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StahlBro
Trad climber
San Diego, CA
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Hans reading "Training for Climbing". Classic.
Heal up soon.
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aspendougy
Trad climber
Los Angeles, CA
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Sounds like no serious head, spine or joint injuries, so hoping an praying for a prompt recovery.
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Roadie
Trad climber
moab UT
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so sorry, I hate it when that happens! relax, treat yourself to some decadence, enjoy the drugs... I remember some friendly, cutting banter we had on the good book twenty years ago, you're a good guy who can take good natured sh#t as well as give it. healing well is more important than healing fast. that's my best advice. good luck, roadie
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SteveW
Trad climber
The state of confusion
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Wishing you a very speedy recovery, Hans!
(I hope it's as fast as you climb)!!!
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Tom
Big Wall climber
San Luis Obispo CA
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Since Hans is idle, dip him in wax, cast that in bronze, and put the monument near the toe of the Nose.
Everybody wins.
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micronut
Trad climber
Fresno/Clovis, ca
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You see man, that's why I place pro every half body length. Something tells me you might have been just a little more run out....
What you guys do up there amazes me. Sorry this one jumped out and bit you. Heal well, heal fully and know that your entire tribe is behind you.
Scott
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HeschMonster
Trad climber
Morro Bay
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micronut, i'm calling "totally runout" the next time placements exceed my ape index... ;)
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Largo
Sport climber
The Big Wide Open Face
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Glad his head and spine are ok but the external fixator bolted to his leg is a sign that whatever ankle injury Hans had was not minor. I just hope he didn't have a Pilon fracture, also called a Plafond fracture, where the joint gets blown up from impact. I had that and hope Hans didn't. Either way those are serious injuries and Hans will need the support of friends for awhile. It makes all the difference - that's for sure.
Heal up buddy!
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shipoopoi
Big Wall climber
oakland
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hans has two badly broken feet. i have broken both my fibulas in falls from height, but his breaks are way worse. still, they seem mostly recoverable, and i think hans will go on to do the nose in a day again. left leg the talus is broke, the right leg is the calcaneous or heel bone as i understand.
hans was doing the upper part of pancake flake when he fell. this section is 5.11c or hard C!. hans was self belaying(on a gri gri i imagine) while his partner cleaned the great roof. he had a small cam in and placed and tested a stopper. he moved onto it and it blew. he said he fell about 20 feet into the flat triangular ledge that guard s this section. a bad place to fall, and the self belay system might not have been as sensitive as a regular belay,,,easy to build a little slack in that belay system. but he wasn't doing anything especially dangerous, and certainly was not running it out here.
and then he led his own rescue till sar arrived . shazam!
too bad it was too windy to do a pickoff last thursday with a helicopter a pickoff would have gotten hans to the hospital about 20 hours earlier . steve schneider
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Bruce Morris
Trad climber
Soulsbyville, California
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The degree of seriousness has to do with how badly the calcaneus was fractured. Just a crack? Or totally smashed like an egg shell in many pieces? When they talk about an operation, one wonders whether they pinned the broken heel so it will heal in a fairly normal shape?
There are broken heels and there's a shattered calcaneus.
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Gunkie
Trad climber
Valles Marineris
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hans was doing the upper part of pancake flake when he fell. this section is 5.11c or hard C!. hans was self belaying(on a gri gri i imagine) while his partner cleaned the great roof. he had a small cam in and placed and tested a stopper. he moved onto it and it blew. he said he fell about 20 feet into the flat triangular ledge that guard s this section.
Isn't that the triangular ledge where that loose block used to sit that the German climber pulled off many moons ago (and subsequently went for the big ride)?
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Patrick Sawyer
climber
Originally California, now Ireland
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Heal up Hans. Ed thanks for the ABC link. Lafayette eh? I grew up there.
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MikeL
Social climber
Southern Arizona
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Best wishes, Hans. You're a hero in every way.
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WBraun
climber
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I belayed Bachar on that pancake flake pitch when it was first ever freed.
He ran up the pitch to the triangular ledge like it was nothing and then came to a screeching stop.
He yelled down "Ho Mann" we then knew it was gonna be hard and sketchy, lol.
But he floated it.
Hans .... your injuries are the house of pain.
But you've always been a bad ass, remember the survival of the fittest show, and you'll overcome ....
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Gregory Crouch
Social climber
Walnut Creek, California
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I dropped in on Hans this morning with clean shirts and a book for him to read. His spirits are good, although I'd guess he was in a whole lot more pain than he was letting on. Tough guy. Relentlessly optimistic and determined. He'll get through, I have no doubt, but equally certain is that it ain't gonna be an easy push.
To Bruce's comment above, unfortunately, I think he's dealing with the latter situation. If I remember correctly, his calcaneus is shattered into six pieces. His lower left leg is stabilized with four (?) large pins and two spreader bars and looks like a terminator exoskeleton. His right (which I believe is the jacked heel) is visibly bruised and badly swollen and he has to wait for the swelling to go down before it gets operated on. I think likely in a couple of weeks. It's gonna be a process for old Hans. I think he's looking at three to six months in a wheelchair, depending on how fast he heals.
I posted a few photos on my FB page, so it shouldn't be too hard to find them if you want to check him out. Shouldn't be any access issues as I made them public for his zillion friends to see.
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phylp
Trad climber
Upland, CA
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Is there a hospital where a card can be sent?
I’m old fashioned that way.
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Gregory Crouch
Social climber
Walnut Creek, California
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Well, he's kind of bouncing between friends's places with decent wheelchair access right now . . .
If you want to send a card to the address below, I'll make sure he gets it.
2865 Emerald Drive
Walnut Creek, CA 94597
(Same for anyone else, too...)
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dave yerian
Trad climber
the parking lot
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May 10, 2018 - 11:14am PT
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What a blessing Hans didn't hurt himself more and he is still with us. Why is it, today, climbing has become such a competitive sport? In general, speed climbing is a very dangerous way to climb. What are we trying to prove with it?
Maybe this event will change the way people think about trying to push and push the standards to a higher level with the potential of a much greater danger factor.
Always count your blessings and be humble before the rock.
Dave
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Largo
Sport climber
The Big Wide Open Face
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May 10, 2018 - 12:34pm PT
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I'd have to check with my daughter (an MD) but having been through the shattered ankle epic with the terminator external fixator and 5 operations, my understanding is that you can blow out a bone BETWEEN joints and heal up fine, no matter how grave the break (given modern techniques, graphs, hardware, etc). But when you blow out the joint (think hinge point), it will never be the same. And arthritis is a certainty - to some degree. I also find it odd that if only his right heel is broken he would have so much swelling and wait time for surgery. But this is all guessing till his injuries are spelled out in specific medical terms. I'm curious because I had them and count Hans as a friend.
The great and fortunate thing is that his spine and head are ok. A stud like Hollywood Hans can adjust to a few cranky ankles. If I did, he can for certain.
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