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Fatal Leader Fall On Rock – Rope Cut Canada, Alberta Bow Valley, Yamnuska ON JULY 29, a party of two experienced climbers was Chockstone Corner on Yamnuska’s big limestone face. It is a nine- climb (5.8) requiring traditional protection. The leader had started up pitch seven, about 60 meters below the top of the face. He clipped a fixed and placed one additional piece. After struggling with a difficult passage he fell, and the belayer watched as the climber fell past him and toward the ground far below. The belayer never felt the force of the fall on his , suggesting the rope was somehow cut in the early stages of the fall. Afterward, the belayer could see the frayed end of the cut rope above him, looped over a bulge just past the fixed piton.

The belayer was stranded at the belay and called 911 with a cell phone. Rescue crews flew to the scene and confirmed the fatality. Crews then were flown to the top of the cliff. They lowered a rescuer to the stranded climber, and the rescuer and climber descended to the ground in a continuous 250- meter lower. They were then heli-slung to the staging area below.

ANALYSIS

A rope under tension can cut quite easily if it slides over a sharp or rough edge or is hit by rockfall. Yet climbing ropes very rarely fail in leader falls. What was different this time?

These climbers were experienced and certainly capable of climbing their chosen route. As with many routes on Yamnuska, Chockstone Corner involves lots of traversing. In an interview with Gripped magazine some time after the accident, the belayer said the leader appeared to get off-route soon after leaving the belay ledge to start the seventh pitch. “He had followed a good groove leading to a piton above the belay instead of the obvious crack on the right. He continued up right on a less-than- featured wall, aiming for easier ground above instead of going direct into the wide chimney. … At the time of the accident, the climbing was on good rock, traversing rightward across a ledge with what looked to be large boulders or blocks.”

Above this ledge, the leader placed a number 2 cam, began to move again, and then returned to the cam to extend a sling to reduce . It was later learned that this cam pulled out during the fall (it was found on the ground). The belayer believes the leader was no more than five meters past the cam when he fell. On this traversing pitch, the leader’s fall must have dragged the rope in such a way—perhaps around or over the blocks above the ledge—that the rope was cut before any load came onto the belayer. It’s likely that when the cam pulled out, this contributed to the length and possibly the swinging nature of the fall.

The climbers were using a single “like new” 9.2mm rope. It is possible—but by no means certain—that a larger-diameter rope might have survived the fall. Leading with two half-ropes might have been a better choice, because it’s unlikely that both ropes would have impacted whatever piece of rock cut the single rope, in exactly the same way, particularly if they were clipped to alternating pieces of protection, as half-ropes are supposed to be used. It’s also important to consider how to keep the rope running as straight as possible—and away from edges, blocks, or notches—using protection, extension, and occasional backcleaning, as necessary. (Sources: Alberta Parks Public Safety, Gripped magazine, and the Editors.) Images Article Details

Author Publication ANAM Volume 11 Issue 72 Page 116 Copyright Date 2019 Article Type Accident reports