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neversummer
Trad climber
30 mins. from suicide USA
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Jul 25, 2012 - 03:27pm PT
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^^^I agree jstan.. unless youre only a few feet off the deck you should not have the distraction of trying to comunicate to a group below, not saying that is what happened here but seems like a possible senario..
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Jon Beck
Trad climber
Oceanside
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Jul 25, 2012 - 03:37pm PT
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totally agree with jstan
I do not think that rappelling should ever be taught or demonstrated to beginners. It will only embolden them to go out and try it without learning safety and good habits. I have taken friends out to introduce them to climbing, busy enough keeping it safe without trying to deal with a rappel
Maybe some of the professional guides could chime in on this one.
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pud
climber
Sportbikeville & Yucca brevifolia
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Jul 25, 2012 - 03:41pm PT
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maybe we could show some collective class and analyze this later or on another thread.
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Onewhowalksonrocks
Mountain climber
portland, Maine
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Jul 25, 2012 - 03:54pm PT
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Well I don't know what happen at Suicide. I hope she'll RIP.
As far as how things should be done can't wait to read more from the meat of this taco.
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graniteclimber
Trad climber
The Illuminati -- S.P.E.C.T.R.E. Division
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Jul 25, 2012 - 03:57pm PT
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Condolences to Karen's family and friends.
From her blog:
=
About me
Gender Female
Industry Non-Profit
Occupation Working with kids
Location Chino, California, United States
Introduction Im in my second yr at Mt.Sac, hoping to get out of here before the yr is over. I live at home and work for the Boys and Girls Club of Garden Grove. I also work for the girlscout council of orange county. I love to play sports and be outside. If i could do anything all the time i would spend all my time rock climbing.
Interests Rock Climbing, movies, hanging out, offroading, sleeping
Favorite Movies Butterfly effect, as of right now. I love suspense and movies that are hard to figure out unless you watch the whole thing this one is definatly a good one.
Favorite Music Alternative, rock, but usually ill listen to almost anything once.
Favorite Books I dont really read much. I dont have to much time to do that. However when i do have time i like to read about climbing.
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apogee
climber
Technically expert, safe belayer, can lead if easy
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Jul 25, 2012 - 04:24pm PT
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A couple of caveats:
*There is no clear, reliable information about the nature of the incident: slip/fall, climbing, rap failure.
*The blog quote from above is not confirmed to be from the same person- it seems highly likely, but there is no confirmation of this.
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Largo
Sport climber
The Big Wide Open Face
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Jul 25, 2012 - 05:01pm PT
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Very sorry. That blog entry certainly humanizes things. That was someone's daughter who died there. So young.
I'll have more to say once we know what happened. Condolenses to all involved.
JL
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jwallace
Mountain climber
san jacinto, ca
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Jul 25, 2012 - 08:19pm PT
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I heard it was a failed anchor!! Bad news!!
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guyman
Social climber
Moorpark, CA.
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Jul 25, 2012 - 08:29pm PT
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So sad, my condolences to her family and friends.
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looking sketchy there...
Social climber
Latitute 33
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Jul 25, 2012 - 08:40pm PT
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Very sad news; a young woman's life cut far too short.
My deepest condolences to family and friends.
_
In the absence of any real information, perhaps it is best to leave the Monday morning quarterbacking to another time and thread.
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Ezra Ellis
Trad climber
WA, & NC & Idaho
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Jul 25, 2012 - 09:37pm PT
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My sincere condolences to her family and friends,
Sounds like a very special young woman.
so sorry.
Are there a rash of deaths recently, or does the internet make it just seem that way?
Climbing is DANGEROUS, carefull y'all!
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alleyehave
Trad climber
San Diego, CA
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Jul 25, 2012 - 10:06pm PT
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We were first at scene and the story that was given to us directly was very vague, scattered and didn't make a whole lot of sense. At one point it was said that a bolt had "popped". This occurred at the base of Serpentine on Weeping Wall. Apparently they had hiked to the top, and made a series of raps down to setup TR. At one point or another, she had fallen approximately 40ft or so and struck a ledge approximately 9ft above the base of the wall.
We personally inspected said anchor and found no damage to any hardware, and nothing that would indicate that this occurred due to equipment failure. Unfortunately, we don't have any additional info.
Our condolences to the family, friends, and all involved.
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OldSlacker
climber
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 26, 2012 - 09:38am PT
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Thanks Alleyehave. Just a local here trying to get the story.
Best wishes to her family and friends.
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graniteclimber
Trad climber
The Illuminati -- S.P.E.C.T.R.E. Division
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Jul 26, 2012 - 04:53pm PT
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http://idyllwildtowncrier.com/2012/07/25/female-climber-dies-of-injuries-after-suicide-rock-fall/
Female climber dies of injuries after Suicide Rock fall
Marshall Smith |
Karen Gose, 27 of Chino, died of injuries sustained while descending a sheer face of Suicide Rock in Idyllwild’s San Jacinto wilderness. Gose, reportedly a counselor with a church camp, fell 30 feet during a rappelling demonstration, onto a rock ledge.
CAL FIRE/Riverside County Fire Department responded, as did Idyllwild Fire Protection District, although IFPD did not participate in the rescue.
The reported time of injury was 12:41. CAL FIRE Copter 301 lowered a medic to the rock ledge. He attended to the woman and prepared her for a helicopter hoist. She complained of difficulty breathing and was thought to have had a broken hip and possible rib damage. At approximately 2:50 p.m. she was hoisted into the helicopter. The copter circled and returned for a hoist of the medic.
At approximately 3:04 p.m. attending personnel transferred Gose into a Mercy Air helicopter for transport to Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs. She died en route, with time of death listed as 3:21 p.m.
Injured hiker being lifted into copter. Photo by Marshall Smith
CAL FIRE medic being lifted into copter. Copter began leaving site while medic still dangling because of urgent condition of Gose. Photo by Marshall Smith
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Kenygl
Trad climber
Salt Lake City
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Jul 26, 2012 - 08:05pm PT
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Man I hate this. I've been to more rescues and ground falls than I want to remember. Never pretty, always avoidable, always sobering.
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drljefe
climber
El Presidio San Augustin del Tucson
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Jul 26, 2012 - 08:20pm PT
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Only the good die young.
RIP
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AmyRat
Gym climber
Atlanta
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Jul 27, 2012 - 07:57am PT
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I am not a climber but my sister was friends with this climber. The story that I have heard is that the Park District bolt came out of the rock face. This needs to be confirmed but I share it so that you can take care. Karen was demoing to a group of young girls who watched the fall but were only told of her death after they were assembled back with their parents.
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phylp
Trad climber
Millbrae, CA
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Jul 27, 2012 - 08:11am PT
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always avoidable
Yes. In the sense of some manner of error made, whatever that might have been. That is one reason I am so deeply saddened by this tragic death of a fine young person.
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Tony Bird
climber
Northridge, CA
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Jul 27, 2012 - 10:55am PT
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the second-hand reports on this thread beg for this accident to get a very thorough investigation. we have to know whether karen was rappeling off a single bolt--and did that bolt pull?
amy should know that there is no such thing as a "park district bolt". climbers are allowed to place bolts and use them at their own risk. a bolt may be weak, weathered, or obsolete, and the rock around it may have deteriorated since it was placed, and it may have been placed incompetently in the first place--a little hard to believe at weeping wall, but who knows? suicide rock is in a national forest, not a park, but even in parks which allow climbing, there are many posted warnings about the assumption of these risks.
i can only express sadness at the loss of a young person, but i also have to express alarm at what may have been involved, and at a lack of public awareness which will only lead to future accidents.
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justthemaid
climber
Jim Henson's Basement
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Jul 27, 2012 - 10:59am PT
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I too am saddened by Karen's story. Sincerest condolences to her friends and family.
Respectfully... An accident analysis is sure to come and is important to help prevent these types of tragedies in the future - especially since most rappel fatalities (short of catastrophic anchor failure) are preventable.
The facts do seem muddled. Any rappelling on Serpentine would be done off the 2-bolt anchors. There are a couple of statements about hardware pulling, but Alleyhave says he inspected the anchor and it is still intact . Amy states that "the Park District bolt came out of the rock face". (there are no "Park Dist" bolts so I assume she just means the fixed hardware). Were the actual lead-bolts inspected to see if they are all there? Is it possible she was rappelling off a single lead-bolt rather than the (2-bolt) anchor and it pulled?
Edit: Simul-posted the same theory as Tony^^
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