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survival
Big Wall climber
A Token of My Extreme
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Jul 25, 2011 - 11:18am PT
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Bummer. I hope he didn't have children....
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Moof
Big Wall climber
Orygun
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 25, 2011 - 11:38am PT
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It sounds like they were on the second to last rap. That rap is mostly free hanging, but your rope piles up 10-15' shy of the anchors, so it is not hard to see how someone could look down at piles of rope and think they have tons of extra rope, and be wrong.
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Studly
Trad climber
WA
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Jul 25, 2011 - 12:01pm PT
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The climbers were rapping Jills Thrill route. The team had just done Blownout, so they were competent and strong team. It appears that the climber mistakenly had just clipped one rap rope and then weighted the rope, so when he fell, he took the rope with him, leaving the other climber behind. Jim Opdyke was rapping down and brought the other climber down with him. Sad times at Beacon. 90 degrees yesterday, t is raining there today. Beacon weeps, as do we all.
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Seamstress
Trad climber
Yacolt, WA
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Jul 25, 2011 - 12:27pm PT
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We were down at Smith yesterday and have been trying to find out more about this unfortunate accident. Still don't know who.
We tried some new routes yesterday, and one had a very airy, drop below the lip rappel. Normally, my husband never whines about these. Yesterday was different. Check each other. It is a sign of love, not an accusation of stupidity.
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Ghost
climber
A long way from where I started
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Jul 25, 2011 - 12:34pm PT
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Sad news. My sympathy to those who knew and loved him.
It appears that the climber mistakenly had just clipped one rap rope and then weighted the rope, so when he fell, he took the rope with him, leaving the other climber behind.
I very nearly lost a close friend to that exact scenario. We'd just finished a four-pitch ice climb, and the top pitch was his first-ever hard lead on ice. He was so psyched and full of adrenaline that when he set up to rap he only threaded one of the ropes. It was just blind chance that I saw it as he was about to lean back and commit. Really, really, scary.
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Gene
climber
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Jul 25, 2011 - 12:45pm PT
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So sorry to hear this.
Reilly posted the following on the Vernal Falls thread. It is appropriate here as well.
One thing many pilots do when they run their checklist is to touch the gauges and controls. I got into this habit when setting up for rappel takeoffs.
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Fluoride
Trad climber
West Los Angeles, CA
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Jul 25, 2011 - 02:02pm PT
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Studly, isn't that same same scenario that killed a climber on J-Tree's Walk on the Wild Side this spring?
Such a shame. Always weight the rapell line before unclipping from the anchor.
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Studly
Trad climber
WA
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Jul 25, 2011 - 02:30pm PT
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Im not sure Flouride about Joshua Tree accident. It would be a easy thing to do if you were distracted and forgot to double check, that I know.
Healyjoe will probably post up with more information shortly as he stays on top of the going-ons at Beacon.
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mcolombo
Trad climber
Heidelberg, Germany
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Jul 25, 2011 - 04:01pm PT
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The victem in J Tree was a friend and ex partner. I do not think it was ever 100% resolved but this or a similar, all too simple mistake is probable. Almost happened to me once a long time ago at Mission Gorge but I was luckily attached to the anchor.
Deepest condolences to friends and family.
Take care everyone!
Greetings from Germany,
Marco
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slrella
climber
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Jul 25, 2011 - 04:41pm PT
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It is not accurate that he did not weight the rope prior to rappelling. He actually rappelled several feet before falling. It would be nice if it were as simple as that, although the check and recheck points are well taken. The true cause of the fall remains a mystery. Most likely (as previously suggested) a mis-estimation of the rope.
Deepest condolences to friends and family.
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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Jul 25, 2011 - 04:46pm PT
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Often the exact cause of rappelling accidents are never established. Suffice to say that rappelling is the one place where mistakes are most often fatal- be careful, check and double check.
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Hawkeye
climber
State of Mine
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Jul 25, 2011 - 04:47pm PT
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check one another out prior to heading up, periodically during the climb and then when heading down. That is what good competent partners do for one another.
yes
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Seamstress
Trad climber
Yacolt, WA
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Jul 25, 2011 - 05:16pm PT
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There has been little on Cascade Climbers. Which anchor on Jill's Thrill?
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dirt claud
Social climber
san diego,ca
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Jul 25, 2011 - 05:21pm PT
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Sorry to hear about this, condolences to friends and family.
Sorry for your loss as well Marco, A real bummer that such a simple mistake can take a life.
It's amazing how unsimple life is, yet things that are so simple can take it away.
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couchmaster
climber
pdx
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Jul 25, 2011 - 05:30pm PT
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yup, saved my ass just last week with this method. double rope rappel, one strand in device and the other looking like it was in...
So sad to think about, "there but for the grace of God goes I". Way tough on family and friends who will have a hole in there hearts now from this loss. My thoughts and well wishes goes out to them.
Not to start a speculation thread as I wasn't there, having gotten pumped enough the previous day that I wanted to rest my forearms and had chosen to do a bike ride with family and friends instead of climb at Beacon. As Donini says we often never know for sure what occurred especially on rap accidents, but if this climber was clipped to a single rope on a double rope rap, it is possible that friction in the system (weight of the rope and over an edge) would hold everything together until the climber was just clear of the ledge. It would explain the rope waiting a bit but then to go zipping through the anchor as the climber fell.
At some point I suspect that someone will post who saw how the rappel device was set up on the harness and we will then know.
I am reminded of Tom Higgins beautiful and heartfelt invocation on the Frank Sacherer thread. my small benediction: let us be most humbled, thankful and awestruck at the prize of consciousness, the sunny days on what we call rock and mountains with others we call friends, the noble globe itself only a dot in the vast swirl of matter and time, in the great physics of it all Frank pondered, the same which pounds and baffles each of us under a clear night sky. And there, looking up, perhaps I am not alone making a quiet vow to hold more tightly to good friendship and love before sleeping Frank’s sleep.
For all too soon, our fate will be to follow into the great darkness and mystery that we all know is coming for each and every one of us. Take care all.
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Plaidman
Trad climber
South Slope of Mt. Tabor, Portland, Oregon, USA
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Jul 25, 2011 - 07:27pm PT
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We are still trying to hunt down the details of this accident.
In the mean time deepest regrets and heart felt condolences to this climbers friends and family.
Thank God for Jim Opdycke. He just happened upon the climbers partner and got him to the ground safely. The guy watched his partner fly by and was left there at the mid point rap on Jill's Thrill for nearly an hour. I couldn't think of anyone better able to assist this guy. Jim said he was in shock but was able to rap down off the route.
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Off White
climber
Tenino, WA
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Jul 25, 2011 - 07:40pm PT
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Oh, it was a bit of a bollix on cc.com last night, the wrong Nate was identified as the victim (Portland has a plethora of climbing Nates), causing lots of pain and confusion. That thread got deleted, and the one linked here correctly identifies him as Nate Turner, a firefighter from Portland, and all around great guy.
Just yesterday I made several rappels from the tops of routes, keeping my daisy clipped into the anchors while I weighted and bounced on my rappel set up, thinking about just this kind of thing.
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murcy
Gym climber
sanfrancisco
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Jul 25, 2011 - 07:45pm PT
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Condolences.
How many accidents would be prevented by fixing the rope (say, cloving a biner between the anchors) for the first party(s)?
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Seamstress
Trad climber
Yacolt, WA
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Jul 25, 2011 - 07:54pm PT
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Thanks. I kept looking, but I must have been between threads.
Climbing partners, brothers at the fire station - a lot of close relationships. He will be missed. THe scene is pretty small here, and I'll be looking for his picture to see how well we know him. That doesn't change the fact that he will be missed, and many of us are fortunate that we have survived our mistakes thus far.
It can be very busy where he fell. It is amazing that no one else was hurt. I'm glad that the partner was found and brought down by a fellow climber. There are only a few local SAR folks with climbing experience and familiarity with the various crags.
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