A few posts back I made some comments about not bounce-testing in-situ rap anchors and not knowing anyone who did. This engendered a "discussion" with High Fructose CS.
I recently encountered an account of an ascent of the Supercalenta on Fitzroy that included the following remark:
Max and I took turns to lead the endless abseils, which required care, as many old in-situ anchors blew on the first bounce test.
Thank you, Donini, for reminding us to stay alert and always provide a redundant, make yer mama happy, backup to any suspect anchor (especially ez and reasonable for raps).
A fellow from SLC just plummeted 60 feet in a technical canyon near Hanksville known as Constrychnine. He was 1/3 of the way down a 90' rap that the six people before him had safely completed. The webbing (unclear whether 1" or 11/16"or what) parted near the quicklink and he hit the ground, fracturing his pelvis, ankles, and more. The last man on the rap had a SPOT, re-rigged, rapped, and headed downcanyon to call in the cavalry. Now, this is not something you really want to do in Wayne County. I have heard nightmare stories about the local Wayne Co. SAR team showing up in loafers, failing to carry sufficient anti-seizure meds for members of their own team, rapping into the depths of a canyon for a rescue without the knowledge required to safely ascend the rope and self-extricate. Ultimately some hours later, a chopper from Page hauled the injured guy out to Grand Junction Regional. EDIT: FWIW, the SAR volunteers that showed up to this recent (4/15/13) accident were apparently great. Cheers to them!
I sure hope the guy that got hurt heals well.
Let's be ultra-vigilant folks, let's KNOTT trust fixed soft-goods, or at least test them full-body weight with a backup prior to committing. Thanks Donini, again, for the reminder to CYA!
Let us know!