Julie Moyer, Leo Paik, Tim Ozerkov, Jim Pasterczyk, Petzl, John Reilly Alpine Club of Canada SAFETY COMMITTEE Hai Pham [email protected] CANADIAN CONTENT EDITOR Robert Chisnall [email protected] STEALTH HELMET WITH FIRST MOUNTAINEERING HELMET WITH RECCO TECHNOLOGY COLORS + TITANIUM + YELLOW THE RECCO REFLECTOR INSIDE THE HELMET ADDS AN IMPORTANT SAFETY- VISIBILITY-FACTOR FOR CLIMBERS AND ALPINISTS FOR A DEALER NEAR YOU CALL 1-888.90.CLIMB Photo by Bryce Brown Proudly distributed in North America by Liberty Mountain PREFACE By Dougald MacDonald I would be very happy if every reader of this book would make a simple three-step pledge. Doing so might save a few lives. A few of your own lives. This year’s edition reports a worrying leap in the number of accidents while lowering or preparing to lower from anchors atop single-pitch climbs. Having seen growing numbers of such accidents in recent years, we introduced lowering errors as a primary accident cause in our data tables in the 2016 edition; the errors include too-short ropes slipping through a belayer’s device, communication mix-ups, and failure to retie properly at an anchor. In 2016, we recorded five such incidents. The following year, we counted six. This year we documented 12 lowering accidents. Now this could be just a statistical blip. I sure hope so. It also might reflect the much-discussed “gym to crag” phenomenon, in which ill-prepared gym climbers venture outside without adequate mentoring. But here’s the thing: About half of the climbers and belayers in this year’s lowering reports were highly experienced. And yet they still made simple, extremely dangerous mistakes. So, let’s all pledge to take three basic steps on every single-pitch climb: 1. Make a plan and communicate the plan. Before each climb, tell your belayer if you plan to lower or rappel from the anchor, and stick to that plan. If circum- stances force a change—like forgetting your rappel device—be absolutely certain your belayer understands the new plan before you weight the rope. 2. Tie a stopper knot in the belayer’s end of the rope. Or tie in the belayer. Absolutely no exceptions. 3. Weight-test your system before unclipping from the anchor. Whether rap- pelling or lowering, find a way to test the ropes before committing to them. These steps won’t prevent every single lowering or communication error. But if everyone involved in lowering accidents in 2017 had followed all three steps, up to a dozen fewer climbers would have been injured or killed. Make the pledge. And insist that your climbing partners do too. CONTRIBUTE Submissions Visit publications.americanalpineclub.org/accidents_submission to file a report on- line. Or email us at [email protected]. Friends of Accidents The following people and organizations recently have donated $100 or more spe- cifically to support Accidents in North American Climbing. Thank you! Make your own contribution at americanalpineclub.org/donate. Laura Chedalawada Yannick Gingras Jim Small Charles Eiriksson Jr. Eric Green Douglas Wilson Carla Firey Dougald MacDonald Lee Freitag Scott Petersen THE SHARP END Join the more than 30,000 people who listen to the Sharp End podcast each month. Hosted by Ashley Saupe, the Sharp End features interviews the with climbers, rangers, and rescue professionals, based on the stories in Accidents in North Ameri- can Climbing. SHARP The Sharp End is sponsored for 2018 by Mammut, with additional support from Colorado Outward Bound School, Suunto, and other com- END panies. Find it wherever you listen to podcasts. AAC RESCUE BENEFITS Membership in the American Alpine Club qualifies you for rescue benefits in case things go wrong during any human-powered, land-based activity beyond the trail- head. With up to $12,500 available, we’ve got you covered. Trailhead Rescue • $7,500 in global coverage, including the United States • No elevation restriction • Member discount on expanded coverage • 31 AAC members were rescued in 2017 thanks to the Trailhead Rescue Benefit • To use the Trailhead Rescue Benefit, members must call Global Rescue at (617) 459-4200 as soon as possible during an emergency Domestic Rescue • Up to $5,000 in in reimbursement for out-of-pocket rescue expenses within the U.S. only. Canada and Mexico are excluded. • File a claim within 60 days of rescue by emailing [email protected] or by calling (303) 384-0110 • Medical and ambulance expenses do not qualify • Reimbursement subject to verification and approval Activities Covered Climbing, hiking, backcountry skiing, mountain biking, and more. If it’s human- powered, on land, and you’re rescued, you’re covered as long as you’re an active AAC member. Note: Basic coverage does not include search, ambulance services, or medical care. Upgrades Planning to climb internationally? We recommend upgrading to a full Global Rescue membership with a 5 percent AAC discount. Upgrades include field rescue, medical consultation, and evacuation. Learn more at americanalpineclub.org/rescue or call 1-800-381-9571. Five climbers died on Capitol Peak in Colorado in 2017 (see p.. 65). Though few rope up for this peak, simple rope techniques could increase climbers’ confidence, keep them on route, and prevent falls. Katie Botwin Know the Ropes SAFER 4TH CLASS Managing risk on easier terrain BY TICO GANGULEE anaging terrain with a low probability but high consequence of falling—typi- Mcally described as third-class, fourth-class, and low fifth-class climbing—is a multi-faceted affair, affected by skill sets, route and time pressures, and human factors (the psychological factors, sometimes called heuristic traps, that can im- pact judgment). Tumbling down a 30-foot, low-angle gully or “approach pitch” may not appear as terrifying as falling off an overhang while roped, but it’s usually far more dangerous. Each year we see many accidents that very likely could have been pre- vented or mitigated by the use of a rope in easy terrain, including unroped falls on technical alpine ridges (often caused by loose rock), approach and de- scent accidents due to rockfall or small slips, and scrambling accidents in ter- rain deemed “too easy for a rope.” This article seeks to make climbers aware of alternatives to soloing (scrambling) that use the equipment they’re likely carrying anyway and incur little or no time cost.